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SkyDreamer wrote:

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I think Stephen had a really bad luck to be on this season, for a few reasons:

1. One of the most dysfunctional tribes ever- any normal tribe would have gotten rid of JT in the first chance they had, but Timbira immediately started aiming for each other.

2. No one was there to play - It almost seemed like the Timbira members were playing for JT to win. For example:
Brendan:" I love JT"
Sierra:" I know, he's one of the best guys I've ever met."

Any normal player would have said: "That's why we need to get rid of him. "
Timbira members said: "So let's keep him in the game".

WTF?

3. The jury was emotional. In later seasons, the jury usually appreciate strategy. However, the members of the jury this seasons were a bunch of idiots who didn't realize who was the true mastermind.

4. He was up against the most overrated player this season- JT. For some reason, Everyone was so in love with JT. I personally hated him. He annoyed me on so many different levels. I honestly wanted him to go since day 1.

1) I agree with this, but I have mixed feelings about its effects. If it weren't for Timbira being completely dysfunctional, I might not have gotten as far as I did. Yes, they were dysfunctional and any normal tribe would immediately have gotten rid of JT. (In fact, they almost voted him out in the first vote of the merge, right off the bat) But the fact that they were dysfunctional let us play the two factions off each other and get to the end. Basically, Survivor casts extreme personalities. Dealing with those personalities is one of the challenges to winning the game.

2) This is the thing that bothered me the most both as a player playing the game and as a fan watching the season. Too many people were not playing to win. On the other hand, every season has people who are not playing strategically. I think, however, they at least nominally want to win the game, even if they are just coasting along to do it. But in my show, Brendan was explicitly playing to lose to JT, Coach wanted to be "defeated" by JT in the finals, Sierra was willing to "step down" at 4, and both Taj and Debbie wanted to "step down" at 3. I agree this really screwed up my endgame. I couldn't take someone like Taj or Debbie or Coach to the final 3 - someone who might have a better shot against JT in the final immunity - because they would end up quitting or taking JT to the finals. Similarly, I couldn't make earlier alliances with those people. While you might think I'd be happy to play against people willing to roll over, it doesn't work when the only other person playing strategically is your biggest threat.

3) The jury vote basically went as I expected it to, though I thought I'd get one vote. I don't think the jury ever knew that I was a strategic player, and I agree that against JT I could not have presented myself to them as a strategic player and won. In my mind the jury was always a strategic afterthought. I get to the finals against Erinn or Taj and win, or I get to the finals against JT and lose. I lost the game at the final 3 immunity challenge. Also, at least on my season, I think most people go in knowing who they're going to vote for. I don't really think the final TC performance can change that much. It's hard for me to say they were emotional or not-emotional. They were the same crazy people I was playing against, making their jury decisions in the same way they made their game decisions. My job was to get to the finals against somebody else. I failed to do that.

Also, to be fair to my jury, I didn't present myself as a strategic player. That may or may not have been a mistake. I think realistically I still couldn't have influenced anybody's opinion, just pissed some people off. I guess, yeah, I guess that means they were emotional. But that's who they were! From my perspective, a huge portion of the game is playing against the people who you're with. Like that's the challenge. Yeah I guess I wish I were with more ambitious, strategy-oriented people. But that wasn't the hand I was dealt.

And honestly, even if they'd thought I was the true "mastermind," JT played an amazing game. He was a physical threat who made it to the finals, he was a great social player (clearly), he was a workaholic around camp, and he was a strong strategic player.

4) I don't want to take anything away from JT, who I think played a great game. I mean it's not his fault he somehow seduced Timbira into collective hero-worship. Seriously, more power to him.