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Shion is Queen wrote:

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Of course, Natalie was also forcefully hidden from us so we'd be as outraged at her win as Russell is, so we have no idea how much she bonded with Dave or Erik, or why Jaison chose her over Mick.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Not only do we have no idea how much she bonded with Erik, but I personally have no idea how she ever could have bonded with Erik.

Before the merge, they only saw each other at challenges. And I don't remember anything particularly memorable Natalie did in pre-merge challenges to be noticed by Erik, aside of course from looking hot in a bikini.

Erik and Natalie were together in the game for exactly one TC cycle, so a little less than 3 days. Natalie's social assignments at the merge were the hot girls and Dave. And we saw her spending time with them all during the merge episode. Mick's social assignment was Erik, and we saw them bonding together a bit, especially the much drooled over Manlove moment of Erik draped all over MickDreamy.

After that, Erik spent most of the rest of that episode scheming with Laura, John, the Galu men and finally Foa Foa. Which means that the only conversation we ever saw Erik and Natalie have in the game featured Erik condescending to her, Mick and Jaison about what they had better do in order to survive the next TC. We have a pretty good idea of how strong a social bond Erik formed with Natalie during that conversation.

Natalie gets the lion's share of the credit for turning Galu against Erik. But the thing is, Erik had no idea this happened while he was still in the game. When his boot came together, he was off somewhere, either in a confessional or one of his head-clearing walks.

After that, Erik only ever saw Natalie again from the jury bench, and the editors mostly had him reacting to Russell's antics. Most of Natalie's TC questions are on the cutting room floor of course, but I don't remember an Erik connection from any of the few the editors left in. And at FTC, Erik apparently didn't even bother to ask Natalie a question.

All this to say that I cannot possibly imagine what specific social maneuvers Natalie could have ever employed to win over specifically Erik's emphatic vote.

Now folks will argue that shit went down at Ponderosa. Of course, it did. But it likely had more to do with rehashing Galu's fuckery and Russell's taunting about it than with Natalie's awesome social play.

That's why I look at Erik's would-be emotional speech with such a jaundiced eye. I can't fault his premise -- "there is no correct or incorrect way to play Survivor" -- but his sanctimony -- "but some ways are more honorable than others" -- is just bullshit rationalization for his vote as a tool of Galu's woefulness as players and bitterness as jurors. I'm so over him.