Yuku free message boards

Ken voting for Matty at the final 7 affected NOTHING except the jury's attitude towards Ken. He did it to gain jury votes, that was it. Sugar and Crystal both said it was ok, and they were fine with him doing it. Sugar didn't give a shit the next episode when Matty bitched and complained (In fact, she agreed with him that he was leaving next). That is, of course, until she changed her mind for no reason.

For anyone that says Sugar is known to be an unpredictable player, and Ken should have known that from her betrayal of Ace, you are wrong. Sugar knew she had to vote for Ace sooner or later if she wanted to not look like she was being dragged through the game. Also, Ken played perfectly in getting her on his side by predicting exactly what Ace was going to do (most noticeably with the idol). Ace didn't leave because of Sugar, Ace left because of great gameplay on Ken's part, even after he was backed into a corner because of Matty's stupidity. (Matty, in the majority, willingly chose to backstab three former allies to work with two people who were in desperation. For all Matty knew, Ace and Sugar could have jumped back to Kota at the merge, leaving him as a sitting duck.) Sugar was playing a good strategic game (social is completely different), and Ken had no reason to think that she wasn't playing to try to win. She also told Ken (and stated on insider clips) that she had every intention of going to the final three with Crystal and Ken. They thought she was loyal, plus, Ken knew that the only way Sugar had a chance to win was to face Crystal and Susie in the finals, and there was no reason to keep Bob or Matty, again, if she wanted to win. Only two players in the history of Survivor have made such ridiculous and impulsive decisions that would be a huge detriment to their game, Dreamz and Sugar. No one expected her to join Bob, not even Bob.

Ken played a great game. 16th best in Survivor history? I think that's pushing it, but he had every reason to be cocky. And besides, it's not like he was as cocky as he was when talking to others. He knew he was by himself, and he could say his inner most thoughts. He thought he was going to win Gabon, and he was in the position to do so. Sure, Gillian targeted him second, but he was in no danger on Fang. Even if the Randy, Dan, Susie, and Matty alliance came to fruition and took control (which I doubt it would have because Crystal was close with Susie and Ken was close with Matty), Ken was the last person Randy wanted to target. Also, no matter what Probst says in the "Last Time on Survivor" segments, Fang was the stronger tribe. They had 4 guys and Crystal, with Susie as their only form of dead weight. Kota had 3 girls. Fang just won two straight challenges, and got the raw deal of a very early swap. Also, Ken made a great move picking Kelly to join his tribe, and he managed to work past the awful luck he had (GC quitting, Sugar having the idol, Matty turning on him, Crystal getting mad at Kelly). Still, he had Matty protecting him in his alliance with Ace, and no one was wanting him gone. Post second swap, Crystal and he brought in Susie due to the awful way Kota treated her. I give more credit to Crystal for this, but it was a team effort. At the merge, Ken made sure the five of them were strong, and he was the one that decided Charlie would leave. The scrawny little Asian kid was making the decisions. It may have been smarter to vote for Bob at the final 8, but he is an old man. They couldn't have considered him a challenge threat, and he already forced Sugar to keep Randy the round before. Had Randy stayed, Sugar would have had a legitimate reason to turn on Ken, for not listening to her. At the final 7, he did not believe Bob had a real idol, and post game interviews have shown that. Since his allies were happy with him voting for Matty, he made a great decision to get jury votes. He knew Kota would control who wins. Also, even if Matty (and maybe even Susie) was mad, Bob and Sugar were close enough that they had majority. Bob doesn't win immunity, and it's not an issue. He leaves unanimously, and Sugar, Ken, and Crystal walk to the final 3 due to the terrible format of the final three twist.

The only thing I had a problem with Ken's gameplay was his attitude at the final 5. I don't care how safe you feel, you never take a nap right before tribal council. He should have talked to Matty and Susie and tried to get them to vote for Sugar. But he played a great game. Anyone who says differently might want to rewatch Gabon. Would I put him above Ami? Hell no, and I hated her. (Dreamz, Cassandra, and Danielle are different stories.) He deserves much more respect. You don't have to like Ken to appreciate how he played.