Surviving the Jury on Survivor

Final Thoughts

I suspect that the final players in Survivor: Cook Islands will face a pretty tough jury. Nate and Candice, for example, seem to be chomping at the bit to say something already. All of the former Raro players on the jury may resent any Aitu player (Ozzy, Yul, Becky, or Sundra) who faces them. If Adam or Parvati faces the jury, they may face the wrath of Brad, Rebecca, and Jenny, all of whom they chose to vote off before mutineers Candice and Jonathan. Jonathan might be angry with the Aitus for voting him out after he helped them turn the game around. Candice, as well as Adam and Parvati, if they’re on the jury, have threatened to hold it against Yul if he didn’t vote out Jonathan one vote earlier than he did. Becky and Sundra might be accused of riding coattails to get where they were. Yul might have to face accusations of being a ringleader. Whichever players have to face the jury should be prepared to answer some tough questions.

The final two players in any season of Survivor have come a long way and have endured a lot to get to the final Tribal Council. They should be prepared for the jury so that they can make their last few moments in the game count. Certain kinds of questions can be anticipated. They should have in mind some character traits that got them into the finals, and those traits should show as much strength and active playing as possible. They should be ready to say why their opponent does not deserve to win. They should be ready to talk about which other players do and do not deserve to be in their position. It’s always a good idea to say positive things about the third place contestant, and it doesn’t hurt to flatter the person asking the question, and to avoid insulting him. They should be able to clearly state what their strategy was. If they have regrets, they should admit them, and if they can apologize sincerely to a juror, it might help them. They should anticipate angry jurors, again apologize if appropriate, and do their best to take the criticism gracefully. And if a question seems to come from left field, they should answer it quickly and move on. Finally, they should use their final words to restate why they deserve to win and should not use that time to repent their actions at the last minute.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with any comments at betsywasser@gmail.com.

For more news about Survivor, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: Survivor: Cook Islands and Survivor Fever!