39 days ago, 20 Americans set off on the adventure of a lifetime in the remote South Pacific island of Samoa. Now, only 2 remain, Mike Borassi, the 62-year-old personal chef, and Kelly Sharbaugh, the 25-year-old hairstylist. Tonight, they state their cases to the jury, and the jury will vote to give one of them $1,000,000 and the title of Sole Survivor.
Jeff Probst: Welcome, Kelly and Mike, to your Final Tribal Council. Let's bring in the members of the jury - Marisa, Russell S., Yasmin, Russell H., Monica, Ashley, and Shambo, voted out at the last Tribal Council. First of all, I'll congratulate both of you for making it this far... you have gone as far as you can go in this game. The only thing left to do is win over the power of the jury. Jury, you will get the ability to ask questions in a moment, but first, we will allow Kelly and Mike to give their opening statements. Kelly, you may begin.
Kelly: Hi everyone, I'm happy to finally be here, and I want to state that I believe I played the best game out there, and I did it with complete honesty and integrity. I don't believe I ever lied to anyone, and I was always loyal to the people that I allied myself with. I valued my friends just as much as myself; this can be seen when twice I gave a Hidden Immunity Idol to one of my friends when they needed it, once to Brett, and once to Monica. I found myself on the wrong end of the alliance game too many times to count, but I was able to pull myself out of it, because here I am, sitting in the Final Two. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, and I'd very much appreciate your votes.
Mike: Well, I look at this game a bit different than Kelly, perhaps; if you see on the Survivor flag at both of our camps, the motto of this game is "Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast." Loyalty may be a good thing to have in the real world, but in this game, the entire goal is to get to the Final Two. Now I might not have been the most athletic or fit person out there, but I held my own on the mental side of things. I was targetted at the very first Tribal Council, but I was able to pull in enough votes to save myself. After the Tribal Switch, I got into a great alliance with Russell H., and together we were able to dominate the game for a portion. After Kelly used the idol to send him home, I found myself on my own, but with two great plays since then, I was able to eliminate both Monica and Ashley, and here I am, also sitting in the Final Two. I think both Kelly and I have played fantastic games, but I see myself as the bigger strategist sitting here.
Jeff Probst: Okay, now we can get to the jury's questions. Marisa, you're up first.
Marisa: Congratulations, guys, but as you know, 12 days ago, I was unanimously voted off with the Hidden Immunity Idol. I want to know from both of you; do you really think that was a good idea, and why should I still vote for you? Mike, first, since I thought you were part of my alliance.
Mike: Well, Marisa, I never was on the same tribe as you until the merge, so I really didn't know you too well. Besides, it was never my idea to vote you off; Russell H. proposed that.
Marisa: So you were just riding Russell's coattails, then? If Russell wasn't in the game, what would you have done?
Mike: I was indifferent to the idea either way, and I just went the way the majority was going.
Marisa: Okay, Kelly, same question. I understand that you overheard those guys talking about the plan to vote me off, yet why didn't you tell me so we could blindside Russell or somebody that night?
Kelly: Well, Marisa, I was never aligned with you; you had voted off Mick the previous Tribal Council, so I was never sure I could trust you entirely. How could I know that you wouldn't have used the idol to get rid of me instead?
Marisa: Fair enough, I'm done.
Jeff Probst: Thanks, Marisa. Russell S., you're next.
Russell S: Hey guys, I think I already know who I'm voting for tonight, but I'll ask a question anyway. If you could give a million dollars to two people on the jury, who would you choose?
Jeff Probst: Kelly.
Kelly: I'd choose Monica and Ashley. Those two were my closest friends out here, and I'd never vote against either of them.
Mike: Shambo, definitely. The other person would be you or the other Russell. Maybe even Yasmin. It's hard to pick just two.
Jeff Probst: Okay, Yasmin, you're next.
Yasmin: I'm just gonna be straight up now. Kelly, you were talking about all honesty and integrity a little while ago, but I think that's a bunch of crap. While we were on that reward thing, you and Monica promised me Top 5. Why the heck didn't that happen? Was that promise just so we'd help you guys vote off Russell S.?
Kelly: When I made that promise, I had no intention of breaking it, but before the double Tribal Council, Russell H. approached us and pointed out that you and Shambo were a really close pair. Then there's also that voting you out set it up to use the Hidden Immunity Idol to blindside Russell H. afterwards. If we hadn't gotten rid of you, then nobody could be sure what would happen during the second part of the Tribal Council.
Yasmin: Uh, then Mike would have gone.
Kelly: Yeah, probably. I dunno.
Yasmin: Yeah, I got it, Kelly. Whatever. And Mike, I really can't say I respect you or Russell's style of play, going all about and lying to everyone just to get them to do what you want. Back in the 'hood, we don't respect people like that.
Mike: I assure you I don't lie regularly in real life, but this...
Yasmin: I don't want to hear it Mike. As I see it, you're both liars, and I don't think either of you deserve my vote.
Jeff Probst: All right, Yasmin, but you're going to have to vote for somebody tonight.
Yasmin: I know.
Jeff Probst: "Little Russell," you're up next.
Russell H: All right, guys, if you ask me, all this "honesty/integrity" stuff doesn't matter at all. I want to hear from both of you; what are your greatest TWO strategic plays that you made in this game. Mike, you can go first.
Mike: The first is when Shambo and I approached Ashley and convinced her to vote for Monica. The second one, which was all me, was just two days ago, when I used my ankle injury to my advantage; I convinced Kelly to vote for me and Ashley to vote for Shambo, thus causing a 2-1-1 vote, so Shambo and I were able to blindside Ashley.
Kelly: My first one is when I got Shambo and Yasmin to vote against Russell S...
Yasmin: Pff.
Jeff Probst: You've had your turn, Yasmin. Continue, Kelly.
Kelly: And the second would be when I used the idol to get rid of you, Russell, no offense; you have to admit it was a good play, right?
Russell H: Yeah, it was pretty good.
Jeff Probst: Monica, now.
Monica: Oh, my votes definitely going for Kelly, so I have no need for any questions. But I definitely want to urge the jury to vote for Kelly as well, and Yasmin, I was the one that strongly supported getting rid of you, so don't take that out on Kelly, please. Both Mike and I lied far more than Kelly ever did.
Jeff Probst: Okay, then, Ashley, go ahead.
Ashley: Congrats, guys, but I want to clear some stuff up. Kelly, what was this stuff about you and Monica trying to get me off at the Final Five?
Kelly: That was never the case. It was Monica's idea to make Shambo and Mike target you instead of one of us... that way you wouldn't flip sides on us?
Ashley: So you guys didn't trust me?
Kelly: Well, again, that was Monica, she was always more of the schemer type than I was.
Ashley: So Mike, I didn't like that you used your injury to your advantage; I kind of looked to you as a father figure out there, and I felt really hurt when you manipulated me like that.
Mike: I'm sorry, Ashley, but my #1 loyalty at that point was to Shambo, and I didn't want you and Kelly to vote together. It was really nothing personal.
Jeff Probst: Last but not least, Shambo.
Shambo: Okay, I can't believe nobody brought it up yet, but Mike, what the heck were you up to promising Kelly that you would take her to the Final Two? That has to be one of the lowest moves ever! We had an alliance since Day 1!
Mike: Well, Shambo, we didn't always have an alliance; you betrayed me first when you voted off Russell S. We were able to regain our alliance after both Yasmin and Russell were gone, and we knew we both were on the outs. My deal with Kelly was purely strategic. I was 95% sure that Kelly would take you to the Final Two instead of me, right Kelly?
Kelly: Well, I never really decided, but to be honest, I probably would have voted you off.
Mike: Yeah, and Kelly looked really stable up on there, and I felt ready to fall off in the next minute, Shambo! When I made that deal, I had no idea whether I would keep it or not, but I felt the jury would respect me more if I kept the deal with Kelly. Sorry I had to do it, but if I hadn't, then I'd most likely be sitting in your spot right now.
Shambo: Okay, Mike.
Jeff Probst: With that, we're done, and it's time to vote.
The jury members step up to the voting booth, one at a time, and cast their votes for the winner of Survivor: Samoa.
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FINAL VOTE REVEALED AHEAD!
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Jeff Probst: Welcome to the Live Survivor: Samoa Reunion Show, where we're about to announce the winner. For the last time this season, I'll read the votes:
1st vote - Kelly
2nd vote - Mike
3rd vote - Kelly
4th vote - Mike
5th vote - Kelly
6th vote - Mike
That's 3 votes Mike, and 3 votes Kelly. There's one vote left. This one vote will reveal the Sole Survivor and the winner of 1 million dollars:
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Winner of Survivor: Samoa is...
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Kelly!
The audience cheers wildly as Kelly jumps up and runs to her family.
Revealed votes:
Marisa -> Kelly
Russell S. -> Mike
Yasmin -> Kelly
Russell H. -> Mike
Monica -> Kelly
Ashley -> Kelly
Shambo -> Mike
And that concludes this series. I'm not sure if anybody actually read the whole series, but if you did, thank you! :D While I was writing it, I made a few changes in the storyline... for instance, Russell H. was originally going to be the winner. I later decided that was too cliched, and the F6 boot wasn't very realistic. (IIRC it was Monica 6th, Ashley 5th, Mike 4th, Kelly 3rd, and Shambo 2nd.) If I was part of this jury, I think I would have voted for Mike, but a social game is also important, as we saw from Natalie's real-life win. And here, Kelly did play with more loyalty/integrity/whatever than Mike did.
