~ Liz's Response to Malcolm ~Hey hot stuff! Thanks for the questions!
1. One thing that's important to me is a strong social game. I think it's fundamental in this and I didn't really have a strong relationship with either of you. Neither of you I talked to that much. Give me one example of how your social game propelled your game to the end and give me an example of something you could've done better in that regard.
Well, for as much flak as I've taken for my social game thus far, I personally feel that it's a matter of conversation conservation more than anything else. I might not have been the greatest when it came to asking people how their day was and forging those sorts of friendships, but at the same time I also didn't go around making tons of contradictory deals, lying to people, and getting their hopes up only to let them down. I took the Sandra Diaz-Twine route: I don't need to be controlling every vote, I just need to be sure that I can steer them off me - and get to the finals with the right people. So while I didn't have a massive volume of conversations, the ones that I did have were on point, they were efficient, and they got done what needed to get done. I think that my social game really shone towards the final seven and onwards. I talked at length with Taj to show her how she was on the outs of the Icons alliance, and made it pretty clear that I was available for use as a free agent later on. That conversation helped ensure that I stuck around and would be able to pull off the other moves that I made later on. Even though Ken and Darnell came to Taj and pushed for me to go, she wasn't willing to listen because I'd helped her see the value in keeping me around. Same thing happened at final six - I didn't have immunity, I was surely about to go home, and what happens? Keith shows me your sceenshot of the idol. Why? Because I had enough social rapport with Keith that a) he saw the value of keeping me around, and b) he knew that I would be capable of pulling off that bluff. The reputation I'd built for myself made people more willing to listen to the fake idol lie, and I got myself out of what would otherwise have been a hopeless jam. You can't sell a fake idol if you don't have the proper social positioning, and I managed to do it so well that nobody voted for me.
So, what could I have done better in the social regard? I think that I could have made more of an effort to be have casual conversations with people and not be such a gamebot about everything. If I'm honest, I do think that it ultimately wouldn't have helped me much and that I'd have been targeted over you at the final seven if I had been more of a visible threat, but I do think it would probably have served me better in terms of the jury questions.
I'm not the greatest when it comes to pop culture, I'm usually a late adopter who only starts watching insanely popular TV shows after the wave has crested and most of the casuals have moved on, so some of my choices might be a bit dated. Sorry in advance!
Morgan - Andrea (The Walking Dead)Andrea was a very polarizing character in a lot of ways. People who had read the comics didn't like that Laurie Holden was significantly older and significantly bitchier than the original character was ever shown to be, myself included. But once she received enough character development, it became clear that the TV version of Andrea had a lot going for her. She was tough, and not afraid to stand up and own her emotions and call out other characters for their flaws. It didn't make the other characters or the audience love her, but it made her a lot more interesting to watch. Similarly, I think that Morgan was someone who didn't take a lot of guff and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She got targeted a lot of times and dealt with a lot of annoyances throughout the game, but she stayed true to herself and kept on fighting. SHOW SPOILER: and as an added bonus both of their deaths were primarily due to cruddy luck more than anything else.
Jeff - Sherlock (Sherlock)
Sherlock has his negative aspects, but I think the best thing about him is just how true he is to himself. He is what he is and who he is, and he is entirely comfortable with that. And because Sherlock is so comfortable with his own self, as a result we in the audience accept him and enjoy him that much more. Jeff was probably the shining star of this season. He was someone that everybody had an opinion on, and who was always earmarked to completely dominate the entire scene if he wasn't eventually brought down. But to be honest that was a big part of Jeff's charm. When you talked to him, you just kind of knew that he had a lot going on, that he was a schemer and a player, but because that was just such an integral part of the Jeff Kent experience, you really couldn't dislike him for it. Heck, one of the best conversations I ever had with Jeff was in the aftermath of my idol play, when both of us were kind of like, "Oh, dear, look what just happened" and had a pretty frank conversation about how that all went down.
Malcolm - Jeff Winger (Community)
I almost went with Don Draper from Mad Men, but I think this comparison works better - and if you have never watched Community, you absolutely should (well, the first three seasons anyway). Jeff is a smart lawyer who trades on charm, charisma, and good looks to get what he wants. And while he might come off as self-absorbed sometimes, he ultimately has his best friends' interests at heart and he's always willing to help them through whatever's going on. And to varying degrees those are all things that I've noticed and appreciated about you. You weren't afraid to play up Malcolm's handsomeness and charm when the mood struck you, and you definitely knew how to carry your weight and have some great conversations. But at the same time, you weren't afraid to step up and take charge to push for what you wanted to see happen. Sometimes that caused you to come off as more of a gamebot than I think you ever truly were, but you were ultimately someone that wanted to be loyal and do right by your allies.
Taj - The Doctor (Doctor Who)
I was tied between The Doctor and Abed from Community on this one. I already used Community for Malcolm, so here goes. Doctor Who is one of my favorite shows in the entire multiverse. It's poignant, it's funny, it's clever, and it's deeply philosophical at certain points - plus it's British as hell and I'm a serious Britophile at heart. And all of that stems from the main character - regardless of which actor is actually playing him at any given time. The Doctor is one of the most complex figures ever written in fiction, and I could write you an entire essay on the facets of his personality, but I won't because it'd be boring. But the most relevant of all of The Doctor's many characteristics is that he approaches the universe and all of its many horrors and perils with a sense of childlike wonder. It's not uncommon for him to be facing a thousand-foot-tall abomination from beyond the stars and, instead of running away in terror, to comment on how beautiful and marvelous it is. The Doctor just sort of has that capacity to appreciate things on a higher level, and it's a huge part of what makes him so fascinating to watch. Taj was absolutely the same way with me. We had opposing opinions a lot of the time, we were on different sides and had different ideals, but through it all Taj always had this grace and appreciation for the game that superseded how it actually affected her. The first idol play didn't work out ideally for her, but she still congratulated me on a play well executed. Same thing with the fake idol that got her sent home at final six, she went out with class and loving the chaos of it all. That ability to step outside the game and appreciate the entertainment value of things, even at her own expense, was incredibly classy, and I appreciated it a lot. Taj was a star, no mistake.
Keith - Jay Pritchett (Modern Family)
Not just because of the old man connection, I swear. Jay is an ex-Navy salt of the earth type guy, very set in his ways of thinking. As the series continues, he comes to be a lot more accepting of his gay son, his wife and stepson's Colombian cultural clashes, and the challenges of getting older. It's not always easy for him, and he makes some huge sacrifices along the way, but he's always willing to do what it takes to keep his family close. I think that's part of what drives Keith. He's very principled and he has ideas about how he wants to play and get ahead in the game, but he never gives up and he always looks for a way to not only benefit himself, but also the people he's aligned with. He's courteous to his enemies, and rock solid to his allies. Even when there were shades of animosity between him and Morgan, I think he was able to conduct himself well and not take things too terribly personally. As a bonus, Jay is also incredibly sharp, destroying his Harvard-brilliant granddaughter at Words with Friends and routinely outsmarting everybody in the family. Keith had a similar sharpness to him. He knew a lot of things, holding on to information and passing it off when it behooved him to do so. Definitely someone that should never be underestimated - or underappreciated.
Ken - Jessica Day (New Girl)
Another comedy that y'all might not have watched (but totes should). Jess is basically Zooey Deschanel being Zooey Deschanel for the first half of the series, but once the writers found their stride, she quickly became the center of the show's universe. She's the one that maintains sanity, acts as moral compass for the grup, and generally keeps things on the rails, all the while maintaining a positive attitude. That seemed to be Ken's function in the Icons. He was someone that was always friendly, always tried to find the best way forward and maintain a positive attitude of sportsmanship and respect, and if the chaos and craziness of the game ever really bothered him, it certainly never showed, at least to me.
Lindsey - Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)
I'm not super familiar with the GoT universe, but based on the snippets of things that I've heard from various websites, I think that Daenerys is a good fit for Linds. Linds had some early struggles with her timezone and being placed on a fairly lackluster tribe, similar to that whole exile business in GoT, but she was able to overcome it and use what skills she had to rise above her station and get into a power position. Plus she wants epic vengeance on the people that got her exiled in the first place, and Lindsey was all about puttin the hurt on the Icons for the way they treated Jeff. Is there any among us more deserving of the title of Breaker of Chains or Mother of Dragons? I think not.
Which one? Because you got the one in the auction, I got the hidden one, and Alecia got the fake one that I hid in its place.
I think Darnell has played a sloppy game, based primarily on emotions and impulsive decisions without really thinking things through, but his biggest problem is not being able to own up to what he does. His emotions got the better of him several times and caused a lot of grief for himself and his allies throughout the game. He made several deals that he had no intention of honoring. He's been called out at least twice for getting the facts wrong in his opening statements and claiming to have made moves and influenced things that he actually wasn't a part of. Much as Darnell might claim otherwise, several people mentioned his poor social gameplay to me, and stated that they were worried he would make it to the end if he wasn't taken out. Those are just the facts of the game. But Darnell's response was to take that criticism of his gameplay as a dragging, then completely blow his stack and take it to a whole different level and start screaming personal attacks back at me. Instead of considering the criticism and accepting it, he responds by completely dismissing the person who disagrees with him and starts maliciously attacking them. It's not "dragging" someone to point out flaws in their game, and it's not "standing up for yourself" to start insulting someone who criticizes you. So ultimately I think you shouldn't vote for him based on the fact that his gameplay was riddled with errors, his own read on the game has been disputed and disproven by multiple jurors, and that his attitude over the whole thing has been disrespectful and kind of nasty.
He had better social ties than I did.
Thanks for the questions, Malcolm! Good luck with your decision, and be sure to let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know from me!
