User blog comment:CoolUnderdog/Falkland Islands Winner???/@comment-5277627-20151008065416

Before I comment, I know you've misunderstood & taken offence to some of my comments I've made in the past. Please know that anything I say in regards to your fanon is intended as constructive criticism and NOT as an attack on you, your characters, your ability as a writer, or your fanon itself. With that in mind, here's the answers to your fanon:

'''Do you want Andy to win? Why/Why not?'''

Personally, no. But realistically, I see him as being crowned the winner. As to why I don't want him to win, I think it's because- like Uke said- there are people out there who have played better games. I like the underdog thing you've got going for him though.

Do you want Anna Lee to win?

Yes. Like Uke, Anna Lee surprised me. However she is strategically playing the best game, and is the only one who could really rival Andy. If it came down to her or Andy, I would vote for her because- unlike Andy- she hasn't been the underdog and was pretty much in control for the whole game up until the point she got blindsided by her cousin, and I hope she comes back and kicks ass.

Do you want George to win?

He's had his fair share of strategic moments, but isn't really the best one out there. He's been on the right side of the vote for a long time, so I think he's in with a good chance if both Anna Lee & Andy get taken out. Personally, he'd be a likeable winner and I'd be happy to see him win.

Do you want Katherine to win?

No. In fact, out of the eight left, she is probably the person I LEAST want to win (behind Molly). Katherine had a strong pre-merge showing but has kind of being playing really badly post merge. She was voted out for dumping the idol, and only Survived as long as she did because Andy swapped with her (let's be honest here, Morgan would have demolished her at RI and won back in easily). Post-merge, she's hidden behind Andy and has been riding his coat-tails. That, coupled with the fact she has been voted out twice, means I feel she would be an undeserving winner. The only way I would vote for her is if it was a final 2 between her and Molly. Then I'd probably do everything I could to get out of voting.

'''Do you want Molly to win? '''

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO. She is the biggest goat of them all, and she's an absolute shoo-in for third place as the goat people drag to FTC to win. She's made stupid move after stupid move, and if she wins, it will be a crime against Survivor.

'''Do you want Riley to win? '''

I'd be happy for Riley to win too. I like a good villain, and he is a good villain. But him winning means Anna Lee being beaten at RI, so noooo. :P

Do you want Trey to win?

Trey is a good character because he is kind of the dark horse. He's made good strategic moves and has always managed to put himself in a strong position to go far in the game, be it winning IC's or going with different alliances. He's far from playing the best game, but I'd be happy with him winning.

Who do you think will win?

Andy. And I've thought so ever since he switched with Katherine at RI. I think you've tried to make him into a hero (which he is) but at the same time you've written him out like Rudy. It's personally annoying to me as a reader to see one character get all the major developments/power moves. It's not just your fanon; it's book series/TV shows as well. Like the Warriors series for example, had three characters with superpowers. Lionblaze was a cat who could not be defeated in battle. While lots of people liked him, I personally wanted him to get hit by a truck. It's not because I hate him as a character, or because I have it in for the author; it's because he was so perfect and got everything his way, and everything centred around him. The same applies with Andy (except I don't want him to get hit by a truck, I just don't want him to win).

Predictability, likeability, etc. 

I do agree with you when you say this season isn't as well-crafted as the others. Personally I think it's a little rushed, but that's just my opinion. If you asked me to rank your four seasons from best to worst (1 being the best and 4 being the worst), this is how I would rank them:

1. Qatar (best personalities, most likable characters, good unpredictability factor)

2. Belgium (best twists, multiple people deserving of the title. unpredictability factor)

3. Falkland Islands (I'll explain)

4. Portland Bight (you and I both know why this is down here)

The reason why I ranked Falkland Islands as number three is much the same reason I ranked Portland Bight as number four. Portland Bight had every single plot development revolve around Rudy, and every power move happened to him, and he ended up getting all ten votes. It was very frustrating for me as a reader to have to read. The same thing has kinda happened with Falkland Islands, except this hasn't happened to Andy all season. In fact it only came into light with the RI switch. As soon as I read it I thought, "oh no, it's Rudy all over again". But the good thing about him is he's far less overbearing than Rudy is and generally a lot more likable.

The reason why I put Falkland down there can best be explained by a quote on a small piece of laminated paper that is stuck to the wall in my English Writing classrom:

"It's better your reader misses the point that gets speared by it."

Personally, I think you've tried way too hard to get Andy to be seen as a hero, to the point where you're reminding me of it basically every episode, and I think that's something you need to try your best to avoid that in the future (which is why I'm looking forward to All-Stars so much). I think what you do is upsell everything Andy does as this fantastic, bold, heroic move. This guy who can get out of all these situations etc. An example would be in your latest episode as to how you described Andy's RI switch. You called it "one of the gutsiest moves of all time." And no, I don't belive it is that. Rupert did that, and it wasn't gutsy. He just wanted to let his wife play. What I saw it as- and in my opinion it would have sounded better if you'd explained it like this- was Andy fearing Katherine would be eliminated by Morgan, and switching himself in to save Katherine and get her out of the game. So you could have written it as "Andy- in a selfless move- switched himself into Redemption Island in place of Katherine, fearing she would not be able to defeat Morgan." See how this is better? It allows me as the reader to pick up on the fact that Andy is a hero through his actions rather than your words. It would be better for me to read having drawn that conclusion myself, but what I'm getting is a constant reminder that Andy is this amazing, heroic player who does all these wonderful things. Which draws back to the quote above. I would rather have missed the fact that Andy is a hero than have you telling it to me all the time.

And that is why, personally, I find your season a little predictable (although great job on the realism). Because you've tried so hard to make Andy out as a hero, everything that has happened lately has revolved around Andy, and everything is going his way. As Anna Lee has been voted out, if she doesn't make it back, Andy is an absolute shoo-in for the title. I think this is far, far better than Portland Bight and it is by no means headed in that direction. Having everything predictable/happening to one person is frustrating for me personally as a reader, because I want to be left guessing. It's why I didn't like Survivor: Redemption Island much, because everything major happened to Rob and it became so obvious that Rob was going to win that I stopped watching. Sure enough, Rob won. I'm not saying I'm going to stop reading Falkland, because I've been following it all season, and I want to see how it pans out. I'm just saying please try to avoid this in the future. It's why I liked Belgium & Qatar so much because there were many people who could have won, and I was left guessing for the entire season.

Once again, this is intended entirely as constructive criticism. Please don't take offence to this, and I am very sorry if you do.