Talk:It's Day 39, and I Want to Quit/@comment-26485526-20191024043527

Congratulations on finishing another season, Matt!

This season was incredible from start to finish, and [Winner]'s win was very well deserved. [Pronoun] did an excellent job managing [pronoun] relationships with people through the game, and did a great job with her jury performance as well. I really liked seeing her talk about Winter and how her friendship with her was genuine. It is noteworthy that she lied to Winter during this speech considering that she did not completely drop the fake act. But hey, she got that jury vote, and I'm overall satisfied with the win, even if Leilani was not my favourite of the finalists, and far from my favourite character in the game.

While I preferred Winter's jury speech for shutting down Deidre, I have gained mad respect for Nigel for being able to grow a pair and apologize to Calvin, because everything that Nigel said in his speech was 100% true. Speaking of Calvin, I really loved how he fought throughout the season, and especially at that Final Tribal Council. Calvin's journey as a character was really well written, and I think it is very underrated all things considered. Calvin had enough of people treating him like shit, especially those older than him, such as Deidre and his parents, and he found his voice during his 39 days in Mauritius. I was really hoping that he would pull through and take the win (simply because I like him as a character better), but it seems like he gained a lot of confidence and self-esteem, and he deserves to be proud of his game. I do think Leilani played an overall better game than Calvin considering that she almost flawlessly managed her relationships with people throughout the game, whereas Calvin struggled socially for the entire game, and struggled to even find any sort of voice for himself for 2/3 of it. Either way, I'd love to see Calvin back for a second season, because not only do I love his character, but I think that he does have a lot of potential to do well a second time as well considering how much he's grown this season, and I think he definitely could do a good job applying what he learned out here.

Regarding Deidre... I think I hyped myself up too much for her to be ripped to shreds, because not as many jurors took swings at her as I hoped. Deidre's game was pathetic, and she is also just an overall shitty person. Her answer to Sadie was also just gross:

''Well, yes, but it was strategic as well. (shrugs) I knew I was drivin’ him up the wall, so I decided to relish in it. My approach was that, if I drove his morale down low enough, he may not try so hard in challenges, makin’ him easier to take out. (shrugs) Didn’t end up workin’ ‘cause none of us were all that strong, but it was worth the effort.''

First off, treating someone like shit for any reason, let alone intentionally trying to drive their morale down is gross in and of itself. This makes me just feel for Calvin more because you can see from even early in the season that he had self-esteem issues, so I can only imagine how it got to him mentally. As for Deidre, the woman is a teacher. Let that sink in for a second, this teacher that prides herself on how well she is able to manage over 200 students (see her bio) decided that her best strategic move would be to bully someone nearly half her age in order to drive his morale so low that he wouldn't even try anymore. I seriously feel bad for each and every one of her students. Did she "motivate" them to pass by threatening corporal punishment? I know the strap is illegal in Canada (and I'm pretty sure it is in the US as well, correct me if I'm wrong)? Or maybe she brought back corporal punishment in secret and nobody has ratted her out yet? Or maybe she just threatens it and keeps one in her desk drawer that she doesn't actually use (because, you know, that is assault, and they are minors). Maybe I am exaggerating, but if bullying Calvin was the best and most logical solution to eliminating him that she could come up with, then I do seriously question her methods, and I do think she is actually a shitty person outside the game. At the very least, you'd think she'd stop the bullying after he actually won a challenge and proved her theory wrong... yet she continued anyway.

In saying that, I do believe Deidre was at least partially lying to Sadie in answering her question. I do think bullying Calvin could very well have been strategy for Deidre to a point. However, she herself admitted that she relished in it, so much so that she continued this on day 39, when there was nothing she could gain for herself, aside from any reaction he gives her that indicates she is chipping away at his self-esteem. As such, I do believe bullying Calvin was partially strategy on her part, but I also think she just enjoyed it because she is an awful person, and I hope she never returns.

Lastly, if there was a "Second Worst Jury Speech" award, it would go to Elaine, no question. Rachel, being the garbage person she is, gets worst jury speech by default. However, Elaine chose to lecture Leilani about being a "total gamebot" and how she "can't relate to her? I call bullshit on that second part! If Elaine wants to find a gamebot from this season, she should go look in the fucking mirror! I'm not saying that Leilani wasn't a gamebot at points, because she most certainly was. However, I find it pretty fucking rich for Elaine of all people to be using that against her. Elaine clearly has no concept of self-awareness, and I hope she never returns either.

Fantastic season Matt, once again! I'd definitely peg Calvin, Sadie, Winter, Heather, and Kurtis as future all-stars, with Jason, Logan, Tyrone, and Naomi as potential second-chancers. Can't wait for Trinidad!

CAST RANKINGS:
 * 1) Kurtis Hansen
 * 2) Winter Alan
 * 3) Heather Clarke
 * 4) Calvin Huang
 * 5) Sadie Collins
 * 6) Logan Simmons
 * 7) Tyrone Laurence
 * 8) Leilani Arthur
 * 9)  Jason Sanders 
 * 10)  Isaiah Peterson 
 * 11) Naomi Davidson
 * 12)  Inez Montero 
 * 13)  Nigel Jackson 
 * 14)  August Brown 
 * 15) Deidre Ryans
 * 16)  Adrian Morris 
 * 17) Elaine Nguyen
 * 18) Chris Taylor
 * 19) Gabby Ellis
 * 20) Rachel Berry