My Finest Hour

"My Finest Hour"
Season	Survivor: Venezuela
Author	IAmNothing712
Episode Number	12/14
Episode Chronology
Previous	"There Was Never an Us"
Next	"A Silver Lining"

This is the twelfth episode of Survivor: Venezuela.

Challenges

Reward Challenge: Nitty Griddy
The tribe will be divided into teams of three. One by one, team members will use a slingshot, lobbing projectiles to a 12x12 tile grid. The goal is to eliminate the other team's tiles. First team to take down all of the other team's twelve tiles wins reward.
Reward: The winning trio will win a trip to the Survivor cinema where they will see an advanced screening of Star Wars VII. The winning food will also get to enjoy an open bar of cinema food such as popcorn, hotdogs, soda, pizza and candy.
Winners: Mai, Jaycee and Louise

Immunity Challenge: Chimney Sweeps
Each tribe member will suspend themselves between two walls using their arms while their feet will rest of very small footholds. Every fifteen minutes, they will switch to an even smaller foothold. After the remaining tribe members have reached the third and final foothold, they will remain there as long as they can. The last person standing wins immunity.
Winner: Jaycee

Story

Night 31

Returning from Tribal Council, the El Dorado tribe prepares to sleep. While blindsides seem to be common in the game of Survivor, the tribe just continues their life at camp, preparing for bed. Maggie and Louise laugh at how blindsides spice up the game and their fallen comrades seem to be fine with it. Watching them, Jaycee thinks they should , among all people, because they are two big threats in the game. Louise then brings up the idol she apparently tossed to the fire pit. She explains that her idol did nothing good for her and it instead put her in trouble multiple times, hence why she tossed it to the pit.

“	Blindsides are fun, yes. To be the receiving end of it? Heck no. Maggie and Louise better watch their back, because of all people, they shouldn't be laughing because if anyone between Dahlia, Dante and Mai plans to target them, everyone will surely listen. Nobody are pawns at this point in the game. Everyone's playing and if you drop your guard down, you're *snap* gone.	”
–Jaycee

“	I tossed a roll of burlap which used to wrap my idol this whole time. The tribe now thinks I've burned it to waste, maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. If I have it, and what I threw is a fake, at least I can walk around camp safe without people suspecting I still have it. If I don't, well, jokes on me. Time will tell if what I did last night will be detected by the tribe.	”
–Louise

Day 32

Jaycee and Maggie decide to check Tree Mail by themselves. To their surprise, a bag of cooked popcorn awaits them along with the note. Maggie assumes that their reward could be a trip to a cinema. The tribe meets Jeff Probst for the challenge, where Jeff reveals that they will be competing for a trip to the Survivor cinema where they will watch an advanced screening of the seventh episode of Star Wars which is supposed to be shown in theaters in late 2015. Mai, a die hard Star Wars fan, screams for joy, saying that Star Wars is the only other thing she's a fan of than Survivor. After a draw of teams, the red team consists Mai, Jaycee and Louise, making Maggie, Dante and Dahlia the yellow team.

For the first three rounds, Jeff notes that players have taken down target after target with no misses. After a several turns, the red team takes the lead with three tiles left, while the yellow team still has five mostly due to Dante's misses. In the end, Jaycee, Louise and Mai score their last few rounds, winning themselves reward.

The winning trio enters the makeshift theater house and sees a full bar of movie food (popcorn, hotdogs, soda, pizza and candy). The movie starts and Mai, who usually is talkative at camp, quietly concentrates on the film. Jaycee, who had only seen the prequels, asks Mai about what happened in the original trilogy. Mai explains everything succinctly.

“	Mai acts a little weird today. She's quiet, which is so uncommon to the Mai we know at camp. While we watch the movie, she basically turned into this ultimate fangirl who didn't even touched her popcorn. At least we left the game at the front door.	”
–Jaycee

The trio returns at camp and brings with them few hotdogs to spare. Mai starts blabbing about what happened in the movie, annoying Dahlia, Dante and Maggie.

“	The minute the three of them got back to camp with hotdogs, I was so relieved that at least they gave us food, but once Mai started talking about how the movie was, she was chattering non-stop.	”
–Maggie

“	I want to hear more, Mai. Tell us more so that you vote yourself out and not put the target on me!	”
–Louise

Maggie pulls Jaycee aside and asks him if there were any strategic talks while they were there. Jaycee tells her they didn't have any conversation about strategy. Maggie states she just feels uncomfortable towards Louise because for some reason, she feels that what Louise threw in the fire pit was a decoy to remove the target off her and she could've confessed to him. Jaycee calms the nun, reaffirming her that they did not have any strategy talks whatsoever.

Day 33

Jaycee approaches Maggie, telling her that Louise could be their only chance of survival because Dante, Mai and Dahlia are all sketchy about her since she threw her idol, and even if she still has it, she could help them and not enforce a tie. If anything, the three should be plotting against Louise. Jaycee tells Maggie he would try convincing Dante into voting Dahlia out because she is a physical threat so that they wouldn't fear of the idea of drawing rocks. Maggie still states she does not trust Louise. Jaycee asks Maggie to trust him to trust Louise.

“	Louise is a fill in the blank for me. I don't know if she really is beatable in the end, or a goat. I don't know how the jury will perceive her if she sits next to me. On one hand, I gave her the Mapoyo idol to give her a bad impression, but she's still here, but at the same time, she is too passive for her own good. She could've done millions of stuff with her idol and all she did was throw it to the fire... or so we thought. The fact that I didn't know if she still has it bothers me.	”
–Maggie

Meanwhile, Dante, Dahlia and Mai discuss the vote. They discuss about Louise's move at Tribal Council. Dante believes she still has the idol. Mai states that Louise's possession of the idol is sketchy which makes them question if voting Louise out is the wisest.

“	Louise throwing her idol to the fire is totally stupid. I can't imagine someone wasting such a powerful object. But fact of the matter is, she is an underdog. Maggie threw her under the bus by planting her our idol, but she remained in this game, by managing to play under the radar which I felt was almost impossible to do given her having the idol is known to everyone. We could just go with the obvious and vote Maggie or Jaycee out, but Louise remains at large. If she still has the idol, good for her. She managed to trick us, but she'll be the stupidest survivor ever if she did because we're going for her.	”
–Mai

Evening at El Dorado, Louise approaches Jaycee, asking him about anything about strategy. Jaycee tells her that he and Maggie will be there for her, and they will be convincing Dante to vote Dahlia out if she doesn't win immunity. Jaycee asks Louise if she really did throw the idol to the fire. Louise says she did to put the target off her back. Maggie listens to their conversation from the bushes.

“	I trust Jaycee but I don't trust Louise. The fact that I can't read her makes her a threat, idol or no idol.	”
–Maggie

Day 34

Jaycee takes Dante to retrieve Tree Mail with him. Jaycee asks Dante if he already had plans for the next vote. Jaycee asks Dante to join a final four pact with the two of them and Louise and Maggie, saying that the girls will get rid of him if he loses the final four Immunity Challenge. Jaycee elaborates that he will have his back at that point to at least enforce a tie.

“	Jaycee comes to me for a final four alliance. Dahlia also pulls me on her side. I just turned into a powerful person suddenly.	”
–Dante

The El Dorado tribe meets Jeff Probst for another Immunity Challenge. Dante slips off after the 10th minute. Dante is visibly annoyed. After the first 15 minutes, the remaining five players move on to the second foothold. Louise and Maggie are both visibly in pain trying to last. After the second round, no one is eliminated. The survivors now move to the third and final foothold. Maggie accidentally slips, eliminating herself, leaving Louise, Dahlia, Mai and Jaycee. Louise cannot bear the pain any longer and steps down. Mai follows. Dahlia attempts to make a deal with Jaycee, in which Jaycee is unresponsive. After a third attempt, Jaycee blatantly refuses any deal, saying he would want to win it for himself. Dahlia tears up trying to endure the challenge but eventually expires. Jaycee wins the challenge.

Back at camp, Jaycee talks to Maggie, asking her if she at least changed her mind about trusting Louise. Maggie states she still distrusts her but she'll follow the plan. Meanwhile, Dahlia and Mai discuss the vote, saying that it's the three of them against Maggie, Jaycee and Louise. Mai proposes that she would continue convincing Maggie to vote with them.

“	Jaycee has immunity. We don't trust Louise nor Maggie. Come to think of it, none of us would want to sit next to them but the only viable person to flip from those three is Maggie. She doesn't trust Louise, so trying to sway her should be easy. If she flips, the game is ours.	”
–Mai

Mai approaches Maggie if she could vote with Louise. Maggie states she trusts Jaycee but not Louise, but she's stuck with her. Mai warns her that she will have a harder time trying to convince the jury if she sits next to them. Maggie is visibly perplexed.

“	There are two trios in the tribe battling each other to get to the top. After tonight, whichever three wins will be the final three. I honor my alliance with Jaycee, but having no clear read on Louise scares me. If I have to vote Louise out, it would screw Jaycee up. If I screw Jaycee up, he might not vote for me.	”
–Maggie

Jaycee once again talks to Dante into voting Dahlia out. Jaycee warns Dante that he cannot win against Dahlia. Dante asks Jaycee why is Dahlia a bigger threat than him and Maggie. A dumbfounded Jaycee tells Dante that he screwed up some people to the jury, mostly the ex-Mapoyos while Dante didn't have blood on his hands.

“	I was shocked when Dante asked me that question, because he pretty much proved he's not a dumbass. I knew I had blood on my hands, but it's the game. I didn't personally hurt them. If no one would draw blood on his hands, who will? I guess we just have to settle this by drawing rocks.	”
–Jaycee

Louise approaches Mai and Dahlia, asking them that she would side with them if they vote Maggie out. Mai and Dahlia admit they are both sketchy towards her since she threw her idol, not knowing if she was just bluffing at the time. Louise then empties her bag to proof she discarded the idol. Louise explains that this is the opportune time to vote Maggie out because she is highly likable and could be difficult to beat at the final Tribal Council, while she admits that she didn't make waves like the nun did. Mai and Dahlia reconsider their voting plans, asking each other why Louise approached them this late.

“	I don't know what Louise is thinking. Voting Maggie is like a dream come true, but why did she come to us to tell this hours before we go to Tribal Council? She emptied her bag in front of us to prove she doesn't have her idol anymore, but the truth is, Louise is still a raving question mark to me.	”
–Mai

“	I would rather have Maggie voted out if she doesn't trust me, but if she takes me out, I am making sure she's going next because I have something up in my sleeve that has yet to be seen on this show. EVER.	”
–Louise

At Tribal Council, Jeff asks if tribal lines are still drawn, with four Mapoyo and only two Arawak. Mai tells Jeff that tribal lines are gone several Tribal Councils ago, and there is a legitimate reason to eliminate anyone at this point. Jeff asks Louise about the roll of burlap she threw in the fire at the last vote. Louise explained that owning a Hidden Immunity Idol is having a false perception of power, and if a person uses it wrongly, the idol becomes a non-issue. Jeff asks if that put her on hot water in which Louise confirms, telling him that since the last Tribal Council, Dahlia and Mai, who used to be aligned with her, were not talking to her. Dahlia explains why she and Mai are not talking to Louise, saying that there is a chance that she still was bluffing to put the target from her. Louise responds, saying it was what it was, that she discarded her idol so she will no longer be targeted nor be used just because she has it. Jeff then sets his eyes on Maggie, who gave her the idol in the first place. Maggie apologizes to Louise for throwing her under the bus, saying that her being so enigmatic helped her make the decision of sneaking the idol in her bag. Jaycee, not wanting to have his allies turn on each other, blatantly states there are two competing final three pacts: Himself, Louise and Maggie, and Mai, Dahlia and Dante. Jeff questions Jaycee if he thinks siding with two people who obviously distrust each other is a good idea. Jaycee confidently tells Jeff that he has to believe it is, because none of the other would take him to the final three.

Jeff reads the votes...

Dahlia...

Maggie...

Mai...

...and Louise...

The second Jeff reads Louise's first vote, Jaycee, who sits next to Louise, catches her ruffling her hands inside his bag. Jaycee asks what did Louise do. Louise merely smiles and shakes her head. She murmurs to Jaycee, "use it well." Jaycee, still unsure what exactly Louise placed in his bag, remains discreet.

Jeff then reads the remaining two votes:

Louise... and...

... Louise.

The accesories designer becomes the 12th person voted out from Survivor: Venezuela and the 6th jury member.

The El Dorado tribe returns to camp, and Jaycee goes to the woods to pee. After answering the call of nature, Jaycee inspects his bag in secrecy. Much to his shock, he finds Louise's unused Hidden Immunity Idol, with a note, wishing him good luck and use the idol wisely.

Tribal Council

Tribal Council 13: El Dorado
Voted Against	Voter
Louise (3 votes)	Dahlia, Dante, & Mai
Dahlia (1 vote)	Jaycee
Maggie (1 vote)	Louise
Mai (1 vote)	Maggie
VOTED OFF: Louise Ambrose

Final Words

“	I would say that tonight is my finest hour. I didn't know what to do with the idol the whole time, but I knew I had to leave a mark with that thing. I didn't want to be like Edward who got voted out with the idol in my pocket. I hope Jaycee uses it well and take Maggie down. I had a wonderful time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.	”
–Louise Ambrose

Next Time on Survivor

• Jaycee castigates Maggie for her decision to betray Louise. Will Jaycee use his idol against his only ally?

Author's Notes

• Technically, Louise was still in the game the moment Jeff read the votes, so what she did was still legal. I've been waiting for the right time to pull this off. Finally I did!