Martin's Magnificent...Questions

[Martin Freeman]

Sup finalists.

Okay, so, thanks to the lovely hosts Ellen and Portia. Y'all are great, and awesome for letting me replace the senile old woman Betty White on the jury. 

Now, I was only on a tribe with one of you, and I'm not particularly fond of that person right now. So this FTC is pretty important to me. So questions n shit. I have fun questions for you.

Maggie: No fun questions for you! I want to know...just...why. I've heard some accounts of why you got the votes on me, but I want to know why you really did it. You were honestly my #2 in this game, so when I learned that it was you who kind of solidfied the vote against me I was..shocked. Give me an honest reason.

Emma, Charlize: So, everyone gets a different edit in Survivor. Some are heroes, villains, some are over the top, under the radar. Etc. Tell me what you think each juror and finalist's edit would have been in this game as they progressed through the game. And tell me why! Also, tell me what you think your edit would have been.

[Charlize Theron]

Hey Martin! This is a fun question! I shall start with you.

Martin: I was never on your tribe so I have NO idea what you edit would have been. I did hear some things about you and I heard you were a strong player. Based on what I heard, I would guess you were an over the top hero…like maybe JT?

J-Law: I feel like J-Law would have come across as an Abi-Maria type of edit. She had some allies that were ready to cut her loose throughout the game but she managed to survive multiple rounds. She was definitely talkative and a villain and VERY over the top throughout the entirety of her game.

Yuzuru: I think Yuzuru would have gotten a Stephen edit. He was likable and he did not make any enemies throughout the game. However, his close tie with Chris is the reason he had to go. He was Chris' shadow pretty much. I would say he was an under the radar hero.

Mackelmore: Mack was VERY paranoid starting with when the tribes swapped. I constantly told him that first round that I was siding with them and he continued to be paranoid. Throughout the whole game I felt like he scrambled when he had no reason to. I would say he would get a Holly edit. He scrambled massively, was liked by some and hated by others, and was cut short at the end. He would get a middle of the road edit.

Leonardo: Leo was Mack's sense of reasoning. I feel like he was the calm one of that pair. He was also very quick to tell me he would vote out anyone to stay in the game. Since Holly and Chase were together, I would say Leo was like Chase. He was not afraid to flop on his friends to make it to the end, he really wanted to be a hero but he just ended up being an easy target. I would also give him a middle of the road edit.

Chris: Chris was a very strategic player this season. He and I came up with some great strategies throughout the game and I believe he could have won if he had made the finale. I would say that he came across as the hero portion of our alliance. He was one of the best players of this season but was cut short. I would say he played like Andrea. IDK if any of you liked Andrea but I thought she had some GREAT strategies in FvF2 and she was cut short from the finale because of her strong social skills. I would say Chris would get an over the top hero edit.

Lee: As far as I could tell, you were quite the challenge beast. You were flying under the radar in the strategic portion of the game but you were winning challenges and had close ties with a lot of people in the game. So I would say you played like Cindy. You performed well in challenges but were cut short because of your strong social and physical skills. You would get a middle of the road, hero edit.

Maggie: We were aligned throughout the merge and you were definitely the under the radar, hero of our alliance. You didn't say much but you still tried your hardest! I would say you played like Scout (not because she sucks). You were a solid part of our alliance and stuck with us until the end. You were very under the radar and never a target because of your likability.

Emma: I think Emma was a very over the top member of our alliance. She did die down near the end which is why I would give her the Brenda edit (from both seasons). She excelled pre-merge and was very active which would be like Brenda's first season. Then in the merge, she died down quite a bit like in Brenda's second season. She was very likable and had a lot of bonds with people. She would definitely get the over the top, hero edit.

Charlize: I believe that I would get the over the top villain edit. This is based on confessionals and my strategy in the game to befriend people before they were voted out. I was social with people when I needed to be and I made some pivotal strategic moves throughout the game. Because of that, I would say I played like Corinne. She didn't care what she said to people and she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

Thank-you Martin!!

[Maggie Smith]

Hey Martin! I know the round you went came as a surprise to you, but it was all game. I liked the alliance that you, Ryan, and I had, but once Ryan went I knew there was only so much we could do as an alliance of two. When you started suggesting throwing challenges in order to save J-Law, that's when I wasn't sure where your head was at. From what I had heard of J-Law from others on her tribe, I didn't find her to be trustworthy, and it worried me that you seemed to be so close to her. If you had made it to the merge and stuck with Jennifer, then I'm not sure I would be here in the finale today, so I had to do what was best for my own game. It was nothing personal, just a strategic move that was necessary to move forward.

[Martin Freeman]

Thank you both. And no hard feeling Magster.

[Emma Watson]

Hallo, Martin! Nice to see you again!

Let's get to your question, hmm?


Martin - You were a great challenge player, and I get the sense that you were very socially adept as well. I certainly remember you being very charismatic in our conversations! I think that you would get an edit similar to the one that John Cody or Garrett had: the viewer would see you as very strong player, someone who's very distinctive, and your boot episode would come as a profound, and rather tragic shock to all the legions of fans who had money riding on you to take it all the way.

J-Law - JLaw would get an edit similar to Reynold in Caramoan. Huge threat, manages to secure the hidden Immunity idol early on, and the edit would focus on her strategies and plans for the idol - as well as the rest of us plotting how to strip it away from her and take her out. She'd be a huge presence in the early episodes, someone we'd never be allowed to forget. In the early-merge she'd become a target that both tribes come together to try repeatedly to take down, but against all odds she survives, and everyone begins to wonder if JLaw can ever be taken out, or whether she'll turn it around and wreak a path of epic destruction.

Yuzuru - Yuzuru would either be Malcolm or Andrea in Caramoan. Both of them started off as members of the core alliance on their original tribe, but they started to branch off from that and make their own plans and strategies, and that's when their former allies realize just how dangerous this clever individual can actually be. Yuzuru's edit would feature him seeming to just be loyal member of whatever alliance is ruling the tribe and picking off the weak, but with each passing episode, we'd see more and more of Yuzuru's underlying intelligence come to light, and before we know what's happening, he's evolved into a bonafide threat. The majority alliance scrambles to contain him before it's too late, and only barely succeeds. They breathe a collective sigh of relief once his torch is snuffed, knowing that they've dodged a bullet.

Macklemore - I hate to keep bringing Caramoan up, but I can't think of any person whose story fits Macklemore's better than Brenda. Mack was a powerhouse in the challenges, he was fantastically loyal, and he was an all-around nice guy who genuinely loved to play the game. Brenda's exit was one of the cruelest moments in any Survivor season ever, and Macklemore's voteoff was definitely that moment for me. I hated to see him go, and I knew that he deserved better. I think that Mack would absolutely get the same kind of edit that Brenda got towards the end of the season, where the viewer would get to see a lot of moments showing how sweet and sensitive Mack can be, and his boot episode would be the emotional crescendo of the season, leaving viewers shaking their heads and resenting the cruel uberalliance for taking out America's Sweetheart.

Leonardo - Leo would definitely come across as the eye candy of the season. Early episodes would feature Leo's female tribemates bashfully commenting on how gorgeous he is, and how nice he is to cuddle up to at night. As the episode go on, we see the bond between Leo and Mack develop, and they become bros like Lex and Ethan in Africa, or JT and Stephen in Tocantins. We see a lot of footage of the two of them hanging out, fishing, and just generally being awesome. Mack's exit rattles Leonardo a bit, but Leo rallies and tries to mount a comeback. We see Leo step out and become a full-fledged character in his own right. Unfortunately, his attempt to overthrow the power alliance doesn't work out.

Chris - Chris would get an edit similar to Rob Cesternino's, I think. Rob presented a very non-threatening persona, and settled into the role of the tribe's comedian. But he wasn't just a comic character, Rob was out there to play, and he was running a lot of the plays behind the scenes, orchestrating everything just the way he wanted it, and nobody could really stand up to him. If he hadn't been eliminated right near the end, he would have won the whole thing. I think Chris' edit would play him off at the roly-poly lovable goofball for the first while, and then we'd suddenly see him switch into serious mode when Tribal Council was on the horizon, calling shots and orchestrating blindsides like a boss. Everybody's confessionals would talk about how Chris was awesome, and how he was clever and smart, and they were glad to have him on their side. He'd be the odds-on favorite to win for a long time, and his untimely elimination would spawn thousand "What if?" conversations around the nation's water coolers the day after the episode aired.

Lee - There isn't a great comparison for Lee, but I think the closest I could think of would be Eliza in Vanuatu. Eliza was on the periphery of a lot of alliances, always involved but not one of the core members. She was always involved in every single power shift and managed to come out on top every time the winds changed. As a result, she was able to get deep into the game more or less by virtue of her own adaptability. I think that was a pretty good summary of how Lee played the game. She wasn't part of the Arctic Fox threesome, she wasn't part of Chris, Maggie, and Charlize's Triangle of Terror, but somehow she was able to ride the power shifts between those alliances without needing to be deeply involved in them. If she had won that final challenge, I really don't doubt that she would have been a major contender for the win. I think that Lee's edit would primarily focus on fun Lee moments, establishing her as an entertaining character, then post-merge we'd see Lee casually start leaping between the clashing alliances, playing it cool and remaining stylish the whole time. Her last-minute elimination would frustrate a lot of viewers, who all would have been hoping to see the other three fracture and be forced to vote against each other, plus it would have made for an epic final TC.

Maggie - Maggie would get an edit like Sabrina in One World. She'd be established as a very competent player, and one that was widely respected by her fellow players. She'd definitely be involved in the planning for every episode, and she'd show up quite often during the pre-TC strategy montages, and we'd probably also get several confessionals talking about how much she loves the Survivor experience and how much it makes her miss and appreciate the life she has back home. She'd be an inspirational and interesting character, but at the final TC it's hard to say how she'd fare against the other two, who stand out a bit more.

Charlize - Charlize would be a villain, no question. She'd be the Courtney Yates, or the Natalie Bolton - not a scheming backstabbing sort of villain like Richard or Russell, but more of a "personality villain." Episodes would certainly focus on the Charlize/JLaw rivalry, but what we'd see would be Charlize taunting and insulting JLaw in ways that we would find oddly fascinating. Even if we wouldn't necessarily support what Charlize was saying, we'd be unable to stop ourselves from being entertained by it. We'd definitely see a lot more of this as the episodes went on, and eventually it would become polarizing. Some people would love the sass, others would begin to suspect that it was a bit much, and root for her to be deposed before the end. There would certainly be people who would root for her to win in the finale, but there would also be people hoping against hope that the villain would be deposed. Either way, it would make for a riveting final tribal.

Emma - The Emma character would probably get an edit like Denise in the Philippines, or possibly Kim in One World. Emma wouldn't make many confessional appearances in the initial episodes, but we'd sense from her edit that she's a valued member on her tribe. The third episode would come a shock, when Emma suddenly rises out of nowhere and strikes down Ryan (whose great alliance-building strategist edit has been making everyone think that he's going to be in the final three, if not the sole survivor). From then on Emma becomes someone to watch. Her edit slows a bit in the next few episodes, since she never goes to tribal council, and then at the merge she gets shoved back into focus as someone who's caught in between two major alliances. This storyline gets overshadowed a bit by the controversy over Betty's boot and the idol drama, but then comes into play a huge way during Macklemore's boot episode. This is where we see Emma's balancing act start to come apart, and we see her forced into a series of tough decisions. Perhaps the viewers empathize with Emma, perhaps they disapprove of her choices, and think that she should have done things differently - the edit doesn't lean one way or the other. Because Emma at least indirectly enables the success of the villains, I think that her edit probably becomes a bit darker towards the middle of the merge. I do think, though, that the edit would still show some glimmer of hope, and present the possibility that Emma will manage to avenge her fallen comrades and get to the end. She finally reaches the final TC as a very complex character: she is by no means evil or mean-spirited, but the edit questions where she has achieved her true heroic potential. There will probably be some that will root for her, but there will be others that won't.



Thanks for the question, Martin! Let me know if there's anything else you'd like (or if someone's edit doesn't make sense. I tried to describe them as best I could.)