Opening Statements

[Brian Hart]

Here Cassandra and Josh will post their opening statements. Jurors will then be able to create a thread and ask questions to the final 2.

Note: When each juror makes a thread only THAT juror and the Final 2 may comment in that thread.

[Cassandra Waldon]

Hi everyone! I can't believe after four long months, we're finally here at the end. I just wanna take a second to thank everyone involved in this game. Julie for getting it set up and Brian for taking over towards the end, and of course all of you guys for making this a very chaotic and memorable season.

My main strategy was to never be anyone's number one target. I always kept my options as open as possible and I was able to use many of the other plays as smokescreens. With people in the game like Enzo, Jen, Lori, Russell, Karen, people who were playing more in the forefront and were more outright dominant in their gameplay, I was able to hide behind them and have them take the bullets. I will admit that I was not in the best position at first, losing Libra, someone I trusted, in Week 1 and being nominated Week 2, but I was quickly able to overcome these setbacks by working my way into an alliance of seven. With Jen, Lori, Russell, and Kalia in this alliance, I had more than enough people to hide behind for a while and could begin to work behind the scenes.

Although I was in a good position within my alliance in terms of smokescreens, I was definitely aware of my position in regards to the suballiances. As many people in the opposite alliance pointed out, we had three veterans in our alliance in James, Lori, and Jen. In addition, the only person I felt I could really work with was Jee, due to what I heard about Russell and Kalia’s relationship with the veterans. When the time was right, Jee and I went against the majority to try to save Drew. Unfortunately Drew was evicted, but the plan was set in motion. Things, however, did not go as planned, and Jee was evicted a mere two weeks later. But when the James, Lori, Russell, and Kalia got wind of the plan, Jee was the one who took the fall, serving as another smokescreen for me. But once he was evicted, it was time for me to step my game up for the final phase.

From that point on, I emerged as a more prominent player. I won Competitions when I needed to, winning two Power of Vetos and the final two Head of Households. I flipped alliances when I needed to, resulting in Russell, Karen, and James’s evictions. Although things did not always go the way I hoped, I was able to face these setbacks head on and make the best of my situation, thinking quickly on my feet and always coming up with a Plan B. And now we’re here, at the end of the long journey. I’m here at the end, sitting next to Josh, and it’s your turn now. I’m satisfied with how I played the game and how I got the end, but it’s really your decision. You guys have a difficult choice, but I hope you can recognize the way I played the game physically, socially, and strategically.

[Josh Welch]

Wow. So here we are. Who would have expected after being nominated the first week that I would be sitting here in the final 2? I surely did not. But I am thankful for the opportunity to sit before you, the jury, and tell you why I should win this game.

I don't want to go into too much detail here, as that is what the questioning is for. However, I'll give a brief synopsis.

I came into this very similar to Cassandra. Not making enemies, sort of taking the "easy" route if you will. After the first nomination I slid in under the radar and was a part of many alliances all at one time. I think at one point I was "alligned" with every single person on the jury in some way. My biggest ally however was Drew. We had formed an alliance on the first day and continued to play with each other for most of the game. We eventually teamed up with Karen and Kalia. We had a good thing going for a while. But when we continued to get bad luck (Jen and those damn buttons I tell ya! Hahaha) it was apparent that our alliance wouldnt be sticking together much longer. However, contrary to what he believes, I did not vote him out. Apparently there is some website or something that has voting history on it and I was accused of casting a vote against him. I told him I did not and I speak the honest truth. Not once did I ever vote against you man... you were my bro, I wouldn't do that to you. You'll see when the game is over I suppose if you don't believe me now.

After Drew left I knew I had to switch sides against Karen and Kalia. I took the risk of playing with Russell and James for the remainder of the game. It was clearly guys vs. girls there the end. And perhaps one of the worst things that happend was when James won HOH and nominated Russell and myself. I knew somehow deep down that we were going to get screwed over by Karen winning veto. And I made my argument known to James. It pissed me off. And wouldn't you know it? I was right... Karen won veto and thus it was Russell vs. myself. Luckily Russell was already a target and I was saved.

I may not have had the best game as far as challenges go, but I proved that you don't need to win challenges to get to the end. I think I was in a situation in the final three where either Cassie or James would have taken me to the end. I can't speak for certain on that, but I think I had it. Winning HOH would have been a tough call for me, but luckily I did not have to make that decision and here I am against Cassie.

Cassandra, I wish you best of luck as we battle it out one last time. And jury, I look forward to hearing everything you have to say. My seatbelt is buckled... bring it on!