[Jeff Probst]

Congratulations, you have made the final 8!! You have outlasted 2/3 of this cast You started this game playing against players who had not made it as far as you have in their previous season, and here you are! You're entering the final week of the game, where legends are born, and games are destroyed. So let's get to it.

1. To move forward, we must look at the past. Reflecting on your season thus far, how has your experience been? What moves are you most proud of, are there any mistakes you've made? What are they? How would you like to be remembered when it's all said and done?

2. The dreaded slambook challenge. You know it well... I think the most can be learned from this challenge more than any other. Numbers was a pecking order, but this was the consensus... how you are perceived. Furthermore, you got to see what other people thought the most answers would be. You also saw who was the most out of touch and the most in tune with the tribe. The person who scored the least overall ended up going home... What did you learn about yourself in this challenge? What was the most surprising answer to you, and did you learn about where people stand based on their answers? Do you think the answers to this question will change the perceived threat level of others? IE: If someone was labeled the most threatening, does that label itself make it more true?

3. We spoke about threats vs. goats last week, and this week someone labeled a 'final 3 goat' in the challenge went home. The thing about goats is that everyone wants to sit with them in the final 3, but only 1 person can. The more threatening a player, generally, the more likely they are to go home. Which leaves all the "threats" sitting on the jury voting for the least threatening person sitting against two goats. Who do you see as a "goat" that might be taking up a final 3 spot that you could be sitting in? If you are the goat, what will you do between now and the final 3 to change that perception with the jury?

4. An explosive Tribal Council and also somewhat exposing Tribal Council. Did you learn anything new from the public fight and call-outs you didn't know going into Council? Talk me through your reactions as it happened. How did your reaction in-the-moment impact the jury's opinion of you, if at all? Is there a benefit to getting into public arguments at Council? A detriment?

5. One of the final opportunities to spend StrandedCoin arose in a Steal a Vote advantage, which Hope won. How does this impact your strategy as we advance? Are there new strategic options that could be gained from this advantage entering the game?

Finally, good luck!!! You are now in the end game and join a family of Stranded Alumni that are all watching and will look back on this season for years to come. Give it your all! The game started with 12 people looking for a second chance to right the wrongs they experienced last time. Don't leave with regrets; finish strong in your last week.

-Probst

[Sherri]

Final week.......here we go! This is going to be an exhausting and intense week for sure. I'm actually hosting a game of my own that starts tonight too lol and the rounds are even at the same time so...gotta channel my inner Catalie because she juggles shit like that all the time. I still want to put 100% into this final stretch and make sure one doesn't distract me from the other....but I'm ready!

1. I have had a great experience so far! In both an enjoyment sense and also in a game sense. I really think I have played a solid game up until this point and now I need to kill this endgame to really make my mark. I've been looking back and trying to think back of the moves I've been proud of an it's a complicated one. For good or bad, the one that stands out is the Jed boot. At the time I was totally for it and proud of it because Matt and I pushed for that to happen. I didn't trust him and he didn't trust me and that just made sense. But then we had the Liz fallout and her descent into madness and I was like shit....that was a mistake, it should have just been Liz. But now Liz is gone too...and I feel like things are where they should be again. I don't like harping on possible mistakes on the past too much, I'm just in the mindset that no matter happens, things are going to land exactly where they should. Whether that was a mistake or not, I'm happy to have stuck to my guns there.

I want to be remembered as a good player, as I'm sure anyone would be, but I also want to be remembered as someone who was having a fun. Someone with a good attitude and someone who was passionate about the game. Ultimately I'd love to win this whole thing and be remembered as someone really deserving but if that can't happen, a little respect on Sherri's name is always nice.

2. Well I could sense that it was coming and there it was! There was definitely a lot of information to unpack from that challenge and I'm trying my best to process everything. I don't think I was the final answer to anything lmao which is kinda lame but also is exactly where I want to be at this point. I wasn't in any of the spots where the big threats were landing but I also wasn't in the dud spots getting called a goat or anything like that. I think it was perfect honestly, and the best place to be moving into this final week.

I did learn I was more in tune to what the tribe was thinking than I thought though! I think I ended up like 2nd or 3rd in the challenge? Michael was super in tune clearly but I think I did a pretty good job at guessing what people were thinking and what the perceptions around here are like. Speaking of Michael, I was actually surprised that people saw him as that big of a threat! I always thought his positioning was good but I didn't realize that others thought he was really up there...but hey that's good for me for someone other than Alexis to get that image as well. I think the whole threat thing will make people concerned and I mean Alexis kind of already had that image, but I think Michael is more in trouble after last night than he was. Sherri can just sit on by while we take them out. :

3. Well I guess with Aurora gone, Shamar is looking like the 'token goat' right now. I....don't even know what to do with him right now. In my last confessional he was someone I said I would like to take to the end but I don't know if he wants that or...what he wants really! I need to channel my actual Sherri and try to wrangle him a bit and figure out his endgame plans. Like I barely spoke to him yesterday so I had no idea what he was doing. I really need to catch him this weekend so I can figure out if he should be in my endgame plans or we need to dump him early.

4. Damn I did not expect any of that! I thought Michael/Aurora/Jessica were a tight little trio and then that happened I was just like....oh okay yay I didn't know Aurora was trying to take down Michael this round and I didn't realize there was conflict and THEN Jessica jumped in to defend herself too and it was all just a lot going on. I didn't say shit through any of this which I know you called out but I didn't need to get in the middle of that. This was all just perfect to watch go down and I knew this breakdown in relationships was going to help me moving forward. I think getting into those public arguments can be good or bad. You can get major exposed like Michael and now I think he's also in a worse spot because of all that. I do think there are some benefits because hey, the jury loves a good show! It might be exciting for them and it shows people are passionate. If I need to get into some public fight to defend myself, then I'm gonna do it, but I'm not about just forcing a moment like that to get a bit of extra airtime. The moment's gotta be right.

But anyway this tension between Jessica and Michael totally blew up and I'm definitely using it to my advantage. I've always liked Michael but he's never given me that much info, he doesn't really open up and I don't trust him for shit. I don't trust Jessica 100% either, but she opened up to me more last night than Michael has this entire game lol. Like she feels so betrayed my Michael and thinks he questioned her loyalty and apparently he's just been treating her like his goat this entire game. It's pretty sad to hear that but Sherri can't dwell on that! Jessica wants Michael GONE so we've already made a pact for a two round plan in making that happen. Now, I don't know what she's going to want this first round and I feel like she may be concerned about my three with Matt and Steph, but she did promise she wouldn't vote for me and I promised the same. I just need to make sure she doesn't go after them and hopefully she can help in booting one of Hopelexis. Because THEN we're hoping if Michael uses his necklace this round then we can boot him the next. If all goes to plan, I'll be in the F6 with my three, an idol on our side and no vote steal in sight. At that point, we can try and flip someone but I'm damn sure that I'm ready to go to rocks if we need to.

5. That's three bidding wars I've lost now! God how all of this went down is just so strange though and I hope it works out in my favour. A few rounds ago, we made the decision to bid on that last idol though even though we had already found the idol. That was a weird decision for us but like we didn't want people to get suspicious that we didn't bid since we had been every round and also Matt hadn't told Steph about the idol for some reason yet lol so she would be confused too SO we just did it and managed to get it for a minimal bid. Only 30 coins, but that 30 coins may just have won us that vote stealer.

HOWEVER, I've been using that idol clue as leverage with Hope. She had been telling Matt that she wasn't quite sure of me and like she was trying to target me the other day too so I just thought okay....why not share this clue with her? There's no hope of her actually finding the idol and it should hopefully build some trust...and I think it did. Like now she's telling Matt all about how she doesn't know why she ever doubted 'Queen Sherri' lmao the girl really can just change her opinion like that. Part of me is like...is she really falling for this? Like we've been 'looking' together and I even linked her the wiki page that contains the password and was like I've tried EVERYTHING on this page ugh I thought it would fit. And like I feel like I've maybe been hamming it up too much at times but I think with Hope I need to.

So ANYWAY now that Hope does have this vote steal, my first plan this round would be to keep things up with her and then blindside her out with the steal. I just do NOT want that steal in the game, especially in the F6. I want it dead, gone, out of here and even though Alexis is still the biggest threat, we can always take care of her down the line. Hope is dangerous and flip floppy and will do whatever Hope needs to do. Booting Alexis or Shamar could work for this round and wouldn't totally screw me later on but I think getting rid of Hope and her vote steal is best. She doesn't have my back long term so I need to get her before she gets me. Still need to work out the details and hopefully Jessica might be down for that but we will see.

[Sherri]

I swear the theme of this merge has just been keeping up with whatever Hope is going on about that day lmao Like god I do love her but she's the type of person to just change their mind so quickly or like bounce onto a different thought from the smallest trigger. Like after the last challenge she was getting all concerned with me because I thought the group would say Michael was the most trusted and as soon as she could she hopped into my DMs and was like DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT????? And I was like uh no that was what the group said.

And like just in general she goes on and off of me depending on what she hears or what I do. Like one moment she doesn't trust me and then I just send her a useless clue and she loves me lol and it's all about QUEEN SHERRI AGAIN!!! Recently she was telling me about how Shamar supposedly told her that there's some F4 deal with me, him, Hope and Alexis??? And so she talked to me about it and I was like idk he never said that to me and I don't want Alexis in the final four with me and suddenly she's like ugh thank god I was worried!!

So the POINT to all of this is figuring out what to do with her. I know I originally just wanted her out here but that was still when I thought Alexis and her were still pretty tight. And hey, maybe they are, but she couldn't possibly want to go deep with her. I've also really been working hard with Jessica and our pact to make it through at least the next two rounds and she wants to go for Alexis this round....and so does Hope so......I guess why not? My original plan would have Alexis still in at F6 and yeah they'd be a few more opportunities to get rid of her but also it is cutting it close to boot her. Like what if F6 gets fucked up and she stays and what if she wins some more immunities and makes the end. Alexis is someone I really don't think I could ever beat so I would not want to risk her falling in the end with me.

But the other thing with Hope was this vote steal and that's why I wanted to get rid of her in the first place. I'm still worried about that, but now I'm thinking I might still be able to use Hope to my advantage? Like by either getting her to play it against Alexis here or Michael next round...I feel like she's easily spooked so if I could flush it before the F6 that would be great. Then even if she's there at the F6, we still have that idol. I feel like one of me, Steph or Matt will be let in on her plan because they'll be trying to flip us and then we can just play the idol on the target and still be good.

The other big question mark here is Shamar and trying to figure out what he wants. Apparently Hope thinks we're super close and idk if others do too but she's probably spreading that. I mean, I am kind of close to Shamar but not as close as Matt or Steph and like I haven't really talked long term plans with him. I know he'll be wanting to prove himself as someone who's not a goat but I'm not sure what his ideal F3 is. It can't possibly be with Alexis but if this F4 deal is real then I guess it might be??? It is all just CONFUSING and I just needed to ramble in here because I'm still trying to process this and figure out what to do lol.

Whatever the case, I just need my three in the F6 and I think we'll have a real good chance of making it through there as well. We got an idol, I'll go to rocks if the vote steal is gone, whatever. Just need to get through that and my eyes will be on that prize!