Hey Allie!
Your question is an interesting one because in my case, I think the vote I was most instrumental in (Ashley), the vote that came about through my gameplay (Alpha votes) and the vote that my social game played the greatest role (Richard) are three different votes.
The vote I was most instrumental in would have to be Ashley's boot. I was the swing vote that gave Nadiya a chance to win the tiebreaker and get to the Final Tribal Council and it potentially could be a vote that has a big impact on how the Final Tribal Council plays out one way or the other. With the two Alpha votes, naturally they came about via my challenge win and it tremendously altered the course of the remainder of the game, otherwise at least one male would be eliminated there and we'd be fighting against greater numbers.
Having said that, the vote in which my social game played the biggest role was Richard's. I spoke to a majority of the girls about the vote and managed to shift the target onto the man who was most expendable to my alliance. Obviously I don't take full credit for that move, because Carter and Rudy also talked to a lot of the girls and played their part in the vote, but I believe I did play a key role in that as well.
Compare each juror to a country? This question is so nerdy, I love it!
Natalie - I would compare Natalie to
Ukraine because it is a powerful nation who just got screwed because of its geographical location and fell victim to the power of Russia, which is similar to what happened to Natalie when she got isolated on El Nido with three guys and was a powerful player in a minority position.
Kathy - It is hard to answer these sorts of questions about Kathy who I never got to be on a tribe with, but I'll compare her to
New Zealand because as an Australian, New Zealand is like the country we have strong political connections with, but we don't really do anything important with them other than play sports, and I never got to do anything with Kathy other than play challenges against her! I also draw the comparison because Kathy was evidently not as valued by some members of her alliance, and we kinda do that to New Zealand lmao.
Richard - I would compare Richard to
Slovenia. Slovenia were the first ones to break away from Yugoslavia in 1991, just ahead of Croatia who officially became independent just afterwards. Geographically, Slovenia was also on the outer northwestern part of Yugoslavia. In our instance, Richard wasn't part of the Jon alliance that involved Rudy, Carter and myself and we ultimately pushed to vote him out and I guess he got 'independence' first in the context of a game of Survivor.
Allie - I would have to compare Allie to
Armenia. They are a small peaceful nation who get involved in genocide, war and political tension through no reason other than simply existing, and throughout its history, was often the first target in wars because of its perceived tiny stature. I think this describes Allie to a tee because Allie was peaceful and wanted to stick with the girls and vote out a boy in the form of Carter, and assumably continue to do so, but she got targeted first in a war that she played no part in starting, and fell as a result.
Gina - I would compare Gina to
Sweden for two reasons. Firstly, everybody loved Gina, she was an extremely likeable person and you would have to say that there are very few countries more likeable than Sweden because they're fun, exciting and cute. Furthermore, when we talk about Gina, I can't help but go back to that SOS Challenge in which she produced the most incredible picture I've seen in a game. The Swedes are really creative, vibrant and successful (anyone heard of ABBA or Avicii?) and I think that fits Gina perfectly.
Erica - I will go with
Colombia because they bring the hot, feisty flair, and in the little bit of time I got to know Erica, she was hot and feisty and judging my affair with Ashley. Plus Erica's hips don't lie, and a certain Shakira is Colombian, so that helps too, I suppose. The other reason I make the comparison is because if you go back to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, three South American nations made it to the Quarter Finals - Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Colombia were the big underdogs of the three and were (in my opinion) really unlucky not to win against Brazil. I think that's pretty reminiscent of the challenge between Nadiya, Ashley and Erica and hence I would compare Erica to Colombia.
Jefra - I was tempted to say North Korea, but I am going to say
Russia instead, because Jefra was an early-game powerhouse. She was in charge and she used her power well. But then after the merge, she became overconfident in her alliances and that cost her dearly in the end. It's kinda like she turned into Vladimir Putin and just assumed the rest of the world would follow what she says, like Putin often does, even though a majority of the world is on a different page. Hence I think it is fitting to compare Jefra's game to Russia.
Rudy - I can't resist going with
Côte d'Ivoire because nobody knows if they should call it Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast, and this is so reminiscent of Rudy's difficulty remembering names. In fact, the Ivorians got mad at some commentators that they kept being called Ivory Coast at the World Cup this year, even though that's what you'd call it in English, and the parallels to Rudy's name troubles are too good to pass up in my answer to this question. In a soccer context, Côte d'Ivoire are a very strong nation but happen to get screwed by a bit of last minute bad luck rather often, and you could draw the parallel to how Rudy's game ended with a last minute vote change as well.
Ashley - I'm going to go with
France for Ashley, because France is perceived as extremely attractive and somewhere everyone needs to go, and Ashley's social game was very sound, which I believe matches this description of France in a Survivor context, just because she's someone everyone spoke with at different times and someone who was socially attuned and someone people went to when a move was being made. Hence I would say this mirrors France most closely.
It's a bit late for me here, so I'll answer the second half of your question tomorrow!
