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18. Danielle DiLorenzo (2^nd place- Survivor: Panama)

(about Shane complaining about how Cirie didn't take him on a reward) "You win some, you lose some. Get over it!"

Once Danielle said that, she became my second favorite of Panama, behind Cirie, because she showed what an awesome Red Sox fan she was. She was probably used to saying that to various Yankees fans she met, since they can't take it when they don't win every single year. Classic DiLorenzownage <3.

Anyway, Danielle doesn't get much credit for what an awesome game she played. It really is a shame that Aras won instead of her.

Highlights of Danielle's good gameplay:

-Immediately getting into the majority alliance on New Casaya with Aras, Courtney and Shane.

-Bobby's blindside. Bobby clearly didn't like Danielle or her close ally Courtney, and he was gunning for Bruce to get voted out, which would have hurt Danielle's game, seeing as she had Bruce wrapped around her finger. She, along with Cirie, realized that they had the power to take Bobby out, and there was nothing holding them back from doing it. They got Shane to throw his vote away since he swore on his son that he wouldn't vote for Bobby, and they let Bruce vote for Courtney, since she was annoying him so much. They used just 3 votes on a tribe of 7 to get Bobby out. In doing so, Danielle took out someone she didn't like or trust, and kept someone who was wrapped around her finger.

-Her relationship with Terry. Starting at the Final 9, Terry was constantly approaching Danielle about flipping and getting on his side. She was already set up well with the Casaya alliance (having close bonds with Bruce, Courtney and Cirie), so there was no reason for her to flip over to La Mina. She still kept the possibility open each round, so Terry kept coming back to her. She had Terry right where she wanted him, other than at the Final 5, where it was a simple situation of her/Aras/Cirie picking off Shane. She then used Terry to save herself at the Final 4, when she knew she needed to. She saw that Aras valued Cirie over her, and when Aras won immunity, her only option was to vote Cirie (thanks to Terry's overpowered HII). She and Terry promised each other Final 2, which got her into the Final 3, where she then won the challenge, and voted out Terry, who she would've had no shot of beating. Almost all of post-merge Panama was Danielle pwning Terry, and it was brilliant to watch.

-Her tight Final 3 alliance with Cirie and Aras. Danielle got massively screwed by Bruce's evacuation, because Bruce would've done whatever Danielle wanted him to do. She was put into a tough situation (which I'll get to later), but she found her way into the Final 4 by siding with Cirie and Aras.

-Her FTC performance, where she owned up to the fact that she had to lie in order to advance herself in the game. She defended her game really well, much better than Aras did, imo.

Debunking "blunders" of Danielle's game:

-Danielle is often criticized for voting out the only two people she had a chance of beating a jury vote, in Courtney and Shane, but it's really not that simple. She was put into a very tough situation when Bruce got evacuated, so she had the choice of voting out Aras or voting out Courtney. She was more likely to win in a Final 2 against Courtney and Shane, but she was also a lot less likely to get to the Final 2. Shane was gunning for Danielle both at the Final 6 and the Final 5, so she couldn't have gone far with him at all. Both Terry and Shane would've wanted to keep Courtney around longer than Danielle since Courtney would be easier to beat in the Final 2. She would've had almost no control in that situation, but instead she chose the option where she was in a solid majority with Aras and Cirie. She also had a pretty good shot of beating Aras, too. Since Shane was much more mad at Aras than he was at Danielle, Bruce was in love with her, and Austin and Sally really were open votes who could've voted either way. Her real mistake was not trying to win favor with Austin and Sally when she had the chance, because if she did, then she would've won.

Overall, Danielle's game was very impressive. She started out in the [extremely dysfunctional] majority, where her position was constantly shifting due to how dysfunctional Casaya was. She gradually climbed her way to the top and wormed herself out of tough situations until she got to the point where she was at the top. Her endgame was brilliant, taking out both of her biggest Final Two threats in Cirie and Terry, and putting herself in the Final 3 with two people who would both take her to the Final Two. She positioned herself very well and was constantly looking to further improve her position, which she did. I'll never know why she has so many haters and so many people who criticize her game, because she rolled with the punches and played a great game.

Loses points for: Not trying to win favor with Austin and Sally when she had the chance, and she was viewed as lazy, which caused some people to grow irritated with her.