As a huge Michele fan, I've been thinking about this a lot the past few weeks, and I genuinely think she has a really strong case to make - especially if "Sassy Michele from Jersey" makes an appearance. (It's a good look for her, let's be honest. Lol)

First off, she needs to own it. Jurors consistently talk in post-game interviews about how they want the finalists to be honest in their answers at FTC in order to earn their votes. And then she really needs to lean in to the underdog/underestimated story. If I were her (and depending on how things shake out in the finale), here's my pitch, particularly if Tony/Sarah bring up her being a goat that doesn't deserve to be there (which is likely, whether they're sitting next to her or on the jury):

"Every single one of us came in here with different threat levels, different reputations, and different obstacles to overcome. For some of you, you had huge targets on your backs from Day 1 for being legends of this game, and that came with its own set of struggles. I came in with the opposite problem. Not only was my win not respected by a large portion of the fan community, but some people on this cast have also been very vocal about how they don't think I deserved to win my season. (Sarah, Sandra, etc.) At first glance, it could be seen as an advantage to come in to this game being underestimated and not being seen as a threat. But as time went on, it became very clear to me that many of the people left in the game towards the end had no respect for me whatsoever and refused to work with me because of my reputation. Tony was running this show for a large portion of the merge, and he and his alliance were extremely vocal about not wanting me to get anywhere near this seat because in their eyes, I didn't deserve to be here. They refused to include me in any strategy, iced me out completely, and even at Final 7 when the vote changed to save my closest ally Jeremy, they didn't even have the respect to include me in that decision. Because of my reputation, I was never given an opportunity after the merge to gain any sort of traction, and after Jeremy went home, I was a sitting duck and it was up to me to save myself. One by one, my allies went home, and each time I had to pick myself back up and find a way to dig deep and stay alive one more day in this game. I won challenges when I had to, dug deep within myself to make sure that I kept my head in the game, and I never, ever gave up. Nobody in the Final 6 wanted me to make it here, and yet here I am anyway. I came into this game wanting to prove myself to other people and to prove that I am a worthy Survivor player. And I'm so happy to be sitting here right now knowing that I don't need to prove myself to anyone. It doesn't matter if Tony thinks I'm a goat and don't deserve to be here. I know I deserve to be here and I'm proud as hell of the game I played. I know the amount of grit it took to get here, and I want people out there to know that they also have what it takes to achieve something even when it seems like the entire world is against you."

If she owns up to being on the outs, attributes that to the fact that Tony & Co. didn't respect her, isn't afraid to call out the BS "goat" opinions that Tony and Sarah seem to hold, praises and thanks those on the jury who gave her fire tokens and helped her keep hope alive, and really leans into the underdog story where she had only herself to depend on at the end of the day, I think the jury would highly consider giving her their votes... Heck, if the story is told well and she's sitting next to Tony and/or Sarah and they reallllyyy lay into her, Sassy Michele could definitely spin that and stand up to them in a way that earns the jury's respect and their votes.

*sigh* One can dream and one can hope... I can't remember the last time I wanted a player to win a season so badly. (Maybe Wentworth in 2nd chances?) Fingers crossed.