Survivor: Cook Islands – Survivor Live, Episode 11

Jenna thinks the kissing is gross without having the opportunity to brush their teeth. Candice says they sort of brushed their teeth, using hibiscus bark. However, Jeff Probst was always telling them, “You guys stink!” so who knows how effective that was.

Jessie in Kansas City is also very young and also loves Ozzy. She asks Candice if she actually called Jonathan “a rat.” Candice is not positive, but is pretty sure that she did. I can confirm it; it was in the first clip Dalton aired at the top of this show. Dalton likes Sundra’s comment that Jonathan is “an obnoxious force.”

Dalton reiterates that he likes Jonathan’s game but he’s still not a subtle player. Jenna calls him “abrasive” again but follows that by saying, “He’s making a great show.” Dalton notes the irony that Candice, Adam, and Parvati were all over Jonathan for switching sides, but they had no problem with it at the time he flipped over to bolster Raro’s numbers.

Candice says she was surprised Jonathan stepped off the mat to mutiny, and that Sundra didn’t.

Candice says Jonathan is “a loud personality,” and you have to deal with all types of personalities out there. If you let it get to you, you’re limiting your options. Well said! Dalton jokes that he’s glad he doesn’t have to work with any loud personalities.

Dalton runs a clip that is the part of the auction where Candice is banished to Exile Island once again. In the studio, she laughs. Jenna thinks it’s funny that Yul pretended to be surprised that Candice was the one Becky banished. She calls Yul a puppet-master. No, there will never be better puppet-masters that initial winner Richard Hatch or Survivor: Thailand’s Brian Hediuk.

Dalton asks Candice how she dealt with being on Exile Island so often. Candice says she made fire out there to keep herself warm. Hey, that skill could have come in handy at a Tribal Council tiebreaker! Candice jokes that, at least this last time, she didn’t have to dig any more big holes. She says it was tough out there, like getting beat up over and over again. Jenna asks her if the mutiny was worth all the exiles, and Candice responds that at least she was still in the game.

Dalton asks Candice what it was like to be seen as one of the villains after the mutiny. Candice says it was weird seeing on TV that they became bad guys. It didn’t feel like that when they were out there. She suspects that had they won, the edit might have been different. Candice adds that in the ten seconds they had to think about it, the possibility of an extended backlash didn’t cross her mind.

Dalton asks her thoughts when Jonathan stepped out as well. She says it was, “Wow. Oh, goodness… we’re going to have some work to do!” Her immediate trashing of Jonathan was done on purpose, because she wanted them not to be seen as a threatening and solid twosome by the rest of Raro.

Jenna asks if Candice felt the rest of the tribe saw her and Adam as a threat. Candice says Adam had already spoken about her to the rest of Raro and she couldn’t deny their relationship. She also says that because Adam had already spilled it, they knew her move wasn’t “shady.”

In one of the longest question the show has ever had, it takes Michael in Atlanta ninety seconds to ask why they saw Jonathan as a rat. Candice says she wasn’t ready to vote Jonathan out right after the mutiny. She knew both of them were playing for themselves.

Jenna says Jonathan is “final two opponent gold” right now. She sees upcoming discussions over booting him as possibly the point where Aitu’s game turns ugly.

Dalton mentions the trio saying they would not vote for Yul if he didn’t get rid of Jonathan. He implies displeasure with that pronouncement. Candice says it was a ploy to try and change the vote, but doesn’t see anything wrong with it. Dalton thinks it’s fine as a bluff, but thinks it’s a poor reason to decide the winner of the game, bordering on classless. Jenna says the best player doesn’t always win, and Amber’s win of Survivor: All-Stars is implied.

Dalton next introduces the “Probst’s Thoughts” feature, where a message is played that Jeff Probst previously recorded about the departing player. He remembers Candice promised to manipulate the boys if she had to. He says she’s bright and would be a threat if she lasted, because she knows how to read people and was willing to make moves necessary to stay in the game.

Candice basically agrees with that assessment. She wanted to keep her options open in the game and not have just one strategy. She didn’t want to ride coattails and instead, be in control of her own fate. Dalton notes that all players seemed to liked her until she mutinied.

Starting the final segment as usual is the “minus 10” feature, where Dalton reads ten rapid-fire categories for the guest to comment on, each in ten words or less. Here’s how it went:

• 10. Adam – Friend, loyal in the game, only a friend
• 9. Mutiny – Strategy, crazy, changed the game
• 8. Getting faded – I love Nate, he’s awesome
• 7. Exile Island – My summer home
• 6. Super Mario Brothers 2 –The princess, she flies, awesome
• 5. Jonathan – Sneaky, strategic, provider, and good friend
• 4. The Goonies
  – great movie, a classic
• 3. PDAs – Embarrassing on TV
• 2. The jury – It feels good; not far enough
• 1. Ethan Zohn – I think he’s great, I love his charity Grassroots