"Foa Foa Was Murphy’s Law Personified" – RealityNewsOnline’s Exclusive Interview with Survivor: Samoa's Liz

I expected Liz to be very charming and intelligent to talk to and sure enough, that’s exactly what I got. She was warm and answered her questions with humor. While she tried her best to keep thoughts to herself on the island, she was a bit more forthcoming when she talked about her fellow contestants.

RealityNewsOnline: Thanks for taking a few minutes to chat for the RNO readers, Liz. I’m disappointed you were snuffed last night. I had you as the winner in my work pool!

Liz: Aw, thanks. I’m disappointed too!

RNO: Did you have any particular strategy going into the game?

Liz: I just wanted to maintain flexibility. I didn’t know who to trust or align with. I didn’t feel any particular kinship based on first impressions before we started playing. I didn’t know who I could get close to. I wanted to listen more and talk less. I tend to get in trouble with speaking without thinking and I wanted to tamp that down.

I did well with that until the rains came. It was such a beat down; we were tired and worn out. I called Russell out. I didn’t do it forcefully, but one question really put him on the defensive. I wanted to know if he had the hidden idol and his reaction just confirmed it for me and he got upset. He just blew up and all I did was ask him about it. A little goes a long way with him and a question was enough to make him blow up.

RNO: I have been so surprised at how much people trust Evil Russell. Were you surprised to see anything he said about you or that he did, especially when he said you were dumb?

Liz: I was surprised. I never trusted him all along. I thought he was slimy and slippery. I told people on my tribe about him, but nobody listened. Maybe they didn’t trust me (laughing). He comes off as charming.

That first night in the shelter he told us about Katrina, I knew his story was fake. I have a dog and you don’t turn your back on your dog like that. I didn’t want to call him out at that moment, but I knew his story was inconsistent. It was surprising to see that they believed him so much.

[By the time I confronted him] he was pulling at straws and we were already halfway through the game. He was getting frustrated that nobody was playing the game. For the most part, I think he respected me, but he had a vulnerable ego and was intimidated by a smart, strong woman. He didn’t want others to show him up. As you could see, the other strong women like Betsy and Marisa were all voted out quickly because of him. It’s no surprise that he wanted to vote me out. I was strong.

RNO: Did you realize how protected Natalie was by Russell?

Liz: Yes, it was very obvious. With only five left on our tribe, we’d already voted out the weakest and most annoying. The most logical choice would have been Russell. But he had Natalie and the idol in his arms and those two things were powerful. I was left out to dry. It’s difficult to change other people’s minds. You go with someone who is calling the shots. No one was willing to make a stand against a diabolical force.

We were weak and demoralized with all the losses and the rain. It was so hard out there. Constantly losing and the non-stop rain can destroy anyone and their willingness to survive. There was no motivation left.

RNO: It appeared in last week’s episode that you and Natalie had given up. Did you have any idea at that time that your head was on the chopping block or did you think it could possibly be Natalie?

Liz: I thought that I might have a chance with Natalie going home last week because she was useless in challenges and not helpful around camp. I was still hoping to change Jaison’s and Nick’s minds. Russell was close to Natalie so I knew it was wasted time to work on him. I tried working the other two, but realized how powerful Russell’s idol was. If the tables were turned and I had the idol, I’d have been calling the shots. Russell’s idol helped with his power.

RNO: Shifting gears, Jaison sure looked beat down, even since Ben left. Did you notice it and make any attempts to stir up some of the other members to save yourself?

Liz: We all believed he was beaten down. He took naps on the beach every day. He was our biggest complainer. Nobody comes to Survivor to play the game from the sidelines. It was hard to see Jaison complaining so much. We are in this game together. We don’t need to hear it every day from a six-foot-six person who has been to Olympic trials, played water polo, and worked out every day. He was wearing us down.

I did try to get others to vote him out, but knew. Giving 110% isn’t enough. I learned a valuable lesson there. You can do the best game you can possibly play and you will still have the cards stacked against you because of numbers and alliances formed.