An “Insider” Look at Survivor: One World, Episode 9, Part 1 – “May the Best B**** Win”

Jay the Day After

Jay opens his exit interview describing his Survivor experience as “a blast.” There are some things he would change, however. For example, he wouldn’t step down for chicken wings just because he thought he was safe.

Overall, Jay was shocked and surprised by how much you learn about yourself, life in general, and other people in 25 short days. For him, the game was a blessing the whole way through.

Jay thought about home a lot during the game, specifically his relationships with friends and family and where he wants to go in life. He realizes that he takes too much for granted in his life. He’s been to four other countries before being on Survivor, so he knew how to do without material things, but this was his first time away from home for this long, which made him appreciate family and friends more. He realized that he was “on the go” at home, but what he needs to do is soak in the small moments a lot more.

Jay firmly believes that the game has changed him. He now wants to do things like sit with grandparents, spend more time with his nephews in the yard, and invest himself in his family more. He says the game makes you a stronger person: it shows you that you can do just as much without food or resources; it makes him a smarter individual; and it makes you improvise more. He’s walking away much stronger and smarter, with a more positive outlook on life.

Jay is hopeful that his family will see that he tried to play a nice, honest game which was more conniving than they thought. He also hopes that he made them proud that he didn’t make a fool of himself too often, and that he proved to be a strong competitor. He’s not sure what they’ll think about his stepping down for food, however – he doesn’t believe anyone would think he’d do that. In the end, he hopes he represented his family and city well. Now that it’s over, he’ll just have to wait and see what they think.

Going back to the immunity challenge, Jay says that everyone judges and says you’re a fool when you step down for food. The way Jay sees it, though, if you think you’re safe, it’s extremely important to step down and take the food – that’s what will get you through the next few days.

Jay also points out that the viewing audience doesn’t know how many alliances you’ve made and what’s going on strategically in the game. He stepped down because the person he thought was going home (Alicia) was already out, so she wasn’t going to win immunity. He trusted his alliance and didn’t know Troy was going to play the idol. The audience doesn’t realize how quickly things change; that night, everything shifted in the last ten minutes before tribal. Stepping down may not look like a smart decision, but it was the wisest decision for him at the time. As Jay admits, “That’s the game for you – you never know what can happen.”

Jay explains that he is proud of how he played the game. Going out there, he didn’t know if he’d tell a million lies or just a few; what he tried to do was get around the truth without telling too many lies. More importantly, Jay had fun, which was the biggest thing for him. He set out to give the game his all, have fun, and get as far as he could. Looking back, he wouldn’t change a thing.

For Jay, dealing with personalities was ten times harder than going without food. He’s not a suck up, and if he doesn’t like someone, it’s obvious. The biggest part for him was when someone said something he didn’t agree with or he thought was stupid – he’d have to bite his tongue and smile. Putting up with drama, while still being friends with the other castaways – that’s way harder than going without food.

The whole experience from day one, realizing that you’re on your own in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of knuckleheads you’ve never met before, opens you up to people and relationships, Jay says. He says it changes the way you think about life and how you embrace people. The game taught him to have open mind towards everyone.

Jay is the type of person who tries to live life to the fullest every day, but he says the game makes you see how much more you really can live each day – you have to take advantage of the life you’ve been given. Survivor made him appreciate family and food more, as well as life in general.

Secret Scene Jay

The Tikiano tribe prepares a meal – Alicia and Christina wash dishes in the ocean, and Kat tends to a pot of rice over the fire. In a confessional, Kat tells us that everybody has a role that they play, and she’s been feeding her tribe since day one. Why? Because she makes the best rice.

Back in the shelter, Jay watches Kat divvy up the food. He mentions that Kat should make sure that everyone is getting the same amount, and Alicia chimes in, suggesting that everyone could get one more scoop. Kat snaps back, “You don’t think I know that?”

In a confessional, Jay says Kat “protects that pot – she’s the rice Nazi.” She doesn’t want anyone else to touch the rice or season it – she thinks she’s the queen chef. But Jay is pretty sure Kat is cooking the rice so that she can have more than anybody.

Cut to Kat getting defensive and insisting that everyone’s portion is even. Back in his confessional, Jay says it’s tough to watch Kat scoop out more for herself than anyone else. But what can he say? He’s just trying to play the game the best that he can, so he bites his tongue. He doesn’t want Kat pissed at him for causing any drama.

Impact of Voting Out Michael (Chelsea)

Reflecting on the blindside from last week’s episode, Chelsea says the girls are now much more comfortable – they can run the show from here on out. Voting out Mike hurt, though; they had made close relationships with him.

Chelsea admits that eliminating all of the guys holds some danger for her: there are girls she doesn’t want to sit with at the final Tribal Council. Given the endgame possibilities, Chelsea feels that there’s going to be a lot of strategic play going on from here on out.

Chelsea then explains that after Tribal Council, when someone has been voted out, you can feel that someone is missing. The whole aura around camp is different when one person is gone who’s been there a while. One downside: Mike did a lot of work around camp, so now a lot more people who normally wouldn’t get wood are going to do that. The upside? Fewer mouths to feed and more room in the shelter to sleep. Chelsea then smiles and says she’s, “All about slimming down the tribe.”

I’m So Abrasive (Tarzan)

Tarzan admits that he’s abrasive and rude, and that he suspects two of the girls hate his guts at this point (he doesn’t say who). He likes to be frank, to say what he means to say when he thinks he should say it, regardless of how it might be perceived by society. That’s the way he’s always been, but then, he’s always been protected because he was in an operating room. Clearly, it doesn’t play out here.

Tarzan thinks the girls will take out Troyzan or “Jay-bird” because they’re so tough. Yes, they might throw him out because they hate him or dislike him or don’t like his presence, but if they’re smart, before they do that, they should take out Troyzan or Jay-bird before it’s too late. Tarzan believes that Troyzan and Jay can beat the girls, both physically and mentally, on most immunity challenge tasks – probably.