“STUPID STUPID STUPID”: An Interview with Survivor’s Shii Ann

Shii Ann is never one to mince words – on Survivor or in an interview. When RealityNewsOnline had a chance to talk to her, she told us all about her strategy, the “strategy” of others, what effect friendships had, and much more!

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Shii Ann, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions from RealityNewsOnline!

Shii Ann: Hi there! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me again!

RNO: Starting at the beginning, how did your plans for going into All-Stars differ from Thailand?

Shii Ann: I learned from my first Survivor experience that I needed to switch up my game plan. I read some game theory and other strategy texts in order to prepare. Once I saw my tribe (4 "power" players, 2 winners), I decided to go with the "under the radar" strategy (a famous game strategy to do the opposite of your opponents) – knowing that the bossy, openly plotting players would battle with each other and allow me to outlast them. I allowed the other players to come to me with ideas and I would say, "hmmm... yes sounds great!" And most of the time, it was exactly what I wanted too!

RNO: Were you surprised by anybody who was or was not in All-Stars?

Shii Ann: I was not too surprised by the casting decisions. It was a fairly diverse and representative season.

RNO: Did you feel like you were at a disadvantage because you were the only person from your season on All-Stars?

Shii Ann: No! Not at all. It was to my advantage that no one knew me beforehand. This way, there were no preconceived ideas and slim possibility for hurt friendships or broken pre-formed alliances. I was always a swing vote and that was the position I wanted. I think Rupert and I had the best advantage because no one really knew us.

RNO: You seemed to stay mostly in the background early on – and, of course, you were criticized for that by "Captain America" Colby before you voted him out. What was your strategy in the early goings of Mogo Mogo?

Shii Ann: My strategy was to stay in the background. However, that did not mean I did not plot and scheme everyday. In fact, Kathy and I went to the waterhole every day together in order to talk about the game plan. I just did not talk to Colby about my plans. It was obvious from day one we did not see eye to eye. However, I never made it openly known I wanted to vote him out. He, on the other hand, was unthinking enough to tell me he disliked my strategy. It was sweet revenge, when I finally got to cast him out of the game.

RNO: Do you think outside friendships played too much of a role during "All-Stars," or did they have a proper place within the context of the game?

Shii Ann: I think outside friendships should have been checked at the door when the players decided to do the All-Stars. It is like playing poker with your friends for 1 million dollars. You know they (the other players) are going to lie and cheat in order to beat you in the game. So why feel personally offended when that happens? When you cannot be objective about the game, that is when you lose.

RNO: We saw a lot of Lex and Kathy talking about the decision to book Jerri rather than, but nothing really from you. Did you agree with their plan or did you try to talk them out of it?

Shii Ann: Kathy and I planned to have Jerri out as soon as possible, behind Lex's back. For me, it seemed like the best plan at the time because I knew Lex and Jerri had a strong friendship/bond. If there had been no merge and we lost another immunity, Lex might have voted me out instead of Jerri. However, if I kept Amber, there would be no chance of that. So, the power really rested on Kathy. She was the one who counseled Lex to vote for Jerri. And I was the one who told Kathy her plan was a good one.

RNO: Were you surprised to see on the show that when Lex and Kathy made a deal with Amber, you were not mentioned?

Shii Ann: Not at all. That's the thing with the game. You cannot trust anyone. People will and do lie to your face. My game was established from the beginning to be UTR, and it worked. Sometimes, it's much better to be a small fish in a pool full of sharks. I wanted to make it to the merge and however I got there was fine by me. I figured once I got to the merge, the big wigs would battle each other out. And it happened that way.