Surviving the Guatemala Reunion: Morals and Lies

The Survivor: Guatemala finale is over, and Danni has won. For all the details, check out my recap. Now it’s time to see who’s still mad and who has something to say.

We begin with another look at the move that really turned the game around for Danni (and earned her a Reality TV Hall of Fame Moment) – buying the clue for the immunity challenge and using it properly to win. Probst notes that since she bought the clue for $200 and won a million, it was a 500,000% return on investment.

She says it was definitely the best move for her in the game. She says she’s fine at physical stuff, but not so much at puzzles. Probst wants to know what the best move she made was, aside from the clue. She says probably at the end, taking Stephenie, because Rafe was very well liked. She’s still dealing with having to do that since he’s an awesome guy, but she was there to win the game.

Probst moves to Rafe, noting that he had a final two deal – what made him give it up? He was influenced by Stephenie’s crying a bit, but he really wanted Danni to make a decision that, looking back years from now, she could be happy with. He thought it would be to take him, but it’s okay that it wasn’t.

At some point, Danni told Probst that once she realized it was going to be about endurance, with all of them leaning on the poles, she thought there was no way she could take Rafe. She expands on this by saying she just kept thinking about her family. She skips back to the earlier question about taking Stephenie to the final two and says if she did take Rafe and lost, her family would have killed her. She adds that she likens herself to the Stealth Bomber, in that nobody knew she was coming until after she dropped the bombs on them.

Probst notes to Gary that he didn’t really see her playing much himself – was she underrated? Gary says no, she just had a smile on her face, she was honest, she worked hard, and it got her to the end.

Back to Rafe, Probst says it seemed along the way, Rafe was morally conflicted many times. Were moral decisions the hardest part of the game for him? He says definitely. He was proud of his decisions throughout and wanted it to stay that way throughout.

Was he surprised at how well he did in challenges? He says nobody really expected him to do well, and he used that to his advantage.

Moving to Lydia, Probst says he asked her every Tribal Council how she was still in the game, and he’s asking again how she lasted so long. Lydia says she came in with a strategy to be nurturing and also to work as a provider – food, water, clean camp, smile, and motivation. Probst says her attitude was remarkable in the toughest season they’ve done. Day after day, she’d have a smile on her face. She says a positive attitude and a good heart will take you far.

Time to discuss the twist of having Bobby Jon and Stephenie return. Coming in, how did it impact Stephenie to know she’d have a target on her back? She says it was difficult and knew she had to take a leadership role and make a good alliance. Was she worried because she was the sweetheart in Palau? She knew she had to play harder this time and not just be sweet.

Did she think she could win, given the people she stabbed in the back? Stephenie says she thought she was doing well, but then realized that if she made it to the end, she’d lose because she had a second chance. So the best strategy for everybody else was probably to take her to the end.

Was Cindy star-struck by having Stephenie there, given that she said early on that Stephenie was one of the reasons she applied? Cindy says no, she just knew that if Stephenie could do it, so could she.

Gary says he’s a big Survivor fan, and Stephenie and Bobby Jon were two of his favorites. He thinks they used it to their advantage, which was smart playing. Probst wants to pull the truth out of Gary, who apparently had previously told Probst that people felt it was cool to be around the two and therefore it affected the game. Gary says there’s no doubt that people were asking question after question and looking up to them.

Probst notes that Stephenie set some records. In two seasons, she took part in 46 challenges, winning only 10. On the flip side, she made it through 25 Tribal Councils.

Stephenie had a bond with Judd that seemed very tight, which led to what Probst calls one of the best exit lines ever – the one in which he hoped they would all get bitten by a crocodile and then called them scumbags. Judd says he was brutally honest – Probst agrees that he was, every single day. He says he was pretty pissed off then, but she’s a good person.

Probst asks if he’s recognized on the street, since he’s a doorman and sees lots of people. Judd says yes, people all the time say hey, that’s the “big fat dude from Survivor.” Is he okay with having been a villain this season? Yup. He has no regrets whatsoever.

What’s the status with Judd and Margaret? Judd says giving the speech and being obnoxious at Tribal Council was just part of his strategy – no hard feelings.

Probst says he has to clear up one thing: “You did lie in this game.” The audience applauds and laughs. Probst notes that even after they outed him for lying, he was voted out and still claimed he hadn’t lied! Judd jokingly (I think) says he had partied a bit hard before the lie and implies he maybe didn’t quite remember it.

Moving to Bobby Jon, he was one of the toughest guys but he was knocked out by the long trek in the first day. Bobby Jon says it humbled him in more ways than one. Did he come in with a different strategy? He says you have to mash the gas in order for the car to go – which apparently means you have to play people, not just work hard.

Probst says Bobby Jon is one of the most authentic and endearing people to have ever played. But sometimes that authenticity explodes, such as to the guy next to him – Jamie. Probst says watching the two of them go at it was a bit heated, but always entertaining. We get to relive some of their greatest screaming moments and I still am not sure what Bobby Jon screamed when the two of them were bumping bellies.

Jamie grabs Bobby Jon in a hug and joke-yells at him. He says it’s good to know there are still some good ol’ country boys around.

Probst asks Jamie bluntly, “Were you really losing your mind out there?” That earns a laugh from the audience – and from me at home. Jamie says he heard there might be a vote tonight and almost didn’t come because he was a little paranoid. Then he starts asking Rafe if he promises not to vote for him. Heh. Jamie says he was definitely losing it a little out there.