An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 6 – Kicking and Screaming

I'm not convinced Cao Boi could keep his mouth shut and scheme. He seems like someone who speaks his mind even when he doesn't realize how much he's saying. Cao Boi comes across to me like someone who is very self-aware in some ways and very clueless about himself – and how he comes across – in other ways. But he sure was an interesting character to watch!

Cristina's Final Words

If anything, she really enjoyed being on Survivor. It was a really great experience. She's disappointed she got booted off so soon, but glad she made it this far. She met some great people and some really awful people, but that's just part of the game. Cristina says that her fondest memory is eating octopus and doing other things she hadn't tried before. She's going to take back with her that she should be patient and more observant and take it all in first. If she has regrets, it's for opening up too soon to people she didn't know that well. Basically, she felt like she was taken advantage of and was vulnerable. She says good luck to the others and she hopes Rebecca and Brad make it through and win the million dollars. Adam and Jenny are nice people too, but she wants Rebecca or Brad to win.

Cristina didn't say much of note in these final words. She noted her friendship with Rebecca and Brad and pointedly excluded Parvati from her list of nice people. Otherwise, her speech was pretty much a big cliché sandwich.

Cristina, The Day After

Cristina looks very different hanging out by the water with her hair straightened and her makeup on. Wow. She says that the show brought her guard down. Normally, she doesn't trust people right away, but in this environment when you're working on a team you think about building a relationship instead of the game. This made her vulnerable, especially when it came to how people thought of her. She's normally thick-skinned, but this time it bothered her. She doesn't think people on her tribe bothered to get to know her once they knew she was a cop. That's all they could think of her as – a cop. In a way, she wishes she never told them she was a cop. That way she could see how they would react, and get to know her on a different level.

When Cristina first came into the game, she thought she'd just stand back and watch. But then her true personality came out just being a strong woman. You go into survivor mode and you want to help out. You want to organize things and take control a bit and that can come across as too controlling – especially when everyone has a similar personality. Cristina wasn't trying to be a leader. She just wanted to get her point across at certain times. But certain people can say certain things and change things around...

It was fun working together and building a shelter. It was also fun cooking things you never thought you'd cook and catching chickens with a fish net. Her worst time in the game was Tribal Council when she was embarrassed by Jenny and Adam. It was rude and unexpected and just a shock.

Cristina does think it's harder playing this game as a police officer. You're not going to use people to get ahead to win a million dollars. “As an officer you have moral values, integrity... you want to be a role model.” Cristina doesn't think it's being a good role model to be deceiving or backstab somebody – especially for kids. She doesn't want them to think you need to cheat or lie to get ahead. She wants kids to see her being a good role model. But that does make it hard to play the game. She just can't step over someone to get ahead. She won't lose herself to win a million dollars.

Cristina says the “survivor mode” of the game was awesome. But having to deal with some of the people in the game was pretty bad. It was interesting, the competitions were awesome, and part of her wants to still be in it. But dealing with some of the people was not fun. But if she were still in the game, she would have competed hard. She's happy she had the opportunity. It's an incredible game, she learned things about herself and it helped her grow. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And she wouldn't take anything back.

I'm always puzzled by how many people consider the way they play a reality show game as integral to how they live their real lives. I don't think most people consider how they play monopoly to reflect their values and character. I think a lot of it has to do with how quickly you become deeply immersed in your new culture and tribe. It's a 24-hour game and you never get away from it. I think that makes it difficult for many folks – like Cristina – to separate game from real life.

Kicking and Screaming

This clip is just a re-showing of this week's very physical challenge where the players drag members of the opposing tribe across the sand. There is much dragging and scrabbling and the like.

Ozzy's World

Ozzy thinks this week's challenge was awesome! He proudly shows off his “battle wounds” from the challenge and likes that it was the most physical challenge yet. It was gnarly! Dude. It was great to prove to Raro that Aitu has muscles too – and heart. Ozzy thinks the fact that they're a well-fed tribe played into today's win. He's been making it his duty to go out every day and catch enough fish to keep everyone strong and it showed today. He thinks that's why they won today, because they obviously don't have the muscles. Ozzy thinks they're going to keep winning.

After a quick edit, Ozzy talks about the tribe's “last meal together” before the vote. It's a bummer, but that's how it goes. Ozzy is going to take a step back and not worry about it. Yul and he have an agreement to be honest with each other. Yul says the girls are voting for Cao Boi, so Yul is too. Ozzy thinks the rest of the tribe will follow. But Ozzy might not vote that way out of respect for Cao Boi. Obviously responding to a question about why they should keep Cao Boi, Ozzy says that he's a great, fun guy. He does all the cooking. He has a lot of knowledge and is a good friend. But Cao Boi isn't the most subtle or gentle guy. He's brash and people don't want to handle that. Ozzy's just trying to stay fluid and adapt and have a good relationship with everyone on the tribe.