Survivor: Cook Islands – Survivor Live, Episode 9

This reward of the letters from home was associated with the challenge where the ladies were rolled about in barrels. Jenny says it was a very frustrating challenge to lose. She doesn’t understand why they didn’t show them trying to walk after getting out of the barrels, because it was pretty funny when they couldn’t stand up straight. Rebecca says she noted that Aitu didn’t stuff every possible buoy into the barrels, to leave more room for the people. Dalton reiterates his support of the Aitu tribe’s fortunes in the game. Jenna is still not convinced, and although she wants them to win, she still thinks they are in trouble.

Dalton points out that most people feel Aitu is the underdog and Raro are being portrayed as the villains. He asks the guests, how does that feel? Not great. Jenny says that before the mutiny, they had just evened up the sides at six apiece and felt things were setting up good for them. Then they were tossed off balance when the extra bodies arrived and their plans were disrupted. Jenna says you never want to see extra people coming into your turf and Jenny adds that it was a drain on their food.

Seeking a buff, Ray from Pennsylvania brings up the not-new concept of the mutiny turning into a merge if everyone steps off their mat. Dalton says he emailed Probst about that topic. They were prepared for it but didn’t expect anyone to mutiny (as no one ever has in the past). With Jonathan jumping at the last possible second, there was no time for the others to follow suit. Jenna says that the merge is imminent but suggests that maybe it won’t happen. No buff for Ray; that’s not a new idea. Dalton sees the hidden idol coming into play pretty soon because if there’s a merge, Yul will be an early target.

Dalton next introduces the “Probst’s Thoughts” feature, where a message Jeff Probst recorded to the departing player is played. This message is for Rebecca. Probst tells us that when Rebecca was sequestered pre-game, Star Jones was leaving The View (the show where Rebecca is a makeup artist). Then while the show was being filmed, the news hit that Rosie was named to replace Meredith. They couldn’t tell Rebecca any of that, and it was a total shock to her afterwards.

About Rebecca, he says, “Rebecca is an absolute delight. She has a charming way about her, a wonderful smile, and great energy. You never lost that; you kept your spirit up every day. That’s not easy when so many things can get you down and wear you out.”

Rebecca tells us she’s co-hosting The View on Monday. Oh, God… I have to watch an episode of The View… this will surely kill me! Rebecca tells us that former Survivor Elisabeth didn’t figure out where she was during her absence. The second segment begins with a graphic telling us Rebecca won an Emmy for her work on… that show.

Dalton finally asks Jenny about her drawing a shooting gun on the voting card when she helped vote out Cristina. It created a lot of negative feedback in some circles. He wonders if it was just a doodle and gives her the floor to respond. Jenny replies, “You’re exactly right. All it was is simply a drawing. I drew a picture for everybody. JP had a volleyball, and for Brad, a fish because he was our best fisherman.” She adds, “I didn’t mean anything malicious or hurtful in any way.” She has apologized to Cristina already. No one at camp made any comment about it and the reaction to it caught her off guard. She ends with, “Really, it was just a drawing.”

She adds that she didn’t realize that it could have been taken as inappropriate until it was aired. In hindsight, she wishes she’d drawn a badge. Rebecca didn’t think anything of it at the time either, and knowing Jenny, is sure there were no malicious thoughts being expressed. Dalton says, “Case closed!” I agree.

Jenna likes it that when Jenny left, she was pissed off. She says, “You should be mad when you leave.” I completely agree with that – all these gracious exits from people who just lost a shot at a million dollars, in the presence of those who deprived you, plays false for me.

Jenna relates that she talked with several other former Survivors, and all were “appalled” with the way things played out, with Jenny not having a chance to defend herself. Jenna wonders if there were secret signals going about that we didn’t see, or did Adam say something to influence the vote? Jenny says there was no verbal communication and she didn’t pick up any other clues to how the second vote would go. “I felt cheated,” she says. She feels it was “unfair” because she didn’t have the opportunity to defend herself, and feels sure she could have talked her way out of it.

Myself, I don’t think so. I think she was not long for the game anyway, and this twist just accelerated her exit. Adam and Candice were shown talking about ousting Jenny, and that thought may well have been shared with the others. When a surprise vote turns out to be (almost) unanimous, there was nothing to be done to change the outcome. Still, it was a harsh way to leave the game.

Dalton says, “I loved it, I loved it. Not that I wanted to see Jenny go, but as a dramatic device.” However, he feels it’s “blatantly unfair” when a winning tribe also has to vote out a player (for example, this season it happened to Cao Boi). Jenna thinks what happened to Jenny is “more lame,” but Dalton doesn’t buy it.

Amilia from Toronto asks what happened to Rebecca’s hair. She had extensions in during the show when her hair was braided. Today it’s straight, and much of it is hiding in the back. Jenna tells us that in her season, Heidi also had extensions.

Becky from North Carolina is confused about events when Candice and Jonathan jumped ship. She asks, why didn’t this cause alarm and result in their immediate eviction? Jenny says Brad’s loyalty was in question and that he had a good bond with Yul and Becky from the other tribe. Rebecca adds that Brad said aloud, “He didn’t trust us.” She knows that most of them thought the same thing about each other, but he was the only one to actually verbalize the thought.