Survivor: Cook Islands – Survivor Live, Episode 13

First, my trivia question: This season, every player has received at least one vote in a Tribal Council. Who was the last one to see their name written down on a piece of parchment? To see the answer, drag your cursor between the square brackets that follow: [ It was Parvati; no one had voted against her before last night. As a point of interest, this is only the third time that all of the players entering the finale (usually, four) have previously received votes. ]

The show begins with Dalton giving us a scheduling note. On Monday, there will be an episode of Survivor Live for the four runners-up. They will be phone conferencing from LA, one at a time. On Tuesday, the winner will be in the studio for a normal, full hour edition of this show.

Dalton and Jenna open things up with a promo for the “Blast” DVD, which is a Survivor trivia computer game. They’ll be giving them away to selected callers today. Dalton assigns that task to Jenna.

Attention now turns to Parvati. She says she might have been the cleanest Survivor ever, because three times she won a chance to get clean – a bath, a spa visit, and at the family reward where they got to jump into a pool. She tells us that after the mud experience, she was in the shower for two-and-a-half hours and washed her hair about six times.

Dalton notes that Adam was fully cleaned up on Exile Island. Parvati says that’s rare for Adam and she says she’s proud of him. I thought it rather silly that they had to fly to reward all caked up with mud.

Dalton notes that Parvati was obviously playing the social game well, especially with Nate, but wonders if she overdid it at the end with Ozzy. She says she wasn’t really flirting with Ozzy, but she saw the other three as so tight that they couldn’t be broken up. She felt she was just talking to Ozzy as a friend.

Jenna notes that when Becky and Sundra were happy that Yul was getting a reward, there was no mention of Ozzy, who was also sharing that reward. She sees this as an indication that he is indeed low man in the pecking order. Parvati says that is true, as everyone wanted to vote out challenge-threat Ozzy. She adds, “He was made for this game.” Jenna thinks he’s a bit of a show-off now.

Sheldon from Louisville is the first caller. He tells Jenna he likes the philanthropy work she does, but he doesn’t win a game. Dude; just tell her she’s pretty! Sheldon asks if there were scenes that weren’t shown where they were trying to sway Ozzy to their side, including the threat of withholding of jury votes.

Parvati says they didn’t use the threat of jury votes against Ozzy. She says she “talked herself in circles” trying to convince Ozzy to flip sides, and he gave the impression he was entertaining the idea. She says that if Nate liked Ozzy, it sent her the message that there had to be something to Ozzy worth investigating.

Dalton says Parvati is trying to “sell something she herself would never buy.” Even if Ozzy goes with them, it’s a three-three tie, Yul has the idol, and Ozzy would have exposed himself in the game.

Jenna has noticed that the jury is more receptive when Ozzy speaks than when Yul speaks.

Dalton wonders if the “hat” issue was blown out of proportion. Jenna insists it was important, and Parvati agrees. Parvati adds, “Everyone knew that Yul was playing for the jury.” Dalton wonders if anyone would have known where the hat came from, if Probst didn’t make such an issue of it.

Jenna says, “This may be where Yul is starting to overplay himself. You notice how everyone has to go to Yul to prove their worth in the game?” She adds, “He’s playing so outright and so honest, I just want him to shut his trap for a while, keep things to himself.”

Parvati says Yul was adamant about playing the game with integrity and being honest, but she told him you can’t be like that in the game if you’re going to win. Jenna says that integrity in the game is not the same as in real life.

George from Brooklyn wins a “Blast” game for saying he agrees with Jenna’s blog on CBS. That’s odd, because she didn’t make any posts this week. He asks if Parvati’s opinion of Jonathan has changed from watching the show on TV. She says, “Jonathan was playing the game with the cards he was dealt.”

Parvati relates that on day one, she, Jonathan, and Candice formed a tight alliance. When Jonathan mutinied, she saw him in a higher spot than Brad or Jenny, and she took it as “a personal stab in the heart” when he flipped on them. She says that when she is hurt, she responds immediately and then puts the issue behind her. She claims she doesn’t hold a grudge against Jonathan.

Dalton plays the clip of “Mud Run,” the reward challenge. I feel dirty just watching it. Both hosts felt certain a woman would win the challenge. Jenna thinks Sundra and Becky aren’t that concerned about winning challenges, because Yul protects them.

Parvati says any girl would want to win the spa reward, and she thinks Becky and Sundra didn’t try so hard because they were comfortable in the game.

Dalton says Ozzy ought to consider not winning some reward challenges. Parvati says Ozzy is so competitive that he would never throw a challenge… and the hosts jump all over her, reminding her that he threw a challenge to get Billy booted.

She amends it to say that he is too competitive to throw a challenge where he can get a reward. Jenna says he ought to throw reward challenges, because people are getting bitter about it.

Parvati informs us that the guys were naked in the hot tub before she got in. She doesn’t understand why she’s the one getting flak for being naked in the hot tub.

The second segment usually begins with a graphic relating something from the player’s biography. Many are really impressive achievements. Parvati’s graphic tells us she is the eldest of three siblings in Florida and grew up on a commune.

Dalton asks Parvati about her finger. She says there’s a tiny scar and she gets occasional twinges, but she’s not in danger of losing it. Jenna says she was brave. Dr. Ado is given kudos for the way he handles emergencies, including bluffers and fakers.

The next caller is young Allie from KC, who asks which was the hardest challenge. Parvati says it was the one where she had to do a lot of swimming for peanut butter, after Rebecca punked out. Jenna commends Parvati for her swimming abilities, and adds, “It’s amazing what people will do for peanut butter.”