An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 12 - No Place Like Home

Jonathan's Final Words
Jonathan starts by saying that he saw it coming. It was a large possibility in his mind and as the day wore on it seemed clear that he would be voted out. It's too bad. It seemed to come down to a personality issue that they never told him about. So, he couldn't fix it. He's not making excuses – he obviously rubbed them the wrong way and Adam and Parvati obviously helped them get rubbed wrong too. He doesn't hold any grudges. He had a wonderful time. He got farther than he thought he would. He loves his wife and children and thanks them for the opportunity they let him have. He notes that four of the people left in the game will join him on the jury. He hopes the Aitu make the final two, particularly Yul and Ozzie. He says it would be a tough vote between those two. He hopes Adam and Parvati don't make the final two, but if they do make it – then good for them!

Jonathan's sorry if he stepped on some toes, but it's a million dollar game they're playing on national TV and who wouldn't want to have some fun? Jonathan notes that “these people are terrible liars!” They couldn't hide what was coming. He wished they had told him to his face, but he acknowledges that he would have talked and talked and talked to try to change things if they had done so. He says he got played, but he saw it coming. Jonathan's looking forward to the jury and then getting back home.

Jonathan says that when it came to the mutiny he took a leap of faith. It didn't work out well, but not that terribly either. He may have been able to go further if he didn't jump. His personality just rubbed folks wrong. He wouldn't do things differently. Just one thing going differently could have changed the whole game. The one regret he has is that he couldn't throw water to his wife just a bit faster he would have won, sent Adam to exile, spent some time with his wife, and probably wouldn't have gone home. But things didn't quite work that way and here he is now. Not a big deal.

Jonathan, the Day After
Jonathan starts by saying that his experience has been very positive. His only real question for himself, as a person, is “was it too much fun?” He's not sure he took it seriously enough – the emotions of the other people. He thinks that people may not have seen him as trustworthy is because it's hard for him to trust. He didn't really want to trust. When he mutinied, he found people much less like-minded than the people on Aitu. So, when he was given the opportunity to join back with them, he saw it as an opportunity to make amends for a possible mistake. He stepped out to “have an adventure,” but he was more comfortable with the Aitu. It was a friendlier, happier, more comfortable position there. When he could come back, he laid his heart out there for them, saying he was relinquishing all hope of winning so that he could come back as the guy who had betrayed everyone. He actually believed they would let him back in – even though he had violated their trust before.

The one message Jonathan can come away with from the game, is that you can be more trusting with people, initially. Even though it's a game, not everyone is out trying to kill everyone else. In his home life, Jonathan doesn't go out seeking adventure – except for this. So, the game was a small microcosm of his life. He stepped off the mat and realized he was truly most happy at home. He stepped out of his life and learned he's really happy in his life. This was a happy, safe way to find this truth out. It's a good lesson to learn.

Jonathan says that he did want to learn how to spear fish, climb trees, and all that. He didn't worry about lying and cheating. That's part of the game. His attitude was “better me first.” He moved too hard and fast and it blew up in his face. He doesn't have regrets because it seemed like the right thing at the time. You learn something. You have fun. You don't have regrets and you just have a hell of a time. That's it.

It does seem like Jonathan is pretty grounded on his thoughts about being in the game. He did, indeed, treat it like a game and although he says he wouldn't change anything, he also acknowledges that he made some mistakes. I like his “no place like home” analogy as well.

Reward Challenge: Pass the Bucket
In this clip we get to see the Survivors and their loved ones struggling to throw and catch enough water to win the challenge and time with each other. The clip doesn't show anything new, but Parvati's win may well have sealed Jonathan's fate at Tribal Council this week. Oh, and I like it when the loved one participates in the challenge. Give those producers a cookie!

Loved Ones at Camp
This clip begins with the Survivors back at camp showing their loved ones some coconuts. Adam's dad, George, opines that they all seem like “such an intelligent group” to him. Well, I guess with Adam as a son, most people seem intelligent! George goes on to praise their diversity, spirit, and enthusiasm. He says that in his generation it would be a lot harder to deal with this much diversity. George says that he never prepared Adam for something like this and is amazed he can do so well. I think it's clear now that Adam takes after his father in more than just looks.

We then go to a clip of Yul telling Adam, Parvati, and Sundra to sleep with their loved ones in the shelter. He says that he, Ozzie, and Becky would put a lean to together for themselves and that the others should just “enjoy their time with their families.” He comes across as very gentlemanly and sweet, and probably earns himself some points with the others too. Parvati says that everyone was nice to the loved ones. She says it made her respect Ozzie and Yul so much more that they went out of their way to let her, Adam and Sundra spend time with their families. Told you!

Islanders' Greeting
Here, we see the lucky Survivors and their loved ones walking through a cloud of dust to the Mitiaro Island celebration. The islanders sing and dance and Sundra says as soon as they heard the singing, she knew something good was about to happen. Parvati said it was “unbelievable!” They were celebrated and greeted by at least one hundred people. One of the tribe's leaders, a motherly woman in a blue dress decked in flowers, greets everyone and invites them to the holy waters of the cave. The whole experience looked like a lot of fun, and one I'm sure everyone who partook of it will remember fondly.

Aitutonga Enjoys Leftovers
This clip is basically a big ol' thank you festival with the ex-Aitu and ex-Raro thanking each other profusely for, respectively, being so nice with the loved ones and bringing back leftovers from the feast. Parvati interviews that they knew they wanted to bring food back to Yul, Ozzie, and Becky because they've been so kind to their loved ones. And, of course, Parvati hopes the food and good time together without Jonathan will give them a chance to turn the vote against him instead. Good plan, Parvati! But I wonder what Parvati and Adam would think if they knew about the aborted plan to hide food?

Immunity Challenge: Flotsam & Jetsam
I don't think I've ever seen a Survivor competition that was more of a formality then this one. Come on, who thought that anyone but Ozzie would win this one? Really? I think if Probst had asked the Survivors if they wanted to bother to compete or just give it to Ozzie now they might just have taken the latter option and saved some energy! Yeesh.

Yul Before Tribal Council
Yul starts the interview leaning against a tree with no shirt on. That man is in shape! Yul says that the immunity challenge went well. The main goal was for Jonathan not to get immunity, and since Ozzie got it, that was good. Yul says he talked to Parvati and Adam who made a request for Jonathan not to go further. They have a lot of animosity towards Jonathan, and “as a matter of fairness and equity” they want Jonathan out before them. Yul's been mulling it over and has decided to honor that request. He didn't ask for any promises, but both of them assured Yul they would vote for him if he's in the final two.

Yul says that he does feel bad about voting Jonathan out. It's a matter of timing. He doesn't plan on going to the final two with him, although he does respect and like Jonathan – which is in contrast to pretty much everyone else in the game (presumably excluding Becky). This is a good opportunity to send Jonathan home. Yul's biggest concern is that if he sends Jonathan home too early, he'll lose his vote. But with Jonathan in exile and his causing a brouhaha a few days ago with the decision not to share fish with Adam and Parvati a few days ago. Yul has been building that up in Jonathan's mind about it being a big issue and he hopes Jonathan will focus on that.

What Yul doesn't feel bad about is breaking his current agreement with Jonathan. Jonathan broke their initial agreement when he mutinied. That put the Aitutaki in a bad position. So, Yul doesn't feel bad about misleading Jonathan now. Ethically, it doesn't bother him, but he likes Jonathan and feels bad about that. Yul plans to let Jonathan feel like he dug his own grave – which to a large extent he has done. He hasn't built the personal relationships that he needed to build, and he's never been able to shake the untrustworthy image. Yul knows that the surest thing for him would be to go to the final two with Jonathan, but he plans to go with the Aitutaki four.

Changing subjects, Yul says that he's grown to like Adam and Parvati the past few days. Especially getting to see their families made him see them more as people. So, he's happy with them on the tribe right now. It's weird for Yul, because he feels like a “Godfather” right now (presumably, given his position in the game and possession of the idol.) Yul feels bad when people have to go, but everyone will eventually lose except for one person. So, Yul's sticking with his Aitutaki four and moving forward.

This was a pretty meaty clip – both in terms of content and in terms of Yul's exposed torso. Yul comes across as a very shrewd player who is playing the game very well. He does acknowledge that taking Jonathan to the final two with him would guarantee a win, but I believe he also knows that if he is in the final two with anyone else, he will win. So, Yul has the strategic luxury to keep his original tribemates with him. Although Ozzie is certainly the biggest threat right now to ruining a Becky-Yul final two, given his amazing physical skills.

Tribal Council
Although Jonathan hoped it would not be the case, this tribal council featured a united front from which only Jonathan was excluded.

Becky votes for Jonathan. “Basically, after everything that's been said at tribal council, plus your behavior at the reward challenge, and the fish incident I think I really saw your true self come out. That's why I'm sending you home tonight.”

Sundra votes for Jonathan. “The funniest thing I find is that it seems like everyone in this game had a negative, suspicious feeling about you. I hope to God I'm wrong, and I'd love to be proven wrong, but thank you and I'm glad that we could rely on you to help us progress a little further.”

Jonathan votes for Adam. “What can I say? Biggest threat to me. It may be my night tonight, but you deserve to go home.”

Parvati votes for Jonathan. “I'm just going to keep voting for you until you're gone. Thanks for going to exile because I think it showed everyone that life is so much better without a big, crazy, crazy guy around camp.”

Ozzie votes for Jonathan. “Waited for this moment for a looooong time. This is for Cao Boi. Flika, Nate, and because you're just a cocky guy.” Said with some animosity too.

Adam votes for Jonathan. “You should have been voted out a long time ago. Hopefully, we got it right this time.”

Yul votes for Jonathan. “Jonathan, you've been a great competitor and a really great strategist. I really enjoyed playing the game with you, and against you. I'm sorry to see you go. If you hadn't stepped off the mat then we would be going to the final four together. But, you did, and my original highest allegiance has to be with the people who stayed with me. So, I wish you the best and I'll see you.” Yul is one classy guy.

I agree with Yul that Jonathan is actually a good competitor. I think some of the other players maligned him more than they should have done for his strategic play. Judging from his interviews both on the show and afterwards, I think Jonathan has a good attitude about the game and played it as a game. I liked watching his machinations and I'm sorry to see him go.

Teeuwynn is a professional puzzle, game and event designer. You can check out one of Teeuwynn's current puzzles here. You can reach Teeuwynn at Teeuwynn@gmail.com

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recaps and other info on this show at the Survivor: Cook Islands page, and take a look at our Apprentice page and our Amazing Race 9 page. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about Survivor: Panama, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: Survivor Panama and Survivor Fever!