"The Insider" talks to the ousted castaway to get his take on the game.
"The Insider": Last week's vote was a total blindside. Do you think it was a done deal in camp, or do you think the things you said at Tribal Council, where you sounded so confident, could have changed people's minds?
Erik Cardona: If anything, the things that I said at Tribal Council -- and they didn't show the whole thing for time reasons -- there was a lot of "Go Purple! Rah! Rah! Rah!" and "I am loyal, I am bleeding purple until I die," and "No matter what the color of our buff, I am purple underneath." There was a lot of that, so, actually, the words I said at Tribal Council should have helped me.
It might have cemented my fate with Foa Foa, but my fate with Foa Foa was already cemented four episodes ago, when I stared down at them and said, "How dare you talk about momentum, and how dare you try to take advantage of the loss of our leader! We are going to come at you harder now." I knew I didn't have a friend in the Foa Foa camp but I didn't care.
It was pretty clear that the agenda was to take them down and be done with it. But it didn't play out that way, so I was very confident and aggressive. But it was mostly a dog and pony show. I wanted them to believe that they had no chance, even if they did. The more that they checked out, the less it would mess up with our group dynamics. Second, when I talked about our group dynamics, saying that we were strong and a cohesive unit that was supposed to be a reminder to Galu. None of that was presupposing that I was on the chopping block. That makes it more genuine. I had no idea. If I was just saying that stuff because I was scrambling, I would have played my Immunity Idol. I really believed the things I was saying. I couldn't believe they weren't on the same page.
"The Insider": Do you think this was a girl-power move?
Erik Cardona: No. I have seen a lot of things leading up to this on the Internet saying "risky move isolating the girls." They weren't our enemies. They were still our friends. They had no idea the four Galu men were going [to the final four]. They were still trying to figure it out. There was no girls/guys division. I think it was solely Laura. I was a strong individual player in this game. As soon as my name came up [for elimination], she got a little bit greedy and said, "Wait a minute. I have a chance to get Erik here? Great. I think I can get away with it without jeopardizing my tribe." Maybe she is right; maybe she is wrong.
"The Insider": What's it like now that you are home and watching it on TV? Any surprises?
Erik Cardona: When Russell poured the water out on day one, you just don't know what it is like to live without water. Being starving and hungry, I get that. That happens. When you can't make fire, like we couldn't in the first three days, and you can't drink water, your body shuts down and you lose your mind. It is so devastating. It is probably the most crippling physical experience I have gone through. To see him pour their water out as if it was nothing, I tell you something, that would be the worst thing he could have done in our tribe. Honestly, if I had to get axed from the game because I was choking this guy because he was pouring our water out, our life sustenance, it probably would have been a good way to go. I can't believe he had the stones to do that. I also can't believe nobody called him on that. If four canteens are missing water, nobody is going anywhere until we figure out what went down. I am not buying it was an accident. I can't believe Foa Foa didn't get to the bottom of it. You can see Russell come over to our camp and try to plant his seeds, but he just looks like a desperate, scrambling man. If he pulled that on us, he would have been gone at the first Tribal Council. But that is the funny thing about this game. He is still there.
"The Insider": Any predictions as to what the Tribe is thinking about Russell? He blew it using the Immunity Idol. There isn't one left to play now, and he revealed to the others that he was a liar, don't you think?
Erik Cardona: I talked to him about that: "Dude, we get your hard work and that you don't want to give up, but you go around making promises to everybody, it is almost like you are promising nobody. You are sealing your own fate. I don't like you because you are wearing yellow and you are on the low end of this totem pole. I am not saying I want to keep you in this game, but as a human being, bro, you need to lock it up and shut up." How did he take it? As if I was telling him to roll over and play dead. He came in and thought he could steamroll us. He revealed himself to be this sleazy dude who promised to take everybody to the final two. Everybody knows it now.
"The Insider": Do you have a prediction as to who could go all the way?
Erik Cardona: I am so jaded. I spent three weeks fighting Foa Foa and then was stabbed in the back by every single person who was wearing purple. I would root for Shambo, because we protected each other but I don't think she would be the best bet. John was kind of on the outskirts, because if there was trouble in camp, they thought it would be me or him, so if they went after me, I wouldn't be surprised if they went after him next. I would say Brett. Brett is my prediction to go all the way because he was low to the radar and he is an intelligent guy.
"The Insider": You are the first member of the jury. What will affect your decision? Will their pleas change your mind?
Erik Cardona: My decision is going to be made going into that final Tribal Council, but it is going to be a combination of what I know in the game and what may transpire at every Tribal Council coming up. There is nothing that anybody is going to say that will sway my decision. First of all, it is last minute desperation talk. Second of all, I will have food and nourishment and I will be able to comprehend what is going on. These people are going to be 39 days totally dilapidated. If there are Foa Foa members there, it will be hard to pick a deserving winner, because I only spent one day with them. But with Galu, it is going to be really tough because they all stabbed me in the back. You have got to watch out for everybody in this game.
"Survivor: Samoa" airs Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on CBS.
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