'Survivor: Cagayan' (CBS)
NOTE: XFINITY TV is the place to be for all sorts of “Survivor: Cagayan” back-stabbin’, torch-snuffin’ fun. We’ll have Power Rankings with “Blood vs. Water” competitor Ciera Eastin, every Wednesday evening we’ll bring you a recap of the most recent episode, and every Thursday you’ll be able to watch the previous night’s episode and read an interview with the eliminated contestant. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for immediate updates.
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When Jeremiah was invited to play “Survivor,” he probably didn’t realize how much the game was going to change in one season. Instead of building a society and working with others to get to the end, it became a crazy free-for-all of idol clue theft, constant backstabbing, and shacks designed specifically to aid the act of spying.
And while it is pretty awesome, it didn’t leave much time for Jeremiah’s story to be told.
Luckily, that’s why I’m here.
I spoke with the stealth male model the morning after his elimination to find out what moves he was making that we didn’t see, last night’s crazy Tribal Council, and how he really feels about big move makers like Tony and Kass…
Gordon Holmes: You were a victim of a ghost edit. We didn’t see much of you at all. What were you up to that whole time?
Jeremiah Wood: I was trying to be the comic relief. I had everyone laughing. I made the fire, I did things where people would fall in love with me. That was my main strategy; I wanted people to fall in love with me kind of like JT (Thomas) did. But, I didn’t play the same game because he ended up winning.
Holmes: Let’s start with the vote that sent Brice home.
Wood: I voted him out, I wanted the numbers. I kept LJ close, I kept everyone as close as possible even though I lost Alexis. And going into the first merge I wanted to rebound. I knew Spencer, Tash, and Kass were on the bottom. They had had a bad draw as far as not playing the game smart. I went to them because I needed an alliance, but I needed a strong alliance in the alliance. I apologized to Morgan. I won Morgan back over. Sarah came to me, she was asking if I’d take her to the end.
Holmes: You seemed closest to Spencer. What was that relationship like?
Wood: Me and Spencer were talking. Spencer wanted to be the next JT and Stephen (Fishbach). He felt like he was on the bottom of his alliance with Tash and Kass and he wanted to make a strong bond with me. It was playing into my hands.
Holmes: It looked like you were in really good shape until the Tribal where Kass flipped.
Wood: When Kass flipped I found myself scrambling. I talked to LJ, he said he was fine where he was at. Nobody was budging an inch on that alliance until Tony budged. And I jumped on that with both feet. I wanted to win Tony over. And we did win him over so we could get rid of LJ. But, nobody wanted to play the game with common sense.
Holmes: Kass rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with that flip. Did she ever try to get back on your good side?
Wood: Absolutely not. I knew Tony had an idol, I knew LJ had an idol. So I wanted to vote for Jefra so they’d play their idols. Kass said she wanted to vote for Trish and Sarah said she would not vote for Trish. I said, “Oh no.” You’ve got to think about what you’re saying. When Kass flipped, she voted out Sarah because she didn’t like her. Then she said, “I’m still a free agent, I could not stand Sarah. She needed to go.” And as the last couple episodes have unfolded you can see that she’s not a free agent. But, she definitely didn’t try to make peace with me. We did talk some, I was being nice to her. You don’t want to be a complete jerk out there. I tried to be nice to her. But as far as being apologetic? Nothing like that.
Holmes: Tony found the mega idol last night. Was everyone looking for it?
Wood: Every day I was looking for that idol. I tore that jungle apart.
Holmes: Tony is a force of nature out there. He’s making all these crazy moves. But as far as being a person, is he likable? Is he someone you’d like to sit down and have a beer with?
Wood: Outside the game? Definitely. Tony’s a pretty nice guy. He loves his family. He’s a respectful guy. He came in with the strategy of being a villain. But, he’s a likable villain. That’s where his game is looking better. Everybody sees he’s lying. He’s lying to everybody. But he’s still keeping peace with everybody. It blows my mind. He’s playing an unbelievable game. But out of the game? He’s a super nice guy.
Holmes: For the rest of your life, whenever you see some foliage that looks out of place, are you going to be worried that Tony’s in there peeking at you?
Wood: (Laughs) Yeah. I’ve always got one eye looking the other way. I don’t want him creeping up on me. He’s so paranoid it’s unbelievable:. But the whole spy shack thing is hilarious.
Holmes Word association time. Let’s start with Jefra.
Wood: Southern belle.
Holmes: Woo?
Wood: Sneaky.
Holmes: Trish?
Wood: Sweetheart.
Holmes: Spencer?
Wood: Little brother.
Holmes: Latasha?
Wood: Warmhearted.
Holmes: Tony?
Wood: Tony is conniving.
Holmes: LJ?
Wood: He’s a good guy.
Holmes: Kass?
Wood: Loose cannon.
Holmes: Spencer made fun of Woo during his vote last night. Have those two been at odds ever since the idol clue incident?
Wood: That turned Spencer completely against Woo and Tony. It did me too, but it’s “Survivor.” You can do what you want out there. It rubs you the wrong way and you don’t forget it. Them boys just weren’t too nice to Spencer.
Holmes: Was there any talk of Spencer giving you the idol?
Wood: We talked about playing it for me. It’s one of those 50/50 shots. I’d love for him to play it for me, but he’s been more of an immunity threat.
Holmes: Normally someone with your physique would be considered a major immunity threat, but the challenges have involved memory or balance or other things that don’t rely on strength.
Wood: I was so mad. Every time a challenge would pop up I’d see it’s a balance challenge. And now the world knows I’m bad at balancing. (Laughs) It’s one of those things. If it was more hand-eye coordination I would’ve done well. I’m good at puzzles. If it’d been more physical I believe I could beat any of them out there.
Holmes: Tony called you “Jeremy” last night. I don’t have my “Survivor” rule book handy, but if Tony’s voting for Jeremy, I don’t think it should count against you.
Wood: (Laughs) I don’t have mine handy either! I thought it was a tie. Trish didn’t spell my name right either. I’m going to have to talk to Jeff about that.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: jeff probst, survivor, survivor cagayan
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