Jean-Robert's Final Words
"Well, I really loved the way I played this game. My strategy was to come in here, treat it like a horse race, start out in last place. I came in kind of being a little bit of a jerk, bossing people around, being kind of lazy, knowing if I could get past those early stages I was only gonna look impressive from there. I built alliances with unlikely people and anyways I got to a position where I started feeling pretty good about my spot. I was in the middle of the pack with my horse, I could see the finish line, but I decided that there was another horse just as strong as I was, armed with two immunity idols, at least one. That was James. James has been playing a terrific game, and when I found out he has at least one immunity idol, I decided we needed to be careful, because I really don't want to be up against him in the finals. I made a big move today, tried to take him out, and unfortunately it backfired. Had it worked, I think I would have been in a position to win this whole game, but I'm out. I think I made a good move, I might've made it a little early. I trusted a few people I knew all along to be suspicious of. I still kind've like my play because it was to everybody's advantage to get James out. They blindsided me just the way I planned to blindside James. It happens. I love the way I played the game, it's unfortunate that I'm out. Wow. It's frustrating to spend twenty-four days out here, because this is miserable to me, but it'd definitely be worth it to win a million dollars. It's not worth it to go out at this point, really it's not. This is really frustrating. I really feel like I've blown a month of my life for nothing. Basically it's a million for first place, a hundred thousand for second. Now it's twenty-four days gone for nothing. Boom. Brutal. Brutal."
(cut)
"At this stage, I believe I was targeted and voted out not because of being obnoxious or being a jerk or getting on people's nerves. That may have been the case for one or two votes, but I think basically they got rid of me because they had come to realize I was the biggest threat, perhaps even more than James, and today with the mix-up in the votes because I was taking away some of Peih-Gee's votes. She was definitely going home if we'd stuck to that plan. I think Todd, maybe Todd and Amanda saw an opportunity to get rid of the bigger threat. I think they realized maybe I was the best player in the whole game and they would feel a lot more comfortable with me out of the game."
(cut)
"Right now I'm trying to think if I regret anything about the way I played. I loved the way I played. I played a great game. I played great strategy, I was always pretty sharp to see when things were going against me. My antennas were always up. Today, I did not see the votes coming towards me but it was a great opportunity to put me out. If I have any regrets I approached Todd a little too early in the day, because when I talked to him he was psyched about it and he liked it. After a few hours of thinking he probably realized I'm a bigger threat than James and tried to structure something to have me out instead of James. Or maybe he had some sort of alliance with James I didn't know about. There's a couple of things, a couple of factors I'm not aware of. Probably the thing that is difficult with this game is you do have to trust sometimes, and you have to trust people you may not know are 100% trustworthy, or at least not trustworthy to you."
(cut)
"If I were relate what happened now to a game of poker, it would be like a tournament poker game, where you're getting down to the final table and the chips are pretty even. Sometimes you can play conservative and wait and wait and wait for aces, wait for kings, and just blind off your chips. The proper move might've been for me to just vote Peih-Gee out today, go with it, vote Erik out the next one, vote Frosti out the next one, then make it down to the top six, five or four. I'm playing for first, I'm playing for first, and the only person who threatened that first place position for me was James. If I got a chance to knock him out, I wanted to knock him out now. I'm moving all in, I pushed all in, and you know what, didn't work out for me. Had I succeeded in today's there was a good chance I would have won this sole Survivor, just like I would have won the tournament. I like my spot, I like the move I made. Maybe I made it a little bit too early, but I like it.
Courtney Wins
Tribal Council
Frosti (Jean-Robert): Looks like my free roll lasted a little bit longer than yours.
Jean-Robert, the Day After
"I have to tell you, coming out and going on Survivor, you see the things on TV and you go, 'Oh that would be difficult,' and everything. I would never, ever expect for people to have to go through what we've gone through. The living conditions, the brutal living conditions we've endured are very real. Not eating for three days, not a thing for the first three days, was absolutely real. Not having anything to drink, having to sleep out in the elements with bugs and everything, it is very real and very difficult. I just remember being out there and thinking to myself, 'Man, if someone were to offer me exactly $10,000 to endure twenty-four hours of this, I don't know that I would take it.' It was brutal, it was beyond brutal out there. The first three days I remember feeling I would not want a Navy Seal in training to have to go through what we went through on those first three days. It was brutal."
(cut)
"I came on Survivor for one thing, and that was to win a million dollars. Going out there for twenty-four days and going home empty-handed is extremely frustrating. Yes, it's a tough situation, yes it's something I'll have for the rest of my life, I spent twenty-four day out there in one of the most trying situations of my life. Do I feel like I'm glad I did it? No, I'm not glad I went and spent twenty-four days out and going home empty-handed. I'm glad I took an investment in being one in sixteen people who could win a million dollars, because that was worthwhile. Going home empty-handed after twenty-four days is not a cool feeling and it's very frustrating. Am I glad about the overall experience? I'm going to try to make the best of the situation, but I'm not happy about it. Was it worth it because I could have gotten a million dollars? Yes, it was worth it."
(cut)
"My being a little bit obnoxious, and complaining, and bitching, and doing all that stuff was definitely part of my strategy. Sometimes in real life certainly I might be like that, but not exaggerated to that point."
(cut)
"Being that we're playing for a million bucks out here, sometimes I almost find situations laughable where it seems like strategy is taking second place to who I wanna have around me or who my friends are. I think Zhan Hu is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. They sent Chicken home, they weren't comfortable around him the first couple of days. Then they send Ashley home and she was probably their strongest girl. Then they send Dave home because he was annoying them. He was probably their biggest workhorse, admittedly he did two or three times more work than anybody else on the camp. They just completely sabotaged their own camp."
(cut)
"My life back home...I often joke with friends about how I live basically the life of a millionaire. Broke and living like a millionaire, that's bascially the way I live. Sometimes I have money and sometimes I'm broke, but somehow I always live the lifestyle of a millionaire. The nicest hotels in the world, traveling the world and staying in these beautiful hotels, eating steaks and lobster and crab for dinner every night. It is really cool some of the things I'm able to do. Coming here, I remember the first grains of rice we had after three days. I rememebr shuffling around and trying to get every grain and thoroughly enjoying food of any kind. I believe when I get back home I'm going to savor every bite."
(cut)
"Going through this kind of adversity, I would say the thing I learned most about myself is that I'm actually capable of doing a lot more than I thought I was. This was the toughest thing I've ever had to go through in my life, and I was able to get through it. I'm reasonably healthy right now. Yeah I've lost a few pounds -- lost a lot of pounds, but that was very trying, and I got through it. It's emotionally draining, physically draining, but did I come out a better person, a stronger person? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think so."
Secret Scene: Jean-Robert
Courtney: The no underpants was just silly on your part.
Jean-Robert (solo): Courtney thought it was silly that I wasn't wearing underwear, and I was like, what do you mean silly?
(Jean-Robert says he wants to use Courtney's shawl as a skirt-type outfit, and she refuses, saying she doesn't want his "junk" on her shawl. She gives him a shirt or jacket.)
Soon after having his torch snuffed, Jean-Robert reveals just how he feels being the eighth person voted out of the game and the second member of the Jury.
"Well, I really loved the way I played this game. My strategy was to come in here, treat it like a horse race, start out in last place. I came in kind of being a little bit of a jerk, bossing people around, being kind of lazy, knowing if I could get past those early stages I was only gonna look impressive from there. I built alliances with unlikely people and anyways I got to a position where I started feeling pretty good about my spot. I was in the middle of the pack with my horse, I could see the finish line, but I decided that there was another horse just as strong as I was, armed with two immunity idols, at least one. That was James. James has been playing a terrific game, and when I found out he has at least one immunity idol, I decided we needed to be careful, because I really don't want to be up against him in the finals. I made a big move today, tried to take him out, and unfortunately it backfired. Had it worked, I think I would have been in a position to win this whole game, but I'm out. I think I made a good move, I might've made it a little early. I trusted a few people I knew all along to be suspicious of. I still kind've like my play because it was to everybody's advantage to get James out. They blindsided me just the way I planned to blindside James. It happens. I love the way I played the game, it's unfortunate that I'm out. Wow. It's frustrating to spend twenty-four days out here, because this is miserable to me, but it'd definitely be worth it to win a million dollars. It's not worth it to go out at this point, really it's not. This is really frustrating. I really feel like I've blown a month of my life for nothing. Basically it's a million for first place, a hundred thousand for second. Now it's twenty-four days gone for nothing. Boom. Brutal. Brutal."
(cut)
"At this stage, I believe I was targeted and voted out not because of being obnoxious or being a jerk or getting on people's nerves. That may have been the case for one or two votes, but I think basically they got rid of me because they had come to realize I was the biggest threat, perhaps even more than James, and today with the mix-up in the votes because I was taking away some of Peih-Gee's votes. She was definitely going home if we'd stuck to that plan. I think Todd, maybe Todd and Amanda saw an opportunity to get rid of the bigger threat. I think they realized maybe I was the best player in the whole game and they would feel a lot more comfortable with me out of the game."
(cut)
"Right now I'm trying to think if I regret anything about the way I played. I loved the way I played. I played a great game. I played great strategy, I was always pretty sharp to see when things were going against me. My antennas were always up. Today, I did not see the votes coming towards me but it was a great opportunity to put me out. If I have any regrets I approached Todd a little too early in the day, because when I talked to him he was psyched about it and he liked it. After a few hours of thinking he probably realized I'm a bigger threat than James and tried to structure something to have me out instead of James. Or maybe he had some sort of alliance with James I didn't know about. There's a couple of things, a couple of factors I'm not aware of. Probably the thing that is difficult with this game is you do have to trust sometimes, and you have to trust people you may not know are 100% trustworthy, or at least not trustworthy to you."
(cut)
"If I were relate what happened now to a game of poker, it would be like a tournament poker game, where you're getting down to the final table and the chips are pretty even. Sometimes you can play conservative and wait and wait and wait for aces, wait for kings, and just blind off your chips. The proper move might've been for me to just vote Peih-Gee out today, go with it, vote Erik out the next one, vote Frosti out the next one, then make it down to the top six, five or four. I'm playing for first, I'm playing for first, and the only person who threatened that first place position for me was James. If I got a chance to knock him out, I wanted to knock him out now. I'm moving all in, I pushed all in, and you know what, didn't work out for me. Had I succeeded in today's there was a good chance I would have won this sole Survivor, just like I would have won the tournament. I like my spot, I like the move I made. Maybe I made it a little bit too early, but I like it.
Courtney Wins
Having come up empty in the past, Courtney proved herself as she walked away with the Immunity necklace. How does it feel
for Courtney to win?
"Peih-Gee is on a crusade to be the most annoying person (hits her hands together for 'most annoying person') here at camp. I don't know why -- the position's already filled. We have Jean-Robert. Why don't you be something else? But no, she's in it, she wants to be that person. She wants to be annoying. She just won't quit. She has now started the world's longest campaign of a pity party. Any time I see her coming I walk away. Then any time anyone else sees her coming, they walk away."
(cut)
"Stop being so annoying! Just stop right now! Plus too at today's challenge I thought she stood almost a better chance than me of winning. It was clearly for smaller people - yay, Survivor, finally (gives dual thumbs up - she's smaller like I am, but she's more compact, and she does yoga, and she knows if she didn't win immunity today there was a definite chance she would be voted off. She wasn't even...she was like number five to go down. I'm not sure about her. I thought she was gonna be much stiffer competition. I went into the challenge thinking OK we can't let her win immunity, because then it's going to send everyone else into a tailspin of who we're gonna say we're voting out, so one of us has to beat her. Then when she fell in the water I was like, 'Now I can fall in the water. I don't wanna fall in the water. This water's gross! I'm just gonna sit here! I'll just sit here all day!' (hysterical laughter)"
(cut)
"It feels pretty good. I didn't think I'd ever win anything. Win individual immunity on Survivor? Check (makes a check mark). Alright! (gives the dual thumbs up and laughs) I was pretty pumped about it. That was an easy one for me because I don't want to fall in the disgusting swamp water, and that's a pretty good motivation for sit still you idiot, if you move, you're going to fall down. I didn't understand why everyone was trying to give it one of these (moves around) and looking over. I don't know. I used to, bless my Grandma, she gave me a year of horseback riding lessons, so I sat bolt upright, knees bent. Then I know from snowboarding that where you look is where your weight goes, ever so subtly, so I looked dead ahead. I didn't move."
(cut)
"I do have a serious leg up tonight, but then it's only tonight and as soon as you start winning individual things you start getting noticed and people are like, (cuts eyes) 'Ooh, she won that, mmm, we may have a problem here Houston.' All the sudden I went from being the ultimate loser to being like, 'Oh crap, she won! Now we have to start paying attention to her, too?' It's kind of a double-edged thing, but tonight I'm just gonna enjoy it."
"Peih-Gee is on a crusade to be the most annoying person (hits her hands together for 'most annoying person') here at camp. I don't know why -- the position's already filled. We have Jean-Robert. Why don't you be something else? But no, she's in it, she wants to be that person. She wants to be annoying. She just won't quit. She has now started the world's longest campaign of a pity party. Any time I see her coming I walk away. Then any time anyone else sees her coming, they walk away."
(cut)
"Stop being so annoying! Just stop right now! Plus too at today's challenge I thought she stood almost a better chance than me of winning. It was clearly for smaller people - yay, Survivor, finally (gives dual thumbs up - she's smaller like I am, but she's more compact, and she does yoga, and she knows if she didn't win immunity today there was a definite chance she would be voted off. She wasn't even...she was like number five to go down. I'm not sure about her. I thought she was gonna be much stiffer competition. I went into the challenge thinking OK we can't let her win immunity, because then it's going to send everyone else into a tailspin of who we're gonna say we're voting out, so one of us has to beat her. Then when she fell in the water I was like, 'Now I can fall in the water. I don't wanna fall in the water. This water's gross! I'm just gonna sit here! I'll just sit here all day!' (hysterical laughter)"
(cut)
"It feels pretty good. I didn't think I'd ever win anything. Win individual immunity on Survivor? Check (makes a check mark). Alright! (gives the dual thumbs up and laughs) I was pretty pumped about it. That was an easy one for me because I don't want to fall in the disgusting swamp water, and that's a pretty good motivation for sit still you idiot, if you move, you're going to fall down. I didn't understand why everyone was trying to give it one of these (moves around) and looking over. I don't know. I used to, bless my Grandma, she gave me a year of horseback riding lessons, so I sat bolt upright, knees bent. Then I know from snowboarding that where you look is where your weight goes, ever so subtly, so I looked dead ahead. I didn't move."
(cut)
"I do have a serious leg up tonight, but then it's only tonight and as soon as you start winning individual things you start getting noticed and people are like, (cuts eyes) 'Ooh, she won that, mmm, we may have a problem here Houston.' All the sudden I went from being the ultimate loser to being like, 'Oh crap, she won! Now we have to start paying attention to her, too?' It's kind of a double-edged thing, but tonight I'm just gonna enjoy it."
Tribal Council
Find out what Jean-Robert's tribemates had to say while making their final decision.
Todd ("JR"): Your game is poker, but this is my game. Time to go.
Courtney (Jean-Robert): Well, Susan Lucci of Survivor, I hope tonight is your night. I hope this is the last time I have to vote for you. Maybe we all can sleep now.
Peih-Gee (James): You crossed me before. Payback is a bitch.
Amanda ("J.R."): I'm sorry, but you burnt way too many bridges and everyone here wants you gone. I'm sorry to do this, but you have to go.
Denise ("Phee-Gee" with the 3 again): Peih-Gee, I'm voting for you. It was a good strategy losing the challenge, but you shoulda stuck with your plan.
Erik (James): You're just too big of a threat, especially with that hidden immunity idol. You gotta go, bro. Sorry.
James ("J.r."): You've escaped so many times, you're looking like a cat with nine lives. This time this gravedigger's gonna put you to rest. (?)
Jean-Robert (James): You've played an incredible game, my friend. So incredible that you're probably the toughest player here. That's why we gotta send you packing.
Todd ("JR"): Your game is poker, but this is my game. Time to go.
Courtney (Jean-Robert): Well, Susan Lucci of Survivor, I hope tonight is your night. I hope this is the last time I have to vote for you. Maybe we all can sleep now.
Peih-Gee (James): You crossed me before. Payback is a bitch.
Amanda ("J.R."): I'm sorry, but you burnt way too many bridges and everyone here wants you gone. I'm sorry to do this, but you have to go.
Denise ("Phee-Gee" with the 3 again): Peih-Gee, I'm voting for you. It was a good strategy losing the challenge, but you shoulda stuck with your plan.
Erik (James): You're just too big of a threat, especially with that hidden immunity idol. You gotta go, bro. Sorry.
James ("J.r."): You've escaped so many times, you're looking like a cat with nine lives. This time this gravedigger's gonna put you to rest. (?)
Jean-Robert (James): You've played an incredible game, my friend. So incredible that you're probably the toughest player here. That's why we gotta send you packing.
Frosti (Jean-Robert): Looks like my free roll lasted a little bit longer than yours.
Jean-Robert, the Day After
Watch as Jean-Robert sums up his Survivor experience the day after being ousted by his tribe. Was his time in China harder than he anticipated?
"I have to tell you, coming out and going on Survivor, you see the things on TV and you go, 'Oh that would be difficult,' and everything. I would never, ever expect for people to have to go through what we've gone through. The living conditions, the brutal living conditions we've endured are very real. Not eating for three days, not a thing for the first three days, was absolutely real. Not having anything to drink, having to sleep out in the elements with bugs and everything, it is very real and very difficult. I just remember being out there and thinking to myself, 'Man, if someone were to offer me exactly $10,000 to endure twenty-four hours of this, I don't know that I would take it.' It was brutal, it was beyond brutal out there. The first three days I remember feeling I would not want a Navy Seal in training to have to go through what we went through on those first three days. It was brutal."
(cut)
"I came on Survivor for one thing, and that was to win a million dollars. Going out there for twenty-four days and going home empty-handed is extremely frustrating. Yes, it's a tough situation, yes it's something I'll have for the rest of my life, I spent twenty-four day out there in one of the most trying situations of my life. Do I feel like I'm glad I did it? No, I'm not glad I went and spent twenty-four days out and going home empty-handed. I'm glad I took an investment in being one in sixteen people who could win a million dollars, because that was worthwhile. Going home empty-handed after twenty-four days is not a cool feeling and it's very frustrating. Am I glad about the overall experience? I'm going to try to make the best of the situation, but I'm not happy about it. Was it worth it because I could have gotten a million dollars? Yes, it was worth it."
(cut)
"My being a little bit obnoxious, and complaining, and bitching, and doing all that stuff was definitely part of my strategy. Sometimes in real life certainly I might be like that, but not exaggerated to that point."
(cut)
"Being that we're playing for a million bucks out here, sometimes I almost find situations laughable where it seems like strategy is taking second place to who I wanna have around me or who my friends are. I think Zhan Hu is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. They sent Chicken home, they weren't comfortable around him the first couple of days. Then they send Ashley home and she was probably their strongest girl. Then they send Dave home because he was annoying them. He was probably their biggest workhorse, admittedly he did two or three times more work than anybody else on the camp. They just completely sabotaged their own camp."
(cut)
"My life back home...I often joke with friends about how I live basically the life of a millionaire. Broke and living like a millionaire, that's bascially the way I live. Sometimes I have money and sometimes I'm broke, but somehow I always live the lifestyle of a millionaire. The nicest hotels in the world, traveling the world and staying in these beautiful hotels, eating steaks and lobster and crab for dinner every night. It is really cool some of the things I'm able to do. Coming here, I remember the first grains of rice we had after three days. I rememebr shuffling around and trying to get every grain and thoroughly enjoying food of any kind. I believe when I get back home I'm going to savor every bite."
(cut)
"Going through this kind of adversity, I would say the thing I learned most about myself is that I'm actually capable of doing a lot more than I thought I was. This was the toughest thing I've ever had to go through in my life, and I was able to get through it. I'm reasonably healthy right now. Yeah I've lost a few pounds -- lost a lot of pounds, but that was very trying, and I got through it. It's emotionally draining, physically draining, but did I come out a better person, a stronger person? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think so."
Secret Scene: Jean-Robert
Jean-Robert and some of his tribemates regret his choice of clothing when coming on SURVIVOR.
(Jean-Robert near the shelter)
Courtney (solo): Any guy who shows up for a game that throws you out in the middle of the jungle with a silk shirt and no underpants, you gotta wonder about that guy.
Jean-Robert: The problem for me is I'm not having fun. I'll do it, and suffer through it, but this is not fun. (Courtney and Denise make a face) We had to be the group to go out with the clothes on your back. Believe me, if I'd known I'd have shown up in some underwear, and maybe a shirt other than a silk shirt (Courtney makes a face), and some shoes.
(Jean-Robert near the shelter)
Courtney (solo): Any guy who shows up for a game that throws you out in the middle of the jungle with a silk shirt and no underpants, you gotta wonder about that guy.
Jean-Robert: The problem for me is I'm not having fun. I'll do it, and suffer through it, but this is not fun. (Courtney and Denise make a face) We had to be the group to go out with the clothes on your back. Believe me, if I'd known I'd have shown up in some underwear, and maybe a shirt other than a silk shirt (Courtney makes a face), and some shoes.
Courtney: The no underpants was just silly on your part.
Jean-Robert (solo): Courtney thought it was silly that I wasn't wearing underwear, and I was like, what do you mean silly?
(Jean-Robert says he wants to use Courtney's shawl as a skirt-type outfit, and she refuses, saying she doesn't want his "junk" on her shawl. She gives him a shirt or jacket.)
