Ciera Eastin finished Survivor: Blood vs. Water in fifth place during the first half of Sunday night's special two-hour finale broadcast on CBS.

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Ciera, a 24-year-old cosmetology student from Salem, OR, got voted out of the Kasama tribe after runner-up Monica Culpepper wouldn't flip on her alliance with winner Tyson Apostol and third-place finisher Gervase Peterson. Monica had the chance to join forces with Ciera and fourth-place castaway Tina Wesson, but she opted out.

During a Monday conference call with reporters, Ciera talked to Reality TV World about her Survivor: Blood vs. Water experience. Check back with us later this week for additional interviews with the rest of the season's finale castaways.

Reality TV World: Looking back at it now, do you regret not teaming up with Hayden Moss and Caleb Bankston and blindsiding Tyson and Gervase? And if you do regret it, how big of a mistake do you think that was? Do you think you could've made it to the end and maybe even have won the $1 million if things had played out differently?

Ciera Eastin: Everybody keeps asking me that, and you know, the only way I can answer that is by saying you are seeing an hour of my three days, and I don't even want to sum it up to editing because that's not really what it was. But what you don't see is, you know, when Hayden came to me to get Tyson, I was so onboard and I would've done it.

But what you didn't see is following the decision to make that move when Hayden came back to me and Caleb and said he didn't know if he wanted to do that yet. He felt like he could really trust Tyson and it wasn't a plan that was set in stone. It was way too wishy-washy.

I had also heard that my name was being brought up a little bit, and so, it would've meant me taking a huge risk in trusting a plan that was all over the place to kind of show my cards when I wasn't ready to show my cards yet to Tyson.

If it didn't pan out and then I lose my connection with Tyson and Monica and Gervase, that would've sucked for me. And so what you didn't see was kind of the wishy-washy of that plan. So I don't regret the decision I made. I think if you were out there with me, maybe people would've made the same decision I made. So you're seeing an hour of my three days and I don't think I would've handled it any differently.

Reality TV World: Did it really take you right up until the rock-drawing Tribal Council to realize that you seemed to be fourth in the alliance of yourself, Tyson, Gervase, and Monica? Was that just the way it was presented?

Ciera Eastin: Yeah, the rock-drawing -- so for me to say I was four, right, as far as Tyson, Gervase, Monica were to go [after me] -- that night, I did discover I was four. But what kept me around and kept me not kind of making a move until that moment, was my relationship with Tyson.

And so, I knew I never had Gervase and Monica. They weren't my tight bond. My tight bond was with Tyson, and the first day of the tribe swap way early on, Tyson approached me and said, "Me and you, Final 3. As we get further, we'll decide who we want in the Final 3 with us." And that's early in the game, so early.

So from that point on, I was close with Tyson. And so I kept thinking, like, "Okay, I don't really need Gervase and Monica because I know I have Tyson." I always thought Tyson would take me -- not always -- but I felt like he would.

And at that moment when Gervase was talking, I just started to realize, like, "I can't just bank on Tyson taking me because it seems like he's closer to Gervase and Monica, and he's smarter for taking Gervase and Monica than to take me."

So at that moment, I did realize I was four and I wanted to make a move. But previously, I don't know. It's just like hindsight is 20/20 and it's hard for me to say that I didn't know it, because I kind of felt like I did. I just had more trust in Tyson, and in that moment, I lost my trust in him.

Reality TV World: Did you ever believe Monica was really going to flip on Tyson and Gervase, and if so, when was that?

Ciera Eastin: A couple of times I thought that Monica might switch on them. And one of the times was -- you saw me and Tina underneath the shelter -- and Monica came up to us and said, "Let's do Gervase," you know? She was like, "They think I'm with them 100% and it would be easy for us to do this."

And I looked at Tina and I'm like, "Did we maybe just like pull this off?" And so, there were a few times that I thought she was going to do it, and the fact that she didn't was a huge disappointment, I mean, to me and my game. I think that had she made a move, maybe there's a chance the outcome could've been different, because somebody needed to go against Tyson.

Reality TV World: Do you think things would have been different if your mom Laura Morett came back into the game from Redemption Island instead of Tina? Because one thing the finale played up was Tina being a little confrontational with Monica and that making your job more difficult.

Ciera Eastin: Yeah, so I also said that Tina was the last person I wanted to come back in, and I didn't mean it in a personal way. All I meant was, I knew that there was a little bit of bad blood between Monica and Tina from early on in the game, and I thought if Monica was going to work with me, she might be more likely to work with Hayden and me or my mom and me than Tina and me.

That was the only reason -- that's what went through my mind at the time. And I don't think it would've mattered if my mom would've come back in or if Hayden would've come back in.

I think Monica had made up her mind, so I don't think it would have mattered. But I did say that just strictly based on my odds. I thought that Monica would be more likely to work with me or Hayden or me and my mom.

Reality TV World: Do you think anyone would have been able to beat Tyson in a final jury vote, and if so, who?

Ciera Eastin: Yes, I do. I think Tina could've beaten Tyson at the end. I think I could've. I think Hayden could've or [Katie Collins]. I think that there was a group of us who wasn't very satisfied with the Final 3.

I mean, not to downplay Tyson's game -- because he did play an amazing game -- but being out there, if one of us would have gone to that Final 3 spot, just the way the jury was made up, I think any of us could've beat him.

Reality TV World: How did you end up getting cast on Survivor: Blood vs. Water? Was it a situation in which they originally wanted Laura and you were one of the "loved ones" on the list she gave them, or did they initially single you out for any reason, or did Laura simply say she'd play with you and no one else?

Ciera Eastin: So my mom got a phone call from casting, [asking] if my mom had any "loved ones" who might want to come on with her, and she gave my dad's number and my brother's number and my number. And I got a phone call -- a phone interview -- and I ended up going all the way through casting and they ended up picking me.

They didn't even call my brother. I don't know if that comes down to the fact that sometimes, maybe, they're looking for more females. So, you know, maybe they didn't want my brother. Maybe they were interested in another mother/daughter team, I'm not sure. But they basically just called and said, "We're looking for a 'loved one?' Do you have anybody you'd be interested in going on with?"

Check back with us later this week for additional interviews with the rest of the season's finale castaways.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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