Survivor: Worlds Apart eliminated Joaquin Souberbielle during the fifth episode of the CBS reality competition's 30th season.
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In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World, Joaquin talked about his Survivor experience and what went wrong.
Below is the concluding portion of his interview. Click here to read the first half.
Reality TV World: Based on the previews for the next episode, Rodney Lavoie Jr. seems furious about his Blue Collar tribemates voting you out. Do you think there's any shot he'll continue working with them, and if not, do you think that wasn't the smartest move to make for the majority alliance in that tribe going into the merge?
Joaquin Souberbielle: Listen, Rodney's going to do what Rodney's going to do. That kid is going to prevail. My guess is, he's making it. Whether he gets back with them, I don't know, but he's going to have game in the back of his mind. He's going to do whatever it takes to get to the end and screw them. And honestly, I hope he does.
Reality TV World: It seems like his main goal in the game is to flip on a group and turn the game upside down.
Joaquin Souberbielle: Yup, yup! He's going to avenge my departure. I can definitely say that.
Reality TV World: What did you think the hidden Immunity Idol situation was while you were out there? First of all, did you have any inkling Carolyn Rivera had one when you were still part of her White Collar tribe? And what did you think was going on in the new Escameca?
Joaquin Souberbielle: No, I had absolutely no idea Carolyn had the idol because I was searching for it, but at one point, I was just like, "F-ck it. I don't even care anymore." So I was like, "[Tyler Fredrickson], here, look. This is it right here. I don't even care. I don't even want to search for it anymore."
And then when I got to Escameca, everybody was like, "Nobody found it! Nobody found it." Everyone was so surprised that no tribe had found it. So everyone was thinking, "Somebody had to have found it."
But Rodney said no one had it, [Sierra Dawn Thomas] said nobody had it, [Dan Foley] said nobody had it, [Mike Holloway] said the same thing. And then [Joe Anglim] said the same thing, like, "Nobody found it back on our tribe." So we were just like, "What the hell is going on?"
But in the back of my mind I was like, "Somebody has it!" I kept telling Rodney, "Listen, one of you guys had it. I know it. It may not be you, but I know someone on your tribe definitely had it." And, I don't know, we'll see.
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Reality TV World: So if that was the case, did you go out looking for it often when you became a part of Escameca?
Joaquin Souberbielle: I think I went looking once or twice. But, you know, it was just unreal how big their beach was, so it was just too much. It was literally like a mile long, whereas our beach was like, I don't know, the size of a football field maybe.
Reality TV World: Were you in on the plan to throw the Immunity Challenge? I'm assuming so since you sat out of it and were working so closely with Rodney.
Joaquin Souberbielle: No, no. I absolutely [didn't know]. Rodney brought it up to me and I said it probably wasn't the smartest move and I had absolutely no idea that that was going on.
But, yeah, I just thought that Mike, being a Super Fan and having watched every season -- sometimes twice over -- would be like, "Nah, there's no way I'm throwing the challenge. It's just retarded. It's way too early, way too early." And at the end, he did, and that's how I went home. It cost me everything.
Reality TV World: So at the challenge, when you saw Mike struggling as much as he was, it didn't become obvious to you at that point what he was doing?
Joaquin Souberbielle: No, because, you know, I just figured, "Oh, they're Blue Collar. They're dumb. They really can't line six [objects] in a row." I was like, "Alright. These people are half retarded. What's going on?!" It didn't cross my mind for a second. I was just like, "Whatever, what are you going to do?" I was like, "We'll just send Joe home tonight," and then boom! I completely got blindsided.
Reality TV World: Taking your elimination out of the equation, do you think Mike's decision to throw the challenge was a bad idea? He even said a move like that never typically works out in a player's favor when looking at the history of Survivor. Having numbers going into the merge is obviously crucial.
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It was either going to be Joe or myself that was going home, so he felt pretty safe throwing the challenge. And at the end of the day, it worked out perfectly for him. I'm sure he went to sleep that night feeling really good.
Reality TV World: What did you envision happening once the two tribes merged? Were you planning ahead on whom you wanted to work with or would stay loyal to? Did you have any intention to reconnect with, say, Carolyn?
Joaquin Souberbielle: Of course! Carolyn was my girl! They don't show you, but after the first episode -- from Day 4 to Day 12 when we separated -- me, Carolyn and Tyler were the closest ever, like there was no way we were breaking that bond at all, whatsoever.
So when Carolyn was thrown over to the other side, I didn't really get to speak with her, but every time we went and saw each other at the challenges, we would just look at each other and give each other the "head nod," like, "I love you. I'll see you. We'll get back together. Don't worry about it." And yeah, it never happened that way. I'm sure Tyler and Carolyn get back together soon. I'm almost positive.
Reality TV World: Shirin Oskooi is trying to work her way back into her tribe, trying to fit in with them and be less annoying. (Laughs) Did you think at the time there was any shot you'd end up working with her after the merge?
Joaquin Souberbielle: Shirin who? (Laughs) No, there was absolutely no way that I was getting together with Shirin. I knew that for a fact. Shirin's last hope was for [Max Dawson] to somehow help her out. And now with Max gone, Carolyn can't stand her. There was no way we were getting back together.
My thought was basically me, Sierra, Rodney, and Tyler head back to the other side and we grab obviously Carolyn -- because she's my girl -- and then Rodney said that he had a really close relationship with [Kelly Remington]. And boom! That was going to be us all the way to the end. Obviously not.
Reality TV World: When I talked to Lindsey Cascaddan from the Blue Collar tribe last week, she insisted a Blue Collar player will definitely win this game. She explained that White Collars can over-think things while No Collars don't think enough among other points. How do you feel about that considering you were a member of the White Collar tribe?
Joaquin Souberbielle: I'm confident just like she's confident, you know? She said somebody on her tribe is going to win it, and I feel the same exact way about my tribe. Yeah, the No Collars probably don't think and we probably think too much, but honestly, I'm confident somebody on the White Collar tribe is going to win it whether it's Tyler, Shirin or Carolyn. I'm almost positive. I'm almost positive.
Reality TV World: How were you cast on Survivor? If you applied, was this your first time?
Joaquin Souberbielle: I never applied to be on the show at all honestly. I was just at the right place at the right time. I was actually on the app Tinder going back and forth, and I linked up with this beautiful blonde Ali, who took me under her wing and took me all the way to the finals. And I ended up getting on the show just by being at the right place at the right time.
Click here to read the first half of Joaquin's exclusive interview with Reality TV World.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski