Survivor: Samoa

'Survivor: Samoa's' John Fincher on Russell: 'Doing business with the Devil'



By Andrea Reiher | December 4, 2009 11:31 AM



John Fincher was the 12th person to leave "Survivor: Samoa." He told us he wishes he could've been in Russell's tribe from the start because that would've been, "Katie, bar the door!"

What were you up to before Survivor?
Without
mentioning too much about my company, I work for a big aerospace and
defense company. I do satellite engineering work. We're a major payload
provider for high frequency communication satellites and high-accuracy
earth-sensing instruments.

Are you still doing that?
Yes, I am. Still with the same company. Lots of people are trying to get a hold of me now, though, as you might imagine.

So let's talk about last night's episode. It would appear that the vote was a complete surprise to you.
Yeah,
I mean there's certainly a level of surprise, but going into it, you
start to do numbers in your head and you're like,"Why do I all of a
sudden not know exactly what's going to happen?" The answer is either
option A) I'm going home or option B) there's about to be a hit
executed on someone that I could've protected or would've tried to
defend against. When they're going to vote of for someone you like,
they're not going to tell you so there was a certain level of surprise.

Did
you at all suspect Russell was actually trying to get you out,
specifically, or did you just know that something might be up?
With
Russell, you're doing business with the devil and unfortunately for me,
my position was that I was best suited to have a dialogue with Russel.
When you saw me and Russell having that conversation on the rocks and
I'm like, "Hey buddy, it's me and you all the way" and he tells me,
"Yeah, whatever you want to do" and we're both sitting there lying to
each other's faces. It's a total dialogue of untruths. We were both
going, "Man, I wish I would've been on this guy's team but
unfortunately I have to axe him." It's a very civil conversation but
you both know you're trying to kill each other.

What do you think of Russell? He's obviously one of the bigger personalities this season.
I
think he's the biggest personality maybe ever. I'm mad he got cast on
the same season as me. [laughs] I think he's the greatest Survivor to
ever play the game and if he wasn't cast on my season, I could've done
a lot more. Kudos to him for maintaining control and doing what he was
doing. I wish I would've thought to burn socks on my team, I love that
move. If Russell and I were put on the same team initially, it would've
been "Katie, bar the door!" It would've been even crazier. Russell is
the greatest there ever was in this game.

Are there any things you've been surprised by, watching the episodes on TV?
Yeah,
I mean, my strategy going in was that I am smart enough and analytic
enough to process information and make correct decisions and I could do
that better than most, if not all, of the poeple out there, so as far
as things happening, I wasn't surprised by as much as I think a lot of
other people were or are.

Who do you think is playing the best game at this point in the show?
Russell.

Is there anybody besides Russell or is he just the complete puppetmaster?
There
are some people who have potential to do some things, but are they
going to do it? Dave Ball is a smart, smart person but does he have
what it takes to execute a strategy? I think Brett is very likeable for
a lot of people, but I think he's a bit young and a bit too naive to be
a power player. Mick is obviously very smart and someone who can do a
lot of good things. Monica is very weak. I think she made a bad
decision to go with Brett and Dave over me. Jaison is a strong player,
Dave has the potential to be a strong player, but he's drowning. He's
just trying to stay afloat. But they are all overshadowed by Russell.

What about Shambo? I notice she didn't come up in your last answer.
Shambo
is very impactful this season. She's a very unique character. She wears
a bandanna around her head in real life. Shambo's a nice person but
it's hard to work with her over the long run. It's really a behavioral
pattern with her to let her emotions impact her decision making, which
I disagree with. I try to be as ice cold as possible out there.

She's
a nice person who was unfortunately a bit ostracized. When Russell
Swan sent her over to Foa Foa twice, that was a bad move. When Laura
was sort-of maliciously attacking her and trying to make her an
outcast, I think that was an incorrect move. Shambo might not be able
to articulate exactly how Laura was doing that to her because it was
very subtle, but it was certainly happening. There was a lot of malice
involved. Shambo's a good person and she got ostracized and Russell and
Foa Foa recognized that and took advantage.

1. Brett - He's adorable, and from what I saw in the recap he seems smart. Boo editors for not showing more of him.
2. Monica - She's smart. It's obvious she has plans just no one to execute them. Hopefully, she'll avenge Lauragoddess! <3
3. Mick - Oh MickDreamy..he's a nice guy. And he makes me miss Dr. Marcus <3
(Please let one of those 3 win!)
4. Natalie - She impressed me with her immunity performance.
5. Dave - I love the fact he went up against that fat bitch.
6. Jaison - I liked him last night, but up until then he's annoyed the hell out of me.
7. Russell - Ugh.
8. Shamoo - Please go away you disgusting, fat, useless bitch. NO ONE likes you! You are useless in EVERYWAY.

That final 3 works for me!!

Brett who?

Okay, I've changed my mind. Mick is my new endorsement. <3333 Go MickDreamy!

Glad Monica has now joined the jury with the rest of the bitter losers, exactly where she belongs.

I love how Russell put his immunity idol ON as soon as he got to tribal council and didn't even play it. Monica seemed way over confident, what a fool!! She made a complete ass out of herself. She gave herself far too much credit in thinking she stirred the pot. When the numbers start dwindling down paranoia always sets in, it had already set in before she even started running her mouth but like most narcissists they think it was because of them.

I wouldn't be surprised if Russell made it all the way to the end and didn't get any votes because of the bitter bitches on the jury

It's pretty sad I can't even recall who just won the last challenge because their entire existence out on the island is so insignifcant

Quote :

I wouldn't be surprised if Russell made it all
the way to the end and didn't get any votes because of the bitter
bitches on the jury

nor would I. And that just MIGHT be the case. We know that the votes are counted live BUT.....you never know what might have leaked out.
Just like when Sugar did not receive one vote. I was glad with bowtie Bob winning but that fact that dead weight Susie not only got more votes than Sugar, but she almost won the game for doing NOTHING!!!! Stupid stupid bitter jury. No matter what ANYONE does for the rest of this season, no one is more deserving to win this game but Russell the Survivor muscle. Putting the idol on an tribal was genius and once again, something that has NEVER been done.
I think we said this before, is it any wonder that he is the ONLY one from this season invited back immediately to what is sure to be a blockbuster season for Survivor??

Brett winning immunity = <33333 Ya'll hit the nail on the head, NO ONE on the jury will vote for Russell to win. Jeff Probst himself has stressed time and time again that you have to keep in mind the people you send to the jury are ultimately the people who your fate in their hands. I don't think it has anything to do with Russhole's gameplay whatsoever that people dislike him it's his cocky, bully-like attitude that cause people to HATE him. Rightfully so, the only person I hate more is than damn whale. Brick Final 2! <333333

face it, the people who HE sent to jury are bitter, whiny bitches who wouldnt know good game play if it bit them in the ass which is why they are where they are. They were outwit, outplayed and outlasted by Russell and for that, he should win. Survivor, unlike Big Brother, is not so much about the social game as it is the game play. I havent seen Russell bully anyone so I am not sure where that is coming from. I also think that he has been loyal to Mick, Natalie and Jaison and has not stabbed them in the back. Without Russell, the Foa Foa's would have been all gone right now. They were dead in the water and Russell saved their asses. Russell is the mastermind, Russell is the backbone and Russell is the hidden immunity magnet. Seriously think about that.
I also think it speaks volumes that Russell was the ONLY one asked back. clearly the star of the season and the reason its been a great ride.

For the record, Brett is a goner....not a snowballs chance in hell.

Survivor's Monica: Russell's "Burned a Lot of Bridges"




Survivor: Samoa Monica Padilla

Love him or hate him, Russell Hantz has been one of the strongest players on Survivor: Samoa all season. Thanks to his aggressive tactics and knack for finding hidden immunity idols, the Texas millionaire seemed poised to coast through to the finale. Unfortunately for Russell, Monica Padilla's final day on the island was also her strongest. Monica not only threatened to sway the jury against Russell, she also put fear into his closest alliances and exited the game with a bang. But with six contestants and two episodes, will it be enough? The 25-year-old law student talked with TVGuide.com about showing her more aggressive side, what could hurt Russell in the end and who she thinks will be the next to get burned.
Watch full episodes of Survivor: Samoa
TVGuide.com: Were you fully expecting to go home at tribal council or did you have hope that your talks with Mick, Russell had helped?
Monica Padilla: Every time you go to tribal council, you expect to go home or just plan to go home just to kind of prepare yourself. At that point, you have a slight little bit of hope that things may change in your favor. When it comes down to it, I was pretty sure I knew exactly how it was going to go down.
TVGuide.com: What prompted this new side of Monica we saw on the last episode?
Monica: I think in life, I'm a little bit more bold and outspoken than I tried to be on the show. I like to speak my mind and I knew going into the game that I would have to monitor that and keep my mouth shut. Men tend to get a little bit threatened by women who are in power positions and who make powerful moves like that. So I guess I tried to stay a little more under the radar given how much of a big mouth I can have. At that point, I knew I had nothing to lose. So, at that point, everything was just flying out of me, everything that I could possibly think of was just to stay in the game at that point. I think a lot of my personality and a lot more of who I am came out that last day.
TVGuide.com: Do you regret not showing that aggressive side of yourself earlier on in the competition?
Monica: I think it would have hurt me earlier in the game. The only thing that really hurt my game and made me go home as early as I did was underestimating the power of the hidden immunity idol and estimating when Russell might have it. Even so, I played it off to everyone that anyone of those four Foa Foas could have had it. That was a game-changing aspect of the game.
Survivor's Dave reveals how to go out "like a man"
TVGuide.com: Do you think some of the points you brought up with players on the Foa Foa team will continue to have an effect in the last two episodes?
Monica: I definitely think they'll have an effect. I don't think there's a likelihood that there's going to be a final five or a final four so someone's going to have to get burned. I think that that's going to have a definite impact on what Brett can do and whether or not he can really work the cracks in that armor.
TVGuide.com: Why do you think Russell decided not to play his immunity idol at tribal council? There seemed to be a lot of tension at tribal council but he still didn't play it.
Monica: I think it was a cocky move on his part, coming in and wearing the idol. I think once he decided not to play the idol, if I were Mick, Jaison or Natalie, I think I would have regretted, at that point, not voting for Russell. That would have been the moment to take out the most aggressive player before he takes you out first.
TVGuide.com: Do you firmly believe what you told Russell about swaying the other votes against him in the jury?
Monica: I think the jury will most likely be against him, if he were to make it that far. He's burned a lot of bridges. I think that's the beauty of this game that I always loved, is just having enough strategy to where someone will respect it and not vote against it for you in the end. I think that that's something Russell basically underestimated and something he didn't go as much thought to that needs to stay in the game.
TVGuide.com: Do you think people finding out about Russell' fortune will affect the jury votes as well?
Monica: I definitely think it will affect the vote. Obviously, different people vote based on different virtues when it gets to that point in the game. That's what's so interesting about the jury is that you really just can't predict the outcome ... You make your decision based on your own personal values and your own priorities. For Russell, I think it's definitely going to hurt him. Some people might respect the fact that it's helped him go further in the game but I don't know if that's going to be enough to get him the vote, though,
TVGuide.com: Looking back, there were a few people who criticized the girls alliance in Galu, calling you the "90210 yoga club" for not competing enough. Do you regret any part of how you played the game or are there things you would do differently?
Monica: I think I would have made my alliance with Laura a little bit less obvious. She was someone that even to this day, I know I can put my trust in and I think we definitely had each other's backs from the beginning and there was an understanding. In the end, you align with people that you like and I think, in the end, that hurt me. I really think I should have made that a little bit less obvious.



I guess Russell should have just sat back and let Galu pick them off one by one instead of playing the game. Monica comes off sounding like a bitter, jealous bitch...probably because she is.