I’m a Very Loyal Person”: An Interview with Survivor: Cook Islands’ Parvati
by David Bloomberg -- 12/15/2006
What was Parvati’s strategy on Survivor? What does she think of her own game play and how she was portrayed? What was her biggest mistake? Parvati answers all of these questions and more in this RealityNewsOnline interview!
On the show, it seemed like Parvati’s main strategy was to flirt – was that her plan, or was she just as surprised as anybody at seeing so much of it on the show? She tells us what her strategy was and how her personality played into it. Just read on!
RealityNewsOnline: First, how is your thumb?
Parvati: My thumb is good. There’s a little scar and I get ghost pains sometimes, but it’s all healed up.
RNO: Well that’s good. What was your strategy coming into the game?
Parvati: My strategy primarily consisted of being underrated as a competitor and being likable. And that’s the way I worked it.
RNO: So how would you rate your own play?
Parvati: I’m really happy with how I played the game. I’m a very loyal person and I stayed true to myself. I knew I didn’t want to stab anyone in the back if I didn’t have to. I competed my heart out. I think I did a good job and I’m proud of it.
RNO: Considering what everybody seemed to think of Jonathan, why did you keep him around while voting off Brad, Rebecca, and Jenny.
Parvati: The reason I kept Jonathon was because I felt loyalty to him from our days at original Raro. We had a tight alliance since the first day we landed on the beach. He kept looking me in the eye, saying, “You can trust me, I’m not going to hurt you.” I believed him. I’m a very trusting person. Maybe it’s crazy because I know this game is all about deceit, but that’s why I kept him around.
RNO: When you were attacking Jonathan, saying you were sick because he turned on you, etc., how much of that was your true feeling and how much was strategy?
Parvati: I was so emotional at that point! Nate had just gotten voted out. Nate was my guy. I knew Raro was on a downhill. Pretty much my unleashing was straight emotion. No one else was around, I wasn’t trying to call him out in front of the Aitus. I was just telling him what I thought. I don’t hold my anger inside – I let it go and move on.
RNO: But why was there so much anger – with you, Adam, and Candice – in a game that is frequently about backstabbing?
Parvati: I think we were all just really hurt. We knew that our number was up. We were just mad about it and maybe it was a little immature on our part, but when you feel like you have someone on your side who’s loyal from day one, and he continuously tells you, “trust me, trust me,” you’re going to feel hurt and betrayed and get mad at that person. It’s just human nature.
RNO: At least since the mutiny, what we saw indicated that you and your allies were lazy. What do you have to say about how you were portrayed?
Parvati: I was very disappointed to watch that in the show, because we were fine. The only person who said we were lazy was Jonathan and I completely respected his work ethic. That man was tireless. He was always doing something, but we were too. Before Jonathan was there, Nate was catching octopus and I would get shellfish – we all pitched in, it was a group effort. We didn’t have a good fisherman like Ozzy, so we didn’t eat that much fish, so I think they portrayed that as being lazy. It was disappointing for me to see it portrayed that way.
RNO: What did you think when the Aitus and Jonathan ate the dinner they caught without you?
Parvati: It was a slap in the face. I think the Aitu four had a very strong strategy – they didn’t want to make any decision individually so no one would get singled out and nobody could get angry at one person, so they went along with it. I was surprised they did that, because the night before – you didn’t see this – Adam and I had gone out and fed them all with clams and crabs and made soup for them. We fed them that night. I was shocked they were cool with eating like that without even letting us know what was going on. But tension was high at that point and I had just snapped on Jonathan so I understand why he was pissed off and didn’t want to share, but it still hurt.
RNO: Until he showed it, why did you seem so certain Yul didn’t have the idol?
Parvati: I just didn’t want to say that Yul had the idol because I knew Jonathan was so concerned that Yul had the idol and he wouldn’t vote with us. So I was trying to be adamant about it because I didn’t want Jonathan to switch on us. And Adam was acting like he had the idol. I wasn’t certain Yul didn’t have it – the thought entered my mind, but I didn’t want to allow anyone else to think that because the idol would be on our side and Jonathan would be feeling vulnerable.
RNO: By the time Tribal Council came around, did you pretty much know you were going?
Parvati: Yeah. A definite yes. I knew I had just gone on the reward, the girls were really jealous, and Yul was feeling threatened because Ozzy and I were talking a lot. And I’d been beating them, so they knew I was stronger than Adam. I had tried everything I could [to stay]. But it’s still a shock when you see your name on that card. It sucks. But then you get up and walk out with your head up. Best of luck to the people who are still in the game.
RNO: Other than the portrayal of you as lazy, what do you think of how you came across on the show?
Parvati: I actually think I came across pretty much as myself. I know one of the main reasons I did so well was I had fun and enjoyed competing and the whole being out in the middle of nowhere and being cut off from the world. I love meeting people and talking to people. I think they portrayed me basically who I am. Maybe they went a little over the top with the flirting thing.
RNO: They did or you did?
Parvati: I really didn’t think I was that bad, but when I watched it, I thought maybe I was. But they cast people as certain types and I was cast to play the flirty young girl. They had to play it up. I had fun. I’m not going to censor myself.
I wasn’t so preoccupied with being so serious and talking strategy all the time. I wanted to go and compete as hard as I could and win if I could – I really wanted to win. I thought that in my life, I kind of go with the flow and it’s always worked out for me, so I’m like I’m going to do what I’ve done my whole life and see if it works – and it kind of did. I guess I could have been a little more conniving.
RNO: If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?
Parvati: Oh my God, I would keep Jenny in the game, hands-down! When we got that message in the bottle, that was the worst possible thing that could have happened to Raro. We didn’t have a chance to talk or strategy. Everything was happening so fast. Jenny was one of my favorite people and it really hurt to vote her out. But I was thinking if we don’t have a merge, we have to have a fighting chance to win challenges and Jonathan was really strong and really pulled his weight. So I had to vote Jenny. Looking back, [I was] a fool. Jenny never would have traded on us, she was such a loyal person. That was my tragic downfall.
RNO: Thanks, Parvati!
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