CBSPunches were thrown at last night's Survivor: Nicaragua Tribal Council.
What, you missed it? So did we—but the latest castoff remembers it differently, at least when it comes to that puzzling voting-ballot sketch.
So what did it mean?
We got the answer to that question and more in today's exit interview...
Brenda Lowe, the former Miami Dolphins cheerleader and one of this season's smartest players, was voted out after her strongest—and most unlikely—ally, NaOnka, flipped. But Brenda believes she got her revenge...with a drawing.
What was the symbol you sketched on your voting ballot for NaOnka?
That symbol was the hidden immunity idol. Sorry my artistic abilities weren't that good, but I was trying to show people that NaOnka has it, so watch out. It was my own way of punching back to her without outing her and losing it at T.C. My own little hint—whether people picked up on it or not—it was my going-away present for her.
Who else knows NaOnka has the Idol?
She told me Benry suspected it, because he felt it in her bag. It wasn't out in the open, so no one really knew she had it—except Sash.
Is Sash as strange as he seems?
He's very soft-spoken. I never met anybody like that. I would call him Obama because he's so diplomatic with everything he says. He would think for every word of his sentence not to piss off anybody. You really feel that "I shouldn't trust you because you're taking too long to talk." [Laughs.] But Sash is intelligent, he's a smart guy, he knows how to work people, he did work people. He was good with the guys, he was good with me, he had alliances all over the place. That's not easy to do.
Were you surprised as you seemed that Chase and Sash voted for you, and that Sash didn't give you his Idol?
No. What people don't know is that I had trusted my main alliance with NaOnka with a little plan I had hatched, to take out Sash. I told NaOnka if Sash comes back [from the ziplining reward challenge with the guys] and says, "We need to keep Marty," we can't trust Sash. But he came back and said "We need to vote out Marty," [so I knew] we could trust him. But NaOnka went and told Sash, "Brenda's willing to take you out, watch out." So it was with that mentality that Sash said, "There's no way I'm going to give this girl my Idol. Anyone who's targeting me is gone."
Why ally with NaOnka? Did you regret it as she revealed more about her character as the game progressed?
Her character is...whew. Wow! It was really, really shocking to watch on television. But out there she was a sweet girl to me, she was my friend, she made me laugh. I trusted her 1,000 percent. And she took a lot of attention off of me. At the vote with Shannon, the whole tribe wanted me gone, and they didn't even know me. The more attention I could take off of me as a threat the better it was, and everyone wanted her out. While they were aiming for her, we could protect her and take them out. That was the strategy to keep her.
Did anyone get blamed for the fire at camp?
The person I saw put wood on that fire after I covered it and we all protected it was Jane [but] I don't think it was intentional. It was such a big loss we can't blame somebody—it was a mistake.
What is your major regret of the game?
We don't have enough time today to talk about it, but the major one was letting go of that Hidden Immunity Idol when I could've gotten it for myself. [I let NaOnka take it because] I didn't want that target on my back—I already had a target on my back. She had it, my hands are clean. And she's my friend—that's what I thought.
Another huge regret is underestimating everyone in the game. I absolutely underestimated everyone in the game and they outplayed me. They got me—they really got me.