Robert Voets / CBS Yep, we're still heartbroken about last night's Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains sendoff. Thanks for asking.
But you should hear Jeff Probst! "I'm not sure how much time it will take to heal this loss," the host with the most blogged after snuffing his fave's torch. "I miss him already."
We hear ya, buddy. Our wounds are raw, but somehow we managed to hold it together and get the 411 from the fallen warrior himself—who consoled us by teasing that he might be back. Squee!
The tribe has spoken, but he'll always have the last word...
Do you agree that Russell vs. Rob is the greatest showdown in Survivor history?
It was entertaining. Did you enjoy it?
Very much—but I'm very sad that he's the one still there and you're gone.
Yeah—more due to Tyson, Coach and Jerri than it is to his credit. But I will give credit where credit is due. He's still there and I'm sitting here talking to you.
Do you think you should've concentrated more on your alliances at the very beginning?
It's tough, because in the beginning we're winning. As long as we're winning, nobody's going home. We're winning so much.
Thanks to you.
Yeah, I pretty much knew I had to win. I had a big target on me. Everybody has a target, but it seems mine is blinking and glowing. I knew that I have to win to stay in it. I had a solid alliance with Sandra, Courtney and Tyson—and Coach to a degree. But Jerri decided to go another route, Coach takes the easy way out, and Tyson had a little bit of a breakdown moment with himself and next thing you know, my alliance is hurting pretty bad. Thing is, you put a lot of faith in your alliance and a lot of trust in 'em, and at the end of the day the only person you can really trust is yourself. But that's the game. That's the way it goes. It's not fair. It's not easy. But that's Survivor.
There is some debate about who you called "a little man" when leaving Tribal Council—was it Coach or Russell?
It was Coach. Russell is a little man, but Coach took the easy way out. He could have really been honorable, and been loyal and stood up and did the right thing, and he chose another path. But that's something he has to live with.
When winning challenges were so important to you, why did you choose Courtney to be in your alliance?
Courtney was loyal and not really a threat to win individual immunity. We're sitting people out in challenges week in and week out [because the Heroes were outnumbered], so she really doesn't have to compete. In camp, she's pleasant to be around, she's doing what she can. And after the merge, she's not really gonna be a threat to win anything. As long as she goes before the final two, she's easily disposable.
What were your plans if you'd made it to the merge?
Here's the thing that's different about this game—you've got all these pre-alliances and people that know each other and played together before. So even though you might be going into the merge with a majority, we were still a tribe divided. There was no way with Russell, Parvati and Danielle we were going to say, "The Villains stick together." That wasn't going to happen. [So my alliance planned to] grab the people who were on the outskirts on the other side. It's never a good idea to throw a challenge in Survivor, but in this particular situation, maybe you want to lose to get rid of [certain tribemates] so you have the numbers depending on who's left on the other tribe. As far as alliances go, you have to think about that.
What do you think about the way Russell played the game?
Parts of it were brilliant, and parts of it were idiotic—sabotaging the team, hiding the machete, it does no good for anyone. I don't think I could ever play the game with Russell. It's a shame—because I think together we'd be great—but I think he's more of a legend in his own mind than he is an actual legend. All this self-proclaimed "I'm the best, I'm the hero" stuff—it's pretty bad considering the company you're in. I'm probably one of the most cocky guys you'll ever meet, but there's a fine line between cockiness and arrogance—and he's just straight-up arrogant.
What's next for Rob and Amber?
The adventure continues. We're taking a little time off. We're enjoying our daughter. You never know. CBS and Mark Burnett have been great to me and my wife over the years. You have to wait and see, but I don't think this is the end.
What do you think Rob 'n' Amber's next reality project will be? Will you watch? Shout it out in the comments!
________
You know, other people are playing this game besides Rob and Russell. Rate all this season's Castaways in our Heroes vs. Villains gallery!