[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Survivor Season 47 finale, “The Last Stand.”]
Survivor Season 47 has its winner, and it’s a winner who performed a really thrilling recreation within the season’s again half. After practically enjoying in Season 46 as an alternate participant, Rachel LaMont’s second time in Fiji turned a million-dollar journey.
Right here, Rachel breaks down her thrilling win with TV Insider.
You had some main successes this season: sacrificing your Shot within the Darkish to see if you happen to wanted to play your hidden immunity idol; tying the file for particular person immunity wins by a feminine participant (4); utilizing your Block a Vote benefit and idol to avoid wasting your self from elimination when everybody brazenly stated you had been being voted out that evening; spying in your rivals below a bush at evening to assemble helpful intel; taking the danger of in search of an idol in entrance of everybody and never getting caught. Are you able to rank these strikes by how influential you suppose they had been to your win? And if I missed any, please embody them.
Rachel La Mont: The most important transfer must be the best way that I performed the idol, however that additionally ties straight into the eavesdropping. These two are collectively on the prime as a result of I feel with out eavesdropping, I don’t know that Teeny has turned, and that makes that subsequent vote rather more precarious. If I feel that it’s 3-3 and I’ve the Block of Vote, I very nicely may have gone house. And so me spying and understanding that it was Sue and I towards everyone else, really gave me the data to play my idol in the best way that I did and arrange that entire factor with the “funeral” and getting everyone to promote my recreation for me. So that really must be on the prime of my checklist.
The immunities second. Clearly, they had been very influential. You may in all probability put them first. With out them, I in all probability wouldn’t have gotten to the tip of the sport. However I feel so far as jury votes and what that sort of did, I feel that that was in all probability second in line. I imply, I had to win just a few of these. That Ultimate 5 immunity was a clutch immunity. The Ultimate 4 one was really only for enjoyable. That was a, “I need this file.” I believed I may have gone into [the fire-making challenge] and confidently walked out alive, however I didn’t need to have to do this. I needed to have the ability to say that I set my thoughts to this factor and I used to be capable of obtain it. In order that’s bought to be the following one.
After which the Shot within the Darkish play, which in hindsight, a lot larger impression, however on the time, really a really reactive second of claiming to myself, I’m 100% positive Gabe shouldn’t be going tonight, and the way do I am going again to camp with out having written his title down after I don’t know who else to put in writing down? I used to be like, oh, I can play my Shot within the Darkish. I don’t have to put in writing any title down. After which as I’m digging it out of my bag, you see me doing it. I used to be very within the second making an attempt to determine what I used to be going to do. I spotted that if there’s a giant response, I in all probability also needs to play the idol. So I feel as a result of that wasn’t one thing that was intentional and it was one thing that I found out on the fly, it didn’t happen to me. I knew it was intelligent, but it surely didn’t happen to me that it was going to have this sort of longer-range impression.
And I didn’t even deliver it up at remaining tribal, as a result of it didn’t really feel like one thing that was that exceptional. You’re very near it. It’s very arduous to see the forest for the bushes once you’re in it. And so it simply to me felt like there have been so many large issues that my recreation needed to it, and it felt like drawing on this very macro second, which as vital as it’s, I’ve quite a lot of these moments and I’m excited to speak extra about that sooner or later after I can. However I had quite a lot of these moments the place I set myself up for fulfillment, however these weren’t moments that I felt like would resonate at remaining tribal after I was very a lot sparring with Sam in this sort of area, mentioning this tiny second felt inconsequential somewhat bit.
The Shot within the Darkish second may’ve been simpler for viewers than it will be in a jury pitch, in that it was the primary large second that confirmed viewers that you just had been somebody to look out for.
I felt like I may simply see the jury be like, “You’re calling {that a} transfer?” I feel the second once you see it and also you perceive the long-term impression of one thing like that, the place you’re like, oh wow, perhaps sooner or later you’ll by no means give it some thought the identical method if any person is enjoying their shot at the hours of darkness, I feel that could be a little bit totally different.
CBS
And the idol benefit from Sol that he despatched to you in secret, you had to make use of it that evening, proper? In order that’s extra of a Sol transfer?
He had to make use of it. It expired that evening, so it had for use by somebody on the opposite facet. However I’ll push again on the truth that lots of people are like, anyone at that reward would’ve despatched it to Rachel as a result of all of them needed to focus on the Tuku. It wasn’t true. Sam, Andy, and Genevieve wouldn’t have despatched me that. You’ll be able to ask them that. They weren’t all for serving to me out in that state of affairs, so my relationship with Sol, after I bought off that boat, he was the second individual that I hugged and we had been related instantly. We needed to work collectively. We needed to do an undercover factor the place we had been passing info. He was sort of on the Lavo and dipping into my Gata facet, after which I used to be making an attempt to get in with the Tukus. That was an instantaneous connection, and that’s the reason he despatched it to me. In order fortunate as it could have felt watching it, it was undoubtedly extra attributed to our relationship than something.
And the second the place you tried to steal some rice by sneaking it into your pocket, did you see that as a transfer? Or had been you simply actually hungry and making an attempt to be sneaky?
I used to be simply hungry! Sam was puking up coconut. I used to be like, our strongest man can’t eat. My calculus in that second was, I’ve to dump my pockets out on the finish of this problem, or I get to return to camp and be like a hero for my tribe. I sneakily bought us meals. I by no means in 1,000,000 years thought Jeff would name me out in entrance of everybody. Days 5 to seven, eight are the toughest days bodily the place your physique is really in shock going, what’s occurring? We’re really not consuming. We’re struggling. Our legs really feel like anchors. You’re sluggish. You’re torpid. It was horrible. After which day eight, day 9, you recover from that hump and also you’re simply sort of achieved. It’s high quality. For me not less than, that was my expertise. And in order that was the peak of the physique panic.
It jogged my memory of one in all my favourite seasons, Pearl Islands, when Rupert stole the sneakers from the opposite tribe on the primary day. There’s no rule saying you can’t steal stuff from different individuals on Survivor.
I’m a rule follower, however I wish to, when there aren’t express guidelines, push my boundaries and apologize after. So I attempted. I get away with it.
An enormous a part of your recreation was about reacting to issues as they occurred and never making an attempt to fabricate large strikes that will take so many issues with so many individuals going proper. Did you need to make large group plans like Operation Italy (which was in the end profitable) however needed to act in any other case? What was your mindset there?
My mindset was really that after the Sierra vote out, I mainly seemed round and each single individual left on the seaside had burned me. I had primarily no allies. I reconnected with Caroline and Sue very shortly after, and the three of us had been very tight for the remainder of the sport till Caroline was voted out. After which Sue and I all the best way to the tip. However I very a lot felt like as a result of I had the idol after which I bought the benefit fairly quickly after, I may play my recreation somewhat bit in a different way. I knew I needed to rise in the direction of the tip and develop into sufficient of a risk that after I performed my idol, it will be impactful. We noticed that typically once you play an idol and also you don’t get any votes, it doesn’t actually have any impression. And so I needed to verify I had some impression there, and I felt prefer it was simply the power to peak on the proper time.
With the 5, my transfer, it wasn’t a flashy transfer. I’ve two alliances of three, and I’m bringing that 5 collectively to provide myself a greater shot on the finish. And I’m othering Genevieve and Sam and Kyle to get this group to focus on them as an entire. And it form of labored. Clearly, Operation Italy disrupted that, however we did in the end get Kyle and Genevieve out. And so to me, I used to be extra into the refined, I simply need to have extra of a pack mentality to manage the votes versus this flashy transfer. Not that I wouldn’t have achieved that. I imply, I really feel like my idol play was comparatively flashy.
Oh, the most important.
I simply felt like so far as the group goes, if I’m making an attempt to persuade us all that we’re these underdogs, it appeared like we should always maintain our consideration over there. Don’t take a look at me, don’t take a look at the opposite individuals on this group. I’m like, let’s eliminate these guys. And I simply had the trinkets in my pocket to make sure that I may get to the tip and I may in all probability elevate myself alongside the best way in comparison with the those that I used to be with. So yeah, it’s not that I used to be towards flashy strikes, it was that I felt like the sport that I used to be enjoying and the scenario that I discovered myself in simply sort of was simpler to have a refined contact.
Robert Voets / CBS
The edit made it appear like Sue didn’t converse a lot/wasn’t requested many questions and that it was a a lot nearer recreation between you and Sam. Was that what it was like throughout filming?
It was undoubtedly longer than that. I really feel like Sue truly bought a ton of questions in the beginning, after which in the direction of the later half, it was largely questions directed at Sam and myself. Though she nonetheless bought alternatives to reply, it was simply fairly clear that they had been specializing in the 2 of us.
There’s a lot you don’t see, however I feel Sam knew he was coming in punching up. But in addition he’s a reporter so well-spoken, used to this sort of dynamic of battling forwards and backwards. And I’m not, a lot as I really like a superb debate and now we have a superb dynamic in that regard, I used to be very intimidated by his remaining tribal council efficiency. And whereas clearly I nonetheless bought the vast majority of the votes, there was a second there the place I used to be actually not sure of what was going to occur.
Are you able to elaborate extra on what you meant once you stated you don’t actually care about what your Survivor legacy can be? I bought what you meant, however I might love to listen to your perspective on it.
Once I stated that, I meant I used to be not enjoying my recreation in a option to curate a particular kind of legacy. And it’s not that I don’t care concerning the legacy I depart on Survivor, in fact I do, everybody cares. However I used to be saying that I wasn’t making an attempt to be something that I wasn’t or making an attempt to pigeonhole myself indirectly to be like, I’m going to be this legend of this. It was that I used to be simply enjoying the sport that was put out earlier than me. I used to be discovering the trail to the tip the place I felt like I had the perfect shot, and I executed on that. And the way that can be acquired in the long run is out of my management. And I don’t actually care. I do, in fact, but it surely wasn’t one thing that I used to be aware of within the recreation whereas I used to be enjoying it. So evaluating me to individuals like Mike Holloway or Ben Driebergen, I really feel like I agree with them on paper. It is rather comparable of these forms of video games, however I feel that there’s quite a lot of nuance there. I feel that there’s quite a lot of issues I did that set me aside, however in the end we are able to’t management that.
Completely. And also you had been simply saying it didn’t have an effect on your choices within the recreation. You weren’t fascinated about what’s going to occur after Survivor. You had been fascinated about the sport whilst you had been in it.
I can’t even start to be that meta anyway. There have been individuals within the recreation that had been like, it’s Episode 4 and this episode goes to be superior! This episode’s going to be boring. And I used to be like, how are you considering that? That isn’t on my thoughts in any respect. So it’s attention-grabbing how totally different individuals sort of digest it. And so I perceive how some individuals are like, how will this be perceived by an viewers at house watching this again? And I simply couldn’t. My mind was at capability. I couldn’t additionally do these psychological gymnastics.
Survivor, Season 47 Streaming Now, Paramount+