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Survivor’s Dan Rengering Says “I Knew They Were Coming After Me”

Survivor’s Dan Rengering Says “I Knew They Were Coming After Me”

Survivor’s Dan Rengering Says “I Knew They Were Coming After Me”

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John Powell – GlobalTV.com

He had two Hidden Immunity Idols. He excelled at the challenges. His social game was broken but it might have been fixed if he had been given more time. Dan Rengering looked as if he would make it to the final phase of Survivor: David vs. Goliath but it was not to be. An Idol Nullifier played by Carl Boudreaux cut the cables on his safety net and down came Dan. Despite his ruthless exit Dan is not resentful.

“Moves like that are what make Survivor great. It is a constantly changing, constantly growing game. That is what keeps people interested. That is what keeps people watching. I cannot be upset about it. It is part of the game,” said Dan.

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As soon as he failed to win Immunity, the Florida S.W.A.T. officer knew the Davids would be coming after him full-force. There was little he could do about it besides play his Hidden Immunity Idol.

“I knew they were coming after me. I knew they were going to vote for me and try to take me out. I thought I was good though. I had an idol and there weren’t going to be any worries or any problems. We all see how that worked out for me,” he laughed.


Dan originally had two Hidden Immunity Idols at his disposal but used one to save fellow Goliath Angelina Keeley. To this day, he doesn’t regret the move as he believes it brought many positives to his game.

“First of all, I told Angelina I would do it and I am a man of my word. It also tied her to me but how that would have played out, who knows? She owed me at that point though. It also showed the rest of the Goliaths that I am on their side. I am Goliath strong. It kinda proved my loyalty. At the same time, everyone knew about that idol. Jeremy [Crawford] found it in my bag and told absolutely everybody. That move got the idol out of my pocket and it brought my threat level down,” said Dan revealing his thinking process behind the move to save Angelina.

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Early on this season Dan became involved in a not-so secret showmance with Kara Kay and Dan believes that eventually was what led to his downfall. After stating she wanted to separate herself from him and the Goliaths Kara voted against fellow Goliath Angelina at Tribal Council.

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John Powell: Did you realize at any point how frustrated Kara was becoming?

Dan Rengering: “Not really. I am the type of person who likes to bounce ideas off of people. Any time I make a big decision in my life that is what I do. I speak to the people I am the closest to and the people I trust the most. Kara just so happened to be the person I clicked with immediately. She is the person I trusted the most. I talked things out with her. We had many conversations about what to do and unfortunately that led to my downfall. That is just me though. That is who I am.”

John Powell: How are you and Kara now?

Dan Rengering: “We live on different coasts but we are good now.”


John Powell: It there anything you wished the producers had included in your edit?

Dan Rengering: “When I found the clue for the second Hidden Immunity Idol, Christian [Hubicki] immediately came up behind me. I didn’t know what to do with it so I just chucked it over my shoulder into the woods. He and I talked for a few minutes and eventually he went away. I was about to start looking in the woods for it but then Alison [Raybould] and Gabby [Pascuzzi] came up. It took me another 10 to 15 minutes before I could go digging in the woods to find it. I found it and I lost it. It was frustrating but looking back on it, it was pretty funny. I wish they would have shown that.”

John Powell: As a juror, what qualities are you looking for in a winner?

Dan Rengering: “For me, this person is going to represent our season. It is who people remember the most from every season: the winner. So, what is important to me is the person who played the game the best. Who outlasted, outwitted and outplayed everyone else. Whether they made me angry, stabbed me in the back, whatever, it doesn’t matter to me. It is about who played the game the best that is what is most important to me because they represent our season.”

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John Powell: Why do think the Goliaths couldn’t sustain a united front?

Dan Rengering: “I don’t know. That wasn’t an issue for me. I was always Goliath strong. We knew if one of the Davids made it they would win because everyone loves that underdog story. It was probably the fact that a lot of these people in their careers are individuals and therefore they played an individual game. What I do as a profession requires me to worry about the people I encounter or work with. I have to make sure they are taken care of and that is not something everyone is used to.”

John Powell: One curious thing about this season is how the Davids have become Goliaths and as we learn more and more about the Survivors, many of the Davids could have easily been cast as Goliaths and many of the Goliaths would have made great Davids.

Next time on Survivor

Dan Rengering: “I will be honest with you, when Jeff Probst announced that it was Davids versus Goliaths and I was on the Goliaths, I was like…How I am going to fit in with these people? Look at the people I am with. We had a doctor, a professional wrestler and an engineer. I am just a cop, man. I think the labels are interchangeable depending on the person and where they are in their lives.”

John Powell: Of the players who are left, who do you think are playing the best and worst games?

Dan Rengering: “I was going to say I played the worst game. (Laughs) In my opinion, Christian is playing the best game. He is four steps ahead of everyone. He is a social genius. He fits in with everyone. I love her to death but Angelina is playing the worst game. She is rubbing people the wrong way and she has already been on the chopping block a couple of times. To me, it looks like Angelina is playing the worst game.”

Watch Survivor: David Vs Goliath Wednesdays at 8 et/pt on Global.

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