John Powell – GlobalTV.com

It was the boldest move yet this season. Gabby Pascuzzi turned on her trusted ally and also biggest target left in the game, Christian Hubicki. Unfortunately, as they tend to do on Survivor, the scheme didn’t go exactly as planned. Davie Rickenbacker warned Christian. Christian played his Hidden Immunity Idol and the others threw their votes onto Gabby ending her Survivor: David vs. Goliath.

While fans agree that Christian needed to go if any of the others are to have any chance at winning the game, many disagree with the timing.

“Yeah, looking back not everyone was on board. We have Davie flipping on me. I didn’t even know Angelina [Keeley] and Mike [White] were in on it. I did not want them to be in on it. I thought they were going to vote for Alison [Raybould] therefore making it a split vote. If you look at all the facts now, it may have been a bit too early. At the same time, I am not going to second-guess my decision because what I feared would happen was if I waited until the final seven it could have been too late. You just never know. You don’t know how the cards are going to fall. I had a shot and I took it. At the time, I felt I would regret it more if I didn’t take the shot and then running out of time. I would rather take a shot and have it fail,” Gabby told Global.

“I don’t think any part of our alliance was fake. It just it served him better than it served me.”

While the timing is definitely debatable, Gabby does have a point about players leaving threats in the game for far too long and those that do end up with egg on their faces on finale night. Survivor fans have seen that happen time and time again. It is a fact that weighed heavily on Gabby’s mind as she debated pulling the trigger on Christian.

“We saw that happen a couple of seasons ago with Ben Driebergen winning season 35. They tried to take him out at the final seven, so one vote later than I tried to do Christian. They kept missing because he kept finding idols. So, I have seen it happen before and it was in the forefront of my mind where I didn’t want to let it get to the point that he was finding idols, winning idols and making the final four then everyone is sitting there feeling really dumb that they didn’t take a shot at him when they could,” she said defending her decision.

Another reason Gabby felt it was time to swing for the fences was that there was this perception that she was not an equal partner in the alliance with Christian.

 

John Powell: Watching the show we saw you and Christian put your heads together, bounce ideas off one another all the time. Why didn’t anyone give you the credit you deserved for being an equal partner in that alliance?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “It was the perception that I was constantly up against. I don’t think people saw how strategic I was. I think much of it is that I am outwardly emotional. To me, my emotions were always separate from my strategy. I know though how people perceive emotion. Crying and things like that are perceived as a weakness. I didn’t come across as confident and charming player as Christian did. He is good at getting people to like him. He is good at getting people to laugh. I was more socially insecure. I had my emotional moments. People were blinded by my emotions.”

John Powell: A revealing moment from last night’s episode had you appearing to question the authenticity of Christian’s friendship with you, or that is how it seemed to some. Was the paranoia getting to you?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “I don’t think it was paranoia but I wasn’t questioning the motives of his friendship. I just became very aware that we were so intertwined in the game that everyone was giving him credit for anything I was doing. I was seen as his sidekick. He plays this protector role. He is really empathetic. He is really good taking care of people and I noticed that with his girlfriend. I noticed that with other players too. I realized I had no shot of winning if I was someone who was looked upon like they were taken care of. It was just something that I became very aware of.”

John Powell: We have seen Christian play up things here and there. Did that enter into your thinking as well?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “I am not sure if I follow what you are asking.” (Laughs)

John Powell: Sorry. I just mean, like last night, we saw Christian really, really, really, really dramatically pause before playing his hidden immunity idol. If someone is exaggerating things like that, that might be a reason not to trust them as you might think they are not being authentic.

Gabby Pascuzzi: “I did trust Christian 100 per cent. I knew his relationship with me was real, not that he was playing it up but yes, because of those theatrics, it made him an even more likable person. He would have these amazing metaphors. He was funny and he would make everyone laugh. I don’t think any part of our alliance was fake. It just served him better than it served me. I was a good soldier. He would have loved to sit beside me in the final three. I, on the other hand, knew I could not sit with him in the final three.”

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John Powell: We saw you have your moments, that’s for sure. Were you shocked at how emotionally draining the experience was?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “It was really mentally and emotionally taxing. When you watch it on TV it is easy to see what moves people should make but when you are out there, the stakes are so high. I am such a Survivor fan and I care so much about the game. I didn’t want to be voted out. So, if you look at all the points in the game that I was crying, it was at points where I thought I was going home or there was some game frustration. I am a passionate person.”

John Powell: While watching the episode last night you were able to see exactly what Davie Rickenbacker was up to behind the scenes. How surprising was that?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “I understand why he did it. If I try to put myself in his shoes, Christian was a good shield but the move frustrated me because I was also keeping Christian as a shield. You have to get rid of your shield eventually though in order to win. I didn’t realize that Davie and I had such different ideas about the timing of that.”

Next time on Survivor…

 

John Powell: Besides Davie with that move, which player has surprised you the most now that you have gotten to see all of the scheming you were not a part of?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “I think Nick [Wilson] has. He was playing a lot more behind the scenes than it seemed. I now see his strategy and his alliances and it is pretty surprising to me because, I don’t know maybe it is his Southern accent or what, but he didn’t seem like a threat in the game. Nick was also prone to being a little emotional which I know is funny coming from me. (Laughs) He had this way about him that I thought was easy to read. You could tell when he was mad. You could tell where he was going to go next. It is so interesting seeing him maneuvering behind the scenes.”

John Powell: As a viewer watching at home not a player on the island, who do you think is playing the best game and who is playing the worst game at present?

Gabby Pascuzzi: “I think that Davids have a great story with the underdog story so I think any of the Davids can point to what they had to do to rise from the bottom. I don’t want to say any names but there are people left in the game that if they don’t start making good relationships they are going to have a hard time winning. People on the jury have to like you and want to vote for you in the end.”

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

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