John Powell – GobalTV.com

When you are filming a reality show 24 hours a day like the Survivor production team does invariably hours and hours of footage ends up on the cutting room floor. In Jenna Bowman’s case a very interesting moment to her Survivor: Ghost Island story was left out. Wendell Holland, the furniture company owner, created a phony idol but Michael Yerger blew his strategy apart.

“Laurel [Johnson] and I were working together. We were looking around and we found an idol. It felt fake because it wasn’t hidden very well. It was too obvious. Because of how great a designer Wendell is, it was so well made. We kept it and told Michael about it. He is such a fan of the show and knows all the previous seasons he quickly knew it wasn’t an older relic that went along with the theme of the series so we buried it. We had so much bad luck as it was we had to get rid of it,” laughed Jenna.

As part of the core Malolo Alliance, Jenna and her tribemates were at a disadvantage for so long her game never really had the chance to gain any momentum. She was on the island to play aggressively but was always stuck on defence with her allies falling all around her.

“We were down literally almost from day one. That was so frustrating for me. I wanted to play big. I am the type of person who is a risk taker. Seeing people who were given a free pass just because they are on the side of the numbers was so irritating for me. Here we are fighting, wanting to play but not given a chance,” said Jenna as she reiterated how difficult it was to play at such a disadvantage.

John Powell: How irritating was it to want to play but not have the numbers on your side?

Jenna Bowman: “Every vote was so different. Sometimes it was a relatively easy vote like what happened with Chris [Noble] and Desiree [Afuye]. The thinking was as long as it wasn’t Malolo we were just going to go with it. Other than that, when the target was on one of us there was nothing we could do but plead your case. We tried creating chaos but they were so Naviti strong the entire season. Trying to implement any kind of strategy was difficult. There wasn’t a ton of strategy except to make sure you get through that vote.”

John Powell: Were you shocked Donathan Hurley didn’t give you the idol?

Jenna Bowman: “I wasn’t shocked because when he came up to me and said he was willing to do that, it stunned me. We were never close and there was definitely some tension from previous tribals where Michael and I didn’t included him in conversations. So, when he came to me with the plan it raised a red flag. I was obviously willing to do it and had that as a back-up plan but I wasn’t shocked. It was either him or me. He played it for himself and I cannot blame him for that.”

John Powell: It is one thing to be voted out but to go right to the jury with no downtime must have been very difficult.

Jenna Bowman: “It was such a strange situation. Everything just happened so quickly. I had no time to process anything. I just had my torch snuffed and had to walk by all of these people who betrayed me and then look them in the eye instead of decompressing. It was a quick and sudden transition to go from player to juror.”

John Powell: Was there anything you wish the producers would have included in your edit?

Jenna Bowman: “The biggest struggle for me was watching it back and watching me constantly censoring myself. On the bottom, I didn’t want to be a threat. I wanted to be under the radar until I could figure out how to make a move. Looking back on my edit, I didn’t show my personality. I do have a big personality but I was mellow. Even if I was always on the bottom I wish I had some more fun with it.”

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

Jenna Bowman: “My biggest thing is someone who has done everything they can to get to where they are. Are they out looking for idols? Are they constantly campaigning? Are they putting in the work? Like Dom, he was constantly doing whatever it took. I applaud that.”

Watch Survivor: Ghost Island Wednesdays at 8 et/pt on Global.

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