Rob and Stephen are RHAPping up this season of Know-it-Alls celebrating John Cochran’s win on Survivor: Caramoan. Stephen said he felt tonight’s Tribal Council was even more obvious than his in Survivor: Tocantins, as Cochran received all the votes from the jury against Dawn Meehan and Sherri Biethman.
Stephen compares Cochran’s gameplay to Sophie Clarke, the winner of his first season, Survivor: South Pacific. Rob has a theory that returning players like to try to play like the player who won their season. Stephen compares Dawn to Coach’s game. Rob wonders if it’s better to keep people at arm’s length and not bond with them emotionally, like Dawn did, which then backfired. Rob thinks the Dawn we saw earlier in the game, who said “Shame on you, Reynold, for showing me the idol” would have been more likely to win. Stephen thinks
Dawn did own up to her game at tribal council, but there just wasn’t an amount that would satisfy the jury. Stephen praises Cochran’s honest final tribal answers.
Stephen and Rob mention Cochran’s climbing number of twitter followers, which they will track throughout the show, as well as Boston Rob’s new book, which you can order at www.robhasawebsite.com/BRrules.
The Know-it-Alls debate where Cochran’s win ranks among other Survivor wins. Stephen doesn’t feel Cochran was as dominant as other past winners, but that he had a good growth story and was a good storyteller for the jury. Rob compares Cochran to Todd Herzog, winner of Survivor: China. Rob and Stephen both agree that Cochran is Jeff Probst’s new favorite.
Next, they talk about Dawn. Rob started to feel bad for her during the episode and Stephen felt Brenda’s question to Dawn was way over the line: asking her to take out her retainer in front of the jury. Stephen says the angry jury members have no intention of changing their vote, but want to humiliate the person. Rob thinks Sherri made the right move by telling Erik Reichenbach to sit down during his jury questioning.
Rob thought the moment at the finale between Dawn and Brenda was really forced and didn’t think she needed to apologize for anything. Stephen felt Jeff Probst really wanted a happy ending resolution. Rob also laments that Brenda did not reach out to him for a Fan Favorite endorsement, as she only lost to Malcolm by 1%. The #RHAP endorsement could have put her over the edge!
Rob and Stephen also discuss Dawn’s decision to deactivate her Twitter account, due to the nasty and negative comments she received this past week. They also talk about Erik’s medical evacuation. Rob feels that it was psychosomatic, that Erik couldn’t take getting voted out of the game again. Stephen agrees– he thinks it could have been a panic attack after seeing what happened to Brenda. Rob also feels that Eddie and Erik had no right to get on Sherri’s case for being carried along. Stephen respects Sherri’s game because a fan needed to sit back in order to get to the end. Rob says that Sherri didn’t do herself any favors in her final arguments– she should have explained her case better.
Rob and Stephen also talk about some of the weird elements of the Reunion show, such as the Rudy Boesch and Richard Hatch segment, Malcolm’s soap opera clip, and an awkward young girl with nothing to say. Stephen also feels it sucks that the pre-jury players didn’t get to sit on stage or get any questions. They talk about how this show probably had the most Jeff Probst snubs of anyone: Sherri, Eddie, Michael Snow, and Erik did not get questions after the votes were read.
Rob asks Stephen what he thinks of Phillip Sheppard’s nickname for Jeff Probst: The Piercing Eagle. They also talk about the Immunity Challenge advantage that Cochran received. Rob thinks that Malcolm probably would have loved to have the untied bag advantage in Survivor: Phillipines. Responding to viewer questions, Rob and Stephen discuss whether Michael Snow had the most insightful jury question, who made the biggest moves in the game, what makes a good Final 2 ally, Eddie Fox’s “dog bar” idea, and if jurors always have a consensus opinion. Rob and Stephen don’t understand why Phillip suddenly became bitter toward Dawn. Rob and Stephen also chide John Cochran for winning as it now prevents him from being a Survivor: Know-it-All.
Next, Rob’s wife Nicole Cesternino makes her first appearance on Survivor: Know-it-Alls. She enjoyed the finale and was very happy for Cochran. They also talk about Andrea Boehlke’s positive attitude throughout the finale– Andrea handled being backstabbed well. Rob and Stephen also compare the two Fans vs. Favorites seasons.
Next they talk about Survivor: Season 27 and the Jeff Probst’s “Dexter-like” tease for next season. The season will be Survivor: Blood vs. Water. Then Rob thanks all the fans for their support for their upcoming move, and makes a big announcement that Nicole is expecting a baby in the fall! The move will be to a larger apartment to accommodate the expanding Cesternino family!
Tune in tomorrow for Rob’s interview with Survivor winner John Cochran and the final 5!
