It definitely was the first “#blindside” of the season, if you’re not counting that wave that blindsided Pat Cusack last week. Two episodes in, and we finally got to Tribal Council, but for Jessica Peet – the youngest contestant this season at age 19 – fire didn’t represent life, it represented a quick exit from the game just six days in.
If you missed any of the action, you can catch up with our Episode 2 Recap, as well as checking out the Podcast below.
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Yes so far, the David Tribe has not been able to figure out how to take down the Goliaths, and for the second straight week, they saw a member exit the game. This time around it was Jessica Peet, the 19-year-old waitress from Lakeland, Florida. It’s hard to really know much about a person after just two episodes on a reality show, but Jessica definitely seemed like she could have been a good player had she just been given a bit more time in the game. Unfortunately for many Survivor players, looking several steps ahead will often cause you to stumble with your next step.
Jessica had planned to lie about her age to everyone and let them know that she is 22, an age difference that only seems relevant to someone who is 19 (do you think a player like Natalie gives a flyin’ flapjack if you are 19 or 22?). At either age, life experience is a major hurdle, and it appears that Jessica might have been in over her head.
She had formed some bonds and alliances, but it appears that their treatment of Gabby – subtly blowing her off when she was asking who the target was – may have ultimately been her downfall. How players of this game still make the same mistakes over and over again, season to season, is beyond me. But having never gone to a single Tribal Council yet, it seems like it was a glaring mistake for Jessica to think that she was safe, and therefore not work more than one angle.
Who knows exactly what might have happened, but Christian and Nick appeared to be the deciding votes in wanting to keep Lyrsa over Jessica. Jessica was in a state of shock as the votes were read, and the narrow vote of 5-4 showed that Jessica might have had a better chance had she just not gotten too comfortable.
I had the chance to speak to Jessica today on the FilmSurvivor Podcast (the full audio of which you can find and download at the bottom of this article). But here are some highlights from the interview:
JESSICA PEET INTERVIEW
On who she blames for her blindside:
Jessica Peet: I definitely felt most betrayed by Nick and Gabby. Those were the two that I was just so angry, I could not believe it. But yeah it was probably those two that I was most upset with.
On why she decided to lie about her age:
Jessica: I feel like that in my every day life also, it’s just so easy for people to underestimate you based on your age…I just felt like if I went in and covered my tracks and just said I was 22, and then sort of forgot about that a little bit, that it would put me in a better position overall than where I would be if I was 19. Because I never wanted to be remembered in this game by like, “oh well she’s the young one.” No, I wanted to be remembered because I wanted to play a good game and I wanted people to recognize that. So the age thing is kind of silly to me, I feel like I shouldn’t have had to lie about it, I just felt like going in I didn’t want anything to affect my game before my game even started.
On why she was ultimately targeted:
Jessica: I think it was just the position that I happen to be sitting in, where I had a good relationship with Bi, and a good relationship with Carl, and people recognized that…watching [the episode] definitely gave me a little bit more understanding, you know when I first got voted out I was just like, oh they must have voted me out because they voted me out, I don’t know! I didn’t understand it. So watching it back has given me a lot of clarity and actually has made me feel better, to know that I was taken out because I was viewed as a strategic threat.
For much more from Jessica Peet, including my full interview, please listen to the latest episode of the FilmSurvivor Podcast by clicking here.
Remember! The next episode of Survivor: David vs. Goliath is next Wednesday, and be sure to check back here for my recap and reaction, as well as for my weekly podcast exit interview!
Be sure to follow me on Twitter – @tomsantilli – and on Facebook, for all of the latest Survivor coverage, interviews, and movie reviews.
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Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets/Timothy Kuratek/Jeffrey Neira/Michele Crowe/David M. Russell
