Survivor Island of the Idols episode 10: The fourth jury member speaks

The first victim of last week’s double Tribal Council shared their perspective on Dan’s behavior and other details that didn’t make the edit in Survivor: Island of the Idols.

This article discusses the events from episode 10 of Survivor: Island of the Idols.

For the second straight episode of Survivor: Island of the Idols, it looks like we won’t be getting an RHAP exit interview, which is understandable considering everything that’s happened this season. That said, much like Kellee, Aaron agreed to an exit interview via email. You can find this complete interview with Mike Bloom over at Parade. Here are some of the highlights from Aaron’s comments.

Had no clue votes were heading his way

Entering season 39, Aaron knew that he was going to be viewed as a physical threat. As a result, he tried his best to lay back and not put himself in critical roles in tribal challenges. That did seem to work in the early going, until the swap happened and Jason from Vokai called Aaron out for hiding his physical strength. With his cover blown and feeling the heat, Aaron went full tilt in challenges after the merge.

Even with that being the case, Aaron thought for sure Janet was going home at what turned out to be his last Tribal. He was so trusting in the relationships he built that he didn’t pick up on the social cues from Noura and others that pointed to the fact his head was on the chopping block. It was only after Aaron’s torch was snuffed when he figured out their master plan.

Aaron knew next to nothing about Dan’s touching

It was interesting to learn that Aaron had very little knowledge about the whole Dan situation until that Tribal Council where everything came out. No one told him anything about Dan’s behavior until Janet’s reaction after the Kellee vote. Even then, Elizabeth and Missy urged Aaron that Janet wasn’t telling the truth.

It’s worth noting that Aaron was clear that despite not being aware of Dan’s behavior, ignorance doesn’t equate to innocence. He’s sincerely sorry for the comments he made at Tribal Council and posted his heartfelt apology on Twitter. But you might be wondering, didn’t production have private meetings with each castaway to discuss this issue?

The private “meetings” didn’t help

Aaron provided some surprising details about his talk with production. According to Aaron, roughly ten minutes before an Immunity Challenge, production pulled him aside. They asked him if any castaway or situation is making him feel uncomfortable. Aaron said no, and that was that.

At the time, he thought it was just a routine merge checkup. This so-called production meeting gave Aaron no knowledge about how others were feeling uncomfortable or discussing Dan’s behavior. So it’s important to establish the fact that production did not inform everyone about the issue at hand. In Aaron’s case, they didn’t even tell him that there were any issues.

Would have voted Elaine if she didn’t find an advantage

One of the most exciting Tribal Councils of Island of the Idols so far has to be the second episode after the swap when Elaine played her Block a Vote advantage. Before Elaine discovered this helpful tool, Aaron said that he was 99% sure that he would have flipped with old Vokai to vote her out. Even Missy and Elizbeth were on board, until Elaine turned the game upside down by offering up a remarkable way to keep the Lairo Four strong.

Getting blindsided at the first Tribal Council helped his game

Aaron lost his closest ally Ronnie right out of the gate after being the only castaway left out of the loop. He mentioned how that was a wake-up call for him, realizing that he let overconfidence get to him. From that point onward, Aaron focused on building legitimate relationships with each of his tribe members, taking the time to talk for hours about life outside the game. That crucial adjustment saved Aaron from going down with Ronnie.