Warning: This publish incorporates spoilers from Wednesday’s episode of Survivor.
We love a great #blindside, and in Episode 10, the axe fell on one in all Survivor 42‘s most strategic — and most unsuspecting — castaways.
After Lindsay scored back-to-back problem wins, the beastly Jonathan was left susceptible to the vote as soon as once more. However Omar had different plans in thoughts. Seeing how a lot of a menace Hai’s strategic gameplay had turn into, Omar planted a devious lie in Mike’s ear, severing the retired New Jersey firefighter’s shut ties with Hai and utterly flipping the script on his former ally. When all was stated and carried out, Hai was despatched to Ponderosa with each vote besides Romeo’s towards him. (Learn a full recap right here.)
Right here, Hai talks to TVLine about how his recreation fell aside, what his greatest downfall was and why Omar is the one to observe.
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TVLINE | How are you feeling at this time, and what occurred on the market?
HAI GIANG | Contemplating all the things that’s occurring and the rationale I’m speaking to you, I’m truly in actually good spirits. The burden has lifted from my shoulders. The result has been revealed, and my family and friends can lastly cease asking me if I’ve gained as a result of I did not win!
I believe I used to be enjoying too seen of a recreation. My recreation wasn’t very covert. I used to be aggressive and strategic in my gameplay, and I believe I did a very poor job at managing my menace degree. Different strategic gamers noticed a chance to chop the pinnacle off the snake, and I used to be the metaphorical snake!
TVLINE | Wanting again, was there any large misstep or relationship dynamic that you simply want you performed in another way?
I believe the theme of my recreation that allowed me to play properly, however was additionally my downfall was [the fact that] I performed with an excessive amount of empathy. It didn’t actually present within the edit, however the purpose I made the relationships I did was all primarily based on who I preferred. Who did I intersect with as an individual? So early Vati days, Lydia and I bonded over being younger, queer folks with related senses of humor. As quickly because the merge got here, I made unbelievable relationships with Drea and Omar. There have been lots of people that I personally empathized with and wished to work with, and in consequence, I couldn’t see via my feelings for sure those who I ought to’ve acknowledged as threats. Omar and I performed very related strategic video games, me being somewhat extra aggressive and visual, and him being extra beneath the radar and convert, and I couldn’t learn that indisputable fact that we had related enjoying kinds as a result of I used to be in love with Omar as an individual.
TVLINE | Who’s enjoying the very best recreation proper now and why?
Omar is 100% enjoying the very best recreation. I believe although in hindsight, folks didn’t discover his recreation. So if he makes it to the top, he’s going to need to be articulate and clarify the strikes he made, and that truly may piss lots of people off. Sending Mike’s closest ally residence by telling Mike a lie that by no means occurred… does that warrant respect or will that piss folks off? We’ll see.
TVLINE | And what’s your tackle that large lie — he instructed Mike that you simply referred to as him a puppet. Any grudges, lingering emotions… ?
No grudges. I perceive Survivor is a recreation and during the last 10 months, the forged has been therapeutic collectively, placing the items of the puzzle collectively and actually understanding what transpired. For me although, the episode title “Inform a Good Lie, Not a Silly One,” I actually thought Omar’s lie was a nasty lie as a result of Mike’s lived with me for 19 days. Mike, I don’t speak like that! I don’t go round saying, “I management Mike’s vote, he’s my puppet.” To begin with, who is that this individual that Omar is creating and fabricating as a result of that’s not me! Mike ought to’ve seen via that, got here again to me and we may’ve aligned on the story and uncovered Omar at that time. However as a result of Mike is a really emotional participant and Omar noticed that, he was capable of capitalize on Mike’s weaknesses as a participant and goal me. Kudos to him. Sensible!
TVLINE | What was your notion of Omar’s recreation? Did you view him as an enormous menace?
I didn’t view Omar as a menace. Perhaps it’s as a result of your notion of somebody is predicated on a number of various factors. Physicality, speech patterns, the best way they smile at you, no matter. Omar was a really non-threatening particular person on the market, and I like the man, however once I consider threats I consider speedy superficial threats, like Jonathan or Drea’s physicality. I even acknowledged Lindsay as a menace earlier than I did Omar, as a result of Lindsay was so covert and didn’t have a number of strategic conversations with me. However as a result of Omar and I had been very aligned strategically and he would at all times inform me concerning the plan, I didn’t view him as retaining data from me, so I had no purpose to consider that he was towards me.
TVLINE | Inform me a bit about this hellacious climate we noticed on this episode. How lengthy did it rain for and the way did it actually really feel being out in these parts?
In hindsight, the climate within the two days main as much as my elimination was so ominous I ought to’ve realized it was me. It was the worst expertise of my life! Night time 17 and Day 18, it rained nonstop for most likely 48 hours. The eight of us that had been there that night time had been simply huddled beneath the shelter preventing for our lives. I do know that sounds dramatic, however in that second, I used to be like, “I’m going to die tonight, proper right here, proper now” as a result of it was simply so unhealthy. Anybody watching on TV that’s like, “I may try this. They’re infants!” I’d adore it if the following thunderstorm you will have, you go exterior and sit there for 48 hours in the identical garments, and inform me that you are able to do what we did. It was unhealthy! I don’t assume folks empathize sufficient with TV characters that undergo trauma. [Laughs]
TVLINE | How assured had been you that Jonathan was going to be voted out?
Jonathan was my goal and at that time, I had a 100% right learn on who was going residence at every Tribal. For sure, I used to be very assured he was going residence. That scene of me telling him about my faux idol… initially, that was not a brand new lie. I used that technique twice to placate Daniel and Chanelle. I used my amulet key and Mike’s hidden immunity idol scroll and instructed them I discovered an idol and can be keen to play it for them in the event that they wanted me to, and it labored each instances. That’s a part of the rationale why neither of them used their Photographs within the Darkish. I used to be trying to tug that very same transfer with Jonathan, however because it turned out, Omar had already been in his ear and instructed him, “If Hai tells you he has an idol, it’s faux.” So Jonathan didn’t learn via my lie, somebody had already given him a heads up.
However yeah, going into Tribal, I believed Jonathan was good as useless, and even folks’s solutions… they had been so good! They had been actually enjoying into my notion of what was occurring. Lindsay saying, “Tonight’s theme is about night the enjoying discipline.” In my head, I believed she was speaking about Jonathan’s physicality, [but] she was speaking about my strategic recreation! And as I used to be getting blindsided, I couldn’t assist however depart with a smile on my face understanding I used to be an enormous menace, and never [leaving] as a result of folks disliked me… besides Mike as a result of he’s very emotional. [Laughs]
TVLINE | In case you had survived that vote, who was in your supreme Ultimate 3?
My Ultimate 3, which I want they’d’ve highlighted extra, was myself, Omar and Drea. The three of us instantly got here collectively on the merge and I used to be like, “These are my Canadian infants, and we’re going to go to the top collectively.” I preferred who they had been as folks and I believed they had been very aligned with me strategically, and so they had been till they noticed that I used to be the menace to take out. Kudos to them!
TVLINE | The bruise in your face magically disappeared earlier than Tribal Council! What was that from, and was that some kind of modifying trickery?
The bruise was truly the alternate contestant from the season that we lastly removed! Actually, the bruise got here from the boulder problem. I received hit within the face with the ball, and that’s additionally why I had the shoulder damage. It disappeared as a result of proper earlier than Tribal I used to be enjoying round with the knife and I used to be like, “Oh my god, the knife is reflective. I can lastly have a mirror.” I noticed the mark on my face, which nobody instructed me about, and I used to be selecting at it and it peeled off! So coincidentally, it peeled off proper in time for me to get blindsided! [Laughs]
