by Gina Scarpa

 

Despite being warned that she was about to go next on Survivor, Hope Driskill didn't listen. Since fellow tribe member Shamar Thomas had made enemies within her alliance, she didn't feel she could trust him when he asked her to vote for Eddie Fox. The votes were split between Shamar, Eddie, and Hope and when the revote took place, Hope's torch was snuffed. We talked to her in an exclusive interview about the dynamics of the Gota tribe and her experience playing the game of Survivor.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Being a fan of Survivor, who are your all-time favorite players?

A. Hope: I watched it on and off through my entire high school career, growing up. I have a lot of favorites but I'll tell you what. Two of my favorites happened to be on my season, which was insane. Leading up to it, Andrea was one of my favorites. She was such a strong, competitive player but was fun and personable. When I ended up seeing her get out of the helicopter, I was mind blown! Oh and Brenda! She was also one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to play with them.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Tell me about this alliance of four that you were a part of. Do you feel like it was a good strategic move for you?

A. Hope: My strategy, going into the game, was to align myself with strong players. I know that in Survivor, it's important to win the challenges. I wanted to align myself with other strong players, which is what I did. What people didn't see was that we didn't see it as an alliance of four, or at least I didn't. We saw it as an alliance of five. We thought we had Matt and he was playing the other members of the tribe.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When I talked to Allie, she said that everyone in your alliance wanted a final three with Matt so why did he jump ship to the other alliance?

A. Hope: Oh man, if I could ask Matt that... and I probably will! He had to make that decision and I wish that he had gone with us so much.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Who is responsible, in your mind, for picking off your alliance? Do you think it's Sherri?

A. Hope: I honestly do think it was Sherri. She was pretty much playing everyone. She had Shamar as her little puppet and you saw in tribal, that she kept referring to couples and a foursome. I think she did it to keep that refreshed in her alliance's mind.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: After Allie was eliminated, did you change your game at all to try to get the target off of you?

A. Hope: Immediately after Allie went home, I made a huge, huge point, which they didn't show, to spend as much time away from Reynold and Eddie as I could. I was sleeping up in the shelter with everyone, I was talking with Matt and Michael and Laura and Julia. I was spending a lot of time with them in the hopes that they'd see I was making an effort.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It seems like Shamar was genuinely trying to give you a heads up that you needed to turn on your alliance and vote Eddie out in order to save yourself. After your elimination, did you regret not listening to him?

A. Hope: You know, I'll tell you, that was a painful scene to watch. You have to remember that, in that moment when we were sitting and talking, I knew Shamar didn't really like me and was in with the other alliance. He was laying out their plan and their attempt to flush out the idol. A part of me just really didn't trust him or his motives. I was like, "Okay, why is he telling me this? We don't get along, he's playing with other people," and I just didn't trust him. That's pretty much what it came down to. In the end, I decided to remain a loyal player and stuck with my alliance.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Reynold has the idol, which he said he would play, and hasn't yet. Why didn't he try to save you or Allie, and keep his alliance strong? His back seems up against the wall now.

A. Hope: I mean, I think that he definitely had the opportunity to save a member of his alliance but he was probably thinking for his individual safety, that he didn't want to waste it and make himself vulnerable. I don't blame him.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you taking away from the experience of playing Survivor for the six days you were out there?

A. Hope: Well I think for me, doing Survivor and having the opportunity to compete on a show that I love watching was just the coolest experience. I wish more than anything I could've stayed out there longer but at the same time, I did something that I never thought I'd do. I put myself completely out of my comfort zone and it was so challenging. By far, it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. At the same time, I got to see the beautiful island. I'm not walking away with the million dollars but it was a hell of an experience.

 

 

Survivor: Caramoan airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa