by Gina Scarpa

From the very beginning this season on Survivor, Michael Snow played a strong social game and yet, was never afraid of getting down and dirty in a challenge.  He and Sherri were at the head of a majority alliance on the original Gota tribe, and he immediately got in with Corinne when a tribe switchup occurred.  At the merge, it seemed he might be able to fly under the radar but when the favorites started gunning for each other, they agreed on a safe move to get rid of him.  Following his elimination, Michael talked to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about the tension about the fans, his relationship with Corinne, and what it's like to be a jury member.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Being such a fan of the show, what was it like to be out there in the game, with the favorites, sitting at tribal council with Jeff Probst, and so on?
A. Michael: It was amazing! I am, like you, a major fan of the show. I constantly felt like I had to pinch myself just to be like, "You made it! You wanted to do this, you got here, you've been given this chance, you're so lucky!" I tried not to dwell on it because I knew I had to get out there and get playing. I was not starstruck by anybody, I know it's a show of regular people. I tried not to dwell on the fact that this was a really big moment.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Right away, your tribe was not on the same page and were gunning for each other. How were you feeling about it?
A. Michael: I knew it was a problem... if you think back to that first day, we were on the beach, he threw us the buffs, and we did that first challenge. I knew right there, we were in trouble. When we got to our beach, people started arguing, I was like, "We are screwed!" People could not listen to each other. They were yelling at each other. The best thing we could have done is come together but that was never going to happen.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When the tribe switchup happened, Corinne immediately took to you and kept referring to you as her gay friend. Did that bother you at all and do you feel like the fact that it was so obvious she wanted to work with you hurt your game?
A. Michael: A lot of people have talked to me about that. Never once did I have it in my mind of where Corinne is coming from. Corinne is smart and funny, she wants to talk to smart and funny people. She doesn't wanna talk to someone just because they're gay. We didn't bond because I'm gay, that's just her comedy. She has the most incredible, sarcastic mouth. It just came out that way. As far as whether she hurt my game, I don't think she hurt my game. She's a good reason why maybe I made it to the merge.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You were the "safe choice" for elimination in this past tribal council and it's too bad you had to go. What was your mindset and strategy after Corinne was voted out?
A. Michael: Those last couple of days, I unfortunately was not playing an end game. I was playing, "I gotta get in with some people." I went to the two guys that I knew were the most desperate and easier to work with, Reynold and Eddie, and they were with Malcolm. The whole time, I was working Dawn, Phillip, and Cochran as well. I slept next to Dawn every night. I was working her just as hard as I was Corinne. I was still trying to appeal to them, be friends with them, goof around with them, and try to appeal in all these ways. I didn't care who I was at the end with, I thought I could beat anyone... except Malcolm. He's a charmer.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It must be pretty cool to be on the jury, despite not making it to the end, because you'll see this process all the way through.
A. Michael: Yeah! You're right, I loved playing and I love every part of the game. I was pissed and so disappointed when I was voted out, because I had given it my all. To not make it further sucked, but I let it go and wanted to enjoy it for what it is. I'm going to watch them play and I can't wait to be a part of the final tribal council.

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

(Image courtesy of CBS)

Follow Gina @ginascarpa