by Gina Scarpa

After more than a decade away from the game, Gervase Peterson returned to Survivor as if he had never left. That charismatic personality we fell in love with during the very first season was back, but so was a savvy player when it came to idols, blindsides, and alliances. He made it all the way to the final three with Tyson Apostol and Monica Culpepper, ultimately finishing in third, but he has no regrets and no complaints. We chatted with Gervase this week after Blood Vs. Water came to a close to take a look back at the season.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I've been watching since the first season and it's been cool to see you come back into a game so many years later and adapt so well. How did you adjust to the way the game has evolved?
A. Gervase: Thank you, you know what? I consider myself a student of the game. Not winning season 1, I've replayed that in my head for 13 years. Watching over the years, I've paid attention to people's alliances and how they break. I wanted to find an alliance that wouldn't turn on each other. Last season, I really paid attention to Cochran and the things he was doing. I've had 13 years to go through every scenario and this game is based on one thing: every second of every minute of every hour affects the game.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Very early on, your niece was voted out supposedly because of you and the way you celebrated at the immunity challenge. Do you really think you had anything to do with it?
A. Gervase: No, I think that was an excuse to get rid of Marissa. She had said to Brad on the beach that first day, "You better not be on my team!" My outburst maybe gave them a reason to vote her out.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was there ever a point in the game that you were worried about being blindsided?
A. Gervase: Honestly, no. I think I took my bag to that first tribal council on Galang just in case but after that... I was in everybody's alliance. My name was always circulated in alliances. I didn't see blindsides coming my way which is kind of bad in a sense because when you don't see it is when it happens.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Why did you decide to stick with Tyson all the way through the game?
A. Gervase: My plan was really just to make sure Tyson had more dirt on his hands than I did. Hayden kept saying we were playing for second. I wasn't playing for second, I was playing for final three. If I don't make final three, I go home. You want me to flip on Tyson and let's say I did that. Who do you think they're voting out next? Me! Why would I do that? I knew early in the game, my best bet was with Tyson and Monica and I knew they were going to keep their word.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were you disappointed in the outcome, that you didn't get any votes?
A. Gervase: Honestly, my goal was to make it to the final three. I mean, of course it was to win the game but like I said, you can't win unless you're final three and after that, it's up to the jury. I did my best to make sure Tyson looked worse than me. When I got rid of Aras, that shrapnel from the grenade took out Vtyas, Katie, and I get what Hayden was saying, that Tyson was going to win. Again, if I flip on Tyson, that doesn't mean I'm going to win either. I could be siting next to Ciera and Katie. Their moms are on the jury! I lose! Everybody likes Hayden, do I beat you? No. If I'm gonna lose this game, I'm gonna make sure I see somebody win who I want to win and that's somebody in my alliance.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It's been a long time since we've seen you. What has life been like? What's going on with you?
A. Gervase: Well, I own a cigar lounge called Burnz in New Jersey and I own Ch@t Vodka. I write for a magazine called Jersey Man and I'm plugging away. I still do independent films, I act, I do appearances, and I've just been staying busy for the last 13 years waiting for a call from CBS and it finally came.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

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