‘Survivor: San Juan del Sur’ interview: Jon Misch on blindside, immunity challenge, food, and fans

So far this season on “Survivor: San Juan del Sur,” we have to say that Jon Misch may be the biggest exit interview surprise. We didn’t always think that he was getting the best edit on the show, and at times would get either the cocky or the clueless portrayal.

What we got in our short interview with him today, though, was a smart, fun guy who seemed to enjoy his time out there, but also seemed to be disconnected enough from the game aspect to not have any hard feelings about it. Also, he was happy to make fun of himself, which we feel is always a pretty important attribute to have after the fact.

CarterMatt – So let’s talk first of all about your vote, because you seemed to be pretty classy about it after being blindsided. At what point did you realize what was happening; was it when you saw Jaclyn’s vote?

Jon Misch – It’s funny. I would like to chalk it up to starvation, and by mind not being as sharp as it needs to be all the time. But when I saw Jaclyn’s name the first time, I thought ‘oh, that’s weird, Keith’s voting for Jaclyn. Why would he do that,’ but I shrugged it off because Keith does things all the time that nobody understands (laughs). Then, I saw Jaclyn’s name again, and I still didn’t get it at first! I thought, ‘they’re taking Jaclyn out,’ then I realized ‘oh they’re splitting the votes, you idiot.’

It wasn’t an immediate realization. Pretty much the facial expressions that they showed were accurate. (Laughs.)

You mention being hungry, and one thing I wonder about is the Reward Challenge. Had you went on the reward, do you think you would have been more prepared to do well in the challenge, or been more aware of everything at camp? Is food something that we blow out of proportion?

I don’t think enough focus is given to that. Take it with a grain of salt, because it all depends on how you are feeling at that point. At that point in the game, if I felt completely drained … There were some challenges, like when Jeremy gave [reward] up for me, I don’t know why but at that point, my body felt completely drained. Him giving it to me; it was such a nice thing for him to do, but you can’t let your emotions dictate what you do. I couldn’t say I wasn’t going to vote him out, even though Jeremy is a great guy and I have nothing but respect for him.

I would not have given that reward up if I didn’t feel resilient already. My body felt pretty good at that point, I don’t know why. It could have been that I caught a few extra crabs that day so I had some protein in me, but I felt I could go without this reward. I also felt like it would be a big enough gesture for Baylor that had she had [a desire] to get me out, she would have put that away. I didn’t realize that [her desire] was so deeply rooted, and that she was working so close with Natalie because that wasn’t on my radar at all. It ended up being a bad move, but I can’t say I regret it because I don’t think that is what ended up doing me in.

Let’s talk about that immunity challenge for a minute. You seemed to be in great shape, but all of a sudden it fell. What happened? Did a ghost come over and blow on it?

I talked with this a lot with Jaclyn, and I basically felt like it was God saying that ‘look, this is not meant to be.’ Other than that, it was completely steady. I had [a lot] of control over that thing. The wind gusts that were coming before, I commanded them. Then, this big gust came out of nowhere; it must have been like a second long, and [while] Natalie’s didn’t move, mine was completely knocked over! Okay, did God just flick this thing or what? (Laughs.) It was so frustrating, but all I can chalk it up to was God’s plan.

Let’s go back to the Jeremy vote. Had you not voted Jeremy out there, do you think that Natalie still would have went after you? Was this just an excuse to try to take out out?

I think eventually Natalie would’ve taken me out anyways, but it is hard to say. Had I not taken Jeremy out, I wouldn’t have been the threat in the gameplay that I became. People wouldn’t have been able to say ‘Jon coordinated a blindside,’ and I would’ve kind of been at the mercy at my alliance. Jeremy would have been in complete control. It would have been possible that they would have kept me around for a while, but I think they would have taken me out eventually.

Finally, what has it been like sitting back and watching this whole experience with Jaclyn?

It’s been really fun, but there have been some mixed emotions. It’s inevitable and we knew this going on that people are either going to love you or hate you. At least people who voice themselves. People who are in between, they’re not going to go ‘I kinda am in between about how I feel about Jon and Jaclyn!’ (Laughs.) They are either going to go ‘I’m rooting for you,’ or ‘you suck, we hate you!’

For the first few weeks it was awesome and we loved it, but then I feel like America felt betrayed by us when we voted out Jeremy, and people started making comments about how it’s karma that we can’t have kids because we’re terrible people, and we don’t deserve to have children, and these terribly low things. It then got to the point where it was like ‘wow, people are really get personal with this.’ People don’t realize that this is just a game.

But it was fun watching the edit and the game. Watching our fight was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. (Laughs.) When you have food in your belly [and you’re watching it] you realize that was blown up a little bit! But when you’re starving and you’re stressed, everything is just like ‘AHHH!’

—

In the end, it is pretty terrible that people have made those kind of low blows at Jon and Jaclyn just for game moves, and we really cannot stress enough what a fun interview this was. We only have so much time that we can talk with each eliminated castaway, but we could have done this one for a while longer.

If you missed it last night, be sure to read our full review of this big “Survivor” episode! Also, sign up to get some further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)