‘Survivor: Kaoh Rong’ exclusive: Julia Sokolowski on Kyle Jason, being exiled, and making moves

Julia Sokolowski is someone we really feel could have gone all the way to the top on “Survivor: Kaoh Rong.” Why? She wasn’t afraid to make moves in the game, she was strong in challenges, and she seemed to be for the most part very well-liked among her other players. The only thing really working against her was that she was on the bottom of a big alliance, and Aubry in particular seemed to be wary of her as a threat. With that, she’s now gone from the game, but we were happy to talk about everything that happened with her in our exit interview this morning.

Below, the youngest player of the season talks about diffusing perceptions about her age, why she liked working with Jason, and also how she wished she had fought harder to keep Debbie around.

CarterMatt – I know you were someone who really was a big fan of the game going into it. Did this experience turn out to be everything that you wanted and then some?

Julia Sokolowski – I am really proud of myself. I had a lot of bumps and twists throughout this game. I was on a really strong, winning tribe early in the game, I was the only person to have some sort of exile experience, and then I had to scrape my way through a tribe-swap vote. I made the merge, I won immunity, and I got to pull off some awesome blindsides. I definitely feel like I got the full experience even though I didn’t win, and I do feel really satisfied.

Did you have a sense going into this past tribal council that it could be you, or that someone you were so close to in Michele would write down your name?

I knew that I had a huge target on my back, and I knew that so did Jason. I was nervous after that immunity challenge; I was feeling so defeated because I knew that I was in trouble and my days were numbered.

I wouldn’t say that last night I was blindsided, but I was blindsided by Michele. She was one of my best friends out there, and to this day she is one of my best friends. I just never expected her to flip, and that was a knife in the heart in so many ways. But, she did what she had to do.

You were able to work with Jason when many others weren’t, and I’ve had some exit interviews where people have had some less-than-kind things to say about him. What did you see in him that maybe other people did not?

I had a special place for Jason in so many ways. Yeah, he has a villainous exterior, and he made some harsh decisions throughout the game, like the sabotage, and he can be aggressive. Yet, there’s something about Jason that is so loyal and so respectable, and he has this family that he’s so passionate about and he has daughters. He told me so many times ‘I want you to be a role model’ for his daughters. I really looked at Jason as this figure I could trust, and I saw a lot of wisdom in, even if he has some aggressiveness.

I love Jason, and I really think that he is an awesome person. That’s just how some people play the game; that’s what happens. Everyone has their different tactics. It’s so funny because on this past episode Cydney was like ‘aw, I gotta vote out Julia’s traitor a–,’ and I was like ‘girl, you switched teams too!’ Everyone has different moves, and it was really the sabotage that turned Jason and Scot over to the villain edge. But I really do think that they are both awesome.

In going along with what you just said, there’s this sort of double-edged sword with Jason. Did you want to go with him to the end? You do mention the sabotage; do you think that would hurt him, or would people be sympathetic because of the story of his daughters and him having an autistic child?

I think that his actions in the game turned people off. I don’t think his story would’ve given him much help, so I would have been happy to go to the end with Jason, I really would’ve. I would’ve loved to go to the end with Michele, too. She was a part of my original alliance, so to be able to sit in the final three with her would’ve been really cool.

Let’s go back to early in the game. Do you think it hurt you to not have that experience of going to tribal until a couple of weeks or so into the game?

I think it helped me, especially in the beginning. I think if you can win-win-win and set yourself up until the merge, you are golden. That’s the best thing that can happen. I think I got really lucky and so did Nick, Tai, and Michele that we were able to pull off all these wins and make it as far as we did without tribal. We were strong, we were happy, and it was great.

As you said, you had the whole exile experience, and we only saw a minute or so of it on the show. Can you explain more in-depth what that was like?

It was horrible. It was really really tough, I felt really low, and it was probably one of the lowest points I’ve ever felt as a human, not only on the show. But, it was the moment that turned my game upside-down. I think up until that point, I was coasting on these wins, these challenge wins. When I came back I knew that probably Anna or Michele would be gone because they knew I was coming in, and when I got back Anna was gone. I had to start playing ‘Survivor.’ It was no longer a beach vacation, and I had to step my game up and I did. I started playing for the million dollars.

At times it was difficult to tell after the merge whose side you were on, and whether you were really with Scot and Jason. What went into some of your decision-making there?

The Nick vote made sense for me because I was on the bottom of the ‘seven strong’ alliance, what we called it at the time. The Debbie vote made sense for me because I was maintaining my place in the majority alliance, but not hurting my place with Jason, Scot, or Tai. I voted for who I said I was going to vote for going into the Scot blindside, and I proved to them that [I voted how I said I would], but then they changed it up. That was my turning point where I said ‘I’m done with this. I proved my allegiance and you’re not working with me. I’m switching alliances.’

Can you illuminate what’s going on with Joe? We’ve barely seen him this season.

I think that in so many ways, Aubry’s brilliant because she is holding Joe’s hand this whole game. She’s the girl with two votes! (Laughs.) Joe was kind of like Aubry’s territory; it sounds terrible, but I never even considered strategizing with Joe because he wouldn’t listen to me. He wouldn’t listen to anyone other than Aubry. He’s a great guy and he has a lot of wisdom and life experience and some cool stories, but at the end of the day he wasn’t doing that much. His edit has been pretty accurate to what was going on.

I think for you one of the silver linings in being voted out is that you were considered a threat, something that many other younger players have not been considered. Was it difficult for you to be perceived as someone who was going to play the game, and not a Natalie Tenerelli type who would be seen as just [coasting to the end]?

I was able to overcome that; I actually lied to everyone about my age; I said I was 22 so I could blend in a little bit easier with people and people wouldn’t look to me as a baby. That was my whole goal. Obviously, I wanted to win and did everything that I could, but more importantly I wanted to prove that you can be 18 and play a good game and, no disrespect to her, but I didn’t want to be a Natalie Tenerelli and get dragged along by a bigger player. A lot of times that happens to young girls, or they get booted early on. I wanted to show that I had the power to shake things up and make some moves and really have an impact.

As we start to wrap up, is there any move that you wish you had made in the game?

There are two things. I wish that I had looked for an idol when I was exiled at Brawn beach; I think there could have been one there. Who knows? I know Jason had the original one, but there could have been a new one planted for the person who got exiled. Guess I’ll never know. (Laughs.)

The other thing is that the night Debbie went home, I really should’ve voted for [Cydney]. I did not know how supportive Debbie was of me, so that was kind of a punch in the gut to watch, and I kind of felt bad. I probably would have voted Cydney; I think she was a bigger threat anyway, and I could’ve pulled Michele over to work with the boys.

I’m assuming you would like to play again.

Absolutely, I’d love to play again.

Is there anything upon reflection of your game that you would change if given the opportunity?

I think I could end up [doing the same thing] again. I think it’s very true to my personality to play the middle. I like to make sure everyone is happy at all times. That’s kind of who I am, and I don’t really like to cause issues.

But, I probably would stick to a tight alliance a little longer in the game. I think I probably made my moves a little too early, and I think that really hurt me. I think I’d try to have a tighter bond a little bit further.

—

You can read more from last night’s “Survivor” just by heading over to the link here. Also, sign up over here to secure some other TV news on all we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)