Survivor: David vs. Goliath interview: Angelina Keeley on the final tribal council & more
New Survivor video! – Be sure to check out some more thoughts on Wednesday night’s finale at the bottom of this article! Meanwhile, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube to get some other discussion and check out our Survivor playlist.
In our CarterMatt interview with Angelina at the finale on Wednesday night, Angelina opens up a little bit about her path to the end of the game, why she realized she would have a hard time getting votes, and whether or not she would want to play again.
CarterMatt – Going into the final tribute council, how were you feeling about your game and about your changes? Did you feel like a couple of people were leaning in your direction?
Angelina – I mean, you always want to hope that maybe you’ll get someone or at least show them what you’ve done. But, I was skeptical and I was worried. I can read a room, and their faces when they walked in made it clear that it was a tough crowd. I also wan’t blind to the fact that Elizabeth really poisoned my game when she outed me. It was dicey! I knew I had a lot of work to do, and my idea going in was to differentiate myself from Mike and Nick as the player who was battle-tested and saw adversity.
My mindset is that when you come from the bottom and have that David story, that’s more impressive than floating by or being under the radar. They played very good games, but they were subtle games. I think that when a woman plays a subtle game, she’s a goat; when a woman plays an aggressive game, she’s a b—h. When a woman plays a flirty game, she’s a siren. It’s a really insane tightrope walk — not only in life, but in Survivor — and I chose that I’m not going to be a flirt since I’m married, and I’m not going to go under the radar and be a goat. That’s boring, and not true to who I am. I decided that I was going to be aggressive and I was going to be loud, and we’ll see where it gets me (laughs). It got me to the end and it got me no votes — which a lot of people anticipated, including myself — but I took a shot in the dark. I made big moves. I tried my best, and that was all I could do.
At what point were you the most worried about your game before the final tribal?
Including the Elizabeth vote and the Lyrsa vote, I had my name written down four Tribals in a row. My name was out there, and during that whole time I was skating on thin ice. I knew that I needed to rebuild and take my foot off of the pedal. I was adaptable, and I was able to get in with the Davids. They didn’t show a lot of it, but I did replace Gabby with the Davids. They were working with me and telling me more than her. The reason that happened is because I grew up more a David than a Goliath. I only became a Goliath, or at least a Goliath [in the show’s terms], in my adult life. I related to [the Davids] on so many levels, including how they approach life and how I was raised. That was helpful for me to get in good with them fast. After I started to work with Carl, Nick, and Davie, over time it started to become more powerful.
The editing didn’t support it, but Mike and I were often working hand in hand on Christian, on Gabby, and on Alec. I planted the seed in Carl’s head about Alec; I told him that he wasn’t going to eat [at reward challenges] unless he was on his team. You do these more subtle things to get yourself further in the game.
Do you want to play Survivor again?
There is a part of me that absolutely wants to, but there is a part of me that hesitates a little. I’m 29, I would love to be a mom soon, and you have to balance everything with life and marriage and I’m starting my own non-profit. But, it’s an honor to be asked once, and being asked twice would be like lightning striking twice. We’ll see.
Related – Be sure to check out some more Survivor finale interviews
Were you rooting for Davie on Survivor: David vs. Goliath? Be sure to share right now in the comments below! (Photo: CBS.)