Albert Destrade

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 10 - 2 filmiki:

Ozzy on Redemption

Albert reveals his plan to stay off Redemption Island

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqv8NPHATWU

"I definitely don't want to be at Redemption under any circumstance. I'm trying to pitch it to everyone that no matter who the Redemption returnee is, we have to get rid of them, no matter what."

(cut)

"As I look at the result of the duel, with Ozzy winning, on the exterior, it doesn't feel good, because there's still a strong player left in the game, but it's actually a strong fuel for me, because I can still use my story of, hey guys, we gotta stay strong, and we gotta keep players who can compete with Ozzy if he comes back from Redemption. And who's gonna compete with Ozzy? Most likely, me. I'm trying to devise a nice reason why I'm important to keep around in this game, for those people that might be on the fence."

(cut)

"The appearance of Ozzy being on Redemption for a while is good for me. Now do I want Ozzy to in actuality come back? Of course not. I want an easier road. I want Whitney to come back, so I can beat her. But I want Ozzy to be there for a while so people will start to sweat and go, oh, we can't get rid of Albert, because who's gonna beat Ozzy in a strength challenge. So the appearance of Ozzy making a deep run kind of helps my case a little bit."

EW Deleted Scene

Albert:

Ozzy coming out and saying, "I've caught all these fish, and I'm so well fed," I know there's a little bit of exaggeration behind it, but there's also a lot of truth, because he is a good fisherman, and he is feeding one or two people there at a time. It's tough for me because we're down to coconuts and barely any of that at all. For me, I got used to eating fish early on, eating bananas early on, and now it's starting to take a toll on my body. And I'm a guy who needs to succeed physically. For me, it puts me in a unique scenario where I've gotta find a way to draw in some food. I'm thinking I've gotta win these rewards. I'm hoping we have a lot of them. As of now, we've had less rewards on pace than any season I can remember.

(cut)

It's been kind of rough. It's been thin for us from a rewards standpoint. I'm hoping we start to get a lot more rewards that have food included, and either I can win them or somebody who can bring me along wins these rewards.

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 11:

Find a Way to Win

Albert needed to win the immunity challenge and explains why he gave the reward away.

"As we're going to the challenge today, I knew I really had to buckle down and find a way to win. I hate that cliche, 'find a way to win,' but that's how I felt today. I needed to win, not only did I have to ensure no funny business would happen with the weird number of 7, but I gotta start making a case for myself at end, that I am a strong challenge player. So far I haven't taken down any individual immunity challenges. Today was nice to put that notch on my pelt, and also to feel I could reclaim the top. When it came to the decision, Jeff said you could have a spa day with a massage and a shower, or you can pick one other player. Immediately I knew this was not a reward that was going to drive me crazy. I don't need a massage, and a shower would be nice, but probably not gonna be hot water anyway. I could pretty much deal with that. If it was food, I'd be all over that - can't turn away food. But it was something I was kind of lukewarm about. Bringing Coach is kind of a no-brainer at this point. I have to bring him in to keep him from going crazy and going Bonkers Coach. Then I thought about it. We're probably gonna get rid of Cochran, he's gonna be on the jury, it's gonna be tough to sway his vote over Coach's. Why don't I give him a reward, one I don't really care about that much, show him that I legitimately am his friend and have his back, and garner some last-minute favor with him. The beauty of it is..."

(cut)

"I kind of saw Cochran take that move I made and really run with it. I think it gave him new life. Instead of coming here and feeling like he's a dead man walking, I see the kid making some moves."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 12 - 2 filmiki:

Ozzy Chose Me

Albert explains why Ozzy selected him for the loved one's visit.

"Well, Jeff puts Ozzy in an interesting scenario. He puts him in a predicament where he has to choose one of us six to go and spend time with their family, after he's seen all the exchanges we've had. For Ozzy, I could see how difficult that decision was. You know, from my perspective, the fact that I got picked kind of speaks well, because that tells me Ozzy considers me somewhat of an ally in this game. That's huge. The more people consider me an ally, the better off I am in this game. I felt like that was Ozzy saying, 'Hey man, I'm throwing you an olive branch. Let's make something happen down the road.'"

(cut)

"The beauty of it was I wasn't the only person that got chosen. If it was me, by myself, with five angry people, might have looked pretty bad. They might all be bitter. The fact that Brandon and Coach got to come too, I think that speaks pretty well. Three happy, three not so happy."

(cut)

"It could be one of two things. He could be trying to get a jury vote out of me if he thinks I'm the next one to go. Clearly, Ozzy hasn't been the best strategic player, so he probably doesn't see the whole chess board as well as it is (?). For him, a more likely scenario is getting favor with me going deep into the game, if I do want to make a creative move."

(cut)

"If he thinks he's going to get a jury vote out of me, and that's why he picked me, dude, mahalo. Makes no difference to me, man, because I know that, as of right now, my chances of being on the jury are - knock on wood - pretty slim."

It Overtook Me

Albert describes how much seeing his mother affected him.

"Just seeing my mom on that video made me feel like, man, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, I'll be eating a nice, home-cooked meal before too long, and I can do it, I can push through another 8 days here."

(cut)

"Man, when I first saw my mom coming into the arena, I could barely contain myself. Everyone that knows me, my friends, family, ballplayer, coaches, they're not going to believe the reaction that was on my face. It's something that overtook me, and is not the norm for me at all. I'm not a cryer, I'm tough, I learned from my grandfather, I've always been a stone, very even-keeled, cool, calm, and collected all the time. The fact that when I saw my mom coming through those uprights, I couldn't find a way to contain myself. I was so happy to see her, I knew she was proud of me for making it this far into the game, and I knew she was happy to see that I was OK. She told me, 'Wow, you look great,' she told me she knows I can do it, knows I'm a winner already. Just all that stuff I take for granted back home. I've always had a worrisome mom. I've always had a worrisome family. Back home, in the real world, you take that for granted. Out here, you thrive and you need someone to generally worry and care about you. It's something I definitely wasn't expecting."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 13 - 2 filmiki:

It Sucks

Albert is not pleased with his performance in the immunity challenge.

"It sucks, man, when you go to a challenge - it looked like something I could do, climb a wall, I felt great about that. Solve a puzzle. The one caveat was I had to open bags, and I'm not very good at tying or untying knots. That was ultimately what killed me at that challenge. It sucks."

(cut)

"That challenge today at the end was definitely humbling. It's funny, when it played out, and I was near the last stage of the challenge, I was like, yeah, I'm pretty behind here, but I have to kind of plead ignorance, because I didn't really understand the magnitude of it. I was just kind of there. Let me shuffle the pieces. I see Brandon win, I'm like, sweet, Brandon won, one of my closest allies. I heard pizza - he's probably gonna bring me on this pizza reward. I'm actually not feeling all that bad. I feel pretty good. I feel like we kept immunity away from Sophie, she's pretty much a sitting duck. I felt pretty good, man. Honestly I didn't feel bad at all, until I hear Brandon pick Rick. I thought, that's a little strange, that's a little weird."

(cut)

"Today's reward especially hurt because I've been dying for food. I haven't gotten to participate in any food reward since we got past the merge. The icing on the cake, the reward was pizza, the #1 thing I've been dying for out here and talking to people about. When I saw a jet ski come up, delivering pizzas - and thought they were going to be little pizzas, but they were legitimate-size pizzas - I was hurt and I was wow. It physically was painful to watch that pizza go away from me. I was feeling kind of downtrodden."

(cut)

"Now it's like, that loss was a heck of a lot bigger than I ever could have anticipated. It sucks, because I'm really close to a position now where it's going to be real must-wins. If I get voted out tonight, I'm looking at 2 legitimate must-wins. I've got a must-win to get my way back in, and I've got a must-win to get my way back in at the round of 5."

(cut)

"It's hard to describe or put into words how quickly things come crashing down in this game."

Right Hook to the Jaw

Albert is licking his wounds after his tribe mates expose his lies.

"The group of 5 of us have been like a family since the very beginning of this game. We've all got along really well. It was a nice, pleasant day. (?) This whole time, I've been thinking - you know what, the whole thing's been going smoothly, I'll just continue to play the role of one of the people here. Then I'll take off my mask at the end and play 'ha ha' on everyone."

(cut)

"The problem is the cat got out of the bag 4 days too soon. Sophie just kind of took the lid off Pandora's Box today for me. I got thrown with a storm of crap. All the sudden this happy little family turns into a dysfunctional episode of Jerry Springer."

(cut)

"I feel like I took a right hook right to my jaw. All the sudden, I'm dazed, and I'm like, where the heck am I even standing right now? This is not the game I was playing a couple hours ago, where I knew where my alliances were, I had control of the 5 people left in this game. Now I'm like reeling. I never in a million years expected to be in this position, having to argue for my life in these last few hours before Tribal. It blows me away how quickly things have been shaken up. I'm not giving up by any stretch of the imagination, but it's kind of humbling to see how quickly things can come crashing down in this game. I still know that I can make something happen before Tribal, and worst case scenario, that one place I've been dreading this whole time, Redemption - oh, what a pain in the butt - it might be my one saving grace here, if I do get sent there, because I've just gotta beat this guy in one challenge, then I'm back in the ballgame."

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Wywiad z Albertem:

R: Congratulations on making it to the final three! You seemed to be doing all the right things for a Survivor player to be doing, so why do you think you didn’t get any votes to win at the end?

Albert: That’s an interesting question. When I prepared for the game, I felt like I prepared better than anyone. I felt like I was locked in, ready to go and play a winning game.

Jury management is a tough thing. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’ t replay final Tribal Council in my head. Most of the jurors had their minds made up. You don’t have many seasons where the three players who played the best game get to the end. We played a head and shoulders better game than anybody else.

Ozzy played an atrocious game of Survivor! (Coach, who was also on the line, jumped in to cheer on Albert with a “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” If you’ve already read my interview with Coach, you know that he went even farther when talking about Ozzy, calling him a “whiny little bitch”!) He got voted out three times in one game. It’s almost embarrassing.

I went into the game with the people who played the best game there other than myself . I’m not ashamed of the results. I’m not upset. I played a strong game. I’m really proud.

R: Was it always Sophie who shot you down when you had ideas of how to switch things up rather than sticking with the Upolu Five, or did you decide on some of them on your own but we just didn’t see it?

Albert: It wasn’t specifically Sophie. A lot of the post-merge play, it seemed like Sophie was the one who shot me down. The key is if you don’t have the numbers, you can’t make a move. There were a couple scenarios I entertained. In a game where people react emotionally, I think logically and rationally. For Sophie, it worked out the best. For myself and some others, there were some other spots where we could have possibly made a better play.

Some people felt a false sense of security. I couldn’t pull the numbers. I wasn’t going to “out” myself by trying to make a move and falling flat on my face. Sophie was a proponent of staying the course. I wasn’t there to just make it to the end and have a good experience, but to make the best possible play. Every move I made, every word I said, there was a reason behind it. If there’s not a reason, you’re not playing the game properly. Granted, it didn’t work out the best for me, results-wise.

R: One the one hand, you told us that honor, integrity, and loyalty didn’t mean anything to you on Survivor and you did what you needed to in the game. On the other hand, we saw you participating in the prayers and insisting to us that it was real. The game is over now, so let’s hear the truth: How much of that was real and how much was the game?

Albert: Coming into the game, honor, integrity, and loyalty could not mean less to me within the game of Survivor. In real life, they’re very important. But this isn’t real life. I was playing a million-dollar strategy game, this is a unique creature.

In terms of the prayers, I never expected it. I’m a God-fearing man, but I never thought it would play such a big role. We were all pretty active in coming together. That drew us together. I’m not a bull-rider or a rancher or a med student. When you don’t have things to connect to people other than that one factor, that was very real and very true. Did I have an opportunity to connect with people over that? Yeah.

The other stuff? The only bad thing was that it played too well. My pre-game preparation was, “Let’s get everybody on my tribe to think it’s us vs. them.” It worked too well. Our tribe was so tight, so close, that nobody wanted to make a move. I walked myself in a corner. All the players in my alliance, nobody wanted to move. I loved that they all were playing honorably, but it limited my moves.

Question: Going into Tribal Council, what did you think your chances were?

Albert: I knew I had an uphill battle given the nature of the game. Not every juror will come in saying, “Let’s make the most logical, rational decision.” I knew I had ground to make up. Coach hit the nail on the head [in his interview]. I expected a longer, more drawn-out scenario where we had an ample opportunity to make our case. I thought every person was going to ask each of us a question. I didn’t think they were going to be yes-or-no questions. I didn’t think there were going to be just comments made where we couldn’t state our case.

That being said, I’m not making excuses for why any one of us didn’t win. It’s just reality of the way human beings work. It’s not a jury of nine Survivor robots; you have nine emotional human beings with unique criteria. Not everybody will look at the game the same way. That’s my shortcoming – I didn’t manage and control the jury in the way I should have. That would be a huge idea that I would work on – establishing a better relationship with the jury and a better way to position myself.

There were dozens of points I could have brought up. It happened the way it was supposed to happen. I’m resigned to my fate. I feel there were opportunities to position myself a little better.

Question: People said you didn’t come across as sincere and genuine. Were you aware of that?

Albert: I think that’s a big factor. If each juror had to sit by themselves and not gossip with one another… It’s peculiar when somebody like Whitney says, “Albert’s a nice guy,” and then two weeks later she opens with, “Albert, you’re sleazy.” How do we get there? It’s not saying anything inflammatory. It’s somebody poisoning the well, whether Ozzy or a bitter juror.

The day Dawn and Whitney left the game, I was like, “Listen, we don’t have the numbers, I’m sorry.” They knew they were going home that night. They said, “Thank you so much, you’re the only person playing the game, if you make it to the end, we’re voting for you.” How does it go from that to calling me sleazy and not voting for me? Something happened in that Ponderosa scenario that altered the way it played it out. It is what it is. I don’t like to pass the buck. Regardless of the outcome, there’s a better play I could have made.

Question: After you voted out Brandon, Coach said he was upset about you playing the jury. What was your reaction to the pot calling kettle black?

Albert: It was a little funny. It’s interesting the way you’re portrayed given the way it was the individual portion of the game. Coach saying, “I don’t want you jury pandering anymore.” That’s probably a product of the level of stress and paranoia. I get what his motives were. I would never say that to a person in the game and would never be that open because a lot of times, that’ll get you voted out.

I felt like Coach would speak about honor and integrity, which is the last thing a jury wants to hear about. That’s not going to resonate in their ears. [They’re going to think,] “Screw you, @$$#ole.” That was a big factor why I didn’t mind going to the end with Coach. I didn’t mind being portrayed as a villain. Every single decision I made was what I thought was the best play for me to win the game.

Question: What was your take as far as Sophie as a player? Why did you see her as a threat and try to vote her out earlier?

Albert: I think that delineated the difference between the way Ozzy plays and I play. I would never vote somebody out because of a personal feeling. Rick and I didn’t really like each other towards the end, but you vote based on whether they can beat you, not on whether you like them.

Coach said, “Albert’s intimidated by Sophie because she’s smarter than him.” That’s none of it. I don’t care if she’s 100 times smarter or 100 times dumber – it’s whether she can beat me. She was the only other one there who could claim she deserved a million dollars. I know how a jury works. Given a final Tribal Council scenario, she was going to come in poised and give an answer she needs to give. Juries vote on “what have you done for me lately?” That to me was a big reason. I was concerned because she had all the makings of a winner, which turned out being true.

In my mind, even though Sophie was probably my closest ally the whole game, I don’t want to do that, I want to go with Cochran, who has enemies or Edna who did little in the game. I want to win. Unfortunately, the way the dynamics worked out, I didn’t have an opportunity to do that. It was a unique season where the three best players made the end. It makes a difference why Ozzy didn’t win. If Ozzy didn’t play so horribly, he might have had a better chance if he doesn’t play an awful social game. He might have had an opportunity to stake a claim.