On Survivor, as in life, some things are simply too good to be true. Case in point: Joaquin Souberbielle and Rodney Lavoie Jr.’s budding bromance. Powerful and immediate as it was, it was not strong enough to withstand the tribal phase of the game.

On the latest episode of Survivor, Joaquin, a New York marketing director and original member of the White Collar tribe, became the sixth person voted out of the season. After an unfortunate start involving an elaborate lie about Hidden Immunity Idols and “neutral boxes,” Joaquin seemed to be on the outs with his tribe. Not so, according to Joaquin; when I spoke with him about his exit, he said that he was on the right side of the numbers on White Collar, despite any appearances to the contrary.

But whatever strings Joaquin pulled to remain in White Collar’s good graces, there was no saving him from being blindsided by his new Escameca tribe. Joaquin felt he had a rock-solid alliance with new BFF Rodney, as well as sturdy ally Tyler and new partner Sierra — but in the end, Sierra turned against Joaquin, due at least in part to her tense history with Rodney.

What’s the status of Joaquin and Rodney’s relationship today? Who would have gone home from White Collar had they made a second trip to Tribal Council? And what does Joaquin think of Survivor now that he’s lived through it? Here’s what he told me on the phone last week:



I was worried about you after the premiere. It was a rocky start. But you bounced back pretty well within White Collar. How did you damage-control your situation, after So was sent home?

First thing I needed to do was basically turn everybody against either Shirin or Max, which I did, by telling Carolyn that Max was the reason why I wrote her name down. It was great, because it sparked a fire under Carolyn that was just unbelievable. I’ve never seen anyone hate someone so much within seconds. After that, the crazier and crazier Shirin got, the more and more that Tyler, Carolyn and I got closer. Before you knew it, [Max and Shirin] were on the outs. Max got lucky, because if we had gone to Tribal Council again, I wanted Shirin to go, but Tyler and Carolyn were saying, “We have to send Max home.” I would’ve sided with my alliance and sent Max home.

I guess that answers one question for me; I was going to ask why you seemed so happy when you first saw that Max had been voted out.

It’s the game, honestly. I love the kid. I talk to him all the time. Max in the game is not the Max you see outside of the game. I didn’t have much of a problem with him, honestly, except that he was obviously pushing Shirin to annoy the [expletive] out of me. That was obvious. Tyler would tell me, “Look, Max is telling her to do all of this. Blah, blah, blah.” That’s how he got on my bad side. But listen, I was happy that Carolyn was still over there, that she was fine. That was a really close alliance of mine. I knew she must’ve been a big part of sending him home. If she was happy, I was happy.

Speaking of Carolyn, she found that Hidden Immunity Idol without a single clue, before the first Tribal Council. You and So were wandering around looking for it; even after So went home, you kept looking. Did you have any idea at all that Carolyn already found it?

I had no idea! The worst part is, I searched that tree probably right after she did. I went through that tree probably a million times. I could not freaking find it. She must’ve gotten it about two hours before I did. But she was part of my alliance. I’m team Rodney, Carolyn and Tyler forever; I hope those three make it all the way to the end. So when I saw that she had it [from watching the show], I wasn’t mad at all. It’s a game. I don’t take it to heart. A lot of people take an awful lot of animosity with them, and I think it’s very childish. You should leave that [expletive] out on the island. [Expletive] that. We’re humans at the end of the day. I love each and every single one of them, even that [expletive] Mike who got me kicked out.

Let’s talk about Mike and the new tribe you landed on. What was your immediate take on Escameca, when you saw it was all men plus Sierra?

I was so psyched. So psyched. You have no idea. Listen to how this happened: I went to grab package number two [from Jeff], and Maxy-Max grabs it seconds before me. So I grabbed three right next to it. Mine ends up being blue, his ends up being red. That’s how that ended up happening. By the skin of my teeth, I ended up on that tribe. Who knows what would have happened if I’d ended up on the other tribe? It was an amazing feeling. I saw Rodney and he’s just super cool, hilarious, a young kid like myself. I got to bring Tyler, my closest ally. And I’m looking around thinking we have the strongest girl on our team. We were stacked. There’s nothing anybody could do. It was awesome. But at the end of the day, I wish I’d picked bag number two; I would’ve been on the red team, and who knows? I might still be playing.

Interesting to think about how you would have done on Nagarote, if you and Max had switched spots.

I was thinking the same exact thing. Who knows, man? Who knows. Like I said, if I was on that tribe, Shirin probably would have been next to go, you know? But what are you going to do. You just smile and enjoy the ride.

How fast did the Rodney bromance happen?

Oh, man. If we had had four or five more episodes? Forget it. It would’ve been too much for TV. We were hilarious together. It was nonstop jokes back and forth. We were a riot. It was exactly what they showed on TV. Two bros, waking up after spending time with people they’re not accustomed to being with, finally being able to talk about normal things you would talk about back home with your friends. It was amazing. I’m still friends with him. I talk with him almost every day. He came down to New York, we spent New Year’s together, we popped bottles, got a handful of girls, had a great time, partied at my house and didn’t stop until ten in the morning the next day. Nonstop. I’m going to visit him next week. He’s my brother. He’s my brother for life.

The bromance is alive.

The bromance is real.

You were good friends with Tyler out there, too. Did the Rodney dynamic change anything about your relationship with Tyler?

We were extremely close. I would have done anything for him, and vice versa. I trusted him with my life. He always knew what was going on. We got put on this tribe, and we knew we couldn’t be buddy-buddy like we were at White Collar. There was no love lost. I just had to distance myself from him, and him from I. We had to go form other relationships. Unfortunately, I didn’t know Rodney had this track record, the way it was. It bit me in the ass at the end of the day. Sierra couldn’t trust him enough to write anyone else’s name down. It was my downfall. I guess Rodney’s erratic behavior really threw her off. I think she was worried he was going to do something dumb. And she thought her fate was better in the hands of Mike and Dan.

Tell me about your tribe throwing the challenge. Was that a surprise to you?

I knew about it, but I was not in on it. Rodney had brought it up to me. I brought it up with Tyler. I tried to convince Rodney not to do it. I still don’t know exactly how many of them were in on it. It could have been just Rodney and Mike, possibly Dan — but Dan won his part, so I’m not too sure exactly just yet. Hopefully we can find out at the finale.

When you see Mike “struggling” in his round, was it obvious what was going on as you were watching?

It wasn’t so obvious, but I had a good idea. I knew something was up. But then again, maybe he’s just so damn stupid. I wasn’t fully aware of what was going on.

Let’s play out the hypothetical. Joe goes home. You stick around for the merge next week. What’s your game plan? What’s the ideal scenario moving forward?

It was me, Sierra, Tyler, Rodney, Carolyn — and Rodney would pull Kelly. We would be that strong six right there and ride out with that. You never know what could’ve happened, but that was basically the plan we had written up. But Tyler, Rodney and Carolyn, that was my top three. They’re the ones I want to win right now. They’re my peoples, for lack of better word.

You weren’t a huge Survivor fan before you played. Fair to say?

No, man! I [expletive] never watched a [expletive] episode of Survivor in my life!

And here you are, on season 30 — this big, milestone season. Having been through the experience, do you have some appreciation for your place in the show’s history, and what the show means for people?

Yeah, I [expletive] love it. I’d never really watched it, but now that I’m on it, I came home and watched season 29. I’m so glad that I’m a part of this now. I can’t wait to watch the rest of the season. I can’t wait to keep watching. It’s a little cult we have together with all these people. It’s truly amazing. I can’t wait for next season to come out. I can’t wait to root for whoever’s on it and have my favorites, just like every other fan does. I can’t wait to hopefully get the chance to go back on knowing a million times more than what I did at the time.

That’s something you’re interested in? You would play again?

In a [expletive] heartbeat. I would drop whatever job, whatever the hell I was doing. I would do it. I have so much knowledge now having only watched one season, and half of this season. I can only imagine three, four, more seasons, all the knowledge I can graft onto that would help me get further into the game.

Maybe a Joaquin versus Rodney season?

Hey, man, I’ll take it. I’ll take anything, man, as long as I get another chance to actually go out there and show what I can really do.

Josh Wigler is a writer, editor and podcaster who has been published by MTV News, New York Magazine, Comic Book Resources, Digital Trends and more. He is the co-author of The Evolution of Strategy: 30 Seasons of Survivor, an audiobook chronicling the reality TV show’s transformation. Josh hosts podcasts about film and television on PostShowRecaps.com.

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