Jonathan Penner:
Early Show Interview Transcript
(Transcript by James Barber - 12.08.06)
RENE : On "Survivor: Cook Islands", Jonathan was determined to stay in the game, even if it meant betraying everyone else. On Thursday, it finally caught up with him at Tribal Council.
(clips)
RENE : Jonathan Penner, good morning.
JONATHAN : Good morning.
RENE : Did you get your hat back? Cause your last words were, "I want my hat back."
JONATHAN : Yes. "I'd like to have my hat back." I got it back. Thank you.
RENE (laughs): What was it like to be at Tribal Council last night, and everybody was saying, "He doesn't deserve to be here"? There was so much venom, particularly from Adam.
JONATHAN : Adam was saying it, and I think he was playing an emotional game as opposed to a rational game, and he was saying whatever he had to say to get the vote to go away from him, and to his credit, it did.
RENE : Wait, playing a rational game means flip-flopping? You flip-flopped more than a fish in a frying pan. It was an art form with you.
JONATHAN : Thank you, and I would have done it again. I think I was voted out because the Aitu 4 realized if I stayed in the game I would have tried anything possible to keep moving forward. They saw me as a threat. Maybe a distraction, maybe an annoyance, I don't know.
RENE : It seemed like the only person who liked you out there was your wife. She was there last night because of the reward challenge, she was out there. Was it difficult - there she is, she looks so afraid and you were so happy to see her. She really tried like heck to win that reward challenge.
JONATHAN : Yeah, she felt so bad that we didn't win. She would have done anything.
RENE : Yeah, but so you lose the reward challenge and you end up spending another two nights at Exile Island, and I think - and I want to look at the Secret Scene and I want to ask you about that.
JONATHAN : Sure.
[(Jonathan on Exile Island)
JONATHAN (solo): Yeah, I have a target on my back. I mean I've been sent to Exile Island. People in camp may be deciding, "OK, Jonathan's gotta go." But if they're deciding that without me around, they'd probably decide that with me around.
(Jonathan makes a fire)
JONATHAN : I'd love to win immunity, but if my alliance is strong, immunity will not be necessary.]
RENE : You said it right there that you had a target on your back. When you got back to camp it seemed like the dynamic had shifted.
JONATHAN : Yeah, being away for two days, basically Parvati and Adam had been able to whack me with the stinky stick. Say anything. I wasn't there, I don't know what they said, but obviously they said a lot of stuff. The idea that he "deserved" to be out there, that there were six "good" people and one "bad" person, it's specious on the face of it...
RENE : But do you take any responsibility AT ALL for your actions out there...
JONATHAN : Of course.
RENE : ...and the flip-flopping, and sure, this game is about sure, outwit, outlast, outplay, but isn't there some loyalty involved at some point?
JONATHAN : I was loyal. I was loyal to Candice when I stepped off the mat the first time. She and I were in an alliance, I knew that Becky and Yul were an unbreakable twosome. Candice and I believed Adam had the immunity idol, cause we knew we didn't and Yul led us to believe or I allowed myself to believe he didn't have it. I knew in an end-game situation I was going to have to be aligned with the idol. I had no intention of mutinying, but Candice, my ally, stepped off, I knew Adam had the idol - stupidly, that was my mistake.
RENE : Right, because Yul has that, right.
JONATHAN : Yul had it. I saw the number shifting from 6-6 to 7-5 to 8-4 when I stepped off, and because I wanted to have some fun. I did step off the mat. I did it to be with Candice. I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't, but I take full responsibility for doing it.
RENE : Of course, she was here in the studio last week.
JONATHAN : Fair enough.
RENE : Talking about Yul. He said he was going to take you to final four, and he turns on you, right?
JONATHAN : I mean, he said that to everybody. I mean, fair enough, and I would have said the same thing. He said what he needed to say to cement his position in the game, he told everybody he wanted to take them to the final two. We'll see if he gets to the final two or not. People say and do what they need to say and do to stay in the game. I actually did something that took me out of the game pretty early. The fact that I was able to stick around for as long as I was after the mutiny was actually the most fun part of the game.
RENE : But you had a good time, playing the game.
JONATHAN : I loved it.
RENE : But you still have to work, cause you didn't win the million dollars.
JONATHAN : I still have to...I'd work anyway, I like to work.
RENE (laughs): Thanks, Jonathan.
It'll play for a few seconds, then it goes to a commercial, then the show comes back for only a few seconds, then goes to a commercial, then comes back to later in the show for only a few seconds 
I think he was one of the most interesting players that Survivor has ever had... He played well, and like he said, he lasted MUCH longer than he thought he should've, considering the mutiny. LOL
