The first hour of last week's premiere of Survivor Gabon saw L.A. girl Michelle Chase become the first survivor to be voted out of Africa. When the second hour came to a close, 61 year old retired nurse Gillian Larson became the second castaway to have her flame extinguished, leaving the Fang tribe down two tribe members at the outset of the game. How will Fang rebound? The bigger question after Gillian's expulsion is whether Fang has what it takes to rebound. At this stage of the game, it's doubtful unless they get their buffs together.

On Friday we talked to first castaway Michelle and next we spoke to Gillian on Monday to find out why her strategy didn't work, what she thought of her tribe mates, and whether she thinks there's still hope for any of them.

THE DEADBOLT: What did you think about G.C. quitting the leadership role?

GILLIAN LARSON: [laughs] I hate to say it, but he really hadn’t been a leader. Oh yeah, you’ll be the leader. And I think also to himself he’s thinking, 'Alright, it’s going to work.' But I do think a part of him kind of felt that it was nice and important that he was given something that was going to be a role that he could do. But with a leader it didn’t really work that way. There was no real leading. He tried to tell people, ‘Okay, we can go and do this and we can go and do that.’ But also it was in a strange way. It was sort like in his maintenance area where his job is to say, ‘Would you go and do this and would you go and do that?’ And that isn’t actually leadership. But yeah, quitting is a leader.

THE DEADBOLT: What was your strategy heading into the game?

GILLIAN: My strategy was basically to spend a few days assessing how the people were or are, or how I would fit in with them and work with them until I knew their personalities and their abilities and everything then move from there. And also not to appear too quaint, because I didn’t want them thinking I was a weak old lady. So I would therefore do and be a provider and a doer, which I was. So obviously my times that I came out, not quite, were the ones that people kind of focused on and became sort of a negative for me. And I didn’t want to appear quaint either otherwise they’d think, 'That old woman’s no good, let’s get rid of her right now.' So yeah, that was the strategy. But unfortunately I didn’t have much time to play it through. Even just standing on that originals mat [I knew] that this was going to be a very strange tribe and a very strange way of forming alliances and connections.

THE DEADBOLT: Well, you were right.

GILLIAN: [laughs] I was. I kind of looked at myself and thought, ‘Woman, you are so screwed.’

THE DEADBOLT: Even though you’re from South Africa, did you feel like you were marginalized and nobody listened to the stuff you knew about the continent?

GILLIAN: You know, nobody really wanted to hear anything. [laughs] I mean, they did listen to the elephant dung story because, obviously, as you saw, eyes rolling and all of that kind of stuff. But they were interested in why I wanted to burn it and I told them it was to take care of the bugs because it’s nature’s insect repellent. So they were very interested when they heard that. But basically the whole tribe had absolutely no interest in anything particularly. I sort of tried to interject little comments about we heard monkeys and they were there and we heard elephants and they were there. But nobody even tried to stop and listen, they weren’t very interested. I can’t even put my finger on it to verbalize it. Nobody really cared. They just kept doing whatever they were doing. So it didn’t really play a part in it at all.

THE DEADBOLT: Out of the few survivors you did get to know, who do you think has a good chance of winning it?

GILLIAN: I would love to see one of the young, stronger people possibly win it because they are usually deserving. And of course, I still have my same assessment of Marcus. I just think he’s got a great vibe. I mean, he’s got such a nice aura, and who knows how that’s going to play out? But they usually don’t, you know, the ones who play the best. It may be one of the other people who are kind of flying low under the radar, which it’s also shown there are winners like that as well. I don’t know, there’s so many twists and turns coming up we’re all going to have to watch it, because I have no idea. I don’t know how it’s going to play out.

THE DEADBOLT: Going back to your original strategy, how was that going to work once you got into the backstabbing and lying part of the game?

GILLIAN: I wouldn’t have had too much trouble with that. Although maybe I would’ve because I’m obviously a [certain] kind person, which is why I didn’t out Crystal as being an Olympic runner. I just couldn’t do it to her. When I realized that, I was dead, which would’ve been a perfect time then because I just couldn’t find the right time to do it without thinking it would kill me completely. And everybody was like, ‘Why didn’t you do it?’ I just don’t know. First of all, for the first six days I just couldn’t find the right time. I was waiting for the right time and then at the last minute I opened my mouth to start saying it and I said, ‘Being the athlete you are,’ I just couldn’t bring up the rest of it.

And regardless of game, everybody can - I’m sad there’s going to be some twists and conniving, and I don’t see it as backstabbing because it’s a necessity. Just think, I was backstabbed. It was excessive. People are going to boot somebody when they want to boot them for whatever reason. So yeah, I’m sort of in a way a little bit on the kind side and that doesn’t work. And I said before, people say I’m so kind I’d give the shirt off my back. Well, that played out. I don’t know if anybody noticed but I spent most of the day running around in a tank top - actually not at all flattering - because I gave my shirt to Crystal because her dress broke. So I gave away my shirt for the rest of the time I was there and I gave G.C. my belt because his pants wouldn’t stay up, despite the fact it was a fashion statement. But they really weren’t staying up, they were slipping down, so I gave him my belt and I gave somebody my socks and whatever. So I guess maybe in a way I’m too giving to people.