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Survivor Blindside Science with John Fincher of Survivor Samoa
by Troy Rogers
Now that the numbers of merged Survivor Samoa
tribe, Aiga, have dwindled due to a few well timed
Survivor blindsides, the Survivor competitors
in Samoa are putting their game faces on as they
begin to look ahead to the ultimate million dollar
Survivor prize and the title of sole Survivor.
This week California rocket scientist, John Fincher,
saw his time in Samoa come to end in a last minute
blindside when it looked like John's former Galu
tribe mate, Dave, was about to join the Survivor
Samoa jury.
Although John played a strong game and made it to the Survivor Samoa merge, John eventually found himself a target of new Survivor villain, Russell Hantz, after John bought a clue for the hidden immunity idol that Russell had already located. When John learned that Russell already had the immunity idol, Russell knew John was a threat to his Survivor life in Samoa and rallied the Aiga tribe to oust John with help from Dave who became the Survivor swing vote that sealed John's fate.
The day after John Fincher saw his Survivor torch extinguished in Samoa, we hopped on the line with John to learn more about what was going through his mind after the Survivor blindside, who he trusted in the game, his plan with Russell, and what he thought of his former tribe mate, Shambo.
THE DEADBOLT: So the blindside strikes again! Watching you at tribal council, it looked like someone kicked you in the stomach. What was going through your mind when you saw your name popping up?
 JOHN
FINCHER: It was certainly a level of surprise.
Once I saw my name for the first time, I knew
it was going to be me. You know, that was the
first tribal council I went to not knowing what
was going to happen going into it. So that could
mean one of two things. One is, you're the one
that is going home. Two is, I hated that I could
be executed, that the executioner is sort of
saying to me, that he would work to stop or
he would defend against. So obviously you're
hoping for the latter. But in this case, unfortunately
it was the former.
THE DEADBOLT: Who were you more upset with, Russell for lying to you, or yourself for trusting him in the first place?
JOHN FINCHER: [laughs] I'm not upset with anyone. Russell was doing what he was supposed to do, he was lying to me. I was doing what I was supposed to do, I was lying to him. I didn't trust Russell from the beginning. There was no trust. It is sort of the medium for telling the story on the show, the conversions that people have with each other. I'm sitting there having a conversation with Russell, going, "Hey buddy, it's me and you till the end." What I'm thinking is, "Man, I wish I could work with this guy. I wish I could've been on his team but unfortunately I'm going to have to get rid of him." And he's sitting there, going, "Yeah buddy, it's me and you, whatever you want." He's sitting there, thinking, "I've got to get rid of him." So that's really what's going on. The internal dialogue is really the important one. What you're really saying to people and how you engage them is of slightly lesser significance, but still significant.
THE DEADBOLT: With the deal that you and Russell had, where did the other Foa Foa members fit into that? How far did you guys plan ahead?
 JOHN
FINCHER: We didn't plan ahead. I made it
a point not to plan so far ahead with people,
because you're really showing your cards. I
knew that Russell had a very, very good relationship
with Natalie. I knew there was no way he was
ever going to cut her loose. It was a blunder
even asking for Mick. It was a blunder asking
for any of them.
What I should've done, because it was a need to know situation, and Russell didn't need to know, I could've got one of them out if Shambo would've voted for Mick. So Russell didn't need to know and I told him it was a mistake. It was certainly a blunder for me to do so. But the plan would've been get rid of Mick and then I would've isolated Jaison - Jaison and I had a great relationship - and then he and I could've worked together and we could've eliminated Russell. Then the two of us would've been in control.
THE DEADBOLT: Are you positive it would've been Dave going home if you didn't confront Russell about the hidden immunity idol?
JOHN FINCHER: [laughs] Well, I question the use of the word "confront". Russell and I talked a lot, and you have complex relationships with everyone in that game, everyone on that island. So when we're talking and then he brings it up, it's almost like sometimes you don't want to have a conversation with him because you don't want him to bring something up like that. When he says, "You bought the clue. Do you have it?", it's like, "No, dude. You have it."
 You
can see him trying to gauge, "Is he bluffing?
Does he really know that I have it? Where was
it?" [John:] "Oh, it was supposed to be under
a rock and it wasn't there. If anyone has it,
it's you. I know my team couldn't get it." Yeah,
but I don't care. I went and told my team, "Hey,
just so you guys know, so you don't try to blindside
me because you think I have the idol, I don't have
it. Here's the clue. Russell has it." So that
was already done and Russell picked me because
I was a strategic threat to him. But he had
a way of saying, "You know what? John needs
to go because he knows I have the idol and he
needs to die by my hand because of it." But
there was much more to it than that.
THE DEADBOLT: What is your take on Shambo?
JOHN FINCHER: Shambo is a nice person. She is, unfortunately, a little hard to work with in the game because of the impact her emotions have on her decision making. But she is a nice person and it is unfortunate that she was ostracized so much by Laura and by Russell Swan as well. She's a nice person and she's just different from maybe the mainstream. I think a lot of people might not know how to deal with someone like that, or just don't have any experience with someone like that, but for whatever reason they just disliked her for it. It's unfortunate.
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