It’s been nearly a week, so we’re going a little lax with the usual “spoiler-free” approach to this particular interview. Cole Medders, the hunky Healer who got into a show-mance with Jessica and was a challenge beast throughout, ended up going home after a head-scratching Tribal Council that aired on Thanksgiving Eve. Cole became the second member of the Survivor: HHH jury, and will now cast a vote to help determine who will become this season’s Sole Survivor.
If you missed it or wanted to get caught up on last week’s big episode, please do so here, with our Episode 9 Recap.
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Cole was the sort of contestant that stuck out from the beginning, especially to female viewers. His boyish good-looks and chiseled body definitely caught the eye of fellow healer Jessica, and the two formed a quick “lust at first sight” bond. But it didn’t take long for Jessica (and us viewers) to realize that Cole was not exactly what you would call “game savvy.” He wasn’t able to keep any secrets, and his blabbing often led to his allies wondering if they could trust him down the stretch. Eating whatever and whenever he wanted didn’t quite paint him as a team player either. He did help Joe decipher an Idol clue, but Cole mainly relied on his physical skills in order to reach the jury.
He did win an Immunity Challenge, and in fact had the most overall wins this season. But when he lost this last challenge to Lauren, the majority alliance saw it as the perfect time to strike and get him out of the game. Cutting ties altogether were his fellow Healers Mike and Joe, who also voted Cole out to ensure that it wasn’t one of them.
I had the chance to speak to Cole today on the FilmSurvivor Podcast (the full audio of which you can find and download at the bottom of this article). But here were some highlights:
COLE INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
On how much he knew about Survivor going into this season:
Cole Medders: I had watched it with my family when I was way younger, back in its early days when it was a much different show. When it was a completely different show, mostly about survival. That’s what I thought it still might be, but it wasn’t at all. It’s become a very in-depth social game and that part of it kind of ate me alive. As well as the not eating part too. I definitely did not expect that going out there, I expected it to be completely easy physically for me, and it was for the most part, except for the food. But I was not ready to lie to everyone on a different level and to be that manipulative.
On his relationship with Jessica then and now:
Cole: During the game and on the island, Jessica was like my person, and my go-to. I trusted her, and on Survivor, it’s a big deal to have that emotional support. Because it can be a very lonely game when you don’t have anyone to turn to or anyone to fully trust. It was nice to have a person that I could go talk to about stuff. And when she left, it definitely became a much more lonely game. At that point I just felt like I was completely on my own. But yeah, we’ve been able to hang out a few times outside of the game, we’re definitely still in touch on a regular basis and we have plans in the future to hang out.
On whether or not he thinks Jessica’s game suffered because of him:
Cole: I think that everyone is totally responsible for their own game at the end of the day, although I did have pretty bad habits that kind of became toxic for the people around me. I want to say that it was inaccurate, that she kept her alliance with me and had opportunities to throw me away, and she never did. But it’s a little bit of both.
For much more from Cole Medders, including my full interview, please listen to the latest episode of the FilmSurvivor Podcast below or by clicking here.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter – @tomsantilli – and on Facebook, for all of the latest Survivor coverage, interviews, and movie reviews.
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Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets/Timothy Kuratek/Jeffrey Neira
