‘Survivor 44’: Maddy Pomilla Knew Her Exit Would Be a ‘Crazy History-Making Thing’
The mold has already been broken on Survivor 44 . The first Tribal Council showed the castaways came to play and risk it all. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Maddy Pomilla over Zoom on March 2, 2023, about her master plan and where it went wrong.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Survivor 44 premiere, “I Can’t Wait to See Jeff.”]
Maddy Pomilla refused to vote for a woman on ‘Survivor 44’
Q: You obviously didn’t form a bond with Brandon [Cottom], but was there anyone else you clicked with naturally on your tribe?
Maddy: Yes, I would say I actually did click with Brandon. I slept with Brandon and Matthew [Grinstead-Mayle], who both ultimately ended up in my demise. So we were all friends. I did really like them, but we were not going to play Survivor together, I’ll tell you that.
The person I wanted to play Survivor with was Kane Fritzler. I love him. I think he’s so smart. We thought about the game the same way. He’s a nerd. I’m a nerd. It was–he was just the best person to play with. And we would work from the outside and protect each other and then come together and talk, talk, talk. And then go and do a plan and watch people and report back. And I really mesh with Kane.
I also love my girls. I’m one of four, one of five sisters. I have four sisters, and I hate that come the first tribal it’s always the guys being like, ‘Hey, we’re going to get out the what is perceived as weak.’ What does that mean? Woman. And that’s exactly what happens.
They’re coming up to me telling me who to vote for. And I was like, not having it. It was like, ‘No, we’re not doing that.’ That makes no sense for me. And I’m protecting my girls. So I fell on a sword a bit, but I did. I definitely protected them.
Q: You did. I mean, we did just come from a season where it was a record of women leaving the game first, and it was amazing to see you actually flip that dynamic. So the skills of convincing everyone to take out, possibly like the biggest guy on the tribe because of that perception of keep the tribe strong. What do you chalk that up to that you were able to actually get the votes for that?
Maddy: OK, Nicole, when I am going to Lauren [Harpe], who was very close with Brandon, told–said she would never vote for him, which is why she ended up playing her advantage, etc..
When I went to her, and I said, ‘He is the godfather. He’s the kingpin. He’s playing everyone.’ That’s called projection. I was the godfather. I was the kingpin. I was playing everyone. And so I wasn’t scared of Brandon. But I needed everyone else to be afraid of Brandon because Brandon didn’t want to work with me.
Maddy said her first target was Matthew Grinstead-Mayle, not Brandon Cottom
Q: I’m actually a little surprised, though, that you said that you were not going to play Survivor with Matthew because I just didn’t see that distance in the episode. Can you talk a little bit about that? And also, I wondered, why did Matthew not get the same label? Because it kind of seems like he has a lot of power.
Maddy: I’m so glad you asked this because everyone’s like, ‘Why? Why do Maddy and Brandon hate each other?’ And the truth is my number one target from day one, Matthew. I’ll tell you why. Matthew is a wild card. That dude’s going to play a crazy game. I don’t know what he’s going to do. But he’s going to do something crazy.
You know how I know that I’m a wild card? Real recognize real. I don’t know how to play with someone like me because I don’t know what they’re going to do next. Someone like Brandon. I know how he’s going to play. That’s why I was able to manipulate a vote around him because I knew exactly I thought how he would play things. So my number one person I wanted out from the very beginning was Matthew. And when you see me, go to Matthew and tell him the plan. That’s where Survivor kicks in. It was desperation. I wanted to tell Kane, but I couldn’t find Kane. So then I had to tell Matthew. And that’s what sunk my ship.
Because Matthew definitely let Brandon in on the vote. In Survivor history, I’m a huge fan. Never has anyone ever played their idol at the first Tribal Council. And Brandon’s an old-school player. That guy wants to play with tribe strength. He wanted to just get Jaime [Lynne Ruiz] out or Lauren out. I wasn’t having that.
But I knew. I knew how he was going to play. So I’m like, OK, I’ll call his bluff. Like, let’s go into Tribal. He thinks that we’re going to vote for Jaime. Maybe he’ll play his idol, but, like, let’s see it. Like, do it. It’s never been done before. Do it.
And when it comes to, like, who am I going to bet on? I’ll always bet on myself. So it was a 50/50 play, but I thought it would work, obviously, that’s why I did it. And if it had worked, I mean, that line of, like, if it doesn’t work, then you’re crazy. If it does work, you’re a genius. No one has ever gone home first not as a majority vote. Ever.
Q: How do you feel about that? Because this Tribal Council, not only that but also the shot in the dark was played. And I literally tweeted, I was like, if this is the moment that shot in the dark actually works. I was like, What is this tribal council, and what is this season starting off on this note? So how does it feel to go out with so many firsts?
Maddy: I knew that the way that I was going to play the game was going to be gnarly. And I don’t know if […]I definitely thought I could win, but I more so thought that I was just going to play a hell of a game and probably trip at some point. And I did play a hell of a game and trip at some point just too early.
So I knew that whatever way I went out, it was going to be some iconic, crazy history-making thing because my perspective on Survivor is like, play it from the beginning. We know that if you play safe til the merge, that increases your chances, and then you can rev up at the merge. But we’re also seeing that’s not benefiting people anymore. Like you need a longer road in a short game to make crazy moves.
And I’m the kind of person I don’t like to orbit around people. I like to get people to like orbit with me and do what I want to do. And if that’s not typically how people play Survivor, but if anyone could pull it off, it was going to be me. And we see that in the first episode.
Like, I almost pulled that off, and if I had a longer run with it. You’re in a pretty good position for a final three. If you’re doing that over and over and over and over. And I just wanted to do something new. I wasn’t going to play quiet till the merge. And I’m just going to go full throttle the whole time. So it doesn’t surprise me that I went out like that doesn’t surprise me at all.
Why Maddy feels like Matthew ‘stole my homework and put his name on it’
Q: You obviously had multiple players on your tribe who were savvy, but who would you say was the top player based on the first episode? Top performance.
Maddy: I would say Kane and I were running Ratu and, in that way us. But Matthew’s move was really good. Playing a shot in the dark, so he doesn’t have to vote for anyone. Telling Brandon that I was after him so that Brandon would play the idol. Brandon was not playing that idol without someone telling him. There’s no way. He almost went home.
And so that’s a brilliant props to Brandon for listening. But that’s a brilliant move by Matthew. I feel a little bit like he stole my homework and put his name on it, but he dunked on me. He got me.
This interview has been condensed for this article.
Other Survivor 44 Exit Interviews:
