‘Survivor’ Season 39: The First Person Voted Out Opened Up About the Blindside and Not Believing Elizabeth’s Story
In the Survivor Season 39 premiere episode, viewers were introduced to 20 new cast members who strive to outwit, outplay, and outlast all their opponents to become the next Survivor champion.
After poker player Ronnie noticed that Elaine could win because of her underdog story and likable personality, he immediately wanted her off the island.
However, he underestimated how well-liked she was, and ended up getting blindsided. Ronnie talked to podcaster Rob Cesternino about where he went wrong and explained things that happened behind the scenes that played into his unexpected elimination.
Ronnie Bardah on where he went wrong on ‘Survivor’ Season 39
Former NHL player Tom, factory worker Elaine, and Vince, an admissions counselor, made the crucial mistake of wandering away from the rest of the tribe.
Therefore, the other seven, including Ronnie, created an alliance without them, but the poker player was still the first to leave the island. He told Cesternino that viewers didn’t see a conversation between him and Chelsea, where she approached him with a proposal to work together.
However, at the time, he was trying to make fire out of bamboo with Aaron and “waved her off,” and he thinks that upset her. In hindsight, Ronnie admitted he should have had the conversation with her, but Elaine ended up winning her over along with Dean, Elizabeth, and Missy.
Cesternino asked Ronnie if he thought he had the numbers once they were in the tribunal, and the poker player sa67id he didn’t feel safe beforehand because he felt “the vibes,” and no one would look him in the eye.
Ronnie Bardah’s relationship with Elaine
In one of his first one-on-one conversations, Ronnie pulled Elaine aside to talk game with her. He said the factory worker also told him she wanted to work together because he reminded her of her little brother.
Ronnie acknowledged he looked “slimy” during the conversation, which is why Elaine got a bad read on him. However, he claims he genuinely wanted to work with the likable contestant, but others perceived him as a sneaky person.
Ronnie also explained his reasoning for changing his vote from Elaine to Vince. He claimed the admissions counselor never liked him since they first met on the boat and had it out for him ever since.
During a conversation where Ronnie talked about Chelsea’s lousy performance in the challenge, Vince took the information to Chelsea, telling her that Ronnie would vote her off the island. Therefore, Ronnie, Karishma, and Aaron decided on Vince instead.
Did Ronnie Bardah believe Elizabeth’s lie?
In a new twist, after a tribe loses an immunity challenge, one person is randomly chosen to go to the Island of the Idols where they learn a Survivor skill from former winners Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine.
The contestant then puts their newfound knowledge to the test, and if they win, they earn an advantage. However, if the contestant loses, they cannot vote at the tribunal.
Elizabeth was chosen as the first contestant to visit the island but didn’t want her teammates to know what happened. Instead, she told a fake story, eerily similar to Survivor: Ghost Island.
According to Ronnie, he immediately knew that she was lying and planned to call her out on it during tribunal with Aaron. He said they brought it up briefly, but the conversation then turned to someone else.
Ronnie believes she had an easy out but thinks it’s impressive that she won the tribe over so easily “with her energy and infectious laugh.” Keep watching Survivor Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.
