The 'Survivor 46' jury speaks in exclusive pre-finale interview (2024)

They came. They saw. They lost. For Soda Thompson, Tevin Davis, Hunter McKnight, Tiffany Nicole Ervin, Venus Vafa, and Q Burdette, dreams of million-dollar glory went by the wayside when they were blindsided right out of Survivor 46.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that they are still very much part of that game. That six-pack — along with two more still set to join them —will comprise the jury that will ultimately decide the winner of Survivor 46 at the conclusion of the Wednesday, May 22, finale on CBS.

They will no doubt have some incisive and insightful questions to throw at the final three before they make their decision and crown the newest Sole Survivor, but before they do that, we figured we would turn the tables on them with some questions of our own. Questions like: Which person voted out pre-jury do you wish had been with you all at Ponderosa? Who among the jury played the best game, and why? And other questions as well! So sit back, relax, and enjoy this exclusive pre-finale chat with the first four members of the jury. (Unfortunately, Q was apparently either busy playing an intense game of hide-and-seek or simply opted not to take part, to which we can only say… BIG MISTAKE!)

What was the best thing about being at Ponderosa?

TIFFANY NICOLE ERVIN: The obvious answer to this would be the amazing food or being able to shower again, but my REAL answer is finally getting to speak to people and finding out who theyreallyare. It's one thing to get to know someone in the game, but it felt completely different getting to know those same peoplein anenvironment where we aren't fighting each other for money, LOL. We tie-dyed shirts and ate breakfast together almost every morning.It felt like an adult summer camp… once you get over the fact that you just lost a million dollars,of course.

TEVIN DAVIS: When I first got to Ponderosa, the Fijian staff immediately connected to me, and they even made me a floral crown and called me the King of Ponderosa. We talked, and laughed, I got to sing to them, and honestly they really touched my heart in such a beautiful way. I love and miss them immensely, and I will never forget how amazing they made me feel. Though I was thousands of miles away, I was most certainly at home.

HUNTER McKNIGHT: As much as I like to be active and have something to accomplish, it was nice to be trapped in paradise without having to worry about anything! No phone, no job, no to-do list. (Don't think I could handle that for too long, but it was nice for a few days!) Plus, the staff was amazing, and the food was great. And there were cool trees to climb.

SODA THOMPSON: Having everything you could ever want or need (except your family)!

VENUS VAFA: The unlimited food and therapy.

Which person voted out pre-jury do you wish had been with you all at Ponderosa?

TIFFANY NICOLE ERVIN: Definitely Tim. I know we would have had so much fun together at Pondy. It wasn't shown much in the episodes, but Tim issuper-funny. We didn't get to spend that much time together post-merge, but Tim's got jokes, and he reminds me a lot of my friends back home.

TEVIN DAVIS: I really wish Tim had been there because I was so ready to cut up with that man. I just know we would have had a good time and been laughing from sunup to sundown.

HUNTER McKNIGHT: Even though I never interacted with her in the game, I’d probably say Jem. She's a lot of fun. Plus, she got voted out with an idol, so we would get to trauma-bond over that.

SODA THOMPSON: Tim, Jess, Jelinsky.

VENUS VAFA: Jem, Jess, and Jelinsky.

If you had to live at Ponderosa permanently with one of your fellow jurors, who would it be and why?

TIFFANY NICOLE ERVIN:I had so much fun at Pondy getting to know everyone, but I'd choose Hunter, because we got to bond a little more since we were the first two voted out with idols back-to-back. It makes the sting easier to handle when you have someone to laugh with about your mistakes. Plus, I don't feel like I'd have to argue over what to watch on TV, like ever… Nine times out of 10, Hunter and I were aligned on what to watch.

TEVIN DAVIS: I would certainly stay at Ponderosa with Soda because we were able to celebrate each other and take full advantage of this amazing place. We sang, we danced, we relaxed, we swam, we indulged in some TV, and sometimes we just existed. We flowed from vibe to vibe, and never a dull moment did we see.

HUNTER McKNIGHT: This one's tough. I had a good time with a lot of them. Video games with Tevin and Q, playing Scrabble with Soda and Venus, watching cartoons and eating pancakes every morning with Venus and Tiffany. But if I had to choose one person, it would have to be Tiffany. We really got to idol trauma-bond and she had a Nintendo Switch that I wanted to play, but she never let me. I think with enough time she would have caught the drift and given in.

SODA THOMPSON: I'm not sure! I enjoyed spending time with everyone.

VENUS VAFA: Oh God, please no.

Who among the jury played the best game and why?

TIFFANY NICOLE ERVIN: This is a tough one. I think everyone on the jury is there because they were playing prettywell and were perceivedas a threat at some point or another. Tevin and Soda had great social games, and I think Venus always had a good strategic read on things. But if I had to choose, I'd probably say Hunter, because he almost singlehandedly won all the team immunity challenges and won individual immunity as well. Challenge beast is an understatement. Also, I think he had great relationships with a lot of people on the island, so he was probably the most well-rounded player.

TEVIN DAVIS: I think that Q played the best game because he unabashedly took the reins of the game and made people follow him. I also appreciate how he took back control of an uncontrollable situation. Whether you believe Q intended to capitalize off of his smoke-screen madness, the chaos he caused shielded him from being voted out, and I believe at some point after my vote he recognized that and played into it for his gain.

HUNTER McKNIGHT: Objectively, I think Tiffany was playing the best game. Tevin and Soda had a great social games, but everyone saw it — which is actually bad on their gameplay. Venus was playing hard but just couldn't seem to get a footing to really take off. Tiffany was doing the best job of managing threat level — other than the idol and the fact that people wanted to vote out their number-ones, which is still mind-boggling to me.

SODA THOMPSON: Tiffany, she was strong and smart!

VENUS VAFA: None of us, that's why we're on the jury and not in the game.

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