“Man, I hate that they felt that way,” he says.
“Because whenever I got a chance to talk about them, I would give them praise.”
Jonathan Young made fire for the tribe all season long onSurvivor 42.
Jonathan Young on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
Instead, Jonathan went over to the jury, giving Mike his only vote against eventual winner Maryanne Oketch.
How would Jonathan have done had he made it to the end?
Why did he vote for Mike over Maryanne (and Romeo Escobar)?
Jonathan Young on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
We asked the fourth-place finisher all that and a lot more shortly after theSurvivor 42finale aired.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tell us why you voted for Mike to win the million dollars.
JONATHAN YOUNG:Because I thought he deserved a million dollars.
Jonathan Young on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
You seemed stunned after you lost at the fire-making challenge and kept staring over at your flame.
What was it like to go out in that way?
I was the last torch to be snuffed and I did everything I could do.
I got to fight the good fight that I wanted.
I left on empty.
Let’s say you beat Mike at fire.
How do you think you do in the final three against Maryanne and Romeo?
I think I would’ve done well when it came to talking.
I think that going to the jury and them asking me questions and answering questions will be great.
How people would’ve voted, we’ll never know.
Were you upset that whole piece of the puzzle never made it to air?
That was a lot.
And I guess it just didn’t quite fit the bill.
Yeah, I did a lot of survivalist things.
I climbed trees that were 40-feet high.
I speared a lot of fish.
But I hate that they didn’t put some more of that in there.
Why call Jeff Probst Mr. Jeff?
Where did that come from?
Oh man, he earned it.
The respect is due to Mr. Jeff.
I got to give him respect because I’ve been watching him for years and he’s worked hard.
I got to give him that respect.
When did that luck of sustenance start to hit you?
I went into it going like, “I’m going to leave this island on empty.
I’m going to leave it all on the table.”
They know that the big guy normally needs to eat more.
The less they look at me, the better my game plays.
Did you buy that Romeo had a real immunity idol?
[Laughs] Oh, absolutely not.
I love Romeo, but no one believed that that was a real immunity idol.
He told methat you would all say you didn’t believe it, but that youdidbelieve it.
Romeo was like, “Guys, I have an idol.”
And they didn’t go to the confessionals when we’re all talking about it.
But nobody was buying that Romeo had an idol.
That’s why everybody didn’t care.
They were like, “Come on, man.
We saw some players call out your strategy skills a bit.
Yeah, I thought, “Well, they must not know my strategy very well.”
Everybody has a different perception, and everybody is perceived differently.
Just like I have no idea what it’s like being them.
Man, I hate that they felt that way.
Because whenever I got a chance to talk about them, I would give them praise.
I would say, “You guys are doing great.”
We got to get her out because she’s so good.”
You absolutely dominated at challenges in the pre-merge portion of the game.
Yeah, the individual challenges, I would get frustrated because I would always come in second.
I would always be right there.
Four of them, I would be second place.
When it was me and Lindsay balancing the balls, my ball would go right by the hole.
It was frustrating, but hey, close does not matter inSurvivor.
How crushing was it to lose that last one to Romeo?
And yeah, I don’t know.
And I knew that everything that I was giving is all that I had to give.
What’s the biggest memory that you take out of this experience?
I liked the Taku memories, honestly, when we all got to work together.
Because the four Taku was Maryanne, Omar, Lindsay, and I.
And we did really well as a team.
And yeah, my best memories are going to be on the Taku tribe.
If you get the call to come back forSurvivor, are you in or are you out?
In a heartbeat, I would be back onSurvivor.
You’re making me happy even thinking about it.
