Exclusive: 'Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance' castoff Vytas Baskauskas talks (Part 2)

Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance castaway Vytas Baskauskas wraps up his interview with Reality TV World about his short-lived experience and being the first boot from the season.


Vytas, who previously competed on Survivor: Blood vs. Water with/against his brother Aras Baskauskas, was voted out of his Ta Keo tribe during last Wednesday night's premiere of Survivor's 31st edition on CBS. His tribemates sent him packing via a 6-4 vote at Tribal Council on Night 3 of the game instead of Abi-Maria Gomes.

In a recent exclusive interview with Reality TV World, Vytas dished about his mistakes, pre-game alliances and what surprised him most. Below is the concluding portion of his interview. Click here to read the first half.

Reality TV World: Was there anyone you were expecting to vote with you who ended up voting against you? Did you think Yung "Woo" Hwang, Kelly Wiglesworth and Terry Deitz were definitely on your side going into Tribal Council?

Vytas Baskauskas: Yeah, I knew that Terry was on my side. Terry and Wiglesworth, I knew, were on my side. And they both assured me that [Jeff Varner] was with us. I couldn't get a good read on Varner. Varner is definitely, you know, kind of a Wild Card, and I still think he doesn't even really know what kind of game he's playing. But he's a great, fun guy.


So they assured me. Terry was like, "Yes, Varner is with us, 100%." And I knew that Woo was with us, so that's five. And I also thought [Spencer Bledsoe] was hanging with us. I mean, I shared all of my information with Spencer. Me and Spencer were friends before all this started, and I thought that friendship kind of had meant something in the game.

It did to me. His name came up early on -- Varner actually brought up Spencer. He was like, "I don't like Spencer. Let's get out Spencer." And I went to bat for Spencer. I was like, "No. Spencer is trustworthy. Spencer is a good kid. Let's keep him along." I didn't know that he wasn't reciprocating that to me, but it's a game. That's the way it is.

Reality TV World: So there were six castaways who voted against you -- Abi, Kelley Wentworth, Spencer, Shirin Oskooi, Peih-Gee Law and Jeff. Do you think they're going to stay an alliance of six going forward, or maybe you think it'll be five plus Abi? How might you see that progressing?

Vytas Baskauskas: I don't know! I think there are so many Wild Cards in that alliance. I think it's an alliance that's going to be tested real quick because, without me, I think they're going to struggle even more in challenges. That's why, yes, it's an old-school mindset, but that's one of the smarter old-school mindsets you can have!

It's like, look, early on, try to keep your tribe strong! Because otherwise, you're going to lose a lot of challenges and you're going to have to vote more people out. So I think [the tribe] is going to struggle and that alliance is going to struggle.


And I don't think it's going to stay strong. I actually don't really know what happens. I really stayed [on the outside]. After I got out, I didn't want to know anything, but I think they are going to struggle. That's my prediction.

Reality TV World: Which player/s did you view as your tribe's biggest threat/s?

Vytas Baskauskas: It's tough. I think, early on, you look at somebody as a threat if it's somebody that's, like, creating discourse around camp. That's why I did think that Abi was a threat, because so many people didn't like her and she created so much unease around our camp and around the beach.

I think Shirin was a huge threat early on because she hit the beach and started gunning for people hard. She was, I think, the only person who was throwing out names within an hour, you know? I think a lot of us kind of wanted to hit the beach and, of course, talk, form bonds and relationships, and form alliances.

But she was the only person who was like, "Here's who we're voting out! Let's vote out Vytas. Let's get Vytas out right away." And that told me that she's tough to have around -- somebody that's playing that hard that quick. It's a 39-day game and she was on it from Moment 1.


Reality TV World: Ciera Eastin said in a pre-game interview you two are like family and it would've been great to work with you but she feared you would get revenge on her at some point since she and her mother outlasted you and Aras on Blood vs. Water. Do you feel that's true? And how did you assume Ciera would handle you as either an ally or a target in the game?

Vytas Baskauskas: I feel the same way about Ciera. Yeah, Ciera is like family to me. I absolutely love Ciera and we definitely would've worked together. And she's probably right. She's totally right that, at some point, I would've tried to get back at her.

That being said, you know, had I thought I could've beaten her at the end, I would've taken her to the end. That's all it comes down to. I'm the first boot; It's weird for me to be talking about the end. But I love Ciera. I totally would've wanted to work with Ciera. I wish she was on my tribe.

I could've stuck around longer if there was a tribe swap or something that could've gotten us together. Because she's great. She's a really smart, strategic player -- a cool person, sweet girl. Yeah. Nothing but great things to say about Ciera.

Reality TV World: What was your reaction when you saw that Wentworth found the hidden Immunity Idol clue and then snagged it during the challenge? And do you like the new twist of hiding the idols at challenges in general?


Vytas Baskauskas: Yeah, it's a cool twist. I don't know how sustainable it is though for other seasons. It's cool that they're doing it for our season -- it's new and I never would've thought about it. I remember looking around camp for the idol thinking, "I wonder where they'd hide it," you know? Absolutely was the furthest thing from my mind to think, "Oh, they hid it at a challenge."

So it will be really neat to see how that unfolds and how people are going to find out about that. Is Wentworth going to tell other people they're at challenges? Is the next person that finds a clue going to tell about the challenges? Or are people just going to keep it to themselves? I mean, if I knew idols were at challenges, I don't think I'd want to tell anybody.

Reality TV World: Was there any talk of idols around camp? Any suspicion particular people were going off looking for them or any suspicion at all Wentworth had found one?

Vytas Baskauskas: Any time somebody's gone for a long period of time from camp, there's always, "I wonder what they're doing. I wonder if they're looking for an idol." So I think at one point, Terry had mentioned something about looking for an idol.

At one point, we thought Spencer was out there looking for an idol, but that was nothing more than conjuncture. But none of us had suspected that Wentworth had gotten a clue or that she had something. No. None of us.


Reality TV World: You mentioned during the show you were afraid to be overconfident this time around because that was an issue for you on Blood vs. Water. Simply put, were you again?

Vytas Baskauskas: My initial plan was to get in there and lay low, and you can't lay low when people are throwing your name out. And I think I was a little bit paralyzed at that point -- it was just indecision I think. I was paralyzed with indecision and, at that point, I should've scrambled harder once I realized people were really gunning for me.

But, I don't know. Something in me just had a really difficult time. I was moving away from my strategy of laying low because I think when you play too hard in the beginning, you put yourself out, and I didn't want to play too hard.

Going into the game, that was one of my big mottos, like, "Don't play yourself out in the beginning. Don't play too hard in the beginning." And I did, and I didn't. I think I should've played harder, actually, in the beginning.

Reality TV World: The Second Chance castaways were all pretty afraid of being voted out early in fear they'd let family and fans who voted for them down. What has the reaction been for you since last night?

Vytas Baskauskas: I don't know if I'd ever want to play again just because it's so disappointing getting voted out first. That being said, I love Survivor. It was great to watch the premiere last night. My family has been nothing but supportive.


The fans have been nothing but supportive. Yeah, there are a few people who have been a little bit swarmy on Twitter and a little bit rude to me, but other than that, everybody's been pretty kind and seem to understand you can't win them all.

Reality TV World: So it sounds like you might be interested in playing again.

Vytas Baskauskas: If they asked, I'd have a hard time saying no.

Click here to read the first half of Vytas' exclusive interview with Reality TV World.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski