Evvie Jagoda Says Her Pre-Merge 'Survivor' Game Went 'Better Than I Ever Could Have Imagined'

(CBS) - "The Monster" that is Survivor 41 claimed two more victims this week as both Evvie Jagoda and Naseer Muttalif were taken out of the game and sent to the jury.

CBS' Matt Weiss spoke to Evvie about her experience in the game.

MW- Nice to see you today, Evvie! I think we'll start right at the beginning here with some some positive vibes. When you reflect on getting to the island, what was that moment like?

EJ- I mean, it was so surreal, I'm a huge fan of Survivor and just to get to play was so exciting. I just felt like there had never been anyone that looked like me on the show. I was just so excited that I got to get to be there and be part of it.

Especially to be part of the first season back after quarantine. I was just so excited. My main goal was just to have fun and mission accomplished.

MW- What was the biggest surprise for you once the game got going?

EJ- Honestly, I was expecting the pre-merge would be the hardest part of my game. I'm not a particularly physical person. I thought that it was just going to be really tough to get footing in the game, but ultimately, I was able to. I had a really good group of people on Yassa that I was able to really get a strong foothold with and actually be a power player. for a lot of the pre marriage of my chat.

It went better than I could have ever imagined especially in the beginning. That was definitely surprising. I thought coming into this I would be an outsider but instead I was like the Insider. So that was cool.

MW- Not being the most physical player as you said, what were those challenges like? Adding in no food and little sleep

EJ- Oh my gosh, I mean, my body was not in a good place. Early in the game there was just so little food. I was honestly throwing up a lot of days. The exertion and not having any food, it was a rough place. But what I always hoped, especially for the team challenges, was just not to be the reason we lose a challenge. I feel like I was always fine, you know?

MW- Fast forward to tribal, it kind of seemed like you may have been on the chopping block but were you expecting Xander to use his idol for you?

EJ- I honestly was not expecting Xander to play his idol on me. If he didn't play it for me at the merge when we were so in sync and it was so obvious that we really needed it then I just really didn't think he was going to do it now. In this situation, especially knowing we were at the bottom of the group I do  wish that I had known about his conversation with Danny.

I would have maybe tried to get Xander not to play the idol but to play the extra vote because if we had the extra vote they would have just three votes. But Xander had more of the power in that situation and  more information so there's really nothing I could do if he didn't want to do that.

MW- It would be nice if you could watch the show as you're competing on the show, right?

EJ- Absolutely. It's funny though because I think watching there's both so much more you know and so much less that you know. Like you're seeing only 45 minutes of all these days but you're getting to see it from everyone's perspective.

MW- Obviously things didn't go your way but I loved how positive you were after tribal and you certainly made the most of your time out there. So if you were asked to go back, are you making another trip?

EJ- Oh, yeah. I'd go back in a second. I've got unfinished business out there. I would definitely love to do that again but, you know, are people going to let me get further? I don't know. We'll have to see.

MW- It's a rare game that the better you are the harder it can be to succeed.

EJ- Exactly!

MW- Well hopefully you get that opportunity and thank you so much for the time Evvie, all the best!

EJ- Thank you so much!

Catch new episodes of Survivor 41 Wednesdays at 8:00PM ET/PT on CBS or streaming with Paramount+. Check your local listings for more information.