Post authored by Matt Carter Dallas TV Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-11363-Dallas-TV-Examiner~y2009m11d20-Exclusive-Survivor-Samoa-interview-Laura-Morett

Laura Morett was an unexpected force on “Survivor: Samoa.” This 39-year old grandmother was tough as nails, winning two straight immunity challenges before being sent packing on Thursday night. She doesn’t regret her aggressive gameplay, though, saying “I wouldn’t be happy if I gave 80%…I have no regrets.”

Laura was actually invited on “Survivor” after being rejected from “The Amazing Race,” and she came into it trying form alliances and establish herself as a serious player. To an extent, she succeeded in both goals.

However, her closest ally out there may shock you: “Me and Brett had a really strong alliance…if he’d won [the last immunity] he would have given it to me.” She said that Monica and Kelly reminded her a bit of her daughters, but Brett was the one who would “funnel info from the guys” to her. That was how she knew that “after Russell [Swan] left, Erik and John wanted to throw the next challenge in get rid of me.” Thankfully for her sake, that plan didn’t come into fruition.

Laura had many friends in Samoa, but if that comment is any indication she also had her share of enemies. One of those, clearly, was Shambo: “I didn’t do anything to her,” Laura insists. “If I had said something mean CBS would have shown it…it’s tough with me being cast as Medusa.” She denied claims that Galu was as broken-down as the ex-Marine claimed, saying that Shambo was really the only person on the outs while everyone else was close. “We knew Shambo would flip [to Foa Foa], but we still had the numbers.”

Laura still had “the numbers” in mind when she made her most controversial decision of the game: booting out Erik. “I’m going to shoot at somebody when everyone’s coming at me,” she stated. Not only did Erik want her out, but also John, Shambo, and everyone on the Foa Foa tribe. Erik looked to be a safe target, but it ended up being something she “totally regrets” regarding her “Survivor” experience.

Thanks to the first post-merge tribal council, we were lead to the game’s turning point: when Russell found the second immunity idol and played it to knock out Kelly. This is what frustrated Laura the most. Why? “I was at that bridge all day,” referring to the spot where Russell discovered the idol.

Once it got down to a situation of five Galu versus five Foa Foa plus Shambo, Laura knew she was in trouble. In fact one of the biggest surprises to her was simply that “John didn’t flip before the tie vote.” She thanked her other former Galu members for sticking loyal (Dave, Monica, and Brett), even though they likely knew they were outnumbered.

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Going back to Brett, talking with Laura enabled me to have a ton of respect for the way the guy is playing the game. Sure, he isn’t getting very much air time (which may be an indicator he doesn’t win), but he is being very subtle with who he talks to and how he talks to them. Both Kelly and Laura have felt “close” to the guy, and the men apparently were comfortable plotting with him, as well.

If Brett could use this tactic with somebody at Foa Foa, he could go pretty far–we’ll just have to wait and see. Next week is a recap episode, but as always stay tuned for more “Survivor” coverage.