Interview with Marie Roda (Challenge Vendettas)
Hey everyone, in anticipation of this most recent episode, I was able to interview Marie Roda about her experience on Vendettas. She revealed interesting details about the game, and her honest feelings about what was shown and what wasn’t.
Q: How would you have graded your performance on Vendettas in the moment, and how would you have graded it watching the season after the fact?
Marie: In the moment, I would probably have given myself a B. I really thought I did a good job of staying under the radar up until when my team finished last in the Challenge. Watching the show after, maybe a C or C+. I don’t know, there was a lot that wasn’t shown, therefore, the you see a person as not playing a great game, but I was actually making moves every day.
Q: Sylvia leaving the game due to illness definitely hurt your alliance a ton. You would have 4/9 strong girls left in the game and the majority alliance in the house as well. Her departure cut you down to 3, and in one swoop you 3 were essentially pitted against one another for the next elimination. How do you think the game would have been different had Sylvia stayed?
Marie: We actually talk about this all the time in our group chat. Losing Sylvia was a major blow not only because she is my friend, but because she is a strong player and a number in our alliance in a game where numbers matter. I was making moves for our alliance behind the scenes and if Sylvia was still in the game, I certainly believe this interview would be much different.
Q: On the show, you are almost always aligned with your female friends and we don’t often see you interacting with a lot of male competitors unless you are fighting with them about pizza. Besides Shane, did you have any male allies on the show?
Marie: Yes, I did! Devin is one of my boys, and I was clearly on his side this season. I’m also very cool with Zach, and you know Shane is one of my best friends on the show. Other than that, I was not truly aligned with any of the guys, though I am cool with most of them.
Q: This season, during the water challenge barely anyone completed, during the car challenge only two people completed, and during the soap challenge multiple girls struggled to score more than one ball. Did you feel like the degree of difficulty was too high for the challenges this season?
Marie: I don’t think they were too difficult, but I think the Troika ended up playing a very powerful role in the game. Being able to setup teams and set people up for success or failure was huge. When I was in the Troika, we made sure Brad’s team tanked, and made sure my friends (Tony, Zach) won. The Troika didn’t only mean you were safe, it meant you had long-term power in the game, which is why the same people are continually in it. At the same time, I don’t want to sound anti-women, but there were many physical challenges where the guys had a distinct advantage.
Q: On your elimination, based on the laughs and smiles after, did you truly care about it or not?
Marie: In the moment, I didn’t care if I won or lost because I had been fighting everyone in the house the previous week. It was taking a mental toll on me and now I was facing my friend in elimination. As the elimination was going bad, I realized I didn’t want to go out looking that bad. What they don’t show is that I almost solved the puzzle before Kailah despite her getting out of the basket much earlier than I did. Sucks that you cannot see all of what actually happened.
Q: How would you have used the grenade, had you won?
Marie: The exact same way Kailah did. We talked about this before the elimination, and picking the teams was the most important power because you can predetermine who ends up in the Troika. Stealing the money only puts a bigger target on your back. Making it to the final gets you money.
Q: Who did you think is the most overrated player on the show, and the most underrated player?
Marie: Depends on what you mean by overrated. Cara Maria isn’t good at certain challenges, but at the same time you never want to see her in an elimination or a final. Other than that, probably Bananas. Most underrated has to be Kam. She gets a lot of unwarranted and is a total beast
Q: Out of everyone, who do you believe was running the house?
Marie: The game was split in two. There was the Bananas side and the Devin side, and one of the sides happened to do way better. The Troika’s lack of girls didn’t allow the females to make decisions that would actually influence the game. That’s why I actually had power in the game, because I was in a Troika, and was able to make a move against another player (Brad).
Q: If you did another Challenge, what format would you like?
Marie: Either Rivals or Exes. I’d prefer a team or paired season as the individual game is getting a bit tiring and repetitive. Rivals would be good and bad as I get into a lot of fights with strong players, but I don’t know if we’d ever agree. I would also love Exes because all of my potential Exes would do well athletically, are fun people, and I’m still on good terms with them.
Q: Anything else you would like to say about this season?
Marie: Despite everything, this was one of the most fun seasons ever. I wish you guys could see it all to get a bigger picture, but at the end of the day you can only show so much, so do not make too much out of it.
