Parvati Shallow Says Boston Rob Should Have Been The Family Alliance's DONDI "Godfather"
"I was so close!" Parvati commiserated while meeting her Survivor buddy Boston Rob on the DONDI After Show.
It was a bittersweet reunion between reality television titans Parvati Shallow and Boston Rob Mariano during the Deal or No Deal Island After Show, where they discussed Parvati's outstanding yet divisive tenure on Banker's Island.
After securing immunity for nine — that's right, nine — Temples straight, Parvati's game came to an end during the March 18 episode of Deal or No Deal Island. The moment Parvati landed on the chopping block, she knew she wanted to face the Banker to assume control, but after playing an impressive game, the luck didn't land in Parvati's favor — she made a bad deal.
Rob was bummed about the ordeal; not only have Rob and Parvati both thrived as manipulative backstabbers on Peacock's The Traitors, but they've competed in two seasons of Survivor together. Now, they've both braved Banker's Island on their respective seasons of DONDI, and Rob was downright impressed by Parvati's experience at Temple.
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"I thought she did everything right, but in the end, luck was not on her side," Rob said as he invited his dear friend to the After Show.
Parvati Shallow pulled out her Boston Rob impression during the After Show
"I'm happy to see you," Parvati said after giving Rob a big hug.
"Me too," Rob said, adding, "I mean, I'm not happy to see you in this capacity, but."
"Oh my God, Rob, I was so close," Parvati dismayed.
"I know, you crushed it," Rob said. "You absolutely crushed it."
"I blew it with the Banker," Parvati responded.
"You did everything right; you played correctly," Rob reassured her. "I watched that Temple, every bit of it. And every time, you didn't have odds in your favor to make a good deal..."
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"I thought it was a little poetic that the million dollars was in your case," Rob later added, pointing out the cosmic irony in Parvati having won that same amount on Survivor. Despite the lousy deal she struck, Rob promised Parvati that she did everything right during the Deal or No Deal game.
Parvati pressed on, "I needed to play the Banker, right? Like, reassure me." She then slipped into a spot-on Boston Rob impression while recalling a chat between the two friends. "Because when we talked before I came out here, you were like, 'Parv, you gotta play the Banker. Every chance, you got to play the Banker.'"
Rob reassured Parvati that she had made the right move by asking David Genat to allow her to play; C.K. planned to eliminate Parvati if she won, so playing the Banker was the only way to regain control of the game.
Parvati Shallow was fine being the villain of DONDI Season 2
"My strategy coming in was to just, like, mystify people," Parvati told Rob. "I just wanted to hypnotize them. I just wanted to like, love on them so much, and delight them so much that they would want to keep me in the game because they were having fun with me."
Despite Parvati's mission, she was quickly labeled a threat on Banker's Island due to her bursting reality television portfolio and expert social game. Along the way, Parvati was fine with twisting the truth and shifting alliances to get ahead, leading her and her allies to be labeled as villains by their competition.
Parvati explained, "Some people are playing the game for the game and the competition. And some people are thinking, 'I wanna look good. I wanna be someone that people think is a good person.'"
"I think it's lame because, you know, we're villains," Parvati added with a smirk, getting a laugh from Rob.
"The advice is, to someone that's gonna play, do whatever in the game, and then look to the camera and tell the truth," Rob said.
Parvati wishes Boston Rob could have been the godfather of "The Family" alliance
Parvati thrived on Banker's Island partly in thanks to her formidable alliance with fellow Survivor star David Genat, whom none of their rivals recognized from TV due to Survivor: Australia not airing in the States. Parvati instantly used this to her advantage, teaming up with her fellow island-savvy player and dominating the game to the final four.
"I needed to find out right away if David was gonna be on my side or not, and I really wanted him to be on my side because I had watched [his] season of Survivor, and I like the way he plays," she said. "I think he and I have similar strategies; we could complement each other."
"Did you tell David what to do, or did David tell you what to do?" Rob asked with a grin.
"We both told each other what to do," Parvati said.
"Oh my God, that's so diplomatic!" Rob raved.
"I know!" Parvati exclaimed. "That's what I'm saying; it was a dream partnership."
A partnership that soon grew into one of the most powerful alliances in the game. "You wanna ideally be in different alliances with different groups, and you come up with the idea of 'The Family,'" Rob recalled.
"It's like a mafia moment," Parvati said while recalling the memory of her and David adopting Dickson Wong into their alliance, officially forming The Family. As time passed, they adopted Maria-Grace Cook as his adoptive sister, with several other players scrambling to be included in the all-powerful group.
"You needed a godfather in there," Rob teased.
"We needed a godfather!" Parvati agreed. "Where were you when we needed you?"
Watch Deal or No Deal Island After Show with Boston Rob on Peacock, NBC's YouTube, and NBC.com every Wednesday following new episodes of Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, which air Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
