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Miranda Reveals Her "Tent Talk" Allies and Revenge End on Deal or No Deal Island
The pest exterminator left the game with money and some sweet revenge in our latest Deal or No Deal exit interview.
In the first five episodes of Deal or No Deal Island, contestant Miranda Harrison admits she flew very much under the radar, to the point of confusing her fellow players. The pest exterminator from Fort Myers, Florida, told NBC Insider that she was dropped into a game with no prior competition reality show experience or even an awareness of the "celebs" in the cast like "Boston Rob" Mariano or Claudia Jordan. But she did have a strategy: to observe rather than overshare like many of her fellow players.
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"It's why I was like, 'Why is everyone talking strategy now?' Like, get to know the person because you could literally be talking about somebody who had your back," Miranda said about her approach to the game. "I wanted to sit back. I wanted to let people know I would agree to disagree. But I also was not speaking my strategy at random. And because I wasn't speaking my strategy at random, they're like, 'Miranda is just here for vacation. I don't know what she's here for.' So they didn't really worry about me too much."
As the game moved forward, Miranda said she relished having the players not know what side she was on, which played in her favor this episode. "That ultimately hurt Aron because he thought [I'm] trustworthy," she explained. "And I was just waiting for my moment."
Miranda had her own alliance at camp
While the assumption was that Miranda wasn't playing much of a proactive game, she said that she was forming a strong bond with Nick Grasso and Amy McCoy because they were her tent mates.
"All day, you wouldn't really see us all together. But when we would go back to the tent, we would have 'Tent Talk' where Amy would talk about her conversation with Rob and Nick would have a conversation with Alyssa, and we'd all come together," she revealed. "The next day, we would all disperse."
She also included Brantzen Wong in their group but he was knocked out in Episode 1. "I actually missed Brantzen because I feel like he would have been a really good ally with us as well," she said. "I see him as trustworthy. He was also in our tent too."
If she had made it to the final round, Miranda said she would have liked it to be her and Amy. "Even if it was me and Amy, it would have been such a great final two because we probably would be crying for each other," she said. "Understanding one of us is gonna be a winner, but I'll be happy. I wanted to go [top] two with somebody I would also be happy with winning."
The challenge that made Miranda big mad
The latest Deal or No Deal Island challenge centered on Aron having to twist the game to keep himself safe. His ultimate sacrificial pawn became Miranda, which didn't go over well.
"At first, you can also see in the edit he was actually going to try to go for Stephanie," she pointed out. "But Stephanie had said something about Alyssa and that made Aron change his whole mind about putting Stephanie up against The Banker. So then he put me because he thinks that I'm trustworthy."
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Asked when she realized something was up, she said, "When I saw Alyssa get case number one and I got case number two, there was a part of me that was like, 'Maybe he wants me and Alyssa to be in the top two?" But I was kind of confused because I've never given him a moment's [trouble]. And then what Joe said about the keys and the rules after, I was like, 'Great,'" she deadpanned.
"So even before I saw Alyssa open up the case, in my head, I was already turning," she continued. "Then when she opened up the key with the case, right then and there, I was like, 'Game on!' And that's why you'll see me like, 'Oh, Aron. It's OK. I love you. So who do you want out? I'll get 'em out.' I was trying to be that little innocent girl. But man was I mad. I don't get sad. I get pi--ed."
Miranda's Personal Deal Twist
With Miranda up against The Banker, she knew her time was likely up, so the Banker's Personal Offer became a shocking option. "First of all, he had just called and raised the offer. And then he called [again]," she said of The Banker. "I watched Deal or No Deal, so I was like, 'No way?' because it's never happened. When he [offered] it, the wheels were turning because I love competition. I love the challenges. It was so much fun. So in my head, I genuinely wanted the money and to stay in the game. But I needed to not be as greedy and take what I can because some people can be sent home with no money, or even go up against the Banker.
"In reality, I want to be blessed so I can bless others," she continued. "I got on this game [with] a goal to get money to help out my community and for other things like my business. So I really had to think about it. And for it to be my first reality show, I did good. Even though I got eliminated, I just wish I still could have gone through those challenges. They're just so much fun!"
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As for her lighting up the game by revealing Aron's strategy to everyone before she left the stage, Miranda smiled and explained: "I didn't want to be a mean girl. But I'm a very competitive person. If my brothers were on the show, they would have been the first ones out. Like I said, in the game, you [can't] hate the player, you gotta hate the game. People should have taken more opportunity because it is a game and if you're not going to play the game, it hurts you in the long run.
"But at the end, it was so easy for me to be like, 'Hey, Aron wanted you out, Stephanie, and I was gonna get Alyssa out.' And I genuinely wish that it worked out better to where I did get her out because breaking that alliance was what was needed," she said. "Rob needed to get out too, but we needed to break up that alliance because him and her was getting stronger than what Rob and him [had]. I was watching it all and a lot of people weren't even focused on them. And I had to be the one to be focused."
New episodes of Deal or No Deal Island premiere on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. All episodes will be available next-day on Peacock.
