Why this week's “Deal Or No Deal Island ”Temple kept host Joe Manganiello up at night (exclusive)

Each week, Deal or No Deal Island host, game master, and executive producer Joe Manganiello will weigh in with Entertainment Weekly regarding the latest events on the island. This week, he reacts to Survivor champion David learning about Survivor, Seychelle’s shaky social game, C.K.’s bold maneuver, and Rock’s last stand.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, I just need to know your thoughts on the scene of Maria-Grace explaining to David how Survivor works.

JOE MANGANIELLO: It was like watching Lois Lane telling Clark Kent how amazing Superman is. It was a perfect example of the voyeuristic power and allure of reality television. The audience and David are in on a secret that no one else knows, and that puts the audience closer to the story unfolding than the rest of the players. Now, on the other hand, it’s also a great example of Parvati’s superior social game and preparation. She came to play and did her research, and was the only one who recognized David, and she deftly used it to her advantage in forming a very powerful alliance with him.

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You know you are playing a super aggressive game if even someone like Parvati is taken aback by it. So what do you make of CK walking over in front of everyone and telling Parvati and Phillip whom to use the Split on?

During the early rounds of the game, players generally try to stay in the middle of the herd strategically. They’re hesitant to step out and appear like they are gaming hard, but this week had a few players breaking that convention. Lete went for the high-value case and used her physicality to attempt to flat out win power. CK on the other hand cashed in on her social game, but in the process put Parvati in an uncomfortable position.

CK may have won power for that round, but it came with a price she ruffled the feathers of a very serious competitor and in this season, where we made a concerted effort to force the guests into uncomfortable situations, that could come back to bite her in the ass.

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Rock did not accept the 75 percent success odds on the first deal from the Banker, but he then did take the second one with the same odds… and yet still lost. Is this a reminder that no matter how well or poorly you play against the Banker, that sometimes your fate is already set from that very first briefcase you select?

Not necessarily. Here was my takeaway… coming into the Temple with Rock, there was a part of me that wanted — or I should say, contemplated — that maybe my job was to gently nudge the players into making the “right” decisions. But this particular Temple kept me up at night afterward. Seeing how much Rock regretted not trusting his gut and riding his case all the way to the end, which meant he would have won and added well over a million dollars to the Final Case, made me realize that my job at its core is to set up the consequences for the audience, and then ride the roller coaster with the guest in whatever way they choose to ride it.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely going to judge their actions and the outcomes of their decisions along the way, but no one wants to watch a blackjack table strictly play by the rules. The contestants reveal who they are by the way they play against the Banker, and I’m there to fully encourage it in my own subtle way.

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This is two times already where I get the sense Seychelle was going to be picked to go home had Luke and Rock beaten the Banker. Does she need to work on her social game out there in terms of making connections to protect her from that happening again?

Yes. But, then again, maybe it’s two weeks of women wielding power — first Sydnee and then Parvati — who didn’t want to send David home. It’s not that anyone is targeting Seychelle, it’s just that part of David’s game is being attractive to women, and it is absolutely protecting him in this game. It would have been very telling had Rock won, would he have sent David home? We’ll never know…

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