On Wednesday’s 13th episode of “Survivor 47,” the final five was feeling like a face-off between two heavy-hitters with three stragglers vying for participation awards. At least, that’s how it was shaping up, until Genevieve Mushaluk failed to win immunity and was forced to let the perception of her fake idol determine her fate. Ultimately, her bluff was called by a majority and Genevieve was the final player voted out of the game. Read on for Genevieve’s “Survivor 47” exit interview from the end of the episode.
“I just got voted out. Five is as far as I get to go in this game,” Genevieve said plainly as she began her closing remarks. “I am so proud of how I played out here. I exceeded my expectations and my expectations were high.” In the second half of the game, Genevieve emerged as a power player that was a perpetual target because of her cunning strategic maneuvering. Everyone was threatened by her ability to sway votes in her favor, culminating in her part of “Operation: Italy” that was the ultimate power play devised at final seven by Andy Rueda, herself and Sam Phalen. Karmically, “Operation: Italy” was also Genevieve’s downfall.
SEE ‘Survivor’ deaths: Full list of castaways we’ve lost
Once Rachel LaMont earned her third individual immunity necklace and secured her own spot in the final four, Sam and Genevieve knew that the next vote would come down to the two of them. In order to save himself, Sam told Teeny Chirichillo that he and Genevieve made the fake idol together and when questioned on it, Genevieve confessed the same story to Teeny. From there, it was up to Teeny to decide whether she believed them or if they were just pulling the wool over her eyes once again. Ultimately, it seemed like Teeny wanted to seize the chance to finally one-up Genevieve after being fooled by her countless times, and helped form a three-vote majority for Genevieve to go instead of Sam.
Knowing her idol was fake and that she had always been a prime target in the game, Genevieve seemed to accept her fate as inevitable and left tribal council smiling. With the talk all season that she was learning to break down the emotional walls she put up in order to play the game strategically, Genevieve knew she was leaving not empty-handed in the end. “I wanted the million,” she said at the end of her exit interview. “I didn’t though, but I did better and I’m more proud of myself than I imagined that I could be.”
Genevieve is now the 14th person eliminated from “Survivor 47” and the seventh member of the jury, joining Sierra Wright, Solomon “Sol” Yi, Gabe Ortis, Kyle Ostwald, Caroline Vidmar, and Andy Rueda. The players booted from the game pre-jury were Jon Lovett, Terran “TK” Foster, Aysha Welch, Kishan Patel, Anika Dhar, Rome Cooney, and Tiyana Hallums.
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