Easily not the first target Malolo had in mind, but somebody had to go. Why was Stephanie Gonzalez voted out of Survivor Ghost Island in 20th place?
Somebody has to be the first one out of Survivor every single season. Even on Survivor Ghost Island, where the mistakes of past players come back to haunt you, those destined for doom may escape fate by a simple maneuver. For Stephanie Gonzalez, the first player voted out of the season, minor confidence and a bold, maybe unnecessary move, was all it took.
Malolo looked to jump out the gate as the best tribe in the history of Survivor (if you bought into the hype), with Brendan, Michael and Laurel leading the tribe to an hour one reward challenge win. Fire, shelter-making kit, fishing gear, 20 eggs; the tribe looked like everyone was getting along and ready to become a dominant force.
Even as Jacob began planting himself as an obvious first boot choice, Gonzalez was there in conversations with the group about looking out for him. She didn’t seem absent from those important moments, as you do not want to be on the outs when players are looking for someone to sacrifice to the Survivor gods.
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The first window into the demise of Stephanie Gonzalez on Survivor Ghost Island was during the Immunity Challenge. Although she carried her own weight during the challenge, including pulling the rope to move the cart through the puzzle, when it came down to the actual 3D puzzle segment she got a bit cocky off the bench. She demanded only one person direct people to move the puzzle around, and in doing so put herself in the spotlight as Malolo fell just short.
Still, even in defeat, it was Jacob’s name that was on everyone’s tongue as he left for Ghost Island. His public, successful attempt to bait himself into being sent there put himself before the tribe, meaning Malolo had to reluctantly vote somebody out. Instead, Donathan had to scramble and exaggerate the responsibility of Gonzalez telling him to keep quiet with his “winning” puzzle strategy.
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What it came down to for the Malolo women was loyalty. Donathan was viewed as the weakest (not just by Gonzalez), but Stephanie argued how controllable he was to Libby, Laurel, Michael and others. She used her superfan intuition to see just how much of a strength and strategic threat she was, thus focusing votes on her.
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While everyone had decided the target, as voting at Tribal Council was about to begin Stephanie Gonzalez stood up proudly and started the whisper game, making sure that everyone had a clear target in mind (her idea being Donathan). Everyone gave her lip service, as the true vote was for her, sending her to Ponderosa in 20th place in an 8-1 vote.
It’s not just that she was a threat, but perhaps she was carrying herself with a command of the group in a way that didn’t work with her tribe. Forcing an unnecessary “live” Tribal Council by checking in on everyone right before the vote? That was a flagrant move, and one that I hope starts to die out during Survivor Ghost Island. Stop trying to make iconic moments happen, people!
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There are few tangible reasons why Stephanie Gonzalez was voted out of Survivor Ghost Island, as chief among them was circumstance. Malolo wanted to get out Jacob; he wasn’t available. Donathan was a puppet and Gonzalez wasn’t in with the core group and possibly could have become a big player. That’s just the way the cookie crumbled.