Survivor Ghost Island: Why did Laurel Johnson finish in 3rd place?

Laurel Johnson made it to the final three on Survivor Ghost Island but was not crowned the Sole Survivor. Instead, she finished in third place.

From the beginning of Survivor Ghost Island, there was something about Laurel Johnson that made us all want to hear more from her. She was stuck on the pathetic Malolo tribe at first, but eventually found her way to Domenick and Wendell, which helped pave her way to the final three.

Throughout the season, Laurel had many opportunities to try and take out her two main allies, but she never followed through with it. While Laurel seemed to think that was a smart strategy, the jury obviously didn’t see things her way, as she wound up with zero votes from the jury. She also ended up being the 11th member of the jury and got to decide the winner of Survivor Ghost Island.

Laurel could have had a pretty perfect resumé. She started off on a bad tribe but made it to the merge. Most people seemed to like her. She was good in challenges, winning an immunity challenge. Lastly, she aligned with two of the best players in the game.

The only thing Laurel needed to secure votes was to make that big move. She needed a big blindside that turns heads and shows the jury and the viewers at home that she was really there to win. Laurel never did that.

When Desiree approached Laurel and the other Malolo to take out the big dogs, Laurel went and told Domenick and Wendell about it, rather than take the big move and run with it. She could have gone along with the plan and then voted Desiree out next and that would have likely gotten the respect of the jury.