Survivor 50 episode 6, "The Blood Moon," was riddled with plenty of emotions and not one, not two, but three eliminations. The 17 players that reached the merge were stunned to learn that three of them would not only be eliminated but would also miss out on being on the season’s jury as well, and the first fallen soldier of the night turned out to be Kamilla Karthigesu.
Karthigesu came into Survivor 50 with a gigantic target on her back. Before the cast left to film, they had just seen Survivor 48 airing, where they’d seen Karthigesu’s cutthroat gameplay alongside her number one ally and eventual winner, Kyle Fraser, the latter who was also on Survivor 50. To top it all off, Joe Hunter, who had just been blindsided on 48 by Karthigesu and Fraser, was also on the season, making him an imminent threat to Karthigesu’s longevity in the game.
However, things weren’t too dire for Karthigesu as Fraser was medically evacuated early in the game, therefore rendering their connection as a non-threat, and she and Hunter were never on the same tribe. Karthigesu was able to form strong bonds with Dee Valladares (Survivor 45) and Tiffany Ervin (Survivor 46), as well as making inroads with other original Kalo tribe members.
During an interview with Parade, Mike Bloom asked Karthigesu about her thoughts on the season's edit so far, which has been shown to have a gender bias against women and which was originally called out by Angelina Keeley (Survivor David vs Goliath) last week during her respective exit press. Karthigesu then shockingly revealed that her agreement with Keeley’s statements over on social media was the reason she got called out by none other than Jon ‘Jonny Fairplay’ Dalton at a watching party the night before.
Karthigesu declared, “I was told by Jonny Fairplay last night that me reposting Angelina stuff [that] I’m ruining Season 50 by doing that. Me and Angelina are ruining Season 50 by talking about the edit in this way.”
In a viral clip from another interview for TvLine, Karthegesu added that afterwards, Fairplay backed off from his early comments by saying he’d just been joking, and even had the nerve to ask her for her autograph.
Fairplay is known for his infamous “my grandmother is dead” lie on Survivor: Pearl Islands, and over the years, he’s been notorious for his antics and shenanigans on and off the screen. He later returned for a cameo in Survivor: Micronesia, where he asked to be voted out first. It isn’t surprising to see Fairplay trying to stay relevant in the Survivor world by this type of commentary, and I, for one, am glad Karthigesu didn’t give him the time off day and even gave him her autograph.
While Karthigesu didn’t get much screen time, the audience still saw her survive the tribe swap and participate in Charlie Davis's (Survivor 46) blindside. Unfortunately, during the merge, the players were divided into three groups, each of which had to vote out one of its members, and Karthigesu was left with only Ervin as an ally.
The other three people in this group were Chrissy Hofbeck (Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers), who had her sights upon Karthigesu ever since the early Kalo days due to Karthigesu’s masterful ability to lie; Jonathan Young (Survivor 42), who Karthigesu had just blindsided the previous Tribal Council, and Stephenie LaGross Kendrick (Survivor Palau), with whom Karthigesu had no previous connection. Needless to say, the second Karthigesu failed to win immunity, things just went from bad to worse.
Karthigesu’s game eventually unravelled when she and Ervin failed to swing Young to their side, as he felt more akin to Hofbeck and LaGrossa for their old-school gameplay, or, as Hofbeck repeatedly said, because ‘they are cut from the same cloth.’ With a 3-2 vote against her and a shocked expression on her face, Karthigesu’s torch was ultimately snuffed, but not before she expressed to Ervin to get revenge in her name.
During her post-game interviews, Karthigesu also disclosed several interesting tidbits that the audience didn’t get to see on the episodes, for instance, the truth behind her expression after being voted out and her reaction after Fraser’s evacuation. With Parade, Karthigesu stated that she thought Young and LaGrossa would be on her side, and seeing them vote against her solidified what Mike White (Survivor David vs Goliath) had told her at Kalo about a Zoom alliance in which several old-school players had promised to stick together before the game started. Hence, her shock when Jeff Probst read the votes.
As for her, she saw that Fraser had been medically pulled from the game due to his injury. Karthigesu expressed that she felt extreme sadness for Fraser and his wife, and that he would’ve been a good friend to have in the game. On the other hand, Valladares pointed out to Karthigesu that it was good for her game that Fraser had left, as it greatly reduced her threat level, to which Karthigesu, of course, agreed.