Mary Zheng opened up in her exit interviews about her most healing experience during Survivor 48, and it may not be what you expect.
Our most recently ousted Survivor 48 contestant opened up in her Parade interview about not having fun during her time on Survivor, particularly as a member of the Vula tribe. Her luck didn’t change much once the merge hit, especially once her ally, David Kinne, was voted out. While she was able to outlast fellow outsider Star Toomey, her luck ran out in this most recent episode, where she was voted off unanimously.
However, Mary was able to finally experience some reprieve once she was voted off. She spoke to Mike Bloom about how her time in Ponderosa was the true healing experience for her:
“Before I got out the bus, I looked out the window and I saw Cedrek, Star, Chrissy and David standing outside, I thought, "Oh, f–k. Wow. I think I am gonna have some friends. These people are showing me care and love, something that I didn't really experience, especially in the last part of the game." And that completely changed my outlook on this experience. Ponderosa was incredibly healing for me. And I really, really have to shout out all of those people on jury who welcomed me, and for really healing me, honestly.”
This is not the first time we’ve heard from this season's castaways about Ponderosa being the most positive experience of the season for them. Last week, the 4th juror, Star Toomey, shared a similar sentiment, going from the outlier of the original Lagi tribe to beloved jury member once she arrived at Ponderosa. In a similar fashion to what Mary described, Cedrek McFadden, Chrissy Sarnowsky, and David made sure to give her a warm welcome upon her arrival.
Mary and Star’s comments on their experiences throughout the season can serve as a larger reflection of viewers’ frustrations with the season. The dominant alliance of Joe Hunter, Eva Erickson, Kyle Fraser, and Shauhin Davari has been dominating the votes from the merge onwards. However, a few of these players' lack of consideration for the outliers’ feelings and their unwillingness to deviate from said alliance have rubbed many viewers (and players) the wrong way.
From what we have seen in the edit, it makes sense that castaways not included in the alliance would have shared feelings of ostracization and loneliness. Thankfully, it appears that Ponderosa was a positive turnaround for both of these fan favorites.
At the end of the day, Mary and Star will have the last laugh in the form of their jury votes. Soon, we will see who these jurors decide to crown the winner of Survivor 48. The winner will be announced during the season finale on Wednesday, May 21, on CBS and Paramount+