Survivor 47: Aysha was blindsided, but it was more personal than that

Each tribe on Survivor 47 has now been to a tribal council and lost a member. None of the tribes picked the most obvious option, and it was a surprise when Aysha Welch was voted out by her Lavo tribe mates in episode 3.

Aysha previously appeared on Rob Has a Podcast to discuss reality shows, including Survivor. It seemed like she had the tools to navigate the pre-merge politics and make it to the merge, but it wasn't meant to be.

Aysha wasn't shocked she was voted out, but it didn't feel good

Aysha did a post-episode interview after episode 3 with TV Line. During that conversation, she said she "was more hurt by this vote than blindsided." She knew she was one of three on the chopping block, but she felt she had built up enough relationships to protect her.

In truth, Aysha isn't the one who would have been voted out first on the Lavo tribe under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, target number one has all the power in that game. Rome Cooney had an idol and had an extra vote, so he is in control for now.

Teeny Chirichillo obviously didn't want to vote for Aysha (and didn't), but she didn't have enough pull to defect the vote. Aysha was locked in to vote out Genevieve Mushaluk because the latter is Rome's closest ally. It wasn't a bad plan, but Genevieve is also aligned with Teeny and Kishan Patel. Teeny truly wanted to work with Aysha, but circumstances just didn't allow for it.

Aysha acted with honor by not caving to pressure to vote for her closest ally, Sol Yi, but her unwillingness to play along with the rest of the tribe cast doubts on whether they could count on her in the future. Now she's gone.

During the interview, Aysha talked at length about how hard it is to live in such close proximity with a big personality like Rome nonstop for a week. She makes a very valid point that a person can be a Survivor superfan and be mentally and physically prepared to play the game, but the greatest unknown is who you are stuck with on the beach with.

You can't plan for someone like Rome, Phillip Sheppard (Redemption Island and Caramoan), Brandon Hantz (South Pacific and Caramoan), or any of the other wild card players that have graced the game.

Aysha played a brief, but honorable, game, and it's clear she went home too early. Circumstances and bad luck led to her departure, but those are part of the game.