Survivor 47 is off to a roaring start through two episodes. After the Gata tribe surprisingly voted off Jon Lovett instead of Andy Rueda, the loose cannon, the Tuku tribe made a misstep during their first trip to see Jeff Probst at tribal council.
The Tuku tribe lost the reward/immunity grueling challenge when they had trouble navigating a ball through a moving maze. The task required three members to work together pulling strings to control the ball through the maze. Although they maneuvered the ball through the puzzle a good distance a couple of times, they kept dropping their ball at crucial points and lost the challenge.
After the challenge, several Tuku members were smiling, maybe nervously so. Jeff asked them why they were smiling. Tiyana Hallums said they were fake smiles. TK Foster took umbrage with any smile. He obviously felt they should be upset with the loss, and rightfully so. His diatribe rubbed some of his tribe members wrong, namely his ally, Tiyana.
Using that crack, Gabe Ortis, another so-called ally, was able to swing Tiyana's vote to blindside TK at tribal council.
Why voting out TK so early was a big mistake by the Tuku tribe
TK had his flaws. He was social, but his social skills often went overboard. In this episode, there was a scene on the beach where Sue and Tiyana tried to nap, but TK was talking nonstop to his buddy, Kyle. Both women were annoyed, but Sue was especially irritated. Sue and TK hadn't formed any real bonds during the first several days on the island, which came up at tribal council.
TK also wanted to be in charge. While he wasn't obvious about it, it showed in how he treated other tribemates. He seemed to feel secure in his place within the tribe and that he was the leader of his alliance.
Those things aside, it is very early in the game. TK was a physical player the tribe will miss in challenges. While Gabe, Kyle, and Tiyana are physical players, the tribe also features two of the game's weaker players in Sue, the season's oldest player at 59 years old, and Caroline. While pretending to bond with TK and Kyle, Gabe has been working with Sue and Caroline, and it was easy to get Tiyana annoyed enough to flip to their side.
As for why Tiyana was annoyed at TK, it was silly. TK is a competitor, and he was right in that his tribe needed to be upset at their loss, in which Sue didn't participate. TK wasn't being a bad sport; he was just upset that they lost and would lose a tribe member. Nothing he said was out of line, but it sure bothered Tiyana.
Tuku is going to miss TK in challenges. They will miss his physicality and competitive edge. Kyle seems to be a very likable player who might go far if he isn't taken out for being TK's closest friend, but he hasn't shown the same ability to be a leader in challenges.
We'll see if the Tuku tribe can avoid a losing streak in the challenges. If they don't, and this tribe falls to the wayside, the reason will be clear.
Stay tuned for more news about the new season! Survivor 47 episode 3 airs on Wednesday, Oct. 2, on CBS and Paramount+.