TK Foster was voted out of Survivor 47 in the second episode by way of another shocking decision. Now, TK is revealed in his exit interview some of the moments that played into the decision for the Tuku tribe to vote him out.
It made a lot of sense that TK thought the vote for Sue Smey was going to be an easy one. He had an alliance, even with some disagreements, with Tiyana Hallums, Kyle Ostwald, and Gabe Ortis, who according to TK had not talked to Sue in front of the group yet.
Here's what TK told Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly:
"There was really no one else to tell to do anything. Again, this is all with the mindset that I had no idea Sue and Gabe were a thing, so I thought Gabe was with us as well. So I'm thinking. "Hey, we keep this simple. We get rid of Sue." "
TK also revealed to EW that everyone knew Gabe had an idol, specifically because Gabe lied to TK about it. He mentioned that if Gabe didn't have the idol, TK, Kyle, and Tiyana likely would have targeted Gabe.
"But at the same time, what opportunities do I have? I had to get four people. If me, Tiyana, and Kyle are the three, I had to swing somebody. Sue and Caroline were a pair that we all knew about. They even told us that on the island. Sue and Caroline said, ‘We're not going to vote for each other.” So they're literally a pair. So the only person you really have is Gabe. So it didn't leave me many options."
And, that's the issue with the six-person tribe to start Survivor. In my opinion, it's really the perfect number because, with five players, you really need two other people to be safe. With six, you really need to find a way to work together. The people who struggle to make those initial connections are toast, basically. And, I think that's what you've seen with TK and Jon Lovett going home first. It's really about playing the cards you're dealt, and that works out better for some people than it does for others.
From where I'm sitting, it looks like this decision came down less to what happened immediately after tribal council, which is what the footage that the audience got to see. It appears the decision to vote out TK was simply a vibe and numbers situation with multiple layers. As a Survivor fan, I love to see how the game breaks down, and thankfully, TK shared a little bit about what was going on at camp.
Basically, Sue and Caroline Vidmar were in a clear alliance. They'd be voting together and wouldn't be voting for each other, according to TK. So, then, it really was about how TK, Tiyana, Kyle, and Gabe would work together. According to TK, they appeared to be in an alliance, so it didn't make sense to turn on each other this early in the game. Gabe had an idol, and everyone knew Gabe had an idol, according to TK. So, essentially, from TK's perspective the vote is for Sue or Caroline.
Unbeknownst to him, there were other conversations about taking him out. Had he known that Gabe and Tiyana were potentially working together to take him out, TK probably would have played things quite differently. And, that's where I think this decision was basically a vibes decision driven by Gabe's insistence to play hard, which is going to get him into trouble down the line, obviously. This time, the numbers worked in his favor, but it's not always going to be like that.
TK also admitted that he didn't think Tiyana made the right decision to vote him out.
" It didn't make sense. But again, I guess as Gabe said in the show, he took advantage of the fact that Tiyana was emotional at that point and wanted to make her make an emotional decision. And she did. And I guess the chips will fall where they may as far as if she made the right decision or not. But obviously, in my point of view, I don't think she did."
I don't know how much I buy into this being some emotional decision by Tiyana. I think Gabe thought he made a big move in convincing Tiyana to vote out TK. I think TK feels blindsided by Tiyana flipping on their alliance, but as we saw during the voting, Tiyana was simply trusting her instincts. She said it over and over. Something about her relationship with TK felt wrong to her, and it made more sense to move forward without TK in the game.
It will be really interesting to see how this changes the dynamic for Tuku. Kyle and Tiyana appear to be on the bottom with Gabe, Sue, and Caroline's alliance, but this is the new era of Survivor, none of these relationships mean anything until the votes are being cast. That's literally the only thing that matters, and it's still so early.
It's a bold move this early in the game, though, but I do think it will pay off for Tiyana moving forward, even if it makes the Tuku tribe physically weaker for the time being. If there was one of the three tribes that could lose physical strength this early in the game, it's the Tuku tribe.
But, only time will tell! Survivor 47 is back for the third episode of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 2. We'll be here for all the latest news, updates, and more to share all season long!