Survivor 47 was the best season of Survivor's new era. It featured everything we wanted in terms of gameplay, exciting storylines, epic blindsides, and thrilling challenges. But, there were more than a few players who probably should have made it further than they did if one or two things went their way.
That's who we focused on in this list of the Survivor 47 players who were voted out too soon for one reason or another. Largely, the players on this list were taken out because they were simply too big of a threat to keep around. When the other players realized their threat level, they were blindsided in almost every instance. Again, it's great for gameplay, great for fans and viewers, but it's not so good for these players who watched their Survivor dreams come to an end in stunning fashion.
Let's start the list with Kishan Patel.
Kishan Patel
Voted out: Fourth
Of the players who didn't make the merge, Kishan Patel is the one player who didn't make the merge that I'm most disappointed about. We should have seen Kishan wheeling and dealing his way to the end. Unfortunately, he was voted out fourth after trying to blindside Rome Cooney. Genevieve Mushaluk got to Kishan first, and that was that.
I really liked how Kishan was thinking about the game. Taking out Rome at that point in the game was the right move for Kishan. In his mind, that would have locked in an alliance of four players. He would have capitalized on the chaos. It would have put him in control of the tribe. Yet, Genevieve also knew that keeping Rome in the game would be good for her game. She created a situation that so many players in Survivor want to be: needed. She was Teeny, Sol, and Rome's first option in the Lavo tribe. She was indispensable, and her strategic prowess is what set her apart from almost every other player.
Still, I think Kishan had the right move picked out at the right time. Genevieve just played it better, but that shouldn't detract from the threat Kishan was. Honestly, if he makes the merge, there's no telling how far he could have gone.
Anika Dhar
Voted out: Fifth
Anika Dhar is very similar to Kishan, but instead of choosing to make the big move, Anika got caught trying to make the safe move. She had locked in her alliance of three with Sierra Wright and Rachel LaMont. They made plans to take over the game, and all they had to do was get Sam Phalen to vote with them, which he had agreed to do many episodes earlier to take out Andy Rueda. The only thing is that Andy, Sierra, and Sam had been playing them for at least several days.
I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see Anika make some moves and really play the game, you know? We could just tell that she was getting antsy to make some moves, but she was biding her time. Clearly, fortune favors the bold at times in Survivor, and honestly, looking back, Anika probably should have played a little bit more like Genevieve. Had she targeted Sam or even Sierra instead of Andy, would that have changed anything? Could she have flipped on Rachel instead? In some ways, I wonder if her disdain for Andy's gameplay blinded her to what was going on behind the scenes. We'll never know, but I do with Anika got to play the game a little more. She seemed to have some big plans, and we're all unlucky that we didn't get to see what she had in mind.
Tiyana Hallums
Voted out: Seventh
Rachel LaMont's gain was clearly Tiyana Hallums' loss in Survivor 47. After Rachel received an advantage from Sol Yi right before Tribal Council, Tiyana was the odd person out on the Tuku tribe. She tried to make a run at Gabe, I believe, but Gabe, Caroline, and Sue voted Tiyana out right before the jury because Kyle had immunity.
Overall, Tiyana made some mistakes early in the game on the Tuku tribe. She probably should have tried to get a little closer to Caroline, Sue, and Gabe, but it's possible that option was never really there. I mean, she did nothing wrong to get voted out, either. The numbers just swung against her.
Had she been able to stay in the game, I'm curious what Tiyana could have done. She was great in challenges, and she played Survivor with so much love and passion. If she fell in with the right group, there was always a chance that Tiyana could have made a deep run. If not for so many things going right with Sol finding the advantage, choosing Rachel as the recipient, and Rachel choosing the right option, Tiyana would have easily moved on. Then, you never know what can happen in Survivor.
Sol Yi
Voted out: Ninth
I loved the game Sol played in Survivor 47. He stumbled out of the gates a little bit after getting on the wrong side of the alliance in the Lavo tribe. Rome Cooney made Sol's life on the beach quite interesting for that whole portion of the game, but one Sol was able to find some solid footing, he clearly started to make some great partnerships. In a different world, Rachel and Sol are working together trying to take out the former Tuku players.
Unfortunately, Sol played the first part of the game with Genevieve and she knew how big of a threat he could be and that he might have been catching on to some of the moves she was trying to make.
I really believe Sol was laying the groundwork on a social game that could have been very competitive at the end. Sadly, Sol didn't quite stick the landing, and that's why he was voted out.
Genevieve Mushaluk
Voted out: 14th
Genevieve Mushaluk is another player I just feel was destined to make the Final Three. Looking at her gameplay over the course of the season, she's easily the runner-up for Survivor 47 behind Rachel LaMont. If It's Rachel and Genevieve at the end instead of Rachel and Sam, I still think Rachel wins, but it's probably a 5-3 vote rather than 7-1 vote. Genevieve was that good all season long.
My one critique of Genevieve's game is that she made the move on Sol too early. It might have been the last chance to really get Sol given the game he was starting to put together. It seemed like he was making some pretty solid connections with Andy, Rachel, and possibly even Sam. If those four really locked in as an alliance, they could have taken over the game.
But, Genevieve exposed herself as a huge threat with how well she pulled off the Sol vote. That made a lot of people nervous. She lasted several more votes, though!
Bowing out at Final Five because three of the four remaining players know they would lose to you at the end is about as high of an honor as you can get in Survivor and still lose the game.