Every season, there are a few Survivor players who last way longer than they should in the game because they're written off as non-threatening players. The same thing happened in Survivor 47. Three of the players lasted much longer in the game than they probably should have.
Survivor is a very hard game! I will never criticize someone for how they play in the game or how their expectations do not meet reality when they hit the beach. There are bigger trends in the game of Survivor, though, and many of the players who are better players from a social, strategic, or challenge perspective are targeted long before they ought to be.
It also means that the players who make it all the way to the end are often not the best players of the season. That's not even debatable. It's just how the game works and what the game encourages. The players are not treated equally by the other players, and there's no way they ever could.
So, with that said, let's get to the list of the Survivor 47 players who stuck around a little too long.
Teeny Chirichillo
Teeny Chirichillo started off the game super strong. She knew, from being a fan of the game, who Aysha Welch was, and Teeny decided to keep that information to herself, which was a super smart move. They established a connection, but then Teeny started to struggle when the game moved more quickly and the blindsides started happening.
Again, not judging at all, but it's felt like Teeny has been a step slow in all aspects of the strategic game. Teeny's best strategy was to be as loyal as possible to her alliance and then make moves when the time came. Unfortunately, Teeny ended up on the Lavo tribe, easily the biggest schemers in the game, and Teeny was out of place quickly.
On top of that, Teeny hasn't performed well in the challenges. For a long time, it's felt like Teeny was one of the few players who was identified as a potential candidate that the bigger threats want to sit next to at the end, and that's why the game played out the way it did.
Sue Smey
Sue Smey basically played the game that Teeny was meant to play, even though they both made it about as far in Survivor 47. Sue formed an immediate bond with Gabe Ortis and Caroline Vidmar on Day 1, and she never betrayed them throughout the season despite many opportunities to do so. Honestly, I don't know if Sue would have made it further in the game if she bailed on Gabe or Caroline, but she would have had a much better chance to win the game.
Like Teeny, Sue seemed to be tagged as a potential play that the bigger threats wanted to sit next to at the Final Tribal Council, and that's why she's still in the game.
Unlike Teeny, Sue had a lot of chances to really make some moves. Obviously, she was part of Rachel LaMont's big immunity idol play at the Final Six. She could have used her idol to save Gabe or Caroline, which could have been viewed as a game-changing move. Ultimately, Sue did not make those choices, and she basically walked into the finale without having been targeted very early in the game. And, she held it against Kyle Ostwald the entire time.
Andy Rueda
Andy Rueda is, maybe, an unfair person to include in this group, but it's not because Andy wasn't really playing that aggressively, like Sue and Teeny. It's the opposite. Andy was playing such a good, aggressive game that he almost won the whole thing. A few bounces, literally, and Andy is sitting at the end of the game explaining how he bounced back and forth all game and picked off some of the biggest threats in the game one by one.
Honestly, Andy's rough start basically gave him camouflage as he moved through alliances, engineered votes to blindside former allies, and progressed further in the game. Had Rachel not realized the threat Andy was at the Final Six and voted him out with Sue's help, I truly think he would be right there at the finale with a chance to win.
He probably should have been treated as much of a threat as Sierra or Sol, but Andy's lack of awareness at times allowed him to be bypassed as the other players targeted the bigger threats. Ultimately, it didn't work out for Andy, but had he not shown his hand on Day 1, I think players would have actually considered him as big of a threat as Gabe or Genevieve in terms of gameplay. Andy was a part of so many major moves.
So, that's the list of three players who made it a little further in Survivor 47 than they should have. Again, no judgment! When it comes to reality TV shows, Survivor is as challenging of a game as there is.