After an amazing season, Rachel LaMont secured her place in the Survivor history books after a near-unanimous vote saw her crowned the winner of Survivor 47.
For the fans who had been watching at home all season long, Rachel winning was far from a surprise. In fact, fans made it clear Rachel was the only finalist they wanted to see walk away victorious at the end of the season. Fortunately for Rachel and the fans she amassed over the season, the jury felt the same and she walked away with the victory over Sam Phalen and Sue Smey.
A major reason Rachel walked away with the win was due to her incredible gameplay which we got the chance to see unfold across the season. From her idol strategies and many challenge victories – she became only the fifth woman to ever win four individual immunity challenges in a single season – to her near-flawless social game, Rachel really played an amazing game and it’s only fitting that she won.
We got to see Rachel’s game play out over the course of the season with a great edit showcasing her mastery of the game, but it turns out there was one aspect of her gameplay that found itself on the cutting room floor and never made it into the show.
In speaking with TVLine following her victory, Rachel reflected on her time on the show including the feeling of hearing her name announced as the winner and her gameplay across the season. She also revealed that CBS failed to show us a single solo conversation with one of her closest allies, who fans probably never even realized Rachel was as close to during the game as she was.
“I would say the only thing that we really didn’t see was how close I was to Caroline Vidmar. Basically from the night Sierra was voted out, I was with Caroline and Sue, and that threesome was way before the Andy and Teeny one,” Rachel revealed.
As Rachel elaborated, it was actually her close connection to Caroline that led to her becoming the target of Operation Italy as Rachel bluntly put it, “That’s part of why Operation Italy went the way they did. They couldn’t get me, so they got my No. 1 ally.”
Of course, it was hard for the audience at home to know just how close Caroline and Rachel were because CBS chose not to incorporate the pair’s allegiance to one another within the edits, opting not to include a single solo conversation between Caroline and the eventual winner of Survivor 47. And that’s what Rachel feels is the most sad part of the season’s edit.
“I felt very sad that there wasn’t a single solo conversation with me and Caroline at all in the show,” Rachel shared. “We were so tight and she was so much fun to work with. We both talk fast and it was just a very fun dynamic for strategizing.”
Honestly, we’re sort of sad we never got to see the pair interacting 1:1 via a solo conversation during the season as it would have been interesting to see what the pair discussed and would have added another layer to the season. Of course, we’re not surprised to hear their conversations and alliance wasn’t a primary focus as it’s not uncommon for producers to be very selective of the footage they use. While these are reality TV shows, there is a scripted aspect so to speak in that the editors are very strategic with the narratives introduced and with how they intertwine the countless hours of footage shot over the course of filming.
It’s just a shame that they ultimately felt excluding 1:1s between Rachel and Caroline was the best route as we’d definitely have loved to see what the pair’s strategy sessions looked like!