Exclusive – Survivor: Ghost Island’s Kellyn: ‘I Was Completely Out-Muscled After The Merge’
May 18, 2018
She was one of the more expressive players ever to play the game of Survivor, but in the end Kellyn‘s “gut” wasn’t to be trusted.
If you missed any of the action, you can catch up with our Episode 13 Recap, as well as checking out the Podcast below.
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There were several players – like last week’s vote-out Chelsea – that didn’t get much screen-time this season, but Kellyn Bechtold was not one of them. We got to see and hear lots from Kellyn, and whether you liked her bubbly personality or were annoyed by it, she was definitely one of the players spotlighted from the beginning. It helped that she was put on the “Naviti Strong” alliance, but as the game progressed, it was apparent that Kellyn was making many big decisions based on her “gut” instincts, and not with her head. It ended up costing her, as even though she knew that her allies Dom and Wendell were huge threats, she trusted Dom through too many key votes, leading her first to squander away her double-vote advantage, and then eventually squander away her chances at winning the game.
Kellyn remained well-liked all the way to the end, but like pretty much everyone else this season, she was unable to pull off a big move against the game’s bigger fish the more days that went by. Donathan created some drama on this week’s episode, enough to end up forcing him into a tie-vote with Kellyn, but Kellyn needed to go because while hers wasn’t the strongest game imaginable, her social skills and likability could have very well won her the million dollars.
I had the chance to speak to Kellyn today on the FilmSurvivor Podcast (the full audio of which you can find and download at the bottom of this article). But here were some highlights from the interview:
KELLYN BECHTOLD INTERVIEW
On using her double-vote advantage incorrectly:
Kellyn Bechtold: I think it’s pretty obvious, that’s where I think I made my million dollar mistake, was to write down Laurel’s name twice. My thought process there was, well now I feel like a total dumb-ass for not asking Michael to see his Idol, but I did ask Michael a ton of questions: Where did you find it? What did it look like? What season was it from? And he knew the whole story because he did find part of it. So I just didn’t get it. So shame on me. But my thought process again was that if Michael did have an Idol, I had heard rumor that maybe Wendell had an Idol, and I knew Dom had one…and I thought that if Michael plays his Idol, there is no way in hell that an Idol isn’t coming out to protect Wendell, so then it would just be me or Laurel, and instead of risking going to a tie vote, I just went ahead and put both votes on Laurel to protect myself.
On why it seems so difficult for anyone to try to take a shot at Wendell or Dom:
Kellyn: Dom and Wendell were the most amazing crime bosses at work that I’ve ever seen. People – including me! – were just afraid to pull that trigger on Wendell in the sense that I was trying to protect myself in the case of Idols. So when you think they have that much ammunition, you feel like you’re going to get struck by a stray bullet. It kept everyone totally in fear. And until you’re at a point where you have no choice…I think they’re doing an amazing job so far of keeping their troops in line…anytime anyone gave a shred of strategy, Dom and Wendell went after them right away. I was completely out-muscled after the merge, I like to think that I did all of Dom and Wendell’s dirty work. During the merge, I was out working while they were back sitting at [camp] sipping coffee, right? They just had a handle on it, and people were afraid to make a move.
For much more from Kellyn Bechtold, including my full interview, please listen to the latest episode of the FilmSurvivor Podcast below or by clicking here.
Remember! The Survivor: Ghost Island Finale is next Wednesday, May 23, and be sure to check back her for my recap and reaction, as well as for my final round of podcast interviews with each of the remaining contestants, including the winner and Sole Survivor of Season 36.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter – @tomsantilli – and on Facebook, for all of the latest Survivor coverage, interviews, and movie reviews.
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Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets/Timothy Kuratek/Jeffrey Neira/Michele Crowe