Kevin Leung thought he was the mastermind of the Vula tribe but in reality, he had far less control over his tribe members than he believed. In Survivor 48, Episode 2, his plan to vote out his ally Saiounia Hughley backfired and he became the target. The 34-year-old was unaware the plan changed going into Tribal Council, believing Sai’s torch would be snuffed and he’d see day 6 on the island. Kevin was shocked when host Jeff Probst read the votes, revealing he would be the next castaway sent to Ponderosa. In his exit interview, he said he felt blindsided by the vote, stating, “I thought I was in control of the entire game but they outed me.”
You may remember that Kevin suffered a shoulder injury in Episode 1, kickstarting a string of losses for the Vulva tribe. Luckily, Kevin was able to get back in his tribe’s good graces by winning back their supplies on a journey. He evaded elimination in Episode 1 thanks to Stephanie Berger’s horrid performance solving a puzzle. Although, it’s possible the injury factored into his tribe’s decision to give him the boot the following episode. Did Kevin’s shoulder injury ruin his game? Let’s unpack it together…
How did Kevin sustain an injury on Survivor 48?
In Survivor 48, Episode 1, Kevin suffered injury, as he tore his shoulder during a challenge, which caused his tribe to fall behind and lose out on a reward.
I don’t think Kevin’s injury is the main reason his alliance chose to flip on him. Kevin played pretty hard in Episode 2, which usually spooks a tribe in the early episodes. Castaways are wary of players who are too eager to make big moves in the first few days on the Island. The Finance Manager was more than willing to flip on his four-person alliance to flush Sai’s idol. Justin Pioppi spoke about his decision to turn on Kevin in a confessional, telling producers Kevin is a dangerous player who plans ahead.
He also made a mistake when it came to who he divulged information to. He told Cedrek McFadden he wanted to flip on Sai to save Mary Zheng, which in my opinion, was a big error. Cedrek was loya to Sai, not Mary. I think Kevin didn’t fully understand the tribe dynamics and that led to his elimination.
What happened to Kevin on Survivor 48, Episode 2, and did his injury play a part?
Kevin’s injury didn’t completely tank his game but it did make it easier to vote him out. Tribes need castaways who perform well in challenges, so they don’t starve or enter the merge with few tribe members. The Vula tribe might have saved Kevin over Mary if he performed better in the first challenge. They would’ve thought twice about voting him out if they believed him to be a physical asset for their tribe. But he wasn’t. He flopped in the first challenge and cost them a reward. He earned it back but the loss lingered in his tribe’s mind. Despite being given a hero’s welcome in the Survivor 48 premiere, Episode 2 saw his game end abruptly.
Kevin says his injury left him “physically deteriorated”
After his elimination, Kevin spoke to Parade about his unfortunate injury, revealing that it left him “physically deteriorated” for the remainder of his game on Survivor 48.
“I think that tearing my shoulder on Day 1, and then doing the ‘Earn your supplies’ by Day 1, at night time, I was completely physically depleted, and it just got kind of worse and worse as each day went on,” he said,
He told the outlet that he felt like a “physical liability” on his tribe.
“After I came back from the ‘Earn your supplies’ challenge, it wasn’t shown on air, but there were so many [people that were] like, ‘Hey, Kevin, don’t do too much. Don’t get water. We’ll get water. Don’t carry a bamboo.’ I’m like, ‘Wait, hold on. If this is the perception, and I’m just kind of a dead weight physically, then in challenges I’m not going to be useful,'” he revealed.
Kevin’s injury certainly didn’t improve his chances on Survivor 48 even if it wasn’t the sole cause of his elimination.
Survivor airs on CBS.
TELL US – WERE YOU SAD TO SEE KEVIN’S TORCH SNUFFED? WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE ELIMINATED NEXT ON SURVIVOR 48?
