Survivor 48′s [Spoiler] Details the One Event That ‘Changed the Entire Game for Me’
The following contains spoilers from Wednesday’s episode of Survivor 48.
Kevin Leung wasn’t medically removed from the game, but an early-season injury certainly didn’t help.
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In Episode 2 of Survivor 48, Vula once again lost the immunity challenge, sending them back to Tribal Council to cut one of their own. While the vote initially looked like a choice between the remaining two ladies of the tribe, Kevin’s suggestion to snuff out Sai (and her idol) was enough to get his supposed alliance members Cedrek and Justin thinking. Despite Mary being a sitting duck thanks to losing her vote on the journey, Sai still played her idol and Kevin was voted out 3-0.
Below, Kevin talks to TVLine about the shoulder injury that changed everything, his decision to not sit on his hands and his instant reaction to Kyle helping him earn his tribe’s supplies.
TVLINE | It looked like the vote was going to come down to Mary or Sai, but a last-minute curveball took you out. How surprised were you in that moment?
KEVIN LEUNG | The culmination of trying to do a big move and then having it backfire on you… I think you can see it in my face. I was like, “Wow, that did not go according to plan.” But also to set some context, I had an inkling, like, “OK, it could be me since I was pushing so hard.” And even when talking to Cedrek on trying to flip it, I knew it was a big risk because Cedrek is a very loyal person. He doesn’t want to rock people’s emotions or votes. So it was a risk trying to make a big move and getting Sai to flesh her idol out. Ultimately, I did what I thought was the best move.
But in that moment, we lost that immunity challenge. I was like, “OK, not only are we losing a member today, [but] we’re going back to Tribal Council probably in like two days. So in my mind, I was like, “I just can’t sit for two days and have Sai dangling her idol in front of Cedrek and Justin. And then me just being like, “Does anybody want to work with me?” There’s no other person to vote off except for me. So when I had Mary there, I was like, “This is a chance here to make a big move and use Mary as a deflection,” and it just didn’t work out. But I tried my hardest. I really did.
TVLINE | Did you realize how close Cedrek was with Sai?
I knew from just conversations that Cedrek sees Sai as a daughter, and they have that familial connection. I knew that was very clear. But what I was trying to [say to] Cedrek was not necessarily, “Oh, we need to get out Sai out.” It was more like, “Hey, don’t you want an idol heading into the merge or potential tribe swap so you can have some power in the game?” And that was my lifeline to stay. If an idol’s gone, then I have a chance to get it for myself because my shoulder was so messed up during the whole five days I was there. It was getting progressively worse, to a point where I couldn’t even lift it [high]. And I was like, “I’m not gonna win any main challenges.” The grip challenge? Any climbing challenge? Forget it. So in my mind, I needed something, or else I was gonna be going home or MedEvac’ed.
I was trying to appease to Cedrek and Justin, “Do you want a solid three? I’m with you guys!” And I didn’t want to waiver. If I wavered, I feel like that would be shifty. I overplayed. There are so many moments in the last eight months where I was like, “I should have sat on the beach and cried for like eight hours, and then Mary would have gone home,” because I think that would have happened. I didn’t want to sit on my hands and just do nothing. I wanted to make a move so that I could make it past not just this Tribal, but the next Tribal, at four, if we lost the next challenge again.
TVLINE | You mentioned your shoulder injury. What happened in that cargo net and are you all healed up?
I’m sad they didn’t show the whole medical emergency and injury. They teased it in the trailer, so I thought they were going to show it. But what happened was I carried the net with my right shoulder and I fell into the mud. And then the mud, I thought it was a lot shallower. It actually was deeper. So I actually fell completely while holding the rope still, so that’s how I tore my shoulder. I had four tears on my shoulder. The rotator cuff was in pain. I didn’t even know what happened. I think I asked if we won, which was really pitiful because we were actually in dead last.
It actually changed the entire game for me. The moment I tore my shoulder, I saw all these big dudes and strong women on our cast, and I was like, “If I’m ever gonna win this game, I’m not gonna win in the immunity challenges, unless they’re all math problems or slide puzzles.” So, I think that really changed my trajectory and how I wanted to play the game.
TVLINE | Did you have surgery?
I did physical therapy for five-and-a-half months. Thanks to all the physical therapists out there in the world because not only did they have to care for me physically, but I couldn’t tell anybody about my injury because that would have given it away. When I went home, I just went into isolation and basically lied to everybody. I didn’t want anyone to know, or else it would have gone out like, “Oh, he’s gonna lose anyways because everyone knows his shoulder’s broken.” So the physical therapist was kind of my emotional therapy too because I was so frustrated with not recovering well. So, it’s not 100% healed, but time did heal a lot of it. Physical therapy gave me some range of motion back. But it was emotional. I’ve cried too many times already to think about it, but this episode is done and I can just heal from here.
TVLINE | Sai is clearly a dangerous player. You voted for her, but did you expect her to play her idol or no?
The goal in my mind was to flush Sai’s idol out. I have absolutely no clashes personality-wise with anybody, or if anyone sees me as annoying, it’s just part of the game. You gotta figure out who’s your alliance members and go from there. To me, it was all a game move. And when I saw Sai have [the beware advantage], I actually knew that puzzle . “Listen.” I was trying for her not to have the idol because, you know, it’s scary. But when she had the idol, that actually was like, “Wow, she’s a really strong player.” And she has Cedrek and Justin who are loyal to her now because of the idol. The whole goal for me was to flush the idol out in a chance that at four, I could have a chance to find the idol, or at least no one would have the idol, because those three were lockstep.
TVLINE | In Episode 1, what was your reaction to Kyle helping you finish the challenge to get your tribe supplies?
I was running on pure adrenaline on that. I just got my shoulder popped back in. They stuck a medical kazoo in me. I actually didn’t even hear that it was an Earn Your Supplies challenge. I thought it was Sweat vs. Savvy. And I did not volunteer to do this. I wanted to rest my arm and they all were like, “You should go!” I was like, “Maybe I’ll just experience one more thing before I possibly get MedEvac’ed.” Then I was like, “It’s Sweat vs. Savvy, so I’ll do a puzzle.”
When I realized it was a pure Spartan race, I was like, “Wow, this is intense.” But I just tried my hardest. The reason why I was so methodical was because my shoulder, so I physically couldn’t just start whacking everything. My arm would have torn again. But when Kyle broke the jar, I was like, “Wow, this is actually insane. I actually won this challenge because of it.” When he came over to help me, my first reaction was like, “Don’t break my jar!” But then I actually thought it was super nice. He knew that I dislocated my shoulder. He knew that I was in pain, and if I made a tribe swap or the merge, I would have loved to work with him further and make an alliance member. In my mind, it was a good move for him and also for me. There was no downside in him helping me. I felt good about it.
TVLINE | Looking back on it all, is there anything you could’ve done to save your game?
Obviously my shoulder was the No. 1 thing that screwed up my game because I couldn’t sleep on the island at all. I had ibuprofen as the only medication to help the pain and I threw it up constantly because I had no food in me. My body was slowly deteriorating as each day went forward. Obviously, I wish I didn’t break my shoulder. I wanted this so badly. I wanted to play. When Jeff did final interviews, he said, “What do you want to do out there?” I just wanted to prove to my parents and myself that I could do this. And when I tore my shoulder, I was like, “Wow, another fail. Another failure in trying to make something happen. But I think what I learned from this was that it’s OK to try something.
Looking back, that first vote was very critical. I wish I pushed Justin more to flip on Sai because the reason why that vote didn’t happen was because Justin wasn’t willing to change it. So even if Steph and Mary and I were aligned, it’s a 3-3 tie. So I think that kind of changed a lot of the trajectory of it, because then I got put into a position where Mary loses her vote, and that also just made it so much harder to make a move. A lot of stuff happened in five days. I’m proud of myself, but also kind of disappointed in myself. I thought I would do better.
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