Survivor: Ghost Island interview: Desiree Afuye on her big attempted move

We’re going to start off this Survivor: Ghost Island interview piece by giving Desiree Afuye a whole lot of credit. It takes a lot for someone to try to do something as big as what she did on Wednesday night’s episode. She saw herself in an unwinnable position and decided to make some sort of move in order to change that. Unfortunately, her attempt to flip on the original Naviti and take out some of their power players was thwarted by Laurel, who went and told Domenick all about it.

So what went wrong with this move and did Desiree think that she had a chance of staying going into Tribal Council? These are just two of the questions that we had for her going into our exit interview today.

CarterMatt – One of the things that I’m the most curious about here is this: Had you stuck with Naviti and not tried to flip, what do you think was your best possible finish?

Desiree – I think I would’ve been picked off maybe two episodes [from now]. I wouldn’t have gotten too far with Naviti. If [the power players] all stuck together they were going to just be unbeatable.

Why did you think that this was the best possible time to go through with your plan?

I felt the longer I waited, then the more power I was going to give to Dom and Wendell and Kellyn. I thought that the numbers really mattered at that time. I wouldn’t have had to convince more people [to go through with the plan], if I did it right, than the people who were there. Who knows what would’ve happen?

Had Laurel not ratted you out to Domenick, do you think that you would’ve been able to pull this off?

I definitely think I would’ve been able to pull it off. For me, it just made the most sense for everybody else in the game. It made sense for Chelsea, for Michael, for Donathan, and everyone who was a part of the plan from my perspective.

If you had it your way, who would you have gotten rid of first: Dom or Kellyn?

I would’ve went for Dom or Wendell. They were the most powerful.

How present was the fear of immunity idols and all of the power Dom and Wendell could’ve had at that point in the game?

I’m not sure that anybody outside of the plan feared the idol, but I know about the idols. I feared the idols. I didn’t want them in the game.

How often were people out there looking for idols?

I think everybody had their fair share of searching and looking for the idols. I know that I did, but I just didn’t have any luck with it.

Were you happy to see that Kellyn seemed to be so oblivious to the idea that you would flip on her?

I felt that in the game too. I know that she didn’t know how I felt about Dom and Wendell really. The only reason that she didn’t know that was because I assumed that she was still with them closely because she had worked with them [early on]. Dom is the one who told Kellyn what I said to Laurel so I knew they had some sort of tie.

How close did you get to the Naviti people after that first tribe swap? I know Bradley went home pre-merge, but did you ever think about that group as a possible final five?

I thought that it could be, but I knew that the end of the game was still so far and there could be so many curveballs within the game. I knew that it was pretty impossible.

Obviously you got yourself in danger last night, but Michael was still there and he was an obvious target who has played idols and seems to be good in challenges. Are you surprised they didn’t go after him?

I was surprised by a lot of things. I think there were a lot of targets people weren’t taking seriously. I don’t think people felt like Dom and Wendell were serious targets when they were. I think people didn’t feel like Kellyn was a target. I’m not sure what everyone was doing.

Did you think that you were done the moment you walked into Tribal Council?

I really didn’t know going into it that I was going and I didn’t really know during it. It was kind of 50-50.

Is there any thing looking back that you would change about the move that you made?

I think I should’ve went back and tried to reboot with everyone who was a part of the plan. I still think I could have executed it and convinced them.

What was the thing that challenged you the most out there that you didn’t see coming?

Reading people was probably the hardest thing I had to do. Clearly, I couldn’t read Laurel so it was definitely hard for me. Getting a good read on people was hard because you would think you knew what someone was doing but you really don’t.

Do you have any desire to go and try to play this game again?

I definitely would!

If you get a chance to play again, what are you going to do that’s different?

This time, I’m making sure I try everything from every angle. I’m going to have a plan B. I didn’t have a plan B this time around.

Related – Be sure to get a review for this past episode of the show

Do you think that Des made the right move in trying to flip on her tribe? Be sure to share right now in the comments!

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