Kamilla drops ‘Survivor 48’ pre-merge intel in exclusive mid-game interview

Kamilla Karthigesu promised Entertainment Weekly before filming on Survivor 48 began that the competition would not see her coming. Of course, she claimed that was due to her short 5-foot-1 stature. “I mean… literally… I am down here. Everyone’s eyes are, like, their eye level is up here. They’re all like a foot taller than me. They won’t see me coming!”

Thomas Krottinger, Shauhin Davari, and Joe Hunter certainly did not see Kamilla coming after a tribe swap. Doing her best Meryl Streep impersonation, Kamilla did an acting job for the ages, convincing the California Girls she and Kyle Fraser were adversaries and not allies.

Then, instead of becoming mortal enemies with Shauhin and Joe after voting out Thomas (with the help of an immunity idol and extra vote), Kamilla and Kyle seemed to join them in forming a new alliance. That certainly adds a lot of intrigue into this week’s episode, in which the remaining 13 players will converge on a single beach.

We caught up with the pint-sized strategic powerhouse in an exclusive mid-game interview to get the full scoop on everything that went down in the pre-merge portion of the game. What would have happened had original Civa gone to Tribal Council? Did Kamilla ever consider lying to her tribe about her extra vote from the journey? How much did the California Girls really buy her acting job? And what’s something that didn’t make it to air that we should know about? Read on for all the intel!

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: All the players are coming together on one beach this week. That’s a huge moment for any player, so what was it like knowing you had made it to that stage of the game? 

KAMILLA KARTHIGESU: Pure excitement and relief. We figured there was no way Jeff [Probst] was going to make everyone join us on literal Exile Island, so I was relieved at the possibility of leaving that cursed Vula beach. I was also super excited to meet all the other players and catch up with my old Civa folks. This is a huge milestone for any Survivor player and similar to the swap, it felt like a whole new game was about to start.

You and Kyle went for the Oscars when you were trying to convince the California Girls you were not allies. How much do you think they bought that? 

Before Tribal Council? I had no option but to believe they bought it. After seeing the votes? After seeing THREE votes (meaning a vote wasn’t lost on the journey, but rather, an advantage was GAINED)? After seeing that said advantage wasn’t played? Yeah, I think they ate it up. I don’t think it was just the acting or the words though; it was the fact that me and Kyle weren’t seen talking to each other at all. You saw me try and rush away from him while he was still asking about his bag being searched! I didn’t want to be seen alone with him, and so I think the Lagi boys noticed and figured, “Oh, they’re probably not strategizing together at all.”

We had a deleted scene where you talked about how, in 48 hours, you had grown closer to Joe and Shauhin than your previous Civa tribemates. How did that happen, and did it surprise you how quickly it happened? 

Yeah, I have some explaining to do. First off, I was genuinely surprised in the moment. I had a slow start on Civa socially — I was the quietest and shyest one there. I watched others get so deep, so quick, and I was frustrated at myself for not being able to do the same.

Then on Vula, all of that came naturally. We bonded over our family backgrounds and shared struggles. We bonded over our love for our parents and recognizing all the hardships they went through. We bonded over our love for our older siblings and how they were so influential to who we are today. In other words, we bonded over a shared identity.

But the thing is, when a group is bonding over a shared identity, it can isolate people who aren’t part of the “in group.” This was the case for me on Civa. Even if others didn’t see me as the odd one out, I definitely felt it, which probably led me to being slower to open up. It’s one thing to listen and learn from other people, but if I feel as if I can’t contribute, then it’s hard to feel like a real bond is formed.

You looked shocked when you landed your ball to win this last immunity challenge. Have you surprised yourself with how you’ve competed in challenges this season? 

I was shocked cause I had zero control of that ball. It was zooming around the table on its own. But yes, I have surprised myself! At the marooning, I looked around and was surrounded by literal athletes. Or at least people who regularly hit the gym. I was questioning why I was here with everyone else. I truly believed that I would be the weakest link during challenges, and it would be obvious to everyone. But that wasn’t the case! I was terrified at the reward challenge when I heard we had to cycle through each member of our tribe. But I did fine! I wasted so much time and energy worrying about the what-ifs when nothing went wrong. When your expectations about yourself are that low, everything feels like a win.

Original Civa never had to go to Tribal Council, so what would have happened if you had had to vote someone out? How would the votes have fallen? 

Dalton, you’re standing a little too close to my bus right now… but I was working with David, and as you could see, our buses were driving in the same lane right behind each other. Obviously, there are advantages at play, and conversations could change things leading up to Tribal Council so no one can be 100 percent certain about this, but my guess is Charity would have been voted out with four votes against her, and probably two votes against me.

Did you ever consider not telling your original Civa tribe about your extra vote from the journey and if so, had you concocted a cover story? 

Never considered it after Mitch came back and shared his advantage with us.

What’s something that happened so far that didn’t make an episode that you wish we had seen? 

Mitch almost got hurt real bad. Remember that bamboo beam that David was doing pull-ups on? That beam is actually split in half right now. It was supporting a very heavy bamboo roof and snapped in half as soon as Mitch went to sit in the shelter. Luckily, he had quick reflexes because the force of 20 giant bamboo beams crushing down could have really hurt him.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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