It’s been a while since we got an ice queen on Survivor. Gone are the days of Ami Cusack cutting down men without hesitation or Natalie Bolton flossing her teeth with Jason Siska’s jugular. The New Era has mostly been a well of emotions — thank God that changed with Genevieve Mushaluk. Her journey started as all great ones tend to: by being barely featured in the first three episodes of the show. What viewers thought was the editors’ rude dismissal of a player (also known as “purplingâ€) turned out to be dynamite storage for a bombastic introduction, when Mushaluk engineered the elimination of her tribemate Kishan Patel and went from zero to mother in 90 minutes flat. Then it was off to the races. She voted out her former tribesmate Solomon Yi quickly into the merge, feuded with frenemy Rachel LaMont (who is probably going to win the season), pulled the wool over her closest ally Teeny Chirichillo’s eyes so many times there’s probably still sheep fiber in Teeny’s eyelashes, and participated in the heist of the season: Operation Italy. Through it all, Mushaluk struggled to bring emotions back into the game after sensibly removing them all so she could think. It finally caught up with her in the final-five vote, when she was the last person voted out for the season.
You’re one of the few players this season with no public social media. You’re not explaining your moves via tweets on a daily basis. Do you keep up with the fan response to you?
Genevieve Mushaluk: I’m a fan, I listen to the podcasts about other seasons, but I don’t want to hear about my own. I have not gone looking on Reddit. I don’t want to hear it, because the Genevieve you see on the show isn’t me. People aren’t talking about me; they’re talking about the person they see, for better or for worse.
Have you seen any of the fan edits?
People have tagged me in videos, and it does show up on my Instagram. I will get my husband to watch them first, because if it’s something negative, I’m like, I don’t want to see this. You have to be a true psychopath to tag someone in something negative. The fan compilations are adorable and I love them. I want to be in a room with all these great people who take time to find me on my private Instagram and send a message or tag me.
We have to talk about last night’s downfall. You’ve been getting through by the skin of your teeth for a little while now.
Were you nervous for a few weeks? You’re like, “Oh, she’s done, she’s done.â€
Not, “She’s done.†It was, “I know she’s going to get out of it. How is she going to do it?â€
Just rising from the dead every week.
I would imagine there’s some part of your brain that looks back on final five constantly. What do you perseverate on?
Obviously, I wanted to win, but I went out there being like, I’m probably going to be the first one to get voted out. I’m not that charming. I’m not that strong. I’m not that good at anything around camp, so why would they keep me? So my “what ifâ€s aren’t bad. I wish when Rachel was getting her hamburger at the auction, I just flipped the tray and was like, “You don’t get this idol.†I don’t know if I want to say I wish I would’ve lied to Teeny about my idol, because I just didn’t have the wherewithal in the moment.
That was not a ploy in any way with Teeny, that was just you leveling with them?
I did not foresee Sam turning on me, so I was not prepared for that. Had it been anybody else approaching me, my instinct would’ve been to lie, but because it was Teeny and we have a really strong relationship, I didn’t have it in me to look Teeny in the eye as they’re crying and lie to them. But I still pivoted to a pitch of, “But if we just get rid of Sue, then you and Sam are guaranteed to sit in Final Tribal,†not knowing Sue had an idol at the time. I was like, “I’m shit in challenges, so just beat me in fire, beat me somewhere else, and it’ll be beneficial to your game. It doesn’t have to be me tonight.†But they were like, “No.â€
It’s interesting to hear you say you had such a strong relationship with Teeny, when we as viewers are watching them get mad at the billion ways you lied to them. How did Teeny get through to the ice queen?
Teeny was one of those people who just broke through no matter how much I wanted to compartmentalize the game. When you have someone so emotional in front of you, it makes it not a game. You’re out of that cerebral element, just living and feeling. And when I feel, I can’t think. I can only do one thing at a time.
The two of us had so many high moments. They show the dramatic moments because of the impact on the game that ultimately led to Teeny getting the best of me. But there were times when votes could have gone either way — me or Gabe? — and Teeny was a voice to keep me, even though they’re stomping around camp saying, “I hate Genevieve. She betrayed me so much!†It was a very complicated relationship, like siblings. I can do that to them, but nobody else can.
During final six, we saw you bring on Teeny, and the target completely shifted to Rachel. That’s a big shift. If you hadn’t won immunity and Rachel didn’t have an idol, do you think Rachel gets voted out at final six?Â
I do. We spent so much time talking about how Rachel was a threat and Teeny was finally seeing it. Andy could flip or go either way. Sam would’ve stayed with me in that scenario. Teeny could have been brought onboard, and even if people perceive Rachel and I as equal threats, she’s got way more friends with her. I have no friends, so that’s why we should get rid of Rachel and not me. If I was vulnerable, she would’ve gone home.
Can you explain to me how Rachel was a “big threat� It felt like everyone suddenly understood that Rachel was this huge threat, but she hadn’t made a big move or anything. What happened?
It took people different amounts of time. Caroline and I were onto Rachel early because we all inhabit the same space and you can pick up the signals really quickly. People started to see it more as Rachel won challenges. Plus, her social game: You can be social, but people aren’t afraid of you. You can be strategic and people think they can beat you. Rachel had this way of being not the most at anything, but still very good at everything. There wasn’t a big flaw in her game that you could point to that would make you feel confident you could beat her. It was just that abstract: She’s so competent, she’s so likable, she’s so strategic, she’s got the ability to win challenges, and she’s got some power in terms of the twists or advantages in the game. How do you beat the culmination of all of those things? Teeny is very social but hadn’t won anything or demonstrated much strategic prowess. Andy’s very strategic but not that social and not that strong. Rachel was all things all the time.
She feels very “New Era†to me. You could see Rachel doing the Kenzie thing of having big threats in front of her, lining them up, and knocking them out in the endgame. Did the meta nature of Survivor play into you seeing her as a threat?
There is a “New Era†of it all. You feel it out there, in the cadence of, “Well, Genevieve voted out Sol, and then we’ll set her up to be a big threat without even having it be said.†It lines up the next vote and then blah, blah, blah. It’s difficult to break out of that New Era mind-set. Rachel’s game — the game I wanted to play, which totally pivoted at the Sol vote — and Caroline’s game are successful in the New Era. I could never do it. I don’t have the patience or the self-discipline or the restraint. I’m like, “No, let’s get people out. Let’s do big things.â€
Well, that’s why you’re fun to watch, and that’s why we have to talk about the Sol vote. You repeated a lot on the show that Sol wasn’t good for your game. Why not?
Sol and I did not get off on a great foot the first couple days. We didn’t trust each other, we didn’t get along. But, notwithstanding all that, I thought, Well, Lavo Beach is two, two, and two: It’s Sol and Aysha, Kishan and Teeny in the middle, and me and Rome. Even if Sol and I don’t get along that well, we can work together and use the fact that we don’t get along to our advantage. So, in the middle of the night, I pitched to him, “What if we work from opposite sides of the tribe, share information and then navigate to keep each other safe, and at merge we can link up and people won’t see it coming and we’ll have so much information available to us?â€
When did you pitch that?
Night two or three. Early in the game. He’s like, “Okay.†We go back into the shelter and I don’t fall asleep immediately. Within ten minutes, I hear Sol being like, “Kishan, wake up.†In the morning, Kishan is like, “Yeah, Sol told me everything you said.†I was like, Okay, so this guy does not want to work with me. Thankfully, Kishan did, which is why I felt extra guilty voting him out. But I knew Sol was strong. He got along well with everyone except me and Rome, so maybe I was a bit guilty by association there. When we hit merge, you’ve got the three Lavos: Teeny is naturally magnetic, could connect with a tree. Sol is low-key and strong and handsome — everyone likes him. Then there’s me, the ice queen no one connects to. If a Lavo’s got to go, who do you think it is? Probably me.
The show frames it like I’m avenging Rome and going for Sol. I would never vote someone out for revenge. That’s a terrible way to win a million dollars. What ends up happening is, during that immunity challenge, Sue and I are paired up. We go out midway and I’m sitting on the sit-out bench. I went through the inventory of all the names I’ve heard, and I’ve heard everyone’s except for Sol’s. I was like, Damn it. Everyone just likes this guy. He’s never going to be on their radar. He’s big, so he can win challenges, But he’s so grounded and easygoing that people don’t see him the same way they see Sam. The longer he’s in this game, the more of a foothold he’ll get, and he won’t be treated like a traditional challenge-bro target. That’s going to be a problem for me. And Teeny is close to him and will be more loyal to him. There were so many reasons I was like, “This guy is not good for my game and I’ve got to get him out.â€
If you could avoid getting the credit for that move, something that became a problem for you, was he still the right person to remove from the game at that time?
It was the right removal of a person. Even the credit was managed. Teeny’s reaction magnified the situation and shone a light on it in a way that made it harder for me to sweep it under the rug. It amplified my threat level. There were still bigger threats in the game, thankfully, but it would’ve been easier if I had emotionally managed Teeny better. But it was the right time. Because if he doesn’t go, then when does he go? I fear he goes later, and I go earlier than five.
Really?
If he doesn’t go there, Kyle goes there.
Then you don’t have the Tuku threat.
Yeah, then why are people targeting Tuku? And Gabe is super tight with Caroline and Sue, so there are three who are pretty well insulated, but Sol’s now had more time to build his bond with Rachel, who he gave the advantage to. So when would Sol go?
That makes sense! But watching it unfold, I wasn’t convinced Sol would never work with you.
He did not want to work with me. And he said, “Lavo three to the end!†I’m like, “But, man, you also said that about Sam and Rachel.â€
What did it feel like for you to watch the first few episodes and be purpled?
I loved it. Being the Purple Princess is where I thrive. My time out there was for me, and now the show is for everybody else to watch and judge and enjoy and be entertained by. I don’t need to see myself on it to know what I did.
The editors were doing a “You don’t know Genevieve yet. Get ready for this.†Was there a part of your brain that was like, Well, I’m actually a huge character this season? Were you anticipating that?
I had no idea. I was very sick the first few days, and I hoped they didn’t show that. There was tension on the two sides of Lavo with Sol and Aysha and me and Rome. There was so much they could have shown, but it would’ve made the Aysha vote-out less impactful, because showing the sides and then showing that I’m close with Teeny and Kishan would’ve tipped the viewer to what’s happening. The show is set up for maximum impact and they delivered in such a great way, but then it does leave the question mark of, “Why is she saying she doesn’t want to work with Sol? Why is she saying, ‘Everyone knows I want Sol out’?†We haven’t known that. “Why are she and Teeny close but then have this crazy relationship?â€
Did you know that “ice queen†was going to be how you were portrayed?
No. Teeny explained to me after the Kishan vote what “mother†meant. And I was like, “But is that a good thing?†And then Teeny would screenshot tweets and translate them into something an offline 33-year-old grandma would understand. It’s a string of words that I know are English, but I don’t understand how they go together.
Get Teeny to send you the edit of you and Rachel set to “Girl, So Confusing.â€
Okay. [Writes “Girl, So Confusing†in her notepad.]
Did you see Operation Italy as an opportunity to get through to the next round? Or as a way to completely blow up the game?
I thought it was so fun, but I was like, There’s no fucking way this is going to work. There were so many ways that it could have gone wrong, and I’m a worst-case-scenario thinker. I didn’t trust Andy as far as I could throw him, so I was like, “This is not good for his game.†I think Andy wanted to leave a mark.
Do you think it’s accurate that he needed to do something to make the jury notice him?
… I think so, yeah.
I have a few rapid-fire questions. Sue: Did you believe that she was 45?
[Laughs.] No.
How old did you think she was?Â
I am a girls’ girl!
Final-four fire-making: Good twist? Or should it be a vote?
I hate it, but everyone knows I’m notoriously bad at making fire, so it’s a self-serving opinion. The best players go out at four or five.
Jon Lovett: Did you know who he was?
I did not know who he was.
Did anyone know who he was?
Andy, maybe. But I’m in Canada, so I’m allowed to not know who he is. Everyone in the U.S. should know he’s an important political speaker. Come on, Americans. I’m doing a Jon promo now.
Season 50: If they call you, are you going?
Yeah, if they call me. But I would be so afraid because the first time you play, you have a vision of what it’s going to be like; I was like, “Oh, I could go without eating. I’m a woman who’s been on a diet her whole life!†No. It is so hard. I’m acutely aware of how much this game kicks your ass, and now I’m ten times more afraid.