Yahoo Lifestyle Sue builds a Christmas tree in “Survivor 47” exclusive deleted scene
In May? In Fiji? Sure, why not?
Like many a Survivor contestant, Sue Smey knows how to dig deep. But in an exclusive deleted scene from this week’s episode, Sue is digging deep into something somewhat unexpected… Christmas!
Never mind that she was repping the snowy yuletide season in Fiji in the month of May — when Survivor 47 filmed — because Sue was in desperate need of a pick-me-up after her No. 1 ally, Gabe Ortis, was voted out of the game, and nothing inspires that holly, jolly spirit more than a makeshift Fijian Christmas tree.
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“With Gabe gone. I'm feeling alone today,” Sue explains to us in the scene, which can be watched above. “I'll bounce back because I do. I actually went and collected some shells. I'm going to make a Christmas tree, which always makes me feel good.”
It seems Sue may be feeling a little ho-ho-homesick after losing her island BFF Gabe, and needs that comfort that only the holiday season can bring. “Christmas, as I've always said, everyone knows, is my favorite holiday,” Sue explains. “It's the one thing that makes me feel like home. It soothes me. It brings me peace and happiness, and I figure, let me collect a whole bunch of shells that I can hang from a little tree and just have my own little shell Christmas tree in Fiji.”
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It turns out Christmas served as something of a safe space for Sue growing up. “As a child, I had a little bit of a dysfunctional childhood, so that’s the one time that I feel like our family always came together, no one was fighting. It was just like the exciting festive gathering, and the Christmas trees, and the presents, and the joy of probably us kids opening the gifts. And when I think of Christmas, it can make me smile, even on my worst days.”
And if you thought this was a reality television-induced anomaly for Sue to be tending to a Christmas tree seven months before Christmas… think again! “Year-round, I only have two Christmas trees up in my house,” Sue admits. “But during Christmas, I have six.” Yes, you read that correctly — SIX Christmas trees!
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“I don't have a big house,” Sue explains, “but I make excuses. Every room you walk into, you have a Christmas tree. It just warms my heart. It's like hot chocolate and marshmallows. It's pumpkin pie. It's people together, and Santa Claus, and I don't know, it's always been my saving grace, Christmas. A Fiji shell Christmas tree! And that's going to just make my world. “
And as Sue looks over her magnificent creation, you see it happening in real time. “See,” she remarks while gazing upon her shell-adorned tree. “It makes you smile.” Perhaps, but not as much as voting your No. 1 island enemy out of the game — which Sue would proceed to do later that night.
