‘I laughed and cried’: An unexpected birthday party on the shores of Fiji sent a ‘Survivor 47’ finalist into a frenzy

We are mere hours away from crowning the champion of Survivor 47, with either Rachel LaMont, Sam Phalen, Sue Smey, or Teeny Chirichillo taking home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar prize. It is truly anyone’s game, as each player is entirely different from one another. It will be interesting to see which strategies and moves appeal to the Survivor 47 jury.

While speaking with the final four castaways ahead of Survivor’s unprecedented two-part finale — with part two airing tonight, Dec. 18, via CBS — longtime Survivor writer and reporter Dalton Ross wanted to go deeper than simply scratching the surface…

Discussing their best moves and whatnot, he asked Rachel, Sam, Sue, and Teeny, “What was your favorite non-game related interaction you had with someone over your first 24 days?” While Rachel fancied braiding hair and Sam fancied “playing baseball on the ribs reward,” Sue’s response was enough to make us shed a tear.

According to the 59-year-old herself, Sue’s “favorite non-game related interaction” takes us back to the early days of the Tuku tribe, where she “was battling severe stomach issues [and] vomiting, and had a relentless migraine.”

“It was tough and incredibly worrisome because the thought of being taken out of the game for something beyond my control was devastating,” she explained, but things turned around when her Tuku tribemates — consisting of Caroline Vidmar, Kyle Ostwald, Gabe Ortis, Tiyana Hallums, and TK Foster — threw a birthday party for her daughter, Chelsea.

The New York native gushed:

“We had been keeping track of the days back home, and I knew it was my daughter Chelsea’s birthday. That night, Tuku gathered around a massive bonfire and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Chelsea. It was such a mix of emotions — I laughed and cried at the same time. It was one of the most touching gestures complete strangers could offer, and it reminded me of the goodness in people.”

“For the rest of my life, I will never forget that moment,” she concluded. We cannot help but smile at this oh-so-sweet story.

This is not the first time Sue has thrown a party, though, as she found herself in the holly jolly spirit once her closest ally, Gabe, got his torch snuffed at the final nine. In a deleted scene shared via Entertainment Weekly, Sue made a makeshift Fijian Christmas tree to bring some sunshine to a rather gloomy day.

She spilled, “With Gabe gone. I’m feeling alone today… 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.” How sweet is that?

The flight school owner continued:

“Christmas — as I’ve always said, everyone knows — is my favorite holiday… 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.”

It sounds like Sue was doing a great deal of celebrating on the shores of Fiji, but did she do enough strategizing? To see if her strategies and moves were enough to take home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar prize, catch part two of Survivor’s unprecedented two-part finale tonight, Dec. 18, via CBS, with next-day streaming via Paramount Plus as well. After all, Jeff Probst promises “a tremendous finish to a great season.”