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USA Today
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Why Survivor 48's Joe Hunter still leaves the game as a huge winner
Why Survivor 48's Joe Hunter still leaves the game as a huge winner When it comes to playing Survivor in the modern era, strategically (and, most often, amicably) stabbing people in the back is typically part of the formula for success. A big move, a "blindside," is a coveted attribute to add to your Survivor game, showing that you can indeed "outwit" your opponents and build your reputation for being a master of strategy. When the game first started, original winner Richard Hatch caught his opponents off-guard with his purposeful conniving, but it is now a critical piece to any Survivor castaway's game to win favor with the jury. To be honest, to play Survivor the old way, with more interpersonal integrity and with heavy reliance on alliance and sheer force of strength and will, won't earn you a lot of favor with the audience and potentially with the jurors. That's probably part of why Joe Hunter, Survivor 48's third-place finisher, didn't ultimately win the competition. This latest season's winner, Kyle Fraser, absolutely deserved winning in the context of the game. He arguably played the best strategy of any contestant outside of fellow secret alliance partner Kamilla Karthigesu, he meshed beautifully with the game's two best alliances for individual survival and he showed enough poise and power in the Immunity Challenges to build his Sole Survivor case. Kyle was an excellent Survivor victor. However, for so much of the season, it seemed like Joe was steamrolling his way to the finish line playing the game his way, which was pretty remarkable considering how Survivor has dramatically evolved from its inception. Final Tribal Council is always such a tricky spot where the makeup of any given jury can swing the game in some wild directions, but Joe found a way to make himself a frontrunner while eschewing traditional game strategy for a much more honorable approach to how he tried to win the whole shebang. No, Joe did not take home the million dollars, but he is still a pivotal game player in the show's recent history and leaves a huge winner. Joe showed audiences globally that you can still be a stand-up human being and make it far on the beaches of Fiji. He showed a path to play Survivor in the modern era where you really can advance week to week by playing a nearly impenetrable social game while dominating in the Immunity Challenges. He built one of the more impressive alliances in recent memory, and he made sure to keep it intact for as long as possible. No, he did not plot a traditional "blindside" or work his strategy in the shadows, but he didn't necessarily need those tactics to make his game as strong as it inevitably was by season's end. For a modern Survivor jury, this is not the path to currying votes in the face of strategic advancements. However, Joe even making it to the final three as a viable threat to winning altogether proves that he may be the prototype for a throwback style of Survival competitor. This entire season felt like a time capsule back to the early 2000s at times, which might be why Joe gained such a foothold on the competition. Joe never really had to sacrifice his integrity to maneuver in the game (depending on how you view David Kinne's beef with him), and he clearly became uncomfortable when the winds blew in the direction of playing the modern way being the only way to make it out for the next day. Perhaps that's why he felt like a unique contender in a Survivor landscape where potential players dream of how they'll pull off big moves and "blindsides" to win the game. However, it's just cool for where Survivor has gone that you got a player like Joe with such a strong moral compass and an eye for life bigger than the game being played. It's also why Kyle was such an easy person to root for by game's end, a Survivor winner who agonized how his fully fair deceptions might impact the castaways he developed close relationships with while in Fiji. It's clear how much this cast came together at the end, and how even a modern game of Survivor can build lifelong bonds in the heat of competition. Joe's relationship with Eva Erickson, Survivor's very first openly autistic castaway and an incredibly deserving runner up to Kyle by Final Tribal Council, really cemented why the former's run on the show was so special. It was always easy to root for both of these challengers from a human perspective, but it was something else altogether to see Joe at times perhaps sacrifice his individual game to see the bigger picture with Eva. The season's most powerful moment by a mile came when Joe left his tribe to comfort Eva during a particularly troubling episode for the latter, publicly exposing their alliance in an interaction that ultimately left show host Jeff Probst in tears. The empathy and character Joe showed in helping Eva during such a harrowing moment in the game cemented the two as one of the game's all-time duos, as it could become hard to root against them in a game where it's easy to lose sight of the person behind the player. Yes, strategy in Survivor often dictates you do just that in the spirit of friendly competition, but Joe seemed willing to fall short of his ultimate goal if it kept him from doing the right thing. That's pretty moving. Joe, Eva, Kyle, Kamilla and Mitch showed moments of remarkable character throughout, and it's really cool they were the last five standing by the season finale. Joe's ironclad bond with Eva might not have endeared those who prefer their Survivor to be as cutthroat as possible, but it was a welcome change of pace and a reminder that you can still play the game Joe's way and make it very far in the competition. Sure, you might not always leave with a million bucks this way, but for so much of this season, it felt like Joe was headed his way there with ease. Honestly, you wish Joe would have made this more central to his argument at Final Tribal Council. He should get many more flowers for finding a way to play the game his way, one build on unshakable bonds and consistent brawn, in this modern era and still making it as far as he did with such week-to-week dominance. That might not sway the jurors who want their season of Survivor represented by the most impressive strategy, but it still means Joe should leave Mamanuca Islands with his head held high. For a game that proudly creates heroes and villains, Joe gets to close his run on Survivor 48 as a clear hero. If his mission in heading to Fiji was that the world could see what a good guy he was and prove that even the good guys can find success in the world's greatest game without even strategically compromising their character, then mission accomplished. As a friend who is a huge Survivor fan shared with me in conversation about the finale, we have a feeling this season of Survivor will age well because of the genial spirit that largely dominated the island this go-around, and we have a feeling even those who didn't like Joe's game this time around for its lack of traditional "blindside" strategy will grow to appreciate it more in the years to come. Joe played the game his way with honor and determination, and he would have certainly a worthy Sole Survivor because of it.
Miami Herald
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘Survivor 48' Finalist Joe Hunter Reacts to His Surprising Loss: ‘It All Falls on Me' (Exclusive)
Survivor 48 is here! Every week, Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the castaway most recently voted off of the the incredibly fluid modern Survivor game, Joe Hunterwas solid. The 45-year-old hit the beach for a very unique reason, looking to play the favorite game of his late sister, as well as get some closure for her sudden death. And, in the process of honoring one family member, he found a new one out on the island, forming a bond with Eva Erickson that went beyond the game. Joe came in wanting to play honorably and loyally, not to compromise who he is. And, astoundingly, he was able to do just that, dominating the latter half of the game as part of an unbreakable majority. Unfortunately, the fire captain couldn't feel the flames that were licking at his heels by his allies, who were surreptitiously controlling him to blindside his own people. And so, while Joe made it to Day 26 in a commanding fashion on his own values, they were evidently not the values of the jury, giving him a third-place the Survivor 48 premiere, despite not being a massive fan of the game, Joe had a mindset to change it. Unlike the cutthroat behavior of modern-day seasons, he wanted to preach loyalty, and focus on getting a committed group to the end. And that first member of the group came in Eva, who revealed her autism diagnosis to him on Day 1. He also locked in with the "California Girls," and quickly cemented himself as one of the figureheads of his tribe. Unfortunately, Joe's first Tribal Council of the season provided his first shock as well, as Kyle Fraser and Kamilla Karthigesu pulled the wool over his eyes. But that strategic misfire fell to the wayside days later, when Eva suffered from an "episode" following an anxiety-ridden challenge performance. In that moment, the game faded away, as Joe quite literally crossed tribal lines to help calm down his number one ally. It was a beautiful gesture, one that had even Jeff Probst in tears. And it also proved one thing to the other castaways: When Joe says he's got you, he's got may be a reason, then, why Joe became such a popular person come merge. He was quickly brought in on an alliance of the physical players by David Kinne. And they were able to carry out Joe's dream plan, picking off the outsiders while simultaneously remeaning wholly committed to one another. On top of that, with keeping everybody on lock, as well as winning four Immunity Challenges, players were declaring that, if he sat in the end, he would clean up the jury votes. Except Joe didn't realize, under the surface, there were some holes in his game, courtesy of a couple of Holes superfans. Much like they did in their first vote, Kyle and Kamilla were able to leverage their secret alliance a couple of times in the postmerge. They successfully convinced Joe to turn on some of his tightest allies not once, but twice, with David and Shauhin Davari. So Joe did succeed in his goal, making it to Day 26 alongside two tight allies in Eva and Kyle. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And once Kyle revealed that he was the one controlling the game, not Joe, the fire captain's winning chances were day after the finale, Joe speaks with Parade about his reaction to how the jury votes shook out, the fan response to him pursuing a more loyal and group-forward game, and being able to seek closure for his sister's death out on the Read our Survivor 48 pre-game interview with Joe Hunter The past few episodes, we had a few players saying that, if you got to the end, you would win based on your likability and dominant performances. And so quite a few of us were shocked to see that you only ended up getting one jury vote. What was your reaction to how everything shook out?So obviously this has been extremely difficult in terms of you're kind of the last one to get the microphone. Meaning the people that are at the very end, you hear all the other exit press. You hear everyone's perspective. But what was really difficult is you hear back, as you're watching it, people are blaming you for being there, or, "He had a part in whatever right, wrong or different." But that's their perspective, and you think, "Okay, so I've heard several people say this is why I'm here. But you get one vote." So, man, I really thought long and hard about how to handle this, because there's some things that are said in exit press. There's things that are done that you're like, "Man..." Here's my whole perspective. I just got to start with me at the end of the day. Listen, I could sit here and blame, and I have a lot to say about certain things. I could blame this person or that person. "Why did they do that? You did this, you did that." At the end of the day, it's me. If I didn't do it, if I didn't get a vote, it's because I didn't do something. And I just got to take ownership of that. It all falls on me. And I wish that's maybe said a little more. We all have a part in our own loss. And I must have done something; maybe I'll get that feedback from them one day. But I must have done something that they didn't that point, David in particular has been talking about how you lied to him, despite wanting to play a game of loyalty and honesty, even saying you swore on your family to him. Surprisingly, we didn't really see that topic get broached at final Tribal Council. Was that really the case?It gets blurry when you play it back. But to that concept, that was implied there. Yes, it's difficult when I hear that, because I couldn't disagree more. I couldn't have a harder, different perspective. And that's what I've been trying to do in this whole process. I'm like, "Joe, just try to be respectful of this. That's their perspective." But when it comes to lying and deceit or whatever, with David specifically, it's like, "Listen, that's your perspective." And I feel what happened on the island and how I was treated by that person and treated by a few others in the moment, that trust was broken before any of that happened. And I didn't play a perfect game, and I absolutely made mistakes. But I will strongly disagree that my game was deception, or that I lied. There was a lot other pieces to this that are, "Hey, that's not how it went down from my point of view at all." But I want to respect if that's how he saw it or others, then I'll respect their opinion. But I couldn't disagree of the many revelations you experienced on Day 26 was that Kyle and Kamilla had not only been working closely together, but concocted a plan to get you to turn on Shauhin. What was your reaction to that bomb being dropped in the moment?Did you know how close they were in the moment?So I don't want to disrespect their game. Because it would be unrealistic to say that any of us knew the depth of their relationship. Sure, we see people talking. But I'm going to flat out say no, I did not know that the depth of their relationship. And good for them. That's it, period, end of story. Sure, hindsight, "Oh, I knew this. I knew that." No, I didn't, and I'm proud of that in a weird way. Because, listen, what makes this complicated that people can't really see is both Kamilla and Kyle shared very intimate things that are just between us, that are off-camera, that I know is real, and I know is deep. And I want to believe that. But then you're hit with lies and deception. And so what makes it complicated is, if you think about it, in your own life, if a friend told you something very personal and real, but then gameplay blindsides you with deception, that's why your head gets scrambled. You're like, "Man, I know this piece is real, so there's no way they're lying to me about this." And so, yeah, was I lied to? Yeah. Did it work? Yeah. And I think that with trust, you have to lean all into it. And that's why you get hurt, you can't be half then when it comes to the Shauhin element of it, because, did they get us with Thomas? Absolutely, period, I was not ready for that. With David and Shauhin in particular, him and I had an argument. [It was] a much more intense, emotional argument that was kind of outside of just theory. We talk every day. We strategize every day. He's a great person and very intelligent, one of the best players out there. But we fought that day about just other things. Coconuts on the beach, and "What's wrong with people? What's wrong with you?" And we just fought, and they knew that, and we gave that away as a duo. And because we fought, and this might be hard for people to understand. If we don't fight, he doesn't go home. And I don't mean that like he fought, I sent him home. It meant we didn't have a normal discussion. "Why do you just ask him this? Why didn't you ask him that?" It's because we had fought like a couple. We just fought like a married couple and and we couldn't recover from it. And they were smart and bright enough players to see the crack that we created. Two days before they come up with this plan, and we're hitting like we normally do, we have a normal conversation. We hug it out. It's over in two minutes. And we had had a really big emotional disagreement, not about the game, and then it spilled into the conversation that you see. So that's kind of how my answer to it is. It's not to take away their game. But we fueled that last piece by our lack of ability to get over our said consistently, from the time we talked in the preseason through Day 26, about how you wanted to buck the trend and play a game about loyalty and bringing a group to the end. And, to your credit, you succeeded in doing so. But you ultimately came up short with the win. So do you think this type of gameplay is something that can lead to a winning game in a modern Survivor season?Man, great questions as usual. I mean here's what I say with that. What's hard to hear is, yes, I had a plan of getting a group to the end, or this loyalty thing. But it gets spun into, "Oh, I'm saying that [there 's] this hierarchy. I'm better." That's really hard to hear, because that's not the memo. My idea was you can't make it to the end, in my opinion, alone. At some point, you have to trust someone. And the more that you can trust, I feel, the farther you could go. And I just want Survivor fans to just be okay with letting someone play the way that [they want]. If their game is just lying, that's the difference. I'm okay with that. That's your game. And if I don't want to do that, it doesn't make me better or worse. It's just my path. And I think I want the game to stay that pure, just because I don't play it your way, it's not that I'm better than you. It's just what I wanted to do. Because I have some things in the bank that I have to remind myself there. You know what, buddy, [if] I'm 21 years old with no kids and no wife, maybe I do play this differently, I don't know. But in my life right now, with what I've been through, it's just like, "Hey, I'm gonna dive into this, try to be this person that is based out of we can trust each other." And that's not a perfect kind of algorithm, but it's the best that I'm going to do. And I think there's room for that today. Absolutely. I hate that it has to be one or the other, right. I think that you also need to read the season. David comes to me early. H"ey, I got five or six others that are down to do this." I do the math. That's a lot of people. And if I'm on a season that I land [on] and it's like nothing but cutthroat, well, guess what? I'm going to have to figure out how to move my way into that. So I also don't want it to have the perception of, like, there's only this way you gotta get there. Read the crowd, and then go, "Alright, this is what we're doing." And then I gotta make a decision. So, yeah, I think there's and I spoke about how even just going out to Survivor was in honor of your late sister, who you lost to domestic violence. And we see you get a moment of closure with her after receiving your loved ones letters. Talk me through that for anybody that knows, that was 100% real. That wasn't scripted. And I had heard that maybe that was too much for camera. And it really was that the letters from home, seeing my wife, both my kids, this ability to work my way through this and apologize, them giving me the clarity to just be courageous enough to be vulnerable. The weight of that with my sister, I've been carrying on for so long. But also domestic violence, and how many people's lives it just crushes. It destroys people's lives, and we don't talk about it enough, especially from a male perspective that was directly involved with it, meaning it was my sister. And listen, everything I do every day, every weight I lift – which I do a lot of – is in six for Joanna. The letters in her name: J-O-A-N-N-A. And we got down to six, and she was with me, and I felt that. And out there, it was just like, "This is time." And I also wanted to do it for everyone that's suffering from domestic violence or in a horrible situation, just to see like, "Man, this dude is just going to let it fly." And it is something that I will never, ever be able to explain. I'm so grateful to Survivor, to production, to everybody that allowed me to do that and then allowed it to air like that. I was just also left the island with some new "family" in the form of Eva. What was like getting to leave the game with a relationship you never thought you'd get out there?When it comes to Eva, this is the thing that I try to focus on. Imagine I'm on a different season. Imagine I'm on a different tribe. Imagine she doesn't even have an "episode." She just works through all the challenges and it never comes up. We have the private conversation and it never comes up. It all had to align for this relationship to take off the way that it did. Sure, we'd be tight. But what happened and what she was able to able to overcome, I'm just blessed. I was along for the ride, and she put me in a position to allow me to help her without her asking. She could have asked anybody; it doesn't happen the same way. And she will always be a part of my life and my family's life. I love that girl, and I always will. Related: 'Survivor 48' Runner-Up Eva Erickson Reveals Her Firemaking Autism 'Episode' Was Actually 'Much, Much Worse' (Exclusive) Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Survivor 48: Ranking the 5 remaining castaways in likelihood of winning the game
On Wednesday night, Survivor 48 will come to a close, with show host Jeff Probst overseeing who will be crowned the latest Sole Survivor in show history. It's been a roller coaster of a season, one that has provided fans with a throwback to how Survivor used to be played as opposed to the more strategy-led approach that has dominate recent seasons. While we can't tell with certainty who will be the last castaway standing after the Final Tribal Council, we've gone through the final five contestants and ranked them with their likelihood of winning the game. Let's run through all five of these Survivor 48 castaways and discuss why they're favorites or underdogs at this stage in the game. Mitch sticking around like he has throughout the season, often on an empty stomach, deserves a lot of commendation. He's got a great story, and his fellow competitors have consistently mentioned how his perseverance should be considered as a threat with the jury at final statements. Mitch has played a good game, but he just lacks the Immunity Challenge showcases and moments of inspired game play his fellow remaining competitors have gathered this season. It won't shock us if Mitch makes it to the final three, but we're not sure he'll have as strong of a case as some of the other castaways this season. Even so, we're glad Mitch made it this far. A wonderful castaway this season, Eva deserves so, so much credit for being the first openly autistic Survivor contestant. She has played an inspired game, winning an Immunity Challenge, building an incredible alliance with Joe that has dictated so much of this season and finding game advantages along the way she hasn't even needed. She's been a steady force in guiding where this season of Survivor has gone so far. However, if the jurors have to choose between Joe and Eva at the end, it's likely to be the former for how much he dominated those Immunity Challenges and how much he's led the alliance they both had with Kyle and Shauhin. Being such a dedicated member of a Survivor alliance can have its downsides if your fellow competitors don't necessarily find you to be the top threat in that group, after all. Eva more than has what it takes to make it to Final Tribal Council, but we're not sure she'll make it across the finish line as the Sole Survivor. Even so, she's been a remarkable castaway this season, and we'd love to see her back in a future Survivor competition. Kamilla and Kyle's hidden alliance has been one of the most consequential movers and shakers in this game, and it's been arguably the best showing of strategy between two contestants this season so far. If the jury rewards the castaways in this game playing the most modern game of Survivor, Kamilla absolutely should be considered a threat to win it all with Kyle. She's won an Immunity Challenge, too, so that helps. However, her chances of winning are solely based on how well her alliance with Kyle can withstand the Final Immunity Challenge. If Joe wins yet again, it will make it tougher and tougher for Kamilla and Kyle to remain in lockstep with each other in the final phases of the game just based on who is left. Kyle still has a bond with Joe and Eva that Kamilla does not, and Kyle is the biggest threat to win outside of Joe. Kamilla will be a real factor to win if she makes it to Final Tribal Council, but Joe and Kyle have the overall edge right now going into the last final days. Still, Kamilla has played a strong game of modern Survivor. Make no mistake about it; Kyle is the biggest non-Joe threat to win Survivor 48. If you're basing this off how the game has been played in recent years, Kyle has been the most impressive modern Survivor contestant this season. If Kyle and Joe both make it to Final Tribal Council, it's really a coin flip as to who the jury will select. Kyle has taken an admirable approach to playing Survivor the old and new way, leaning on his relationships and his strength and building a modern alliance in secret for strategic purposes with Kamilla. Sure, he doesn't have the overwhelming success Joe has with Immunity Challenge victories, but he may win over the jurors who appreciate how he's been able to get the best of both worlds while in Fiji. If he wins, don't be shocked. Outside of Joe, Kyle feels like the only "right" choice to win, given how well he's melded past and present approaches to playing Survivor. Honestly, you could make an argument he's the favorite in that view. Ever since the beginning, Joe has felt consistently like the biggest threat in the Mamanuca Islands to be crowned Sole Survivor. He has masterfully built an alliance with Eva that has withstood almost the entirety with the game and showed his glowing character by helping her in a touching moment that brought Probst to tears. Joe has been adamant throughout the show that he wants to win the game the old-fashioned way, without any deception and on the merits of his accomplishments through Immunity Challenges and honest social bonds. If he wins, it will hearken back to the original days of the show and prove that, even in the modern era, a contestant like Joe can absolutely steamroll through a season and win the game entirely. His fellow castaways had a golden moment to vote him out of the game during "Coconut Etiquette" but chose Mary instead. It was the real strategic folly of this entire game for the castaways, but it also showed why Joe's empathetic approach has its strategic advantages, too. How do you vote somebody out with whom you have a strong relationship? At this point, Kyle feels like the only realistic contestant to beat Joe in the Final Tribal Council if he makes it there, barring a surprise surge from Kamilla late in the contest. The other castaways have constantly talked about how Joe has been the biggest threat to win all along, and that may work against him in crunch time if Kyle, Kamilla and Mitch get a chance to vote him out before the final four is set. Joe is going to have to give it his all in the Final Immunity Challenge because he's got a huge target on his back if he doesn't win it. However, we still like Joe's odds to win it all at the end despite his real challenges to even get in position to win. He's been the strongest player throughout the season (depending on how you like your Survivor played), and his honorable game play hasn't hindered his success. He should be considered the favorite for now. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Survivor 48: Ranking 5 remaining castaways in likelihood of winning
