Latest news with #blindside
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Survivor 48's Joe Hunter still leaves the game as a huge winner
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Survivor 48' recap: Mary's ‘weird-ass motley crew' plots a path against Joe's ‘core four'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Previously on Survivor 48, Kyle Fraser and Shauhin Davari were successful in an ongoing coverup of their offshoot alliance with Kamilla Karthigesu. Clocked as untrustworthy by their allies David Kinne and Mary Zheng, Kyle and Shauhin put in the work to convince Joe Hunter and Eva Erickson to betray David, using his paranoid energy against him in an epic blindside. This week, Mary attempts to band together a "weird-ass motley crew" after being alienated from her alliance. Does Mary have the social capital to pull off a blindside or is she giving away the all-powerful swing vote position to someone else? Read on for our recap of Survivor Season 48, Episode 10, titled "My Enemies Are Plottin'," which aired Wednesday, April 30 on CBS. More from GoldDerby The players still competing to become "sole Survivor" at the start of the episode were: Eva Erickson, Joe Hunter, Kamilla Karthigesu, Kyle Fraser, Mary Zheng, Mitch Guerra, Shauhin Davari, and Star Toomey. The members of the jury that will decide the winner are: Cedrek McFadden, Chrissy Sarnowsky, and David Kinne. Photo by CBS - Credit: CBS CBS "Bro, I can't take that snorin' no mo'" — Star Toomey In an attempt to make good with Mary after blindsiding her in the David vote, Eva told Mary that she did what she could to keep the vote off of Mary and promised to let her know in advance if a vote is coming her way. In saying that, Eva also made it clear that she might actually vote Mary in the future as a decoy and confirmed that she will "not be playing the idol" on her behalf. Eva returned to her actual allies (Joe, Shauhin and Kyle) to confess her conversation with Mary and how she told her she should just lay low and be a number for them, underscoring that it would be a smooth sail for them to the final four. At the same time, Mary returned to the others and gathered with Star and Kamilla to build an opposing plan that they all stick together with Mitch against the other four no matter what -- their first target? Joe. Despite her opposition to his snoring at night, Star approached Mitch with the pitch to stick together as four, even if it means going to rocks in a tied vote situation. Mitch referred to it as "the biggest joke in the game" for Star to be the one to come to him with the plan because she voted for him at the last Tribal Council. Joe and Shauhin both had their sights set on bringing Kamilla and Mitch in to their core four to get to the final six. When Kyle and Kamilla put their heads together, Kamilla confessed that the bottom four are talking about going for Joe in a 4-4 tie situation, but Kyle countered that Joe is honest about wanting to keep Kamilla around and told her that while he's not willing to go against another alliance member, he could at least give her a chance at going for Joe as long as no one learns he knew about it. Photo by CBS - Credit: CBS CBS "I need Mitch, Star and Mary as pissed off as they can possibly be" — Kyle Fraser For the Day 18 reward challenge, the final eight had to drag a buoy along a rope through the sand while having their hands and legs tied before landing three rings on a throwing target. The winner would get to escape to a neighboring island for a fried chicken and waffles picnic. Shauhin, Eva and Kyle got the best starts in the sand slithering. The leaders all flopped when trying to loosen their rings from the obstacle, leaving room for those behind them to catch up, but then Kyle held off a late surge from Joe to earn the win for himself. As the winner, Kyle chose to bring Eva, Kamilla and Shauhin as his guests, leaving Mitch feeling disappointed by his omission from the group. In his confessional on the topic, Kyle pointed out that he purposefully left Mitch, Star and Mary out of the reward so that they'd be "as pissed off as they can possibly be" to work with Kamilla against Joe. Also bothered by Kyle's decision was Joe, but he talked himself down from being upset about it and considered that Kyle chose him to "babysit" Mary. Joe also used it as an opportunity to connect to the players he hasn't spent as much quality time with, like Mary. In their conversation, Joe told Mary that the narrative was that she was in David's head manipulating his decisions against the alliance, but Mary quickly recognized Joe's honesty as a jury management tactic, solidifying her desire to get the "motley crew" together against his "core four." On Day 19, the final eight returned to the beach for their next immunity challenge. This time they used a tension rope to balance a wobbling platform where they'd have to stack blocks to spell "immunity." Before the start of the comp, Jeff offered them a bag of rice that could last to the end of the game as long as three of them would volunteer to sit out. When all eight refused to sit out, Jeff Probst was curious why the mentality of players had changed in the last few seasons. Shauhin told him that they just all want to compete. In the challenge, Jeff noted that Joe and Shauhin kept a "slow and steady" pace compared to Kyle who went "full tilt" despite multiple failed attempts. By the end, after one fall of his blocks and many from the others, Joe came back to win and claim safety for himself. Photo by CBS - Credit: CBS CBS "With this group of people, it's not slappin', it's not hittin', it's not workin'" — Mary Zheng With Joe safe from the vote, the "motley crew" needed a new target and Star chose Shauhin. When she tried to bring Mitch in, he warned her that she might need to play her Shot in the Dark, but he was still reluctant to trust Star and Mary enough to make a move with them. Elsewhere, when Mary told Kamilla that they should put their votes on Kyle ("because they won't go to rocks for him"), flags went up for Kamilla and only pushed her to work against Mary instead of with her. Kamilla went straight to Joe (and Mitch) to tell them that in the span of an hour Mary went from wanting Joe out to naming Kyle, hoping that it would move the core four's target away from Star and on to Mary. When Star and Mary realized that Kamilla and Mitch are working with the others they figured that they'd have to write each other's names on parchment. At Tribal Council, Mitch phrased the structure of their tribe as "individuals within small groups" that are trying to figure out how to move forward with each other. Jeff highlighted it as important because it underscores how there is an alliance and then people out of the alliance forced to work against each other out of self-preservation. The group also addressed the topic of "paranoia," heavily suggesting that it's the reason David is sitting on the jury (much to his chagrin) and asserting that they're all choosing to move forward on the basis of "trust." Trusting her gut over all else, Star did not play her Shot in the Dark and let the votes fall where they would: Star, Mary, Star, Mary, Star, Mary, Star, Star. By a split vote of 5-3, Star became the fourth member of the jury. Next time on Survivor... Mary finds "one more trick up [her] sleeve" and Kyle continues to wrestle with the idea of going back on his word against another ally. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article.
