Survivor 48 Story More Powerful Than the Game
Joe's story is his own to share
Survivor 48 brought an incredibly emotional journey into episode 12. Yes, there has been a hidden season strategy within the season regarding Kyle and Kamilla’s relationship, which still seems impossible that no one in the game has recognized. Their gameplay has influenced tonight’s episode, and resulted in the ousting of a key player, but the overarching story has to revolve around one player’s story that goes well beyond the game of Survivor.
The Hidden Alliance of Survivor 48
Kyle and Kamilla have somehow remain unexposed throughout the entire season, minus David recognizing Kyle’s desire to not vote out Kamilla earlier. Despite an opportunity to vote out Joe in last week’s episode, they devise a plan to weaken his gameplay to the jury in this episode. As most players left in the game believe Joe is the castaway in the best spot to win, they want to undermine his talking points to the jury. Again, instead of voting him out last week.
They decide to concoct a story where Shauhin has flipped on the alliance (of Joe, Eva, Kyle, and Shauhin) and make Joe believe that Shauhin has an idol. Did Shauhin talk to Kyle about working together and voting out Eva? Yes. Was that subterfuge or was he trying to eliminate a player that wasn’t Joe? At this point, it’s not clear.
Kyle uses this as ammunition to explain to Joe that Shauhin has flipped, but goes a few steps forward to tell him that Shauhin showed Kamilla an idol to keep him safe. After sharing this information, Joe clearly needs time to process all of the information. Joe even talks with Eva that he doesn’t know who is telling the truth. He even indicates that Kyle and Kamilla could be creating this entire story.
So, to be clear, Joe has to determine if one of his allies is being honest to him, while also trying to figure out if another ally is selling him a story. Plus, if he understands a plan might be in place that’s based on lies, it’s perfectly logical to think that he might question whether or not it’s worth calling out that lie or letting a very capable ally go home. It’s not clear from what we’ve seen whether or not he believes Kyle, but he does vote for Shauhin to send him home.
Shauhin is voted out. Does that mean Joe was fooled? Does that mean Joe knew that Kyle might be telling him lies and he decided to vote out the biggest threat anyways? I would love to talk to Joe regarding this, because it is very clear that Joe recognized that there’s a possibility that Kyle and Kamilla are playing this lavish tale to get out Shauhin.
Trigger Warning: Survivor 48 Episode 12 Talks About Domestic Violence
Here’s the deal: I do not know the full extent of Joe’s story. This Survivor 48 episode goes into detail about his personal struggles where his sister died from domestic violence and his guilt from not being able to protect her.
In saying all of that, I do not feel comfortable talking about his experiences. If you watch Survivor 48 episode 12 (on CBS.com), Joe does an incredible job talking alone, while secluded away from the others, how tragic and difficult it’s been since his sister was taken away. Yes, I’m a writer, but there’s nothing I’d want to amplify that his own voice didn’t register in the episode.
All I can say, if anything, is that Joe’s strength, his compassion, and the guilt he feels is beyond any words I could ever adequately articulate. The scene was incredibly moving, and I can only hope that Joe has somehow found solace in this experience, because he applied for Survivor because of his sister.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Thank you for reading!
