Survivor 48 is quickly nearing its end, with just three episodes left this season and only seven players left in the fight for the $1 million grand prize.
At this point in the game, every individual immunity challenge could honestly prove to make or break a player’s gameas has been especially evident in the last few episodes. Had David won individual immunity in episode 9, he could have lived to see another day on the island. Instead, his fellow tribemates quickly jumped at the opportunity to vote David out of the game, knowing it might be one of their best chances to eliminate him from the game, given that he wasn’t safe under the protection of immunity.
This trend continued into episode 10 as the players began to concoct a plan to take a shot at Joe. Across the episode, we watched as players on the outs of the season’s dominant alliance began to form a plan to try to get Joe. It was looking like the plan would be put into place at tribal council, but then Joe won yet another individual immunity challenge which kept him safe for another week. With Joe protected by immunity, the vote shifted to Star, who became our fourth member of the jury.
Truthfully, had Joe not won the individual immunity challenge, which assured his safety in the game, we have a feeling he very well could have become the fourth member of the jury. For that reason, we’re coming to accept the sad reality that the odds of Joe winning the game aren’t looking good at all. In fact, we’ll honestly be shocked if he walks away as the winner of the game, though he is the most deserving of winning the season.
Joe deserves to win Survivor 48, but he’s too big of a threat to actually win
From Day 1, Joe has been playing one of the best games we’ve seen this season on Survivor.
Despite being a clear phyical threat in the game, Joe managed to fly under the radar through the early episodes of the game and only just recently saw his name getting tossed out actively among the players with the numbers beginning to dwindle. A large part of this is because Joe has not only been playing an incredible physical game, showing out in challenges as a dominant force, but he’s also been playing a pretty flawless social game throughout the season as well.
Joe’s strongest relationship in the game has been with Eva, someone who sought Joe out early in the game creating a strong connection as she opened up to him about her Autism and looked to him to help her in the game. The pair have been inseparable ever since with Joe showing up for Eva at every turn in the game, and Eva returning the favor by always having his back. But this relationship is just one of the many Joe has forged.
While it’s hard to know the full extent of the connections Joe has formed, we’ve seen throughout the season that he’s managed to connect with fellow players on a human level – which has been crucial to his game. The thing is, those connections don’t feel like game moves, but rather Joe has simply tried to connect with his fellow players on a personal level. This approach has helped Joe to form connections that aren’t just about alliances, but genuine connections built upon giving players a safe space.
Another great example of this is the conversation Joe and Kyle shared a conversation where Kyle opened up about his multiple arrests in his younger years and the challenges it presented in his life, and how some of the confrontations and accusations were triggering to him because of his past. This moment created a strong connection between Joe and Kyle, and we saw in episode 9 that Kyle wasn’t eager to jump onto the plan to get Joe out because of the connection they formed. Moments such as that offer up some hope that Joe could have a path to the finale; however, the sad truth is that we fear Joe is becoming too much of a threat in the game which would result in his allies turning on him as the numbers begin to dwindle.
Joe has been playing one of the best games of the season. At a certain point, we imagine even his allies will realize that if they’re sitting next to him on finale night, they might not have the best odds of winning which is the ultimate goal. He’s made amazing personal connections and also been playing an amazing physical game with a ton of wins under his belt. That’s going to be hard to beat at the end which means the target on Joe is likely going to continue to grow each day he survives elimination.
If Joe can continue to win individual immunity challenges, he can hold his fate in his own hands. However, it would not be shocking at all to see Joe targeted any week he does not win immunity, as players are likely going to try to take any shot they can get in taking him out before the finale. There is still a chance he could make it to the end and win Survivor 48, but the odds just aren’t in his favor.