This week’s episode of “Survivor 48” opened with Eagan native Eva Erickson celebrating her alliance of five physically strong castaways — her day-one ally Joe Hunter, stuntman David Kinne, debate professor Shauhin Davari and lawyer Kyle Fraser — plus substance abuse counselor Mary Zheng, who has attached herself to Kinne.
“You guys, I’m pumped. I’m so pumped. This six here, I’m pumped,” Erickson said.
From there, the players discussed trust as well as who they’d send home next. They had the numbers and could easily pick off the remaining contestants one by one. “I think that as long as it’s not one of my people, I don’t care,” Erickson said.
If only it was that easy.
Davari and Fraser have become increasingly wary of Kinne and Zheng and that doubt goes in both directions.
“I feel that David and Mary are being extremely paranoid,” said Erickson, the show’s first openly autistic player. “I get that we’re at nine and that if one person from our group swaps, then it changes everything. But nobody’s gonna swap to me. Like I feel like I trust all of them. And so I’m not liking that there is this weird extra tension.
“It sucks for the people I trust not to trust each other. Please, like you guys are so cool, please just be friends. I want all my friends to be friends.”
In last week’s episode, Erickson found a clue to an advantage that required her to, after dark, sneak away from the shelter to the opposite side of the camp. After she thought everyone was asleep, she did just that.
“I’m really excited, but I need to make sure that I don’t get caught with my pants down. So I start creeping my way out of camp and I don’t think that anybody sees me go,” Erickson said.
However, Davari did indeed see her leave and immediately woke up Hunter and share the news and his concern that Erickson was likely earning an advantage.
“He’s super worked up, but I am not worried at all about Eva. I’m not. She’s a team player and I trust her with my life. So, whatever it is, we’ll talk in the morning,” Hunter said of his close ally.
Two choices
After crossing the beach, Erickson arrived to find her advantage was an extra vote for tribal council. But if she’s willing to risk it, she can choose from one of two bamboo tubes, one of which will cause her to lose the extra vote, while the other is a safety without power advantage, which allows Erickson to leave tribal council before the vote. She doesn’t get to vote, but she also can’t receive any votes.
“I’m in the middle and everybody trusts me, but they don’t trust each other,” she said. “And all hell could break loose if something goes wrong with this core group that I’m working with. This extra vote is good, but a 50/50 shot at having a safety without power, being able to evacuate tribal and stay safe, that seems like a huge advantage here. I think I’m gonna risk the extra vote.”
After choosing the correct bamboo tube, Erickson was given yet another chance to upgrade her reward to a full immunity idol, making it her second after the one sales expert Star Toomey gave her earlier in the season. The catch is that she has three bamboo tubes to choose from and if she makes the wrong selection, she leaves with nothing.
“Oh boy, like, I have an idol, but, like, two idols? That’s big. And do I get greedy here? This is a big decision and the game is at a really tough spot. I feel like I have all the ammunition right now, like the artillery is full. I think that I’m sitting with the most power in this game currently. And that’s a great feeling, but it’s also a dangerous one.”
Erickson ultimately chose not to take the risk and returned to camp with the safety without power advantage. And just like Hunter predicted, the next morning she pulled him aside along with Davari and Fraser — but pointedly not Kinne and Zheng — to share the news.
“I almost blew a gasket last night, but her telling me all this information solidifies trust,” Davari said. “She’s dangerous to win this game for sure, but I trust Eva. I’m not coming for Eva.”
Voted out a friend
The rest of the episode revolved around further discussions of trust, with talk of blindsiding Kinne.
“I don’t understand why people are starting to get spooked about each other, but maybe I just feel extra safe because I do have an idol. And maybe I feel extra safe because I’m not recognizing people lying,” Erickson said.
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“I hate that I might have to go against my word to David, but it’s so hard for me, because I do see things in very black and white. Like, I trust you or I don’t. And here, I’m like, I trust Mary and I trust David. I trust that they are with me, but I don’t know if they’re with my people.”
At tribal council, Erickson and her tight three went ahead and voted Kinne out, who was clearly furious. (Kinne also revealed in an Entertainment Weekly interview that his girlfriend did dump him when she found out he didn’t win, as he told the castaways she would earlier in the season.)
That leaves Erickson’s foursome now equal in numbers with the other four players in the game, meaning things could flip yet again in the next episode.
“Survivor 48” airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
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