What makes a hero or a villain in Survivor? Is it a player's gameplay, self-awareness, others' perception of themselves, a favorable/disfavorable edit, or how the fans see them? Believe it or not, what makes a hero or a villain, especially on a show such as Survivor, comes down to the mentioned above things, but mostly the edit. A player could do everything "right" and still be portrayed as shady if necessary for the season's overall story. On the contrary, if a player is being cunning, deceitful, or constantly plotting, if it's needed, they will instead be shown as a villain, an antihero, or even not as bad as they originally were.
The edit is not always truthful nor entirely correct, and viewers and even former players themselves sometimes forget that. When it comes down to it, every season needs to tell a story, and the players will be used accordingly. Having said this, a controversial player from Survivor 48 has been lauded as either the person who has carried the season this far or as someone who isn't tolerated due to her bluntness and straightforwardness when it came to playing the game. Of course, this can be anyone other than Saiounia "Sai" Hughley.
Sai started the game on the ill-fated Vula tribe alongside Cedrek McFadden, Justin Pioppi, Mary Zheng, Kevin Leung, and Stephanie Berger. Vula was such a dysfunctional tribe that they lost three members back-to-back, with Sai always being a potential target as she received votes in every tribal she attended. Sai wasn't deterred, though, and managed to find an idol, which greatly helped her to advance further in the game. However, Sai's non-filtered comments and directness also cost her a few allies in the process.
Aside from her iconic, cutthroat, and perhaps divisive confessionals, one of Sai's highlights throughout her game was her frenemy relationship with Mary. From the get-go, neither was too willing to work with the other, and after the first vote, the chances of them working together went downhill as Mary voted for Sai. Afterward, the abyss between Sai and Mary continued to grow and came to the point of Mary running around the jungle looking for an idol, with a determined Sai running after to stop her at every turn. It wasn't until the third time they went to tribal that Sai and Mary were able to mend fences somewhat, and it was hinted this newly forged bond would be a new pathway for both.
Then, the tribe switch happened, and Sai and Cedrek were sent to Civa alongside Mitch Guerra, Bianca Rosas, and Chrissy Sarnowsky, while Mary went to Lagi. Sai got a slight reprieve at the new, but still messy, Civa tribe, and Sai was safe at the next vote as her tribe won immunity. During this time, Cedrek thought his bond with Sai was restored, even though he had voted a few times against Sai. For her part, Sai started to talk to Bianca about working together to take out Cedrek, as Sai didn't forgive or forget.
At the fifth tribal, Sai escaped elimination by the skin of her teeth as Cedrek switched the vote from her to Bianca at the last second. As Sai once again received votes, Sai became upset and promised revenge at the first chance she got. As the merge came, Sai was in a precarious position as she still didn't have a solid alliance, and Sai's social game wasn't working either, as others perceived her as abrasive. Sai didn't give up and found an advantage for the next immunity challenge. The clip where Sai runs and snatches the advantage right from underneath Charity Nelm's nose will forever live rent-free in my mind, and that's precisely the type of player Sai always was: fast, unafraid, and undeterred. Later, even though Sai didn't win immunity, Sai became victorious once more as Charity was voted out instead.
At last, Sai's nine-lives cat type of luck ran out during the seventh episode of the season, as a new twist divided the players into two teams. These teams would compete not only for individual immunity but also for food and the privilege of going second to the tribal council, as both teams would end up eliminating one member each, with the first person not making the jury. Sai's team lost the reward and had to go to tribal first. Though Sai tried her hardest to connect with people such as Shauhin Davari, it was a little too late, as Chrissy, Mitch, Star Toomey, Eva Erickson, and Joe Hunter unanimously eliminated Sai, as Mitch also used his advantage to block Sai's vote.
While other targets were considered, mainly Mitch due to his incredible story to win before the jury and his challenging abilities, there was also plenty of concern when it came to having Sai on the jury. It turns out that this group was right, as Sai later revealed during her exit presser that she would've indeed been a bitter juror and would've voted for Jeff Probst, aka the Survivor host, to win the game over anyone else.
Speaking with Dalton Ross for Entertainment Weekly, Sai said she was highly disappointed to have been eliminated and not have had the chance to be part of the jury. She stated:
"I don't think I would've been happy on the jury because I would've been helping somebody else win the money. I would've been a bitter juror. It would've never worked out for any of them. I would've gone in there and voted for Jeff to win the money."
Even though Sai confessed it was the right move for the others to vote her out, anyone's personal feelings regarding Sai aside, we were absolutely robbed of having Sai on the jury delivering week by week what I can only imagine to be Eliza Orlin's level of facial expressions to the other players. In more than one way, the audience and fans were robbed of so many potentially iconic memes that it hurts to think about.
As heartbreaking as it was to lose Sai, it's essential to denote some of her other highlights and iconic moments during her stint on Survivor 48: throwing a rogue vote for Cedrek by changing her handwriting just for revenge, calling her tribemates bastards as she got her last vote blocked; having the most confessionals for any pre-juror in Survivor history with 53, and also holds the record for the most confessionals for a player in the first seven episodes of a season.
If Sai had to be categorised into either a hero or a villain, Sai would be in another category of her own. Sai was shrewd, confident, calculated, and adamant about playing Survivor. She was challenging and adventurous and always stood her ground. If Sai ever came back to play again, with a few tweaks to her gameplay, she could make a potentially more dangerous run than her first one, and I have no doubts about it. Wouldn't that be excellent TV? Sai left too soon, but no one can deny that when someone thinks about Survivor 48, they will be thinking about Sai too- and that already should be a win in anyone's book.