We've reached the turning point in Survivor 48, and now, the allies are turning on each other. This time, it's going to be David Kinne and Joe Hunter taking on each other in an epic battle!
Your first look at Survivor 48 episode 9, "Welcome to the Party," is here! We still have a few days before the new episode hits CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesday, April 23, but we have a good idea what to expect in the new episodes thanks to the new clip from CBS.
In the clip, Joe, David, and Eva Erickson are discussing what happened over the last few days. David reveals that his spidey senses are telling him the other members of their alliance, Shauhin Davari and Kyle Fraser, are actually working with another alliance involving Kamilla Karthigesu. And, that's why Shauhin and Kyle didn't want to vote out Kamilla.
Then, David puts his foot in his mouth and calls Joe out for going back on his word, which obviously annoys Joe. "And you went back on your word," David tells Joe.
David alleges that Joe agreed to make the move to vote out Kamilla during the reward, but then, when they came back, he was manipulated by Kyle and Shauhin.
"No, I did not go back on my word," Joe tells David.
David doubles down and suggests that it wasn't "deliberate," but Joe does not back down. Nor should he!
Watch the clip from Survivor 48 episode 9!
Survivor 48 episode 9 clip
Ultimately, I don't think David or Joe are incorrect in their series of unfortunate events that led them away from making a move to take out Kamilla. Instead, it's just a matter of perspective. David believes, very strongly, that they made a mistake voting out Chrissy instead of Kamilla, and he holds Joe responsible for that. If Joe went along with it, Eva would have gone along with it, and Kyle and Shauhin would have been forced to make a move.
David is not wrong about that, but he's wrong in alleging it was just Kyle who was swaying Joe. Chrissy made it very clear to everyone who was listening that Joe was the person she wanted to vote out because she was convinced he was the person running the game with Eva right by his side. Now, Joe had a tough decision: Does he allow the person who is trying to vote him out to remain in the game with more time to pull anyone to her side, or vote out a person who is telling him that she wants to play with him?
Joe made the obvious choice with the information that made the most sense to him. I don't think you can blame him for not loving that a person is targeting him at this stage of the game.
Now, this is where things get really interesting, in my opinion. Joe and David have been allies. Both believe in playing the game with honesty and integrity. Now, they are locked in this staring contest, wondering if the other is going to blink first. Will one of them admit their games are actually bad for each other before the Final Five? Or, will they continue trying to make things work despite very clear differences in who they think should be voted out next? Maybe, they'll even agree to take out Kamilla, Shauhin, or Kyle next, but even then, they're just pushing an inevitable showdown for the next vote or the next vote.
This is the second episode in a row that David makes an alliance member feel uncomfortable after confronting Kyle in the last episode. He's basically calling out his own alliance members at this point, and it doesn't really make any sense. It would be much better for his game to play with a little more tact and reserve some of the pointed conversations if he wants to win Survivor 48.