Survivor 48 is over, and it has only been a week before any season discourse has already been taken over by Survivor 50 casting announcements, and subsequent controversies. Before everyone puts the season completely in the rearview mirror, knowing now the results of the season, fans can truly assess how each player's game was.
Yes, Survivor 48 as a whole left a lot to be desired. There was some frustrating, some lacking, and some outright baffling gameplay that led to a pretty predictable steamroll for most of the merge. Still, the players in power deserve recognition for their game.
Also, remember, every player that makes it on the show deserves celebration. It is incredibly difficult to get on the show at all, and put yourself out there in front of a nation, or an entire world, to be put under a microscope and scrutinised. While the ranking puts players in order from "worst" to "best", making the season cast still is an incredible accomplishment, and no one should feel down for how the game ultimately played out.
Each player played the game they needed to, and felt the decisions they were making were correct. The benefit of hindsight makes it easy for us to judge, especially with information that greatly differs from what one individual saw within the game. Just because something does not work does not mean they were not worthy of being on the show.
That said, the gameplay rankings are based on how the play worked out for the season, in combination with how well the strategy would have worked in any generic season as a whole. Simply put, not everyone voted out in order means the order of the total game ability. Many different factors are at play. That said, let's rank the 18 Survivor 48 castaways from worst to best.
18. Stephanie Berger
Stephanie was the first boot on a chaotic Vula tribe, but her spat with fellow tribemate Sai Hughley was ill-advised so early in the game, and her unwillingness to form deeper connections across the board cost her.
17. Charity Nelms
Even though Charity made it to mergatory, her bold and brash personality kept her on the outs most of the game, and she made it through due to avoiding tribal council. She was willing to try to play the game, but it was too in-your-face for this cast.
16. Kevin Leung
In another season, Kevin may have done a bit better. But his wishy washy playing the middle nature got him in trouble on Vula, and ultimately the tribe rolled with protecting Sai to eliminate Kevin, who was less strategically predictable and dealing with a shoulder injury.
15. Justin Pioppi
Justin went home in one of the most chaotic tribals to date, with a successful Shot in the Dark and forced stailmate leaving Cedrek McFadden as the only eligible voter left. Just did not do enough to argue for himself, and had some flaws in his previous gameplay, and honest that ultimately convinced Cedrek to cut him.
14. Bianca Roses
At first, Bianca was in a solid position. She put too many eggs in her ride-or-die's basket, though, so when he went home, she had to scramble. A tough tribe swap and an ill-advised, albeit completely understandable, decision to leak that she had no vote ensured her elimination.
13. Sai Hughley
There is no question that Sai was a main character, really the main character, for all of pre-merge. However, her blunt personality and demanding attitude rubbed pretty much everyone wrong, so even despite some solid strategy, she could never find her way into a solidified group that would protect her.
12. Chrissy Sarnowsky
Chrissy started strong and found her way into a core alliance on a couple of different occasions. Unfortunately, she made one crucial error that blew up her entire spot, even though what she said was correct. Admitting you will lie and backstab, and calling threats out by name, in a tribal council setting, paints a nearly insurmountable target on your back.
11. Mitch Guerra
Mitch made the Final Five, and if Jeff and the castmates are to be believed, he may have actually had a shot at winning. So perhaps this ranking is a bit unfair, but I have to go with what I see. He played a strong social game, but strategically, he did absolutely nothing to help himself win and appeared content with setting up his eventual demise. From that lens, Mitch appeared to really struggle.
10. Thomas Krottinger
Typically, a fourth boot would not jump this high, but Thomas had set himself up well before he was idoled out of the game. He had a loyal three-person alliance, a ride or die in Bianca, and had earned an advantage. He was playing a bit aggressively, which raised eyebrows, but had Kyle and Kamilla not had the advantages they did in the fateful tribe swap, Thomas likely goes very far in the game.
9. Cedrek McFadden
Cedrek set himself up to be in a powerful position so many times throughout the early stages of the game, yet his indecisiveness never really left him, reflecting the agency he had. His lack of conviction and the fact that he had not built enough strong enough connections with the remaining players kept him from being a truly relevant force in the game.
8. Star Toomey
Star could be lower on this totem, since she never found her footing in the game and was on the outs from the get-go. It was not that her social game was weak, but rather, she just did not gel with her tribe. Giving away her idol was also a mistake. However, her pulse on the game was actually strong, and the strategic ideas she had were absolutely correct, she was simply on a cast not willing to make them.
7. Mary Zheng
Speaking of being on the outs, Mary was so far out that it took her Shot in the Dark to save her premerge. Still, she managed to integrate herself well at swap and merge, so that despite her chaotic play, people still wanted to keep her around, other than Sai. She went from Vula outcast to the last Vula standing, which is impressive in its own right.
6. David Kinne
David was in a great position, until he wasn't. He was well-liked and seemingly formed solid alliances all game, and he was a physical juggernaut capable of winning most challenges. He started getting very bossy and aggressive with alliance members, though, and that quickly rubbed them the wrong way.
5. Eva Erickson
Eva made it to the Final Tribal Council and placed second, after what was a pretty impressive performance for the jury. She was physically gifted, and her loyalty to her alliance was commendable. Still, her social game was not great, essentially ignoring entire chunks of the tribe, and her strategy was pretty one-note.
4. Joe Hunter
Joe Hunter was very similar to Eva, as the two were a lockstep duo nearly all game. The biggest difference was that he played a stronger social game overall, building better relationships with players not within the core. Still, his loyalty to the end strategy hurt him a bit in the eyes of the jury, though he did nearly make history with his immunity challenge performances.
3. Shauhin Davari
Shauhin played one of the strongest under-the-radar games in recent memory. His biggest flaw was not making a move on Joe and Eva when he had the chance. Overall, though, he had a fantastic social game and solid strategic acumen that put him in a majority alliance for nearly all game. It was this that made him a threat in the end, though, when Kyle and Kamilla blindsided him.
2. Kamilla Karthigesu
The jury appeared to confirm pretty unanimously that Kamilla would have won if she had made it to the Final Three. She fell just short, though, which is why she sits at number two. She was in the minority most of the merge, and let Kyle off the hook before the final immunity challenge. Her social and strategic game was strong, though making a move sooner may have helped her. She earned her spot on Survivor 50.
1. Kyle Fraser
I am always of the opinion that whoever wins Survivor deserves it, because they played the game that season in a way that convinced the jury to vote for them. In the end, that is the entire goal of Survivor. That said, I do not subscribe to the notion that the winner automatically played the best game of the season, simply that they played the game necessary to earn the win.
Kyle, however, does reflect the best game for Survivor 48. He was by far the most well-rounded player in the game, mixing a perfect blend of social game, strategic game, physical game, and even loyalty, and staying true to his core. He earned his win and deserves the title of sole survivor. While I do not necessarily agree with him coming back for season 50, given his recent win, I credit his game as the best among a shallow strategic pool.