This past episode, Survivor 48 gave us our first major twist: a tribe swap. For some players, this was a benefit and a blessing. For others, it could be a downfall and a curse. In this case, for a Survivor who was sitting pretty, Shauhin Davari has come tumbling back down to Earth.
On the surface, the swap seemed perfect for him. He not only swapped into a majority, but he swapped with his entire California Girls Alliance intact. He went from the power in the Lagi tribe to the power in the Vula tribe. Except that is not what happened. Not at all.
The original Civa two, Kyle Fraser and Kamilla Karthigesu, devised a masterful plan. Feigning distrust between each other, and perfectly executing an idol play and an extra vote, Kyle and Kamilla survived and took out Shauhin's closest ally, Thomas Krottinger.
This move shook up the tribe dynamics entirely. Shauhin is now looking at an entirely new game; one in which he has multiple challenges to overcome.
Shauhin has three major challenges ahead of him
First, he must adapt to not having the majority numbers for the first time in the game. Since Day 1, Shauhin has been in the majority alliance and seemingly controlled any vote he would have had to make. He now faces a split tribe without having built any trust with the opposing side.
Second, he must adapt to losing his top ally. While we saw snippets of Shauhin considering his trust in Thomas, his alliance never wavered. He and Thomas were a duo, and that duo is now gone. He will have to find a new duo, but with Joe connected to Eva, is there anyone left for him to choose?
Finally, he must prepare for the aftershocks come merge. Not only will his original Lagi be shocked at losing one of their own, but the Civa two can throw the bond between Shauhin and Joe under the bus. What was once an under-the-radar alliance can be shown to be anything but, and even tougher, Civa has openly named Shauhin as a major threat.
These factors create a challenging dynamic for Shauhin. He must adapt to playing from a non-power position and rely on his social skills to get back on top. The Survivor motto is "Outwit, Outlast, and Outplay". With the game shaken up for Shauhin, he will have to put his skills to the test.
Shauhin has the social chops and strategic ability to do it. But if Vula loses another challenge, be prepared for fireworks. Shauhin will have to pull out every trick he has to mitigate his threat level and survive to see another day in the game. Time will tell how adaptable he really is.