Last week on Survivor, fans found themselves divided over contestant Eva Erickson receiving a clue to an advantage. The clue was placed in her individually assigned chip bowl at the Survivor Sanctuary after winning immunity. As a result, viewers speculated about the fairness of delegating one specific advantage to a single player, especially at this stage of the game.
On one hand, the advantage itself was meant for whoever won immunity, in order to ensure that they would survive the Tribal Council that was being held that night. On the other hand, it does appear to be an overpowered twist to enact for any player who already had the advantage of immunity.
Despite these concerns, Eva was able to acquire a Safety Without Power advantage, meaning she can choose to leave the Tribal Council without voting between now and the final 7. While Eva initially told viewers that she planned to keep this advantage as a secret to herself, not even a day went by until she chose to tell her majority alliance about it.
Now, fans are asking another question: Will telling so many people about her having yet another advantage be the thing that costs her the game?
Should Eva have told her alliance about the Safety Without Power advantage?
There are two ways to look at this dilemma, the main one being that Eva is already a big threat in this game. She has already won an individual immunity challenge, is part of the majority alliance, has an even tighter partnership with Joe Hunter, and was given a hidden immunity idol. Now, on top of everything, she has an extra advantage to boot. Surely if none of the other factors are making her a prime target for the vote, this other advantage will, right?
In some seasons, the answer would be ‘absolutely’. This may even be the answer on this season as well, especially now that the ‘Strong 5’ alliance blindsided David Kinne in the most recent episode. Not only does Eva not have a secret to hold over her alliance members, but having all of the information out in the open is the best way for her to be blindsided.
However, I now offer a separate argument. Eva telling her alliance about the advantage was exactly what she needed to do here. This is true for a few reasons. For one, Shauhin Davari already saw her leave camp at night and correctly deduced that she would receive an advantage. While Joe may trust Eva wholeheartedly, Shauhin is an entirely different matter.
Another point to consider is that Safety Without Power can be quite a fickle advantage that can leave a sour taste in your alliance members’ mouths. Unless you are without a doubt the clear target to be voted out, you’re likely better off letting people know about it. By telling her alliance members, Eva has created another opportunity to build trust with a group of people who already trust her greatly.
Will this lead to Eva getting voted out?
If the way Eva handled this advantage is truly her $1 million mistake, it will be for one of two reasons. One, she was already a target to be voted out, and the Safety Without Power just gave her competitors a reason to expedite the process; or two, her social game already wasn’t enough to secure jury votes, and everyone knowing about the advantage turned into a wasted opportunity for her.
Either way, Eva’s game will likely not be defined by this singular choice.
Survivor 48 airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET on CBS and Paramount+.