Shauhin Davari is one of the Final Eight in Survivor 48, and if I had to pick, I think Shauhin would be my pick to win Survivor 48.
He's simply playing the game that I think will win in the new era of Survivor. It's a strong social and strategic game, but it's definitely not a guarantee.
Looking at the eight remaining players, I don't think Shauhin has the best resume right now. Kyle Fraser has a great immunity idol play, an individual immunity win, and good relationships, too. Eva Erickson has a plethora of advantages, an individual immunity win, and connections, too. Joe Hunter is the most physically dominant force in Survivor in a long time, and he might run the table if Survivor keeps rolling out strength and endurance challenges. All of those players could win if they get to the end.
Shauhin is probably in the next tier of players most likely to win Survivor 48 with Kamilla Karthigesu. They are definitely ahead of Mary Zheng, Star Toomey, and Mitch Guerra. They've had their hands in all parts of the strategic game, as we've seen, but they've yet to step into the spotlight as the person in control of the game. That's by design, and it's the perfect way for Shauhin to play.
Despite that lack of signature moves so far, Shauhin is playing the well-rounded game that wins in the new era of Survivor.
First, he's made connections with every single person. People just bring him information, which is a testament to his social game. He's in the middle of the action, and he's able to steer the vote in the direction that he wants the vote to go, which has happened in almost every Tribal Council that he's been a part of.
This is such an underrated part of Survivor. He's so likable, and it seems he's genuinely just listening, talking to a friend, and caring for them. In reality, he is "planting the seeds," as they say, and letting things develop naturally. He's setting up moves that will happen several days later, which is exactly what happened with the David Kinne vote.
That next-level strategy is not something that every player has in the bag. He can't be too over-the-top with it, but he can't be too lax either. He has to thread the needle perfectly, and if he does it, he's probably going to win Survivor 48.
Putting thoughts in everyone's head isn't something that Shauhin would be able to show the jury. That's a point that Survivor 47 winner Rachel LaMont shared on the On Fire with Jeff Probst podcast.
"I think what's difficult about this type of gameplay is that if Shauhin gets the end and is like, 'Well, Jeff, I planted that seed in your mind about this one thing. And, Jay, I said that one thing. Don't you remember?'" Rachel said. "I think this is a harder type of strategy to track if you're going back trying to remind people of something that happened nine days ago that had plausible deniability because you weren't trying to push your agenda. I think that can be a more difficult type of game to explain at the end if that's all you're doing. It's not very overt."
I agree with Rachel on pretty much everything, so I think she's right on the money with this take. It's so hard to explain to people how you manipulated them, especially when it's so subtle. If Shauhin was just out here telling huge lies and creating whole scenarios that didn't happen, that's easy to point to and be like, "I lied to you to make you think this or that." But, dropping kernels of information here and there to continue to lure them into the trap, that's different.
So, it means that if Shauhin is going to win Survivor 48, he still has a lot of work to do. He still has to set the trap if he's going to claim this type of gameplay at the end of the game. I think we can all step back and appreciate the nuance, the forward-thinking and planning, and relationship development in such a short time that it takes to get to this point with Shauhin.
Now, there are multiple ways Shauhin wins Survivor 48. Clearly, he's going to have to, eventually, reveal his true allies, but he's probably going to have to turn on them, too.
He's also been pretty good in challenges so far, but I think he'll have to win a few immunity challenges, find some advantages, or make fire to have a really, really good chance to win Survivor 48.
The good thing for him is there is a lot of time to make that happen.
There are four episodes of Survivor 48! It's going to be really interesting to see what happens from here on out!