Shauhin Davari played a strong, albeit under-the-radar, game on Survivor 48. His social prowess allowed him to be in the majority alliance throughout most of the game and at different stages. He did not make any particularly bold moves, but for most of the season, he did not have to. Interestingly, though, both times he was on the outs thanks to a big move, it was at the hands of Kyle Fraser and Kamilla Karthigesu.
The first time, Shauhin was swapped into what appeared to be a perfect new tribe situation. On the tribe of five, it was he and tight alliance members Joe Hunter and Thomas Krottinger, outnumbering the minority of two, Kyle and Kamilla. However, thanks to some solid acting skills, a hidden immunity idol, and an extra vote, Kyle and Kamilla survived and blindsided Shauhin's closest ally, Thomas.
The second blindside, Shauhin was not as lucky, because it came at the expense of himself. Shauhin won a reward challenge, and chose to take Joe and Kyle along with him, alienating the others. With Joe as the intended target, Kamilla and Kyle were frustrated that Shauhin chose to feed him. Joe inevitably won the immunity challenge, and Kamilla and Kyle succeeded at convincing Joe that Shauhin wanted him out and had a hidden immunity idol.
Shauhin was blindsided as his former alliance voted him out, which was facilitated by the strategic play of the duo, Kyle and Kamilla. While the two blindsided him, what was Shauhin's reaction to watching it all unfold? The sixth-place castaway sat down with EW to discuss.
At first glance, many may assume that Shauhin was a bit bitter at his vote out. He seemed stunned, and even gave off a little bit of an aura of frustration. Perhaps that feeling will play out while on jury, but months later and watching back the game, Shauhin has made it clear that he has just one feeling regarding Kyle and Kamilla's move: respect.
That is not to say that Shauhin was not shocked by the decision, according to the EW interview.
"I think I was a little confused because Kyle, Kamilla, and I were working together. We worked together on a bunch of different stuff. I was the one who helped save Kamilla because Kyle didn't want to show his secret alliance with Kamilla."
Still, he was clearly impressed with the move the duo was able to pull off.
"The shock was also mixed with a lot of respect, like being impressed. I don’t know how to say it, but if you're going to go out, you want it to be a complicated big move. You want it to be something that took a lot of effort to figure out, and 'How are we going to outshine the fox?'”
"I think that they did an excellent job doing that. And so as much as I was filled with a little bit of confusion, maybe anger, like, “'Oh dang it,' I was also equally filled with joy because that's the most respectful thing you can do to somebody like me in a game like this."
While obviously Shauhin is frustrated with getting voted out of the game, it is clear he has a respect for the game that both Kyle and Kamilla are playing. Further, being blindsided is often seen as a sign of respect by players, that they were a threat enough to merit being targeted in that way. Shauhin evidently sees himself in that light as well.
Shauhin has been a great sport about his vote out overall. It certainly hurt him to go home given how important the game is to him, but as a fan of Survivor, he can also respect the move against him and see it as a compliment to his gameplay. The question left is, will the move impact the end of the game? Does taking out Shauhin move the needle to a win for Kyle or Kamilla? And how will he view it in the moment on the jury?
Tune in tonight for the Survivor 48 season finale on CBS and Paramount+, 8:00 PM EST.