Survivor 48 has ended, and has largely been pushed aside with all the talk of the upcoming milestone season 50. This is in part due to the fact that season 48 was pretty sleepy for the second half of the season, with the power alliance basically just marching to the end with minimal resistance. That being said, one of the more powerful storylines was the connection between alliance members Eva Erickson and Joe Hunter.
Survivor has been on for 48 seasons, and has seen plenty of strong alliance members, duos, and emotional moments. Very few, however, reached the level that Joe and Eva did. Eva, who was open and honest about her challenges in the game as a result of her autism, with Joe from day one, became overstimulated after a challenge, and it was Joe who came over to help calm her down.
This moment was so powerful, in fact, that Jeff actually started crying for the first time on the show. Similar moments between the two were seen throughout the show, and it was immediately clear how powerful a connection the two had, far beyond just game strategy. Since the show has aired, Eva has spoken at length about what Joe meant to her, not as a teammate but as a person.
There is absolutely no question that Eva is an incredibly inspirational player. Coming onto a social game like Survivor and being open, honest, and vulnerable about her autism and the challenges that come along with it in a social game such as this one is incredibly brave. It also shows others on the spectrum or with a range of other diagnoses that they can reach and succeed at any dreams they set.
That is what made the moment after the challenge between Joe and Eva so impactful. It was a moment of raw vulnerability combined with true human-to-human emotion and connection. In an interview with People Magazine, Eva shared what that experience was like for her and what Joe was for her in the game and simply as a person.
“My brain just got put in this big cycle, and I’m stuck in a loop of ‘I can’t do it. Why can’t I do it? What’s going on?’ The second that I finished all of this stress and pressure that was overstimulating me just took hold of me, and I became ungrounded, and everybody around me didn’t know what was happening. Externally, it just looks like I’m screaming a bunch."
That is when Joe came over and helped ground her by holding her hand, hugging her, and helping her breathe.
“This compression helps calm me down, helps bring me back, get grounded, and this just works wonders on me in a situation like that. And I was able to get my head out of that loop, like this loop that’s been spinning and spinning, now I’m able to break that and actually re-center myself and reset and rejoin the game.“
She is aware of the impact she had on others in the moment as well.
Eva wanted to make sure that Joe knows exactly what he means to her, even now.
“I want to tell Joe that he's my superhero. He is an amazing man, and I am so thankful I got to meet him through Survivor, and that this is someone who, regardless of what happens in the rest of the game, he will always have a place in my heart. He saw me in this hard situation — and he had the tools and knew what to do — and he acted on that.”
For Joe's part, he never once thought about anything related to the game. He simply saw Eva in distress and had to go over to help her. You can watch the full scene below.
The relationship Eva and Joe shared is one that may never be replicated on Survivor, or any reality show, ever again. It was a perfect blend of personalities destined to play the same show, start on the same tribe, and work together so closely. Joe provided Eva something she needed in the game, but the truth is, Eva provided Joe something as well.
The two balanced each other perfectly and were assets to help each other move through some challenging, emotional, and, in Joe's case, even tragic, moments in the game and outside of it. It is a great reminder that while Survivor is a game, the players in the game are still people, with real emotions, struggles, and connections, and hopefully, the two continue to inspire others for years to come.
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