If there's one player who needs a big move to win Survivor 48, it's Kamilla Karthigesu.
So far, Kamilla has been playing and largely controlling Survivor 48 from the shadows, but she's not part of the majority alliance of Joe Hunter, Shauhin Davari, Eva Erickson, and Kyle Fraser. In a clip from Survivor 48 episode 10, "My Enemies Are Plottin'," Kamilla shared her thoughts about where she stands in the game.
"I think the alliance running this game is Joe, Eva, Shauhin, and Kyle," Kamilla said in a confessional. "I do 100% trust Kyle, but I'm definitely not part of the core alliance. I'm being used just as a number. That's not cool with me. It just feels like they just want to take competitors to the end."
I mean, Kamilla's not wrong. That seems to be how things have been shaping up for a few weeks now, but I don't think that actually serves anyone left in the game. No one should want to sit next to Joe Hunter. That's just a fact. Who wants to win second place? That's the awkward power dynamic right now. Shauhin, Kyle, and Kamilla are sitting right in that next level. If Joe and Eva are gone, there's their path to $1 million.
"So either I can sit her and get picked off, or I can flip and join the people at the bottom," Kamilla continued.
Kamilla seems ready to make that big move, but question is can she pull it off? There are really two opportunities left with seven players left in the game (now) or next week when there are six players left. At the Final Five, if she makes it with the majority alliance, Kamilla is definitely the person on the bottom. At Final Six, she might be on the bottom, but she's one player and an advantage away from making a huge move. That's probably the ticket to the end for Kamilla.
Will Kyle Fraser flip on Kamilla or Joe, Shauhin, and Eva?
Unfortunately, Kamilla is running out of time to make that move, and it looks like she might be running out of allies. If Kamilla can't convince Kyle Fraser to make a big move in one of the next two episodes, Kamilla is definitely getting voted out of Survivor 48. There's no question.
Looking at the players left in the game, there's no question who the biggest threat is remaining if you're in the majority alliance. It's Kamilla. Mitch has an outside chance to get hot during the challenges and roll off a few immunity challenges to get to the end; that's true. But, Kamilla is probably the smartest player in the game this season, and she has wiggled her way out of several tough situations. Now, her only real ally is in the majority alliance, and she's on the outside trying to make a move.
It makes so much sense for Kyle, Shauhin, Mitch, Mary, and Kamilla to team up and split up Joe and Eva. But, it also makes a lot of sense for Joe and Eva to take out Kamilla to split Kyle up from his ally. So far, we haven't really seen that cutthroat aspect of Survivor play out yet this season, and it's a bit weird, honestly. I love a good blindside and betrayal as much as the next person, and I do think we are heading for that with Kyle and Kamilla unless they continue to work together.
But, I have a sneaking suspicion, based on the sneak peek of Kyle breaking down in tears, that he's planning to vote out Kamilla to stick with the majority alliance. He wants that one-in-four chance at $1 million rather than the higher risk but higher reward play to go with Kamilla, Mitch, and Mary.
Mary was prominently featured in the Next Time on Survivor preview, too. We know from the CBS synopsis and the teaser that Mary is going to be the player who tries to "stir up chaos," but is that just a misdirection for everyone to target Kamilla? That's what I would do if I were Shauhin, Eva, and Joe. Kyle might be cool as part of the alliance now, but he's not part of that Lagi connection. Does that still matter? Probably not, but if Shauhin doesn't want to betray Joe, Kyle is the odd man out in that alliance. The same can be said about Shauhin, but it seems like he and Joe, the original members of the California Girls Alliance, do have a good connection, one possibly better than Joe and Kyle's connection.
I don't know what's going to happen, but if I'm Kamilla, I can't feel good about where things stand as the biggest threat remaining outside of the Core Four. Even if Mitch and Mary commit to working with her, she could definitely still be voted out if Kyle flips on her.
I still have high hopes for Kamilla, though. I ranked her pretty high on my list of players most likely to win Survivor 48. The path is there, but it's going to have to be that big move that really reshapes the game for it to happen.
We'll find out in Survivor 48 episode 11, "Coconut Etiquette," on Wendesday, May 7!