There’s no doubt that the world fell in love with Joe Hunter when he first hit our screens in Survivor 48, forming an early alliance with Eva Erickson that he saw through to the end.
While fans are excited to see him back, they’re nervous about how he might fit into the game against returning players, especially when two of them were pretty recently his allies. While he’s clearly made a name for himself as a loyal player who is good to have in your corner, will joining Survivor 50 alongside two of his former castmates put a target on his back?
Joe’s Quick Stats
Survivor Career: Survivor 48 (3rd Place)
Total Days Played: 26 days
Total Votes Against: 1 votes
Individual Immunity Challenges Won: 4
Individual Reward Challenges Won: 1
- Combined reward and immunity challenge
Immunity Idols Played: 0
Advantages Played: 0
Survivor 48
After hugely contributing to the Lagi tribe’s win at the marooning challenge, Joe went back to camp and began developing strong bonds with his tribe mates—most notably Eva Erickson, who he vowed from day 1 to protect at any cost after she disclosed her autism to him. He also formed the “California Girls” alliance with Thomas Krottinger and Shauhin Davari, which Joe suggested they bring Eva into when they noted they needed a fourth.
Joe continued to be a part of the Lagi tribe’s wins until a tribe swap moved him to the cursed Vula tribe. Thankfully, he was placed with allies Thomas and Shauhin, giving him a 3-2 majority over former Civa members Kyle Fraser and Kamilla Karthigesu. And when they lost the next immunity challenge, the three planned to send Kyle home until he played an immunity idol and blindsided Thomas.
After placing first in the following immunity challenge—breaking the Vula loss streak—Joe stepped out of tribal lines and comforted Eva while she was experiencing what she referred to as an “episode” after an extremely emotionally stimulating challenge. The tribes returned to camp where new Vula bonded over their shared experiences outside of the game, bringing Joe and Shauhin closer to Kyle and Kamilla.
After placing first in the following immunity challenge—breaking the Vula loss streak—Joe stepped out of tribal lines and comforted Eva while she was experiencing what she referred to as an “episode” after an extremely emotionally stimulating challenge. The tribes returned to camp where new Vula bonded over their shared experiences outside of the game, bringing Joe and Shauhin closer to Kyle and Kamilla.
With a seat open, the Strong Five sort of brought Kamilla into the mix as the new bottom member of the alliance. But the game was getting tighter and tribemates outside of their alliance continuously stating that Joe will win if anyone takes him to the end, Joe pushed to win as many immunity challenges as possible, guaranteeing his safety, and having him double down on confirming loyalties with his alliance—sparking his own bout of paranoia. And when Kamilla and Kyle convinced Joe that Shauhin was hiding an immunity idol, he knew he could no longer trust his day 1 ally and helped the two blindside him.
Though he didn’t win the Final Four immunity challenge, Kyle did and chose to bring Joe to the end, putting Eva and Kamilla against each other in fire. Eva won and she, Kyle, and Joe sat next to each other at Final Tribal Council where Joe explained how he planned to play the game loyally and how he stuck to that plan. He received one vote, which secured him third place in a 5-2-1 vote that granted Kyle the title of Sole Survivor.
Survivor 50 Predictions: How far will Joe go?
With Survivor 50 being filmed right after Survivor 48 aired, Joe, unfortunately, could be in big trouble from the start. His entire season had future jury members continuously stating how big of a jury threat he’d be with his story and his loyal social gameplay. This time around, that’s the kind of player that needs to go early as far as the more strategic castaways are concerned. He’ll need to ensure he avoids Tribal Council at all costs pre-merge in order to make it to the individual game otherwise he might be an early target.
Joe Hunter Survivor 50 Player Score
In a remake of Heroes vs. Villains, Joe would clearly be on the Heroes tribe, for multiple reasons. Not only does he actually stand by the social loyalty he promises in the game, but he also won 61% of the total challenges across the season, contributing well to both the tribe wins and almost tying the individual immunity record. But being a recently recognized Hero is not going to do him any favors and he’ll need to drastically change his gameplay style if he wants to make it with the old school players.
Outwit (Social Game): 9/15
Outplay (Physical Game): 11/15
Outlast (Strategic Game): 3/15
Wildcard Factor: 1/5
Total Player Score: 24/50
Will Joe surprise us all with a few villainous tricks up his sleeve this season? We’ll find out when Survivor 50 premieres Wednesday, February 25 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount +!