The Survivor 48 finale is finally here, and we have some predictions to share before the three-hour season finale airs on CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesday, May 21.
As I've mentioned before, this episode is going to feel a little different than the Survivor 47 finale. That was split into two, two-hour episodes. We're starting the finale with five players left: Mitch Guerra, Joe Hunter, Eva Erickson, Kamilla Karthigesu, and Kyle Fraser.
We should see a reward challenge, immunity challenge, and Tribal Council quickly to get the game down to four players. So, who will make the Final Four? Let's get into it!
Before we begin, I want to mention that Survivor shared a teaser for the finale, and in that teaser, there appears to be some spoilers for the Final Four. I totally respect if you don't want to have any of the episode spoiled, but I will share some potential spoilers below. I don't know what happens, but I did see the teaser. It definitely appears we know who makes the Final Four. After that, who knows? It's possible that it's a misdirection, too. We just don't know for sure until we watch the episode. So, you have been warned.
Possible spoilers for the Final Four and one immunity challenge in the Survivor 48 finale below!
Who will make the Final Four?
Well, I can't pretend that I didn't see the CBS promo for the Survivor 48 finale that seemed to include Mitch as part of the jury heading into the fire-making challenge. So, I do think Mitch will be the player voted out at the Final Five. And, it makes sense, right? Joe and Eva believe Kyle and Kamilla had their back with Shauhin Davari targeting them, even though that wasn't real. Joe, Kyle, and Eva have been in a core alliance since the merge. Mitch hasn't really been part of that group, although he has worked with the alliance in the past.
We already know that Eva, most likely, is making the Final Four. This is her last opportunity to use her hidden immunity idol. Unless she plays that for Joe or another player, she's making the Final Three.
There are many layers to this decision. One, I think Kyle is close with Joe and Eva, and he's worried how a blindside on them at this point would affect his chances of getting their vote. Imagine Kyle and Kamilla taking out Joe and Eva at this stage. It might happen at the Final Four, but that's the game. A blindside can be personal, you know? If Joe and Eva are unhappy on the jury and vote against him, well, two other jurors voting against him basically means he loses.
Kamilla and Mitch would need Kyle to pull off a blindside on Joe or Eva at this point in the game, and if he's not cool with that, it can't happen. Not without advantages, anyway.
So, if it plays out how I think it will, the Survivor 48 Final Four will be: Joe, Eva, Kyle, and Kamilla
Who will make the Final Three?
Now, this is where the fun starts! In that teaser, we see Kamilla wearing the immunity necklace. I'm guessing that Kamilla is going to win immunity at Final Five, and we didn't see what's going to happen next.
Jeff Probst spoke to Entertainment Weekly and said that it's going to be very important who wins this challenge, who they take to the Final Three, and who has to make fire. Obviously, he knows what happens, but for this season, possibly more than any other in recent memory, who wins this challenge is going to have to play this part of the game correctly. And, that's because we're probably going to have two pairs of allies. Someone is going to have to stay loyal to their alliance and take their ally to the end, or they're going to have to choose the game over that bond.
If Joe wins and doesn't take Eva, that looks weird, but it also gives Kyle or Kamilla a chance for one final push before the jury. You can say the same if Eva wins and takes Joe. They have been all about honor and integrity, so it would be weird to see a "got fun" betrayal at this point for either of them.
If Kyle wins immunity, does he take Joe to stop the man with the most immunity wins from having a chance to win another challenge in fire-making? He's a firefighter after all! Does Kyle take Kamilla even though they might cause the other to lose votes? It will be hard for them to separate their games from each other in the eyes of the jury.
At first, I thought that would be more of an issue, but I really don't think it will be hard for them to claim different parts of their moves. Like, Kyle has been a double agent all season. Kamilla has been planting seeds and running people over with busses the whole time. Their games have been wildly different, and each person did their role so well.
So, who makes the Final Three? I believe that Kyle is going to win the final immunity challenge of the season. Then, I think he's going to choose Joe or Eva to allow Kamilla one chance to boost her game with a fire-making challenge win, and I think she's going to do it.
That means the Final Three in Survivor 48 will be: Kyle, Joe, and Kamilla
Who wins Survivor 48?
There's a strong case for each player to win Survivor 48! If the jury favors strategy, it's Kamilla. She was the best strategic player this season. If they favor strength, winning challenges, and control, Joe is going to win. If they want the best overall gameplay from Day 1 to Day 26, Kyle is going to win.
I wrote about it a few weeks ago, but there's really only one player that the Survivor 48 edit makes sense for right now, and that's Kyle. We've seen Joe and Kamilla get their moments, too, but Survivor is largely a narrative, and Kyle has the best narrative that we've seen.
He messed up the first Journey of the season by smashing his own jug. Then, he helped Kevin Leung. We saw him find and correctly play the hidden immunity idol. We've seen Kyle toying with this idea of being a double agent and knowing he will let someone down. We've seen how that affected him, and then we saw him rise above all of that to blindside Shauhin, a player who was a tremendous threat at this stage of the game. Kyle didn't do it alone. Kamilla was more than a solid ally to him. She saved his life in the game, while he saved hers. I wish we could have co-winners, but we saw Kamilla's story kind of fade into the background around the merge, while Kyle took center stage.
That's the reason why I think Kyle Fraser will be the Sole Survivor and winner of Survivor 48!
Now, we'll see how it all actually plays out in the Survivor 48 finale! We'll be watching and covering at Surviving Tribal.