‘Survivor 48’s Kamilla Karthigesu Outsmarts the Competition with a Genius Blindside
Few things are as impressive as someone doing well on Survivor. Sure, thriving in any of the wild reality shows that fill this genre is great, but it’s only the very best that manage to succeed on this intense CBS series. Created by Charlie Parsons, players usually have to be good at everything to survive; whether it be physical challenges or complex puzzles, the program throws everything at its cast. Things like extra muscle or a background in intellectual fields can give someone the edge, but it’s only those who can leverage both their talents and their deficiencies that manage to win each season.
We’re only a few episodes in, and viewers have been shocked by just how many of season 48’s players are doing just that. From people clawing their way up from the bottom of their tribe to others using emotions to sway a vote, there have been many excellent examples of gameplay — but one stands out. One player who was in the worst possible situation but, through the ample skills she’d shown so far, managed to not only preserve her place in the game but eliminate one of the few people threatening power. Many castaways are already proving to be great players on Survivor 48, but few have solidified themselves as true all-stars like Kamilla Karthigesu.
Buff(s) Takes On a New Meaning in ‘Survivor’
It’s undeniable how many certain traits give certain people an advantage in Survivor. This is especially true for those who come into the competition with some muscle; these players have a better chance of making it to the merge as their tribe doesn’t want to risk losing their physical assets. This has been especially true on Survivor 48, a season filled with bulky men who not only use their strength to their advantage (as they should) but want to form alliances like other athletes like themselves.
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“It’s everything to me.”
Players like stuntman David Kinne or Fire Captain Joe Hunter have consolidated bonds with the other strong players to ride out the rest of the game, with Hunter developing the ‘California Girls Alliance’ with Shauhin Davari and Thomas Krottinger to do just that. This was a physically strong trio were luckily kept together after the series’ latest tribe swap — to the utter horror of Kamilla Karthigesu and Kyle Fraser, former Civa tribe members who found themselves with this bulky majority. The duo was nervous, with Kamilla’s bungled attempts to turn the men against one another by revealing one of Krottinger’s lies making her believe the next tribal council would be her last…before she learned she had nothing to worry about.
It’s not uncommon for Survivor fans to recognize how important brains are in the game — there are entire seasons dedicated to spotlighting this! Yet rarely do audiences see such blatant recognition of this as when, despite her trying to target one of their own, the ‘California Girls’ decide not to vote her out. They cite how valuable her puzzle skills and strategic mind are, with Kamilla in turn setting them against Kyle by saying how they didn’t need more muscle (while she worked with Kyle the entire time). She exhibited an elite awareness of the gameplay happening around her, seeing not only why she was indispensible but how her relative weakness could aid the pair’s survival. She established a non-threatening image, lulling the men into believing they were safe before she and Kyle conducted a devastating blindside and booted Krottinger from the game. They each deserve massive credit for pulling this off, but it’s especially satisfying to see how this tactician used people’s preconceptions about her to enact such a devious plan. It solidified her and Kyle as strategic masterminds, and it was a perfect representation of why smarts matter just as much (if not more) than strength on Survivor.
Kamilla Is the Intelligent ‘Survivor’ Icon We Need!
While Kamilla is making her mark on Survivor 48, it may be too early to label her a legend. We haven’t even hit the merge yet, and while her and Kyle crafted an expert blindside, it may just mean Joe and Shauhin aren’t going to stop until both of their $1,000,000 dreams are dead. But no matter where her journey goes from here, Kamilla is already iconic because she reminds viewers of something important: brains matters just as much as brawn in Survivor. It’s easy to forget among all the rugged players and physical feats, but audiences need to remember that these spectacles are only a quarter of what is actually required to win this show.
The best players need not only great physicality but at least some proficiency in puzzles and an overwhelming mastery in strategizing around whatever obstacles the other players throw at them. It’s unclear if Kamilla will be able to do all that and more as the season goes on, but her ability to do so now offered one of the installment’s most exciting moments and solidified her as not only one of its best players, but a poster child for all the success that comes to players who prioritize smarts on Survivor.
