When new fans who are figuring out which seasons to watch first think about Survivor, it seems like a simple show. However, fans of Jeff Probst’s beloved reality show who know that some former players refused to return and about the medical evacuations will recognize how complicated Survivor is. After all, if someone wants to play in a great season with the best players ever and become one of the respected winners, a lot of things will have to go their way.

During a recent interview, Joe Hunter said something about Survivor 48’s jury that epitomized why it is so hard to win the game. Based on Joe’s remarks, it turns out that he completely misunderstood what his chances to win Survivor 48 were.

Joe Hunter Significantly Misunderstood The Survivor 48 Jury

During Survivor 48, there were some people who stodd out. For example, there is no doubt that Eva Erickson, Star Toomey, Shauhin Davari, Kyle Fraser, and Kamilla Karthigesu all made their marks on Survivor fans.

As popular or noteworthy as all those players were, many fans felt that Survivor 48 largely revolved around one player, Joe Hunter. As a result of the mark he made on the season, it is fascinating to learn what Joe had to say about Survivor 48 after the fact.

Some remarks that Joe made about Survivor 48 after the season seem to have largely flown under the radar. During an interesting interview, Joe made remarks that revealed how easily Survivor players can completely misunderstand the jury members.

In May 2025, Joe was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly about his Survivor 48 experience.

During the interview, Joe was asked which jury votes he thought he would get during the final tribal council. In response, Joe revealed he thought he was certain to get votes from Shauhin Davari, Mitch Guerra, and Chrissy Sarnowsky.

“Man, it’s hard now because you see it back, but I thought Shauhin. I know that sounds crazy, but I thought Shauhin because he’s such an intellectual guy, he’s such an intelligent guy that is so levelheaded 99.9% of the time. There’s just things where you go, ‘Hey, I thought that would be there.’ And I know this sounds crazy too, Mitch. I did! And I say those two because some of the conversations that you have, you go, ‘Man, I really…’ And Chrissy. I thought some of those were on lock.”

On top of thinking he had three votes locked down, Joe had more thoughts about the votes he would get at the final tribal council.

During his interview, Joe explained that there was a fourth vote that he believed he had a good chance at getting during the final tribal council.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Joe explained why he thought David Kinne might give him his jury vote.

“I was very up in the air about David. I didn’t know because you’re like, ‘Okay, well maybe they don’t love me, but they might love me more than the other two.’ I thought maybe he would see that his number one had voted him off. Maybe he was still frustrated with Eva and he had had a very kind of strong person win the game model. And because of the challenges I had won, I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe he just defaults to that.'”

Even though Joe walked into Survivor 48’s final tribal council feeling confident, he revealed that his opinion began to change.

During his Entertainment Weekly interview, Joe explained that he grew to realize he may not win as Survivor 48’s final tribal council proceeded.

“So there was those kind of couple that I thought were going to vote [for me], but you can see it unfolding. You can kind of see body language as it goes. It changed in my head immediately, but that’s what I thought going into it.”

As a Survivor player, it is pivotal to pick up on social cues. Joe went on to explain how his ability to do that affected him during Survivor 48’s final tribal council.

Even though he still felt he had a shot during the final tribal council, Joe explained what made him feel like his chances of win were getting smaller and smaller. While talking to Entertainment Weekly, Joe explained that seeing how the jury reacted to his final tribal council answers made him realize he could lose.

“I still thought I had a good dog in the fight, but you see the eye-rolls, you see the body language, and and I hate to say this part too, but you kind of wonder like, ‘Man, how many came in like 60% already loaded? Yeah, they gave us a shot, but how many did?’ And you don’t know. Or again, I just default to: Well, I must have not done what they wanted. I’ve got to take ownership somehow. That was me.”

Joe’s suspicion that the jury was siding against him mostly turned out to be true.

In the end, Chrissy’s jury vote was the only one that Joe received during Survivor 48’s final tribal council.

Why Fans Should Learn From How Much Joe Hunter Misunderstood Survivor 48’s Jury

At first glance, learning how much Joe Hunter initially misunderstood Survivor 48’s jury could seem like just an oddity. However, what Joe said about the jury is actually much more informative for Survivor fans than it might seem at first.

When fans are sitting at home watching Survivor, it can be easy to feel like they completely understand the season. As a result, fans were certain that Michele Fitzgerald should have lost Survivor: Kaôh Rōng and Aubry Bracco should have won. After all, the fans understood the game better than the jury who let their bitter feelings get to them, right?

However, that is an obviously silly instinct since fans only see a small fraction of the events that happen during a Survivor season. However, that aside, Joe’s comments really should make it clear that Survivor fans can’t understand the game as much as they think.

During Survivor 48, Joe was on the same tribe as Shauhin Davari until he voted out his ally. Since Joe and Shauhin spent many days playing the game together, it seems like they should have understood each other. However, Joe misunderstood Shauhin enough to not realize that he wouldn’t get his jury vote.

If Joe didn’t understand Shauhin as well as he thought, that should really show Survivor fans that they can’t possibly understand the game as well as they think. As a result, maybe fans should stop being so judgmental of the players.

On the other hand, judging players and their moves is what makes Survivor fun. Still, fans have to remember that Survivor players are real people and be respectful of them, even when they are having fun judging how they played.