I’m Sorry, but ‘Survivor 48’ Needs More Villains -

Don’t get me wrong, one of my favorite aspects of Survivor is the hero-villain dynamics that emerge throughout each season of the iconic reality competition show. They allow us to see how different approaches to the game play out, and they often result in compelling rivalries that give us someone to root for – like Rome Cooney and Solomon “Sol” Yi of Survivor 47. But Survivor 48 has stood out, not for compelling rivalries, but for having a cast made up almost entirely of “Survivor Heroes.”

Heroes on Survivor value loyalty and playing with integrity, often to the detriment of their own game. But I see so many heroes this season, it seems there’s hardly anyone to oppose them. Survivor 48 may be one of the first seasons to be run primarily by honesty and integrity over strategy and deception, and I’m not exactly thrilled about it.

‘Survivor 48’ Has More Heroes Popping Up Every Episode

Survivor 48 has been characterized by heroic gestures right from the start. In the very first episode of the season, Kyle Fraser accidentally broke the glass jug he was trying to fill during a challenge in order to win supplies for his tribe. Instead of throwing a fit over his mistake, Kyle decided to help Kevin Leung – who had hurt his shoulder earlier in the episode – fill his jug and secure his tribe’s supplies. Fans of the show know that helping the opposing tribe isn’t exactly commonplace on Survivor and is definitely a hero move. Also in Episode One, Joe Hunter expressed that he wants to be remembered on Survivor for being “a good dude” and pledged his loyalty – even at the expense of his own game – to Eva Erickson after she confided in him about having autism.

‘Survivor 48’s Power Player Is All Over the Place Strategy-Wise

Chaos seems to be working well for Cedrek McFadden.

These heroic gestures have continued throughout the season, with more heroes emerging nearly every episode, like Star Toomey giving Eva her Hidden Immunity Idol in Episode 5 because Eva solved the letter combination that released the idol from its casing. This move can be contrasted with those of earlier seasons, like when Julie “Mama J” Alley claimed Austin Li Coon’s idol as her own in Survivor 45 – and used it against him and his alliance – simply because it was in her possession. Episode 6 of Survivor 48 also showed an incredibly hero-esque alliance forming between David Kinne, Shauhin Davari, Kyle, Joe, and Eva that values loyalty, integrity, and physical strength in challenges (and drinking an excessive amount of chocolate milk?). So far, it feels to me like there are more “Survivor Heroes” this season than in all the previous seasons of the New Era combined.

Too Many Heroes Has Made ‘Survivor 48’ Feel Imbalanced

Chrissy leans on Cedrek on 'Survivor 48.' — Image via CBS

All this hero energy in Survivor 48 has resulted in some genuinely heartfelt moments, like Jeff Probst allowing Joe to comfort Eva when she became overstimulated after a challenge and Star lifting Cedrek McFadden up when he felt he had let his team down. These moments are part of what makes Survivor great, and, admittedly, they brought a few tears to my eyes. But the excess of heroic players this season has also resulted in a distinct lack of strategy or aggressive gameplay – an imbalance that, I’m sure if it continues, will cause the season to fall flat.

Usually, castaways who want to play a loyal game don’t make it very far before being voted out, often falling victim to those more Parvati Shallow-like or “Boston” Rob Mariano-esque players. But there are so many heroes this season that there may actually be enough of them to dominate the game with… integrity? I, like many fans, know that this seems too good to be true, and, as there is only one winner, they will have to turn on each other eventually. Even Jeff called David out for his naivety at last week’s Tribal Council when David mentioned that this season stands out for having a lot of players who value honesty and integrity, and Jeff replied, “Said from a guy who has yet to be at Tribal Council.” I guess the moral of the story is that I didn’t realize how much I appreciate Survivor villains until this season because, I’m sorry, but there are just too many heroes. Survivor airs Wednesday on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.