Georgia Tech grad Eva Erickson brought cheer, heart, loyalty and integrity to the game of “Survivor.”
Those traits almost won her $1 million on the 48th edition of the long-running CBS reality show. But Kyle Fraser, a lawyer from Brooklyn, swayed the majority of the jury by engineering three key blindside votes with lies and deception using a secret ally in Kamilla Karthigesu.
Nonetheless, Eva received two votes out of eight on the jury.
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
On the first episode, Eva, who is on the autism spectrum, said her issues could cause her problems during the competition. She could lose her emotional center when she became overstimulated. She believed she had a hard time telling if someone was telling her the truth.
Early in the game, she chose to tell California fire captain Joe Hunter about her autism and asked him to help her if she needed it. During a challenge midway through the season, she became so upset Joe was the only person who could calm her down in a scene that caused host Jeff Probst to cry on camera for the first time. Only then did she reveal her autism to everyone.
Eva was never perceived to be a serious threat to win it all in part because her closest ally Joe, who won four immunity challenges, was considered the stronger player. She was also protected by a key immunity idol she got early in the game.
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
Kyle won the final immunity challenge and brought Joe with him as part of the final three. The other two players ― Kamilla and Eva ― had to win a fire-making challenge. Eva, while practicing to create fire before the challenge, got frustrated and began wailing, leading Joe to offer to take her place. Showing her competitive spirit, she said no.
Ultimately, she won the fire-making challenge as Kamilla struggled to even light a spark.
During the final tribal council, where the final three faced off against the jury, Eva made a strong case for winning the game.
“We’ve been saying this season that 48 is an unprecedented season,” she told the jury. “I believe you should select an unprecedented winner. We’ve had lawyers who played the middle before and win. We’ve had challenge threats play a well-rounded game and win. But you have never seen a player like me. I was not afraid to show who I am. I played very black and white, but that is because I am loyal and I wanted to play with who I am. I know that I carried more wood than anyone ever has on ‘Survivor!’ I made Jeff cry! This unprecedented season should be represented by someone who embodies what this season is. So I believe you should vote for me.”
She also did not tell anybody until the very end of the competition that she had lied about her life outside of the show, a strategic move to downplay her academic achievements. She claimed to still be at Tech pursuing her undergraduate degree and playing on the men’s hockey team. In reality, she graduated Tech in three years and was at Brown University pursuing a Ph.D. in engineering.
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
Star Toomey, who lives in Augusta, said the way Eva conducted herself during the fire-making challenge swayed her vote. “You wowed me,” she said during the aftershow.
Mary Zheng of Philadelphia gave Eva her vote because “for me, I value someone who plays in the way that is true to themselves. Eva did that through and through. Eva showed me she was hella strategic. She is a lot more intellectual than she gives herself credit for.”
Eva’s loyalty to Joe was steadfast to the end. Jury member Shauhin Davari complimented her solid social game play despite her neurodivergence.
“It was so lucky to have Joe, who was willing to be by my side and be my support,” Eva said after the show. “Besides that, every single person was supportive of me. I was willing to fight for myself and come back from the lowest point in this game. I am proud that I did that. I am proud that I was able to show what autism was like for me. It’s different for everyone who has autism, but I think this will change (how) many people who are on the spectrum think about autism.”
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