A Touching 'Survivor' Moment that Transcended the Game

I’ve mentioned this before, but my family always chooses—in the premiere episode—the Survivor contestant we think will go the furthest. Last year, I picked TK in honor of our MCU critic, TK Burton. TK went out in the second episode. This year, I was determined to avoid a similar disaster, but in the end, I quickly chose a contestant based on little more than good Dad vibes.

There have already been a few contestants this season who seem, early on, to be nicer than the average Survivor cast. I love Kyle, who accidentally botched a solo challenge, but ended up helping his competitor because, why not? I do not understand, however, why Kyle is yet another in a long line of lawyers who feel the need to disguise their profession on this show; there are a lot of lawyers who aren’t rich, nor do they work for corporate outfits. Why do people still vilify attorneys? But whatever. There’s also Mary Zheng, the daughter of political asylees who served in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps and now works as a substance abuse counselor.

And then there’s Joe, the California firefighter with good Dad vibes. His vibes were so good that Eva, a 24-year-old PhD student and the first openly autistic player in Survivor history, basically sought him out and confided in him about her condition. She felt she needed someone in her tribe to have her back in case things got difficult, and she put her trust in Joe. Based on the opening episode, anyway, she chose exactly the right person — a guy willing to put his game aside to make sure she’s OK. It’s not just good Dad vibes, it’s good firefighter mojo.

This is one of the most humane, touching moments in 48 seasons of Survivor, and I will be crushed if both of these players don’t make it to the end. What a terrific moment, and what a beautifully instant bond.

For what it’s worth, Joe was inspired to join Survivor by his late sister, whom he lost to domestic violence a couple of years ago. Joe has two kids and a wife, Kayte Christensen (a TV analyst who covers the Sacramento Kings) from whom he divorced but ultimately remarried three years later after therapy and continued co-parenting.