Survivor 48 contestant David Kinne has been one of the most well-liked castaways this season, with his bright personality, love for whole milk, and dreams of winning the one-million dollar prize to purchase a home with his girlfriend, being a story the audience can get behind. Throughout seven episodes, Kinne has quickly made connections due to his natural ability to be friendly, as well as build trust with nearly half the players left in the game. That said, this past Wednesday’s episode proved that Kinne is beginning to get too overconfident in his game, and started to showcase traits that are much more villainous.
Kinne has already positioned himself in a reliable alliance, having built a group of strong contestants with players like Eva Erickson, Shauhin Davari, and Joe Hunter. However, he managed to improve his power in the game during episode 7 when he won Individual Immunity, but did so while trash-talking his opponents. All contestants were required to pull and balance a bucket of water without it dropping, making it easier for those who are more physically gifted to succeed in the challenge. Knowing that the competition was going to be effortless for him due to his strength, Kinne didn’t hesitate from telling his tribemates that “he’s got this,” and decided to perform much of the challenge one-handed in hopes that they would give up.
David Kinne Wins Immunity Challenge with Arrogance
Kinne continued to hint to many of his competitors that he wasn’t struggling, and could manage the difficulty of waiting for them to drop the bucket. After both Kinne and Hunter had won Individual Immunity for outlasting their fellow castaways on their respective teams, the two battled it out for reward for almost an hour, which set a Survivor record for the challenge. Kinne would eventually emerge victorious, with his castmates congratulating him on the win and setting a new record, but his cockiness and narcissism wouldn’t end there.
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After winning the Immunity Necklace, Kinne continued to gloat about his position in the game, explaining how he’s “not surprised” that he’s in a comfortable spot. There’s no doubt the 39-year-old has the social skills and the physical ability to be one of the most intimidating players going forward, but his overconfidence in challenges and inflated ego this deep into the game will make him an easy target. Charity Nelms was most recently a victim of this type of gameplay, who was sent home during episode 6 after underestimating her competition. Although the tribe ultimately decided to eliminate Cedrek McFadden at the latest Tribal Council, Kinne was already beginning to question the idea of voting out Davari, who has put trust in the former up until this point. Kinne initially seemed desperate to connect with others and find success quickly in the game, and now that he’s achieved it, he’s starting to sabotage his own game.
Could Kinne Be ‘Survivor’s’ Next Villain?
In addition, he doesn’t have a very strategic plan moving forward, as he’s interested in keeping stronger players in the game for a longer period of time in order to have a competitive finish to Survivor 48, instead of eliminating threats as soon as possible. The stunt performer also claims that he intends to play Survivor without having to betray others and manipulate his peers, but if he continues with his know-it-all mentality, he will likely be blindsided or be forced to go against his morals to stay in the competition. Kinne hasn’t even shied away from being overtly arrogant in front of his tribemates, and it looks like they’re about to catch on to his self-centered gameplay very quickly.
In the preview for episode 8, multiple players are shown complaining about Kinne, seemingly becoming frustrated with his power-hungry attitude. Players such as Kyle Fraser can be seen confronting Kinne about his gameplay, while Kamila Karthigesu calls him the “biggest idiot” on the island. The Immunity Challenge winner was already questioning when his alliance was going to break up, and it seems like he might be at fault for it after slowly becoming Survivor 48’s next villain. Survivor is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
