Survivor 46: Jem reflects on being "blindsided"

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Survivor's Jem Hussain Adams reflected on the Beware Advantage challenge that got her out of the show. She became the first Siga member to get eliminated in episode 5 of season 46, which aired on Wednesday, March 27, on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

When asked about what she thought of Maria Shrime-Gonzalez, her Siga teammate, using both her votes to eliminate her, Jem said,

"It's an honor to be blindsided."

Finding the Beware Advantage idol is a boon but could become a bane for some, as seen in Jem's case. The rehidden Beware Advantage idol went to Maria, who secured an extra vote and "blindsided" Jem to elimination. The latter went home despite having an immunity challenge idol in her pocket.

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Jemila 'Jem' Hussain's take on getting "blindsided" on episode 5 of Survivor season 46

The season, which premiered with 18 contestants, is now down to 13 and is ready to see the big merge in the next episode. Jem's elimination came right before the contestants were headed towards the merge, which is when the Beware Advantage presents itself.

Jem tried convincing her Survivor tribemates about her being on their side after they repeatedly asked her if she was the one to rehide the Beware Advantage idol. She kept denying it. Her extra convincing led to her teammates distrusting her even more, and they didn't even inform her about their votes for her in the first blindsiding of the season.

Talking about how she felt getting blindsided by her own clan and Maria using both her votes for her, Jem said,

"That's wild. I'm honored. It's an honor to be blindsided, but guess what? It is even a better honor to have two votes put on you — before you even make it to the merge."

When asked if she was ever close to telling Maria about her discovery of the Beware Advantage idol, Jem said no. The Survivor contestant said she would do the same thing if she was back in the game. However, she said she possibly could've saved herself from elimination if she had given away her secret.

At the end of the episode, Jem chose to be on the men's side and tried convincing Ben Katzman and Tim Spicer that she was with them. Charlie Davis and Maria were in the middle and couldn't decide who to vote for. Charlie's inclination towards Ben wasn't a surprise, as the pair had grown close over the past episodes, so she wouldn't vote for him, whereas Maria wanted to side with the ladies and vote out Ben.

In the first blindsiding of season 46 of Survivor, four votes were cast against Jem, as the ladies sided with the men and saved Ben. Speaking of the same, she said,

"I think Charlie wanted to work with Ben from what it looked like, and he convinced Maria. But yeah, I couldn't tell you."

Jem expressed sorrow over her teammates voting her out. She claimed that she would "provide" her team with food all the time and that they were fed because of her. She was sad that her efforts went unnoticed, and they decided to vote her out.

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Survivor season 46 is getting even more cutthroat by the day, even more so as it's inching closer to the merge. New episodes air every Wednesday on CBS at 8 pm ET.