Survivor 45

Running 90-minute episodes for the entire season, Survivor 45 documented an eclectic cast, including Emily Flippen, who pivoted from tribe outcast to social nexus, and returning player Bruce Perreault, whose abrasive personality made him the center of many tribal conflicts, notably against Katurah Topps. The season also saw the return of classic Survivor elements like the tribe switch and auction. Strategically, the season came to be dominated by the Reba Four alliance, which marched unimpeded to the end as its rivals proved futile in aligning against them. Spearheading the alliance was Dee Valladares, who was ultimately crowned the season's Sole Survivor over Austin Li Coon and Jake O'Kane.

Production[]

The 45th season was filmed in the same production cycle as Survivor 46 and, despite the lifting of COVID-19 safety protocols, retained the 26-day format established in Survivor 41.

On May 10, 2023, CBS announced Survivor 45 as part of its fall programming schedule; in a first for both series, it was confirmed that Survivor 45 and The Amazing Race 35 will air 90-minute episodes instead of the standard 60-minute episodes, making for a 180-minute primetime block.^[4] The prolonged runtime was heavily attributed to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike which halted the production of several scripted shows, leaving timeslots to be filled.^[5]

Bruce Perreault, who was evacuated on the first day of Survivor 44 due to a serious head injury, was formally invited by Jeff Probst to return to Survivor 45 on the first episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst,^[6] which he accepted.

In response to the trend of players replicating and practicing Survivor puzzles before competing, the challenge department committed to retiring many recurring puzzles used in past challenges.^[7]

Twists/Changes[]

• 26-Day Game
• Returning Player: Bruce Perreault was invited to compete on the season following his Day 1 evacuation in Survivor 44.^[8][9]
• Tribe Division: The 18 castaways were divided into 3 tribes of 6. No unifying theme was used in dividing the tribes.
• Amended Sit-Out Rules: Starting from this season, tribe members will no longer be allowed to sit out in back-to-back challenges, including after an elimination.
• Penalties for Losing Immunity Challenges
  • Pre-Merge: The tribe that lost an Immunity Challenge was forced to surrender their flint to Jeff and could only win it back if they won the next Immunity Challenge.
  • Post-Merge: The members of the team that placed last in the Immunity Challenge at the final nine lost their right to vote at the upcoming Tribal Council.
• Shot in the Dark
• Beware Advantage/Hidden Immunity Idol: Each tribe had one Beware Advantage which directed its owner to a series of clues to the idol's hiding place. The idols were concealed in a container which the player must break. The idol was originally usable for one Tribal Council, but its lifespan may be extended if its owner sacrificed their vote at their next two Tribal Councils.
• Observing: The tribe that finished first in the first Immunity Challenge nominated one member to go to the losing tribe's camp, where they had the opportunity to talk to the losing tribe members ahead of Tribal Council. The observer was also given the ability to secretly cast a vote against one of those tribe members via Tree Mail.
• Journeys
  • Safety Without Power: On Day 5, castaways from different tribes were taken to another island. Separately and in private, each castaway could decide whether to wager their vote and undertake an individual challenge for the advantage. If they completed the challenge in time, they would receive the advantage; otherwise, they would be unable to vote at their next Tribal Council.
  • Advantage Amulet: The castaways who attended the Day 11 journey were given the option of taking a sandwich or the Advantage Amulets.
  • Regain Vote: At the final nine, the losers of the Immunity Challenge were given the chance to regain their lost votes by completing an individual challenge.
  • Individual Immunity: At the final seven, the castaway who went on the journey was given the option to compete in an individual Immunity Challenge; success would grant them immunity at the next Tribal Council, while failure would cost them their vote.
• Goodwill Advantage: The person that participated in the raid on Day 6 could give this advantage to one member of the raided tribe. This advantage allowed its holder to restore one vote at any Tribal Council where they would have otherwise been unable to vote.
• Tribe Switch: A tribe switch occurred on Day 8, shuffling the remaining fifteen castaways into three tribes of five.
• Earn the Merge: The final 13 players were divided into 2 teams of 6 by random draw. The teams competed in an Immunity Challenge where the members of the winning team won individual immunity, a spot on the merge tribe, and the merge feast. Before the challenge, the odd player out predicted which team would win the challenge; if they were correct, they would also receive immunity and the merge feast.
• Double Elimination: On Day 14, the Dakuwaqa tribe was subjected to a Double Elimination, where the tribe was divided into two groups of six and two castaways were eliminated through two separate Tribal Councils, the first of whom would not join the jury. Following the Immunity Challenge, one group remained at the Dakuwaqa camp, while the other was sequestered at the old Lulu camp for the afternoon.
• Simplified Final Four Tribal Council
• Expanded Jury and Final Three: The Final Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing an eight-person jury.
• Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak individually, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists. The discussion was divided into three portions—"social", "physical", and "strategic".

Castaways[]

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation			Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Hannah Rose 32, Baltimore City, MD Therapist	Lulu			Quit Day 3	0
	Brandon Donlon 25, Sicklerville, NJ Content Producer	Lulu			1st Voted Out Day 5	4
	Sabiyah Broderick 27, Jacksonville, NC Truck Driver	Lulu			2nd Voted Out Day 7	2
	Sean Edwards 34, Provo-Orem, UT School Principal	Lulu	Reba		3rd Voted Out Day 9	3
	Brando Meyer 22, Seattle, WA Software Developer	Belo	Belo		4th Voted Out Day 11	3
	J. Maya 24, Los Angeles, CA Singer	Reba	Reba		5th Voted Out Day 13	10
	Sifu Alsup 30, O'Fallon, IL Gym Owner	Reba	Reba	Dakuwaqa	6th Voted Out Day 14	6
	Kaleb Gebrewold 28, Vancouver, BC Software Salesman	Lulu	Lulu		7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 14	16
	Kellie Nalbandian 29, New York, NY Critical Care Nurse	Belo	Lulu		8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 16	5
	Kendra McQuarrie 30, Steamboat Springs, CO Bartender	Belo	Belo		9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 17	6
	Bruce Perreault 46, Warwick, RI Survivor 44	Belo	Lulu		10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 19	5
	Emily Flippen 28, Laurel, MD Investment Analyst	Lulu	Belo		11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 21	2
	Drew Basile 22, Philadelphia, PA Graduate Student	Reba	Belo		12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 23	6
	Julie Alley 49, Brentwood, TN Estate Attorney	Reba	Reba		13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 24	13
	Katurah Topps 34, Brooklyn, NY Civil Rights Attorney	Belo	Lulu		Eliminated 8th Jury Member Day 25	1
	Jake O'Kane 26, Boston, MA Attorney	Belo	Lulu		Second Runner-Up	8
	Austin Li Coon 26, Chicago, IL Graduate Student	Reba	Belo		Runner-Up	0
	Dee Valladares 26, Miami, FL Entrepreneur	Reba	Reba		Sole Survivor	2

Season Summary[]

The 18 castaways were divided into three tribes of six: Reba, Lulu and Belo. Lulu struggled the most, losing four of the first five challenges, being quickly reduced to its last three members. While Emily initially found herself targeted for coming off as abrasive, but slowly secured the trust of her remaining tribemates. On Belo, the undefeated tribe came to be defined by tribal dysfunction centered around the rivalry between Katurah and returning player Bruce. On the dominant Reba, a core alliance of four formed between Dee, Julie, Austin, and Drew. The tribes merged into the Dakuwaqa tribe on Day 13.

With Belo and Reba entering the merge with five members each and Lulu down to only Emily and Kaleb, Reba capitalized on Belo's tribal fractures, reducing them to just Jake and Katurah while wiping out the remaining Lulu in separate power plays. Prior to Lulu's extinction, however, Austin and Drew decided to turn on Julie. When Austin notified Dee (whom he had developed romantic feelings for) of his and Drew's plan, the latter went behind his back and divulged their agenda to Julie, who played Austin's Hidden Immunity Idol to save herself. The former Reba turned on each other in the next round, with Dee using her social connections to blindside Drew.

In a last-ditch effort to turn the game in his favor, Jake attempted to make amends with Katurah and orchestrate a seemingly foolproof plan to out Dee involving an idol, but Katurah reneged on the deal and helped eliminate Julie instead. After narrowly escaping elimination the next day thanks to Jake and Katurah's failure to work together, Dee won the Final Immunity Challenge and elected to bring Austin to the Final Three. This forced Jake and Katurah to compete in the fire-making showdown, which the former won.

At the Final Tribal Council, both Dee and Austin argued over who had more control over the game, while Jake argued that he persevered despite insurmountable odds. Ultimately, Dee's revelation that she told Julie to play the idol without telling Austin earned her the jury's respect, and she was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-3-0 vote over Austin and Jake.

Voting History[]

		Original Tribes			Switched Tribes		Merged Tribe
Episode		1	2	3	4	5	6		7		8	9	10	11	12	13
Voted Out		Hannah	Brandon	Sabiyah	Sean	Brando	Null	J. Maya	Sifu	Kaleb	Kellie	Kendra	Bruce	Emily	Drew	Julie	Katurah	Jake	Austin	Dee
Vote		No vote1	3-0	2-1	3-1-1	3-2	0-06	10-1	5-1	4-2	5-3	6-1	4-3-1	1-010	4-211	2-1-1-010	No vote12	5-3-0
►►	Dee	—	—	—	Sifu	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	—	Kaleb	Kellie	Kendra	Jake	Julie	Drew	Katurah	—	Jury Vote
►►	Austin	—	—	—	—	Brando	None5		—	Kaleb	Kellie	Kendra	Jake	Julie	Julie	Julie	—
►►	Jake	—	—	—	—	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	—	Julie	None9	Kendra	Bruce	Julie	Drew	Dee	—
►►	Katurah	—	—	—	—	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	—	Kaleb	Jake	None4	Bruce	Julie	Drew	Julie	Eliminated			Dee
►►	Julie	—	—	—	Sean	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	—	Kaleb	Kellie	Kendra	Bruce	Emily	Drew	Jake				Dee
►►	Drew	—	—	—	—	Brando	Kaleb	J. Maya	Sifu	—	Kellie	Kendra	Jake	Julie	Julie				Austin
►►	Emily	—	Brandon	Sabiyah	—	Brando	Kaleb	J. Maya	Sifu	—	Kellie	None4	Bruce	Julie						Dee
►►	Bruce	—	—	—	—	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	Sifu	—	None8	Kendra	Julie						Austin
►►	Kendra	Brandon2	—	—	—	Drew	Kaleb	J. Maya	Sifu	—	Jake	Jake							Austin
►►	Kellie	—	—	—	—	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	Sifu	—	Jake									Dee
►►	Kaleb	—	Brandon	Sabiyah	—	—	None7		—	Julie										Dee
►►	Sifu	—	—	—	Sean	—	Kaleb	J. Maya	Bruce
►►	J. Maya	—	—	—	Sean	—	Kaleb	Emily
►	Brando	—	—	—	—	Drew
►	Sean	—	Brandon	Kaleb	Dee
	Sabiyah	—	None3	None5
	Brandon	—	None4
	Hannah	Quit
Notes: ^1 Hannah quit the game at Tribal Council. No official vote occurred for her removal. ^2 In an unaired twist, as part of Belo's first-place victory at the first Immunity Challenge, they sent one of their members—Kendra—to observe the losing tribe—Lulu—for the afternoon. As part of the twist Kendra was also given the ability to anonymously cast a vote at Lulu's Tribal Council. However, the vote was negated due to Hannah's quit canceling the formal vote. ^3 This castaway found the Beware Advantage containing a clue for the Hidden Immunity Idol, and until the idol was found, they were barred from voting. ^4 This castaway lost the challenge at the summit, thus they were unable to cast a vote. ^5 This castaway abstained from the vote in order to extend the duration for which their Hidden Immunity Idol could be used. ^6 All votes cast were negated, causing a null vote. Per the rules of Survivor, a vote restart occurred. ^7 This castaway played their Shot in the Dark, making them ineligible to vote at Tribal Council. The scroll they selected read "Safe", negating all votes cast against them. ^8 Bruce lost his vote as a result of having the most money left over at the end of the Survivor Auction. ^9 This castaway played their Shot in the Dark, making them ineligible to vote at Tribal Council. The scroll they selected, however, read "Not Safe", thus all votes against them remained valid. ^10 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user. ^11 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^12 Instead of a traditional vote, the winner of the Immunity Challenge, Dee, would choose someone to take with them to the Final Three. She chose Austin. The remaining two castaways would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Trivia[]

• Survivor 45 is the first season of Survivor to feature only one returning player.
• Survivor 45 is the first season since Winners at War to have an opening title sequence, and the first season since Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers to air the opening title sequence.
  • As confirmed by Jeff Probst, each version of the titles featured "Easter eggs" intended to provide insights into each episode.^[10]
    • In "Brought a Bazooka to a Tea Party", the Beware Advantage was shown, foreshadowing the discovery of the Hidden Immunity Idol later in the episode.
    • In "No Man Left Behind", a Hidden Immunity Idol was shown, foreshadowing Austin and Sabiyah's acquirement of their idols in the episode.
    • In "Music to My Ears", a clip of Buffs being thrown foreshadowed the upcoming tribe switch.
    • In "I Don't Want to Be the Worm", the Advantage Amulet was shown, foreshadowing its introduction in that episode's journey.
    • In "I'm Not Batman, I'm the Canadian", the Shot in the Dark die was shown, foreshadowing Kaleb's successful Shot in the Dark play in that episode.
    • In "The Thorn in My Thumb", the Immunity Necklace was shown ahead of the first individual Immunity Challenge of the season.
    • In "Following a Dead Horse to Water", a gavel was shown hitting a sound block, teasing the upcoming Survivor Auction.
    • In "Sword of Damocles", the hourglass from that episode's summit was shown, teasing the challenge that the losing team at the Immunity Challenge had to compete in.
    • In "How Am I the Mobster?", the Lulu idol was shown, foreshadowing Bruce's decision not to play his idol.
    • In "This Game Rips Your Heart Out", the green rock that Emily ended up drawing to go for the journey was shown.
    • In "The Ex-Girlfriend at the Wedding", a helicopter was shown, teasing that episode's reward.
    • In "Living the Survivor Dream", a knife striking flint was shown, teasing that episode's fire-making challenge.
• Survivor 45 is the first season since David vs. Goliath to include the "Previously On" segment at the start of each non-premiere episode.
• Survivor 45 is the first season since Winners at War to not have the jury vote be 7-1-0.
  • This is the first season since Ghost Island where every jury vote was read.
• Survivor 45 is the second season, after Panama, where every finalist shared the same birth year, 1996.
  • This is the first season with a Final Three to hold this distinction.
• Survivor 45 is tied with One World, Survivor 44 and Survivor 46 for the fewest people voted out during the tribal phase of the game, with four.

References[]