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Survivor “best season” finishes in lockdown

Jeff Probst hosts finale from his garage ahead of $2m winner. No spoilers!

No Spoilers!

Survivor‘s “best season” -according to host Jeff Probst, has ended with a lockdown announcement of a $2m winner.

The “Winners at War” finale, with returning champions competing, began with Probst hosting from his own garage.

Producers had supplied a makeshift tribal council set he assembled. This season was denied its studio audience reunion in LA, which is traditionally where Probst announces the winner.

This time the finalists heard the news via Zoom. The winner became the second-only $2m winner, following Sandra Diaz-Twine having won the show twice.

The episode was also notable for discussing gender bias.

“It made me realise that if a woman in this game lies or cheats or steals, she’s fake and phony and a bitch,” one woman said at Tribal Council. “If a guy does it, it’s good gameplay.

“It’s a gender bias, it holds me back. It holds other women back from playing the game the way we should be playing the game,” she added.

“I can do a lot of things. I’m not scared.”

Jeff Probst noted he had shifted his perspective across the 40 seasons.

“Let me own my part. I am certain if I look back at all of the comments I have made over 20 years, I would find the exact same bias in me — who I call by last names. Guys have different relationships with each other, and I might not know how to have that relationship with a woman,” he expressed.

“So, I’ll definitely own that I don’t think I saw it when Survivor started, and I don’t think I even knew I was supposed to look for it. But I’m very much aware of it now, and I’m grateful that we can open up and investigate, even though it comes with crisis or hardship or it comes with some tears. Whatever it is, it’s out there and it’s being talked about,” he said.

Probst indicated Survivor is committed to filming and airing Season 41 “this fall” (filming in May was suspended), and even encouraged viewers as young as 16 to apply.

NB: No comments around winner will be published until later tonight.

27 Responses

  1. I’m probably going to upset a few people here but I found the show as a whole a little boring. Sooo much talking from the contestants to camera, so little of the former quest to fish and to find food…..you know, surviving. I think it’s lost a lot in the quest to change the format to keep it interesting.

  2. We nearly got through a whole season without a political angle. Jeff should give all players the respect of using their first names – no surnames or nicknames.

  3. Several thoughts.
    1: All three were worthy finalists. I was cheering for Nat but Tony also deserved the win
    2: I feel for Michelle. Not even Wendall chucked her a vote!
    3: Great endgame but they should have done one more regular sized episode.
    4: Frustrated opportunity not having more Zoom chats. We had a glimpse of all 20 contestants at the start but not one word out of any of them?
    5: So rude not to talk to either of the other final two.
    6: I totally get they couldn’t do a promo for season 41 but no teaser or tidbit info as to what they’ve got planned?
    7: I hope if they use Fire Tokens again, they fix the mechanic of how tokens are transferred and notes are played. “I happened to look in my bag and found a clue”?. Lame. How about a ‘mailbox wall’ which they each check daily?

    I know how frustrated they would have been not to be able to have the biggest live…

    1. I know how frustrated they would have been not to be able to have the biggest live celebration, but it was a season that really deserved a debrief.

      1. Regarding the votes for Michelle, several players (Nick, Adam, Wendell, Danni) have said they would have voted for her but voted for Tony as they did not want Natalie winning and wanted the right person to win the season. This is on player’s social media and some exit interviews they have done.

      1. I quite like the last minute scrambling as it has the potential to change up plans at the last minute. Too often we see a solid ‘pack’ voting how they please, which is boring to watch, so anything that might impact ‘pack’ voting, i’m all for.

        I think I also like it because it’s just something that evolved and I love how this show continues to grow and develop in that way.

      2. My Comment of the Week award, David! No one should be allowed to say anything that is not audible to everyone present. I nearly ditched this season after the terrible Tribal when Tony asked, after the vote, who someone voted for.

        1. Thanks. The idea of reality is that the audience is privy to the conversation too. But it’s just gotten out of control here, and it undermines host authority in my book. They should live or die based on the deals they have done and we see if it pays off.

  4. Jeff’s memory not the best? Re Gender bias – Kass brought this up ages ago in Survivor Cagayan…
    twitter.com/KassMcQ/status/1260740812251574272

  5. Too many idols and advantages this season.
    Should have given those on edge of extinction more opportunities to get back in game. Hope next season can be filmed soon. No reason cant be filmed in the US somewhere remote

    1. Agree, I will add that I am not a fan of edge of extinction or a second chance at all. When you out you should stay out.

      As for idols, understand the need for it and it does bring a different dimension to the game but what about every contestant gets and idol at the start to be used whenever they feel like it. But once used it is done and again, no second chance as such.

  6. Although I was hoping for another person to win the final it was indeed strange how the format changed with the current social isolation. But to not even talk to the 2 contestants who didn’t win was a letdown and kind of rude given how much time was given to treating everyone as ‘part of the survivor family’. It was like they had 2 mins to deliver the result then the satellite time cut off.

  7. Surprised they didn’t at least have an online-only reunion show as it seems the only reason they didn’t have one, according to Probst, was lack of air time.

      1. I was surprised with the no reunion as well. But Jeff said there was so much going on. For me the 3hrs went by really quick. I think it was better with no reunion.

      1. I think this will be for Season 43 onwards as they were preparing to film season 41 in March which got delayed til May and is now postponed indefinitely. After that they would have filmed season 42 sometime in the summer in the same period Winners at War was filmed last year. So I am guessing seasons 41 and 42 were already casted and these applicants will be for 43 onwards which could be 1-2 years away now.

  8. Some things will change permanently post Covid 19 such as working from home. Jeff has taken this to a new level but the technology is there for FTA to broadcast remotely via the internet. Studio 10 from KAK’s garage maybe. It has been interesting to see just how networks have been handling all of this. Jeff would surely be allowed to have his hair/makeup artist there with him.

  9. Loved the Survivor finale…I thought it was hilarious Jeff and his son set up the set. I hope the instructions were more clearer than the Ikea flat pack instructions.

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