Survivor 47 Finale Recap: And the Winner Is…
Rachel, Sam, Sue and Teeny. Four castaways are left at the top of Survivor’s Season 47 finale. But who won the grand prize and the highly coveted bragging rights? Let’s get into it!
The episode jumps right into the very last immunity challenge, which looks like a doozy. Being the final challenge, the stakes couldn’t be higher. As we all know, the winner here will handpick who will join him or her in the Final 3, and which two players will face off in the often griped about fire-making challenge. (It’s me. I gripe.) There’s a muddy net crawl, a gate to break through, letter tiles, a combination lock, a machete and lastly, a hanging bat puzzle! This challenge is no joke, but it’s worth fighting for. The winner will 100% face the jury and have the opportunity to plead his or her case to the jury.
More from TVLine
Can we be frank here for a sec? This challenge only comes down to Sam vs. Rachel. And might I add: This entire season is going to come down to Sam vs. Rachel. No shade. And as we watch things unravel, it’s neck-and-neck between (who else?) Sam and Rachel in the puzzle, as Jeff hits us with some important stats. Over 350 women have played Survivor over 46 seasons, and only four of them have won four individual immunity challenges. They are: Kelly Wiglesworth (Borneo), Jenna Morasca (The Amazon), Kim Spradlin (One World) and robbed queen Chrissy Hofbeck (Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers). One bat puzzle later, Rachel LaMont wins immunity and adds her name to that roster. She’s in good company, yeah?
FIRE | Back at camp, Rachel tells everyone flat-out: Sue’s safe. Sam and Teeny will be making fire. Sam’s arrogance rubs Teeny the wrong way. He claims he’s never made a fire out there, but he’s just trying to get in Teeny’s head. OR IS HE!? When he picks up his knife and flint, he’s “pathetic,” according to Sue. (Ouch!) Was it all a rouse or is Sam about to get TKO’d by Jeff’s annoying little flame game?
Nope. I won’t recount all of the reasons why the fire-making challenge is quite possibly the worst Survivor change in the show’s history. (Though the Medallion of Power says hi.) I won’t say that if you’re parched or a wee bit hungry, the fire-making portion of the episode would be a great couple of minutes to grab a quick snack. But wait! This charade doesn’t last long at. all. Teeny’s flames quickly start licking her rope. It looks like Sam’s cooked until a giant gust of wind pushes Teeny’s flame away from her rope, while Sam’s blaze inches higher and higher. Unfortunately, bad luck seals the deal for Teeny. Sam’s rope breaks and his flag pops up, earning him a hard-won seat in the finals.
THE RITES OF PASSAGE RETURNS?! | While eating their celebratory breakfast, Rachel, Sam and Sue discuss each and every juror, and how he or she impacted the game. While they don’t light torches on fire or journey up a mountain to wax poetic like #OldSchoolSurvivor, the scene is very reminiscent of the good ol’ days. (The last official Rites of Passage segment aired way back in 2013 during the finale of Survivor: Caramoan — Fans vs. Favorites.) Perhaps extending the finale to two parts and four hours gave producers the extra runtime needed to include this scene? It’s not a necessary add, really, but nostalgic to say the least.
FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL | Gabe kicks things off, asking the finalists how they think their game will be remembered, and Caroline follows by asking what their biggest mistakes in the game were. Rachel says she course corrected at the merge once she felt things slipping away from her. She also reveals how she created her own little spy shack under a bush, which, after learning critical information, urged her to play her idol. (Tony Vlachos would be so proud.) Sam tries his best to debunk Rachel’s best points, but whether it’s enough to sway votes his way is entirely up to the jury.
Andy calls out Rachel for having the worst voting record of the Final 3, despite all her advantage finds and challenge wins. She counters saying that she found other avenues to the end by uniting all of the players she had Final 3 deals with. Sam jumps on it, reiterating how she failed to get others to do her bidding. Sue kinda just… sits there. She does reveal her real age to everyone, though. A couple people seem shocked, while others just smile politely.
In her final words, she talks about her Beware Advantage and winning her only immunity challenge, which to be honest, isn’t gonna snag her the dub. Sam uses his last seconds to downplay Rachel’s advantages again (she shakes her head). When it’s Rachel’s turn, she calls her game the most dominant of the three players sitting before the jury. She was a “super underdog” who transformed into a “big dog.”
But who’s the jury going to reward with $1 million? We see Kyle vote for Sam and Caroline vote for Rachel. And when Probst tallies the final results, Rachel wins the game by a vote of 7-1-0. (Read our Q&As with runner-up Sam and winner Rachel.)
Did the right person win? Vote in our polls below, then drop some comments!
Best of TVLine
Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
