The season finale of Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
Tonight Adam, Bret, David, Hannah, Jay, or Ken will compete in their final immunity challenges to get the chance to be voted the Sole Survivor and win the $1 million grand prize. Which three will make it to Final Tribal Council to please their case? And who will be crowned the winner of Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X? Will it be a Millennial or a Gen X-er? Let’s find out!
We start off with Jeff Probst backstage. He’s with this season’s contestants and talks about how much he has enjoyed seeing them play. He even mentions Michaela’s memorable reaction to her blindside. He also discusses how some of the contestants have grown throughout the experience and says anyone has a chance to win. Afterwards, the episode begins.
We see a recap of the season, including the evacuation, Taylor and Figgy’s showmance, and the “devastating” blindsides. Six people remain: three Millennials and three Gen X-ers. We also see a quick rundown of the Final 6. Adam is a superfan playing for his mom. Jay is vulnerable without his hidden immunity idol, but can he win his way to the end? Hannah had an early panic attack, but has emerged as a dangerous player. Bret’s game has focused on relationships, and he has a lot of friends on the jury. Ken is a single father playing for his daughter. He still has the legacy advantage and has never strayed from his alliance with David. But will his loyalty cost him? David was a neurotic oddball, but has emerged a power player and is a big threat to win. Which of these six will win the game?
We see the contestants return to camp after tribal council. Jay is lamenting the fact he no longer has the hidden immunity idol. Bret, on the other hand, is really mad that David did not get voted out. He discusses this with Hannah, and he thinks it was a dumb move to leave David in the game. He sees David and Jay as the biggest threats to win. Meanwhile, David is well aware of the fact he’s a target. Throughout the season, he has been stealing beads and shells. He doesn’t think any idols are left, but he’s using these items to fashion a fake hidden immunity idol. He hides it in a coconut, and hopes someone will find it and think it is real. He says he plans to do anything he can to make it to the final three.
The next morning Jay goes hunting for a hidden immunity idol. He gets thwarted by Ken asking if he’s gathered any coconuts to bring back to camp. However, on the way back to camp, Jay sees a coconut with a pink emblem on it. David notices that Jay spotted the coconut, and is amused that his plan worked. Later Jay goes back and retrieves the fake hidden immunity idol David made. Jay is beside himself with glee thinking he’s found an idol.
It’s Day 36, so Ken can finally find out what his legacy advantage is. He learns that he is guaranteed immunity at the next tribal council.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must go through an obstacle course while collecting bags of tiles. They must then use the tiles to figure out a combination to unlock a chest. Afterwards, they must retrieve a key and go up another obstacle to complete a puzzle. The first to finish the puzzle will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Jay is the first to unlock his chest. However, he didn’t cover his combination answer, so David looks over to copy his answer. Everyone is now copying Jay’s answer and it’s now a more even challenge as everyone uses Jay’s answer to retrieve their key. They are soon all working on the puzzle at the same time. Jeff continuously remarks how Jay may have made a million dollar mistake in not covering up his answer. It comes down to Jay and David to whom completes the puzzle first (a bat puzzle that is hanging off a rope). Jay’s puzzle collapses right before David completes his puzzle. David wins immunity! This was also a reward challenge (a steak meal), and David is allowed to pick two people to come along with him. However, Jay plays the advantage that Adam gave him a while ago. Jay is stealing the reward. He chooses David and Adam to come along with him on the reward. He hopes they will give him a chance to stay in the game.
While at reward, Jay makes his case for why they should keep him and vote out Bret. He says he is the perfect shield to keep around. Once Jay is gone, everyone will be targeting David and Adam. He also reminds them that Bret has a lot of friends on the jury. David says that it’s a tempting offer. Meanwhile, Bret, Ken, and Hannah discuss that Jay should be voted out tonight. Bret is confident Jay is gone tonight. However, David, Ken, and Hannah are discussing the vote alone. They are concerned about Bret and admit he’s a jury threat too. Later on, David and Hannah tell Jay they are on board with keeping Jay in the game and voting out Bret. However, they need Adam’s vote. Before tribal council, Jay pleads his case to Adam. Adam says he is on board too, but is still unsure as he discusses the vote in his confessional.
It’s time for tribal council. They talk about how Jay pitched to Adam and David why they should move forward with him. Bret says that Jay is a threat to win, but Jay says Bret has a lot of friends on the jury. Jeff asks Ken about idols, and he says anything is possible. Hannah is asked about the vote, and she says it’s a huge decision either way. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the vote, Jay plays the fake hidden immunity idol. Everyone is shocked, except for David. Jeff reveals that it is not a hidden immunity idol. Jay is dumbstruck and has a big reaction to this. Afterwards, Ken plays his legacy advantage, causing more shocked reactions from the tribe. He reveals that he has an automatic immunity and any votes cast against him will not count.
Jeff reads the vote. The first vote is for…
Ken
Jay
Jay
Jay
Jay is voted out and the eighth member of the jury! He is laughing as he says they got him before getting his torched snuffed.
It’s Day 37, and it’s time for the next immunity challenge. We hear David say that if he doesn’t win immunity, he will be voted out. It’s a water challenge requiring them to maneuver a buoy through obstacles on the water, including platforms and ladders. Once they get the buoy to shore, they can get started on carrying letter tiles across a teeter-totter. Once they have all the tiles at their table, they can get to work on solving the word puzzle. The first to solve it will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Ken takes a lead. However, he loses his lead as he drops his letter tiles while walking across the teeter-totter. Bret soon takes the lead and is the first to get started on the puzzle. However, others catch up and soon everyone but Hannah is working on the puzzle. Nonetheless, Hannah manages to get started on the puzzle before anyone has solved it. They are all struggling trying to figure out the phrase, but it is Ken who solves the puzzle first. The phrase is “Not a Participation Trophy.” Ken wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp. They all give Ken kudos for winning immunity. Adam is disappointed that he didn’t win immunity, but he’s relieved that David did not win immunity. Adam goes looking for a hidden immunity idol just in case. While he’s out hunting for one, David asks Hannah and Ken if they are willing to vote out Adam instead of Bret. Hannah and Ken seem to be on board. However, unbeknownst to them, Adam has found a hidden immunity idol. Bret goes to Adam and tells Adam David is targeting him. He’s not worried, and he reveals to Bret that he has the idol. Adam also tells Hannah that he has an idol. In her confessional, Hannah admits that she has been playing both sides. She wonders whether she should side with Adam to vote out David or reveal to David and Ken that Adam has an idol and vote out Bret instead. Regardless, she’s glad that she’s the one making the decision tonight.
It’s time for tribal council. They discuss how there was scrambling after the immunity challenge. David says it’s not about being the best player, but being perceived as the best player in the final 3. Jeff asks who is the biggest threat, and David is named as a tough person to be sitting next to at the Final 3 by Hannah and Bret. Adam also says that David has a great story that could endear him to the jury. Jeff asks Hannah if she is nervous about the vote, and she admits that she is. She says everyone has a game plan, but some of them are wrong. Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
Before Jeff reads the vote, he asks if anyone wants to play a hidden immunity idol. Adam plays his hidden immunity idol.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
David
Bret
David
Bret
Bret
Bret is voted out and the ninth member of the jury. Before he walks away, he congratulates David and tells the others they just lost a million dollars.
The Final 4 return to camp, and Adam says he is surprised that loyalty runs so deep in this game. Ken tells Adam that people view Bret as an uncle, but Adam says that Bret was unlikely to win a challenge. Later Hannah explains her decision to Adam. She says Bret was never going to take her to the end and she didn’t want to make Ken angry either. Adam says that all Ken talks about is loyalty, so he’s never going to turn on David. He says leaving David in the game was a big mistake, and that he or she needs to win the next immunity challenge.
It’s the next day and time for the final immunity challenge. They must must stack clay bowls one by one with a long pole. The first to stack all the bowls or have the highest stack by the end of the challenge will win immunity. The challenge begins, and it’s a very close challenge until David and Hannah’s bowls fall. Adam simply watches as Ken’s bowls fall over. Adam thinks he has it, but the wind blows Adam’s bowls again. It’s now even as everyone must rebuild their stack. By the end of the 30 minutes, Ken and Hannah all have ten bowls. They now must go to a 5-minute showdown. The tiebreaker begins with Ken taking an early lead. It’s close now between Ken and Hannah as they have five bowls each. Ken manages to get his sixth bowl on his stack with only seconds remaining. Ken wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp. Everyone congratulates Ken on making it to the Final 3. David says he wanted to win immunity, but he really believes Ken will stay loyal to him. Worst case scenario is that it will go to a fire-making challenge. Meanwhile, Adam and Hannah say that Ken has to vote out David. Hannah says that she’ll deal with Ken and convince him to flip against David. However, Ken is all about loyalty and David has been his closest ally since Day 1. David and Adam talk, and David says Adam’s best chance is to target Hannah since Ken will never turn on David. Adam disagrees and says that his only chance at winning the game is if David is voted out. Adam starts preparing for a possible fire-making challenge, even though he believes this vote should be so obvious.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff begins by saying this might be the most important tribal council as it decides who will be sitting in the final 3. After Jeff compliments Hannah for how well she did in the immunity challenge, Adam and David call each other big threats. Jeff asks Ken his thoughts, and he says people did talk to him. However, he doesn’t plan on changing. David says that he is not worried because Ken is such a loyal guy and has been with David since the very beginning of the game. Adam says that it should be bigger than loyalty and he should be fighting for his family. Ken says that at the end of the day, he has to do what is most important to him and that’s what he’ll be making his decision on. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Jeff reads the vote. The first vote is for…
David
Adam
David
David
David is voted out and the final member of the jury.
It’s the morning of Day 39. Ken is proud to be the last Gen X member left in the game. He said he played an old school game and has been a very loyal player. He says he has to win so he and his daughter could have a better life. We hear from Hannah, and she says she’s had the biggest journey and deserves to win. Adam says he has played a very hard game by finding immunity idols and making big moves. He wants to win this game for his mother.
It’s time for the final tribal council. Taylor asks the first question.
Taylor says he’s one of the most spontaneous Millennials and is undecided. He asks why they should get his vote. Hannah says that she’s ready to explain her decisions. Ken says that he managed to move forward through loyalty. Adam says he played the best game out of the remaining three. He says he put himself in a good position and got to the end with the people he wanted to sit with.
Sunday brings up the theme of the season. She asks how were they adaptable in the game, and if they played more like a Millennial or a Gen X-er. Ken says he is very old school, and wouldn’t call himself adaptable because someone who is adaptable is a flipper. Adam says that he’s a combination of both and that Hannah is all over the place. Hannah says that Adam calls her all over the place, but she says it was being adaptable and making strategic moves.
Jessica says that Ken put himself on a pedestal and talked about loyalty, but she was shocked about him voting out David. Ken breaks down in tears, and he says David was his #2 ally. His #1 ally is his daughter. Jessica appreciates the honesty.
Will says he respected Ken more as a player for voting David out than all his talk about loyalty. Will was confused by Adam’s game play, and he talks again about Hannah going rogue. Hannah says she didn’t go rogue, and she was making moves and it was Adam who was on the wrong side of the votes again.
Zeke says that Ken did nothing to evolve the game, but he asks Adam and Hannah how they contributed to the game. Adam says he leaves threats in the game as shields. Hannah says Adam may say he left shields in the game, but she was the one responsible when they left the game.
Michelle asks Hannah how many times she was on the wrong side of the vote. She says none except for the Michaela vote. Michelle says that’s impressive.
Bret asks Ken when he really started playing the game. Ken says since the very beginning. He mentions how he was on the bottom of the tribe in the beginning. Before he can finish explaining, Bret cuts him out. Bret asks when they planned on voting out David, and Adam says it was a blunder to vote out Bret.
Jay asks Adam why he didn’t use him to take out David when they had the chance. Adam mentions how they had a rocky relationship, and Jay knows why Adam is playing the game. Adam is breaking down in tears as he’s alluding to his mother, but Jay says he doesn’t have to say any more.
Chris says that the biggest move of the game was Adam getting Ken to flip against David. He’s very condescending as he says that he hopes everyone will vote Adam to win. Ken tries to explain Adam didn’t convince him to do anything, but Chris has already sat back down.
David asks how they have changed throughout the game. Hannah says she has grown so much throughout the game. Ken talks about how he grew up being a socially awkward person, but he put himself in a tough position by having to socialize with strangers. He says he had to do it for his daughter. Adam says it wasn’t about transformation for him. He’s playing for his mother, and he reveals to everyone his mom was diagnosed with cancer. He says his journey was all about her.
It’s now time for the vote. Afterwards, it’s time to go back to the live studio for the reading of the votes. Either Adam, Hannah, or Ken will be crowned the winner of Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X. Jeff congratulates the Final 3 before reading the votes. The first vote is for…
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam is the winner of Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X!
It’s now time for the live reunion show!
Jeff begins things by asking Adam about his mother. He mentions how he and his mom auditioned for the Blood vs Water season, but they weren’t able to be on the show. When the opportunity came up again, his mom convinced him to go on the show. Jeff asks Jay about his relationship with Adam after he brings up the fact that he was the first person Adam told about his mother. He says it was dysfunctional relationship, and he loves Adam. Jeff asks Adam about his reunion with his mother. Adam says he managed to get on the first flight back home and he managed to see his mother one last time before she passed away an hour later. He says he told her he won and hopes she heard him before she passed. It’s a very emotional moment as several people are crying. Adam says he also wants to donate a portion of his winnings to cancer research. Jeff says money has also been raised to donate to cancer research.
Next they talk about David. Jeff says that colleagues of his predicted that David would be the first person voted out, but he became a kingpin. David says he’s been able to hear from others who related to his struggles. Jeff asks about Zeke’s game. Zeke said he managed to build himself up to a powerful position in the game. He’s proud he managed to get people he blindsided to draw rocks for him.
They next discuss what Jeff believes was the moment of the season: Bret revealing to Zeke that he’s gay too. Jeff asks Bret why he chose Zeke to reveal this secret. He says he built a bond with Zeke and that’s why. Jeff asks if others have been inspired by him to come out, and he says one person was inspired to come out after seeing him on the show. Afterwards, Jeff discusses Hannah and Ken’s bond in the game. We see a flashback of Hannah and Ken sitting together on the beach and Hannah gushing about Ken in a confessional. Jeff said that Hannah had so many insecurities and that moment was very relatable to a lot of people who watched that scene. Hannah said others have told her stories about panic attacks and anxiety, and people have told her they related to her story. Jeff next mentions how Ken has had insecurities too and discusses his social anxiety. Ken says he grew up as a wallflower and had speech impediments and nervous twitches. He says people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Jeff talks to Michaela next. Jeff calls her a dominant player, but her downfall was letting people see how strategic she was. Jeff asks Jessica her thoughts about the rock draw, and she said the chance was worth taking. If she didn’t draw rocks, she would have lost if she made it to the Final 3. Jeff talks to Will next, and he gives him kudos for being the first high school student to be on the show. Jeff asks Sunday about being a mom on the show, and she says that people should go for their dreams and find themselves again.
Jeff talks to Taylor and Figgy next. He asks Figgy the status of the relationship. She says the relationship is no more. She wishes she played a more independent game. Afterwards, Jeff congratulates Taylor on being a new father. Afterwards, Jeff asks Chris his thoughts, and he says being adaptable is the key to succeeding in the game.
It’s now time for a preview of next season. They are going back to Fiji, and they’re bringing back past players. It’s going to be an all-star season, and Jeff says that Michalea will be on season 34. He also brings some people up on stage that will be on the next season: Tony, Tai, Caleb, Ciera, Cirie, Sandra, and Ozzy.
Jeff asks a closing question to Michelle about any bitter feelings. She says the game has evolved and no one has any ill will towards anyone. They all know it’s a game. Jeff says that’s cool before telling people to try out for the show.
And that wraps up the finale of Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X! Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comments section below, and come back in March for another season of Survivor!
