The season finale of Survivor: Edge of Extinction airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
Tonight the winner of Survivor: Edge of Extinction will be revealed. Who will claim the title of Sole Survivor and win the $1 million grand prize: Gavin, Julie, Lauren, Rick, or Victoria? Or will the Extinction Island returnee claim the title instead? Let’s find out!
The episode begins with the Extinction Island inhabitants getting ready to compete to reenter the game. Jeff tells them they will go through a series of obstacles while being attached to a rope. They will also have to untie knots and assemble a rope bridge. At the end of the challenge, they will have to maneuver balls on a table maze. The first castaway to land two balls will reenter the game. The challenge begins, and Aurora takes the early lead as Wardog, Reem, and Ron fall behind. Aurora keeps her lead at the rope bridge, but Eric and Joe are right behind her. Aurora is the first to attempt the table maze, but Joe is right behind her. Aurora manages to land her first ball as Eric, Chris, David, and Kelley get to their table mazes too. Chris and Joe manage to land their first balls too. Joe is close to landing his second ball, but the ball drops. Chris manages to land his second ball first. Chris will reenter the game! Jeff asks the competitors their thoughts, and Reem breaks down in tears as she said she just wanted a chance. She hopes her family is proud. Joe is also in tears as he feels like he blew his chance since he was so close to winning. David says he learned what’s really valuable is what’s waiting for him back home. Julia says she’s grateful to play the game that she loves. She also gets emotional as she mentions her dad that passed away. Eric says Survivor was about his kids. He says Extinction Island was tough and he considered quitting, but he wanted to be an example for his kids to show them to never give up. Aubry says Survivor is really about everyone’s true character instead of winning or losing. Kelley says that Survivor has always been about the game to her, and she really wanted to win. However, she’s grateful to appreciate the social bonds of the game this time around.
We return to the live studio audience in Los Angeles as Jeff chats to Joe. Jeff asks if a player like Joe could ever win the game due to how threatening he is with his likability and prowess in challenges. Joe says it’s very hard, but he believes there is still a chance someone like him could win. Jeff asks if he would keep playing until he wins, and Joe says he wants to “hang his hat, but not sell the farm.” Jeff then jokes that Joe should cut his hair; he calls it Joe’s Achilles’ Heel.
The castaways return to camp after the challenge. Chris is aware he’s going to be a perceived threat. He offers the other castaways information, but he says he understands if he gets voted out. Victoria admits in a confessional that she wants Chris out of the game as soon as possible. Rick, however, is desperate for another ally. He and Chris talk game alone, and they agree to go to the Final 4 together. Chris asks Rick if his hidden immunity idol is real, and Rick admits that it is. Later at night, Chris talks game with Lauren. He tells Lauren that Kelley is rooting for her to do well. He also says that Lauren will earn respect from the jury if she makes a strong move with her hidden immunity idol. Lauren knew that the Extinction Island inhabitants would find out about her hidden immunity idol once Kelley was voted out. In her confessional, Lauren is hesitant to trust Chris. She’s worried that Chris may have better options than working with her.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They will have to jump over beams and then solve number lock combinations to release bags of puzzle pieces. The first castaway to complete the puzzle will win immunity. Jeff also tells them that the Edge of Extinction twist is over. Once they are voted out, they have no chance of reentering the game. Along with immunity, the winner will win steak and chocolate cake. The challenge begins, and Chris takes an early lead. Victoria takes the lead away from Chris as she solves the number combination on her first attempt. Soon enough, Chris is in last place as everyone else solves the number combination before him. He finally solves it, but everyone else has already started working on their puzzles. Julie is soon one piece away from completing the puzzle, but she’s close to having it all fall apart as she’s trying to force the last piece in. Chris offers some help to Julie to finish her puzzle without making it topple over, which bothers Rick. Julie completes her puzzle. Julie wins immunity! Jeff tells Julie she can pick two people to join her on the reward, and she chooses Chris and Lauren. Rick is annoyed, and he calls out Julie and Lauren for enjoying most of the rewards throughout the game.
Julie enjoys her reward with Chris and Lauren back at camp. They also talk game, and Chris tells them that Rick and Victoria are the biggest threats to win in the game according to the jury. Lauren now has no interest going to the Final 3 with Victoria. Meanwhile, Victoria wants Chris gone at this upcoming tribal council, and she’s trying to sway Gavin and Rick to vote him out. Rick says he’s open to voting out Chris tonight. In his confessional, he admits he is torn. He wants to make sure he’s working with the right people. Later, Chris and Rick talk game alone. Chris recalls how Rick betrayed him when he was voted out the first time. Rick wants proof that Chris is really on his side, and Chris shows him what he received in his bag earlier in the day. Chris received the same immunity idol that was in David and Rick’s possession earlier in the game. Chris must give half of the idol to another person. If they both survive this upcoming vote, then the idol will be able to be played at the following tribal council. Chris gives half of the idol to Rick. However, he hopes Lauren will also be willing to play her hidden immunity idol on him tonight to ensure he stays in the game.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff asks Chris his thoughts, and he says it’s like entering a new world. He’s learning how to play the game again, and he says it’s scary. Lauren adds that Chris played his role, and she tells Jeff how Chris was offering information to this tribe members. The talk turns to the reward, and Julie says that she knew right away that she would pick Chris since he hasn’t eaten much of anything for a month. Rick, however, breaks down in tears. His feelings were hurt that he was not picked for a reward again. He does not like being public enemy #1. Jeff asks if Chris is the easy vote tonight, and Lauren agrees he could be. She also thinks that Chris could be hiding some information too. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, Rick plays his hidden immunity idol for himself. Afterwards, Lauren plays her hidden immunity idol for Chris.
The first vote is for…
Rick
Rick
Rick
Chris
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria is voted out and the eleventh member of the jury.
Victoria wishes them well and tells Gavin she will be voting for him before she walks away from tribal council.
The castaways return to camp after tribal council, and Rick goes searching for another hidden immunity idol. He also fashions two fake hidden immunity idols and a fake clue. Soon enough, he finds another hidden immunity idol. Rick is thrilled that the other castaways have no chance at voting him out at the upcoming vote. In addition, Rick gives Chris back the other half of the idol that Chris gave him before the previous tribal council. Rick and Chris are both guaranteed Final 4. Meanwhile, Julie stumbles upon Rick’s fake hidden immunity idol. Rick hears Julie cheering, and he laughs as he tells Chris that his fake idol was just found. And right afterwards, Lauren finds the fake clue Rick planted earlier. She also finds the second fake idol Rick planted. Lauren is thrilled, but she does not know it’s a fake. Rick spots Lauren finding his second fake idol, and he’s extremely amused.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They are standing on a platform out in the ocean, and they must go across six different obstacles to collect bags of puzzle pieces. Once they have all their bags, they can start working on their puzzle. The first castaway to solve the puzzle will win immunity. The challenge begins, and all the castaways scramble as they rush to collect bags of puzzle pieces. Gavin and Chris are the first two to collect all their puzzle pieces first, but the rest of the castaways are right behind them. Soon enough, everybody is working on the puzzle at the same time. Gavin is making the most progress on his puzzle, but Rick is catching up to him. Immunity is going to come down to these two, and it’s Rick who solves the puzzle first. Rick wins immunity.
The castaway returns to camp, and Rick is ecstatic that he won immunity. Since he has a hidden immunity idol, he realizes he has options to play it. Later, we see Rick and Gavin talk game. Gavin tells Rick he will be indebted to him if he saves him with the hidden immunity idol. Rick tells him that if he saves Gavin, then he doesn’t want Gavin to put him in the fire-making challenge if Gavin wins immunity tomorrow. Gavin agrees, and Rick tells him he will play his idol on him. However, Gavin admits in a confessional that he will break his word since he knows Rick is a threat to win the game. He doesn’t want to sit next to Rick in the Final 3. Later, we see Gavin, Julie, and Lauren agree to vote out Chris tonight. In addition, Lauren is aware that three idols were recently found, so she’s convinced at least one of them is fake. She wants to make sure she doesn’t get any votes tonight, so she tries to sway Chris into voting for Julie tonight. Chris tells her he’ll be on board, but he says in his confessional he isn’t sure. He adds that he and Rick must be on the same page tonight. Rick points out how Lauren has played a more strategic game. Rick also brags how he and Chris have total control of the vote tonight. Together, they will decide who goes home between Lauren and Julie.
It’s time for tribal council. Rick knew he had to give it his all today since he had everything to lose. Jeff asks Chris his thoughts, and he says he regrets not winning immunity. He says he has very few cards to play tonight. Chris says he is the best chance at beating Rick at a possible fire-making challenge, and he thinks the tribe should keep him because of that. The talk turns to Lauren playing her idol on Chris last time. Chris doesn’t know if it was a move to build trust with him or if Lauren just wanted to boost her resume in front of the jury. Gavin says he’s there to compete against the best, and he mentions how he has come close to winning challenges too. He thinks he can beat Chris or Rick in upcoming challenges. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, Julie stands up and plays the fake hidden immunity idol. Jeff reveals it’s a fake before Lauren plays her fake idol. Jeff also reveals that hers is fake too. Julie and Lauren are stunned, laughing in disbelief. Right afterwards, Rick plays his hidden immunity idol for Gavin. Next, Chris plays his hidden immunity idol for himself.
The first vote is for…
Chris
Chris
Chris
Lauren
Lauren
Lauren is voted out and the twelfth member of the jury.
It’s time for the final immunity challenge. The must assemble a tower of blocks that spell out “Final 3.” They will be standing on an uneven beam as they walk back and forth to stack blocks. If they don’t stay balanced, then the blocks will fall to the ground. The first castaway to build a complete tower will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Julie takes the lead with Chris right behind her. However, Julie drops all of her blocks after stacking four blocks. Chris is now in the lead with four blocks. Rick is far behind in last place as he continuously drops blocks. Chris is remaining slow and steady as he stacks his fifth block. He’ll only need to stack one more block to win immunity. Julie has four blocks stacked, and she’s catching up to Chris. However, all her blocks fall to the ground. Chris manages to place his last block, but he must return to the starting point first. He does so without dropping his blocks. Chris wins immunity! Chris is guaranteed a spot in the Final 3. He now will decide one person to bring to the Final 3 with him. The two people he does not choose will compete in a fire-making challenge. The loser of the fire-making challenge will become the final jury member.
The castaways return to camp. Chris mentions how he was the third castaway voted out, but now he’s in the Final 3. Rick is worried about his chances. He hopes he can convince Chris to take him to the Final 3. Rick pleads his case to Chris, pointing out how he handed Chris back half of the hidden immunity idol. Rick says he put his trust in Chris, but Chris tells Rick that he should practice making fire. Later, Chris talks to Gavin. Gavin asks him his thoughts, and Chris says he would be the dumbest Survivor player ever if he brought Rick to the Final 3. Chris plans to help Gavin and Julie learn how to build fire. He wants one of them to knock Rick out of the game. However, in his confessional, he adds that he feels like he’s at a high stakes poker game. He thinks he has a winning card, but it could also cost him the win.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff asks Chris his thoughts, and he says his Survivor journey has been an uphill battle. Jeff asks the others their thoughts, and Julie says she’s been practicing making fire all day. Gavin admits that he does not want Chris to choose him. Instead, he wants to compete against Rick and be the one to eliminate him from the game. Jeff asks Chris his thoughts, and Chris says he knows exactly what he wants to do. He says he will make a big risk and try to beat Rick himself. Chris gives away his immunity necklace to Julie. He will go against Rick in the fire-making challenge!
The fire-making challenge begins with Julie and Gavin already in the Final 3. The winner of this challenge will join them. The challenge starts as Chris and Rick sit at different stations. They must build a fire that will burn through a rope. They both are using flint, and it is Chris who gets fire first. Chris’s flame continues to grow, but Rick eventually makes fire too. It’s a much closer challenge, but Chris’s fire burns through the rope first. Chris wins! He will be in the Final 3! Rick is eliminated and the final member of the jury. Chris said he made that decision to prove why he deserves to win the game. Rick says he was competing for his family, and the game has been quite a journey.
We return to the live studio in Los Angeles with Jeff Probst. He brings out Rick and chats with him. He asks Rick why he didn’t withhold the half of the idol, and Rick says he didn’t want to betray Chris again. Jeff asks if he feels betrayed by Chris, and Rick admits that Chris only promised him Final 4. He points out that Chris did bring him to the Final 4 before making a move against him.
The Final 3 enjoy breakfast the next morning. We hear some of their thoughts in confessionals. Julie thinks she has played a strong social game, and she wants to prove that to the jury so they vote for her to win. Chris says he spent 28 days on the Edge of Extinction, and it took will, grit, and reflection. He said he played the game better than Gavin and Julie in the days since his return to the game. Gavin says his biggest challenge is convincing the jury that he didn’t just go along with how everyone else was voting. He believes he was socially aware enough to go down the paths that benefited him the most.
It’s time for Final Tribal Council. Jeff says the discussion will begin with the Outwit portion of the game. David begins by asking all three of them which relationship was the most valuable. Gavin says Victoria was his strongest ally. Chris says his strongest ally was Rick. Even though Rick voted out Chris, he didn’t stay bitter and reunited with him when he returned to the game. Julie says her strongest ally was Ron, but she also had a good relationship with Lauren. Aubry asks Chris about the social politics on Extinction Island, and he said he did his best to provide for the tribe. He also did his best to build social bonds. Rick asks Gavin if he built any bonds, and he says he did. Chris asks him if he made bonds as someone in charge or as a goat. Kelley and Lauren call out Chris for asking a question, asking him to leave the questions to the jury. They next ask about Julie’s game, and Julie says a strategic move she made was when Julia was voted out. Julia shakes her head and disagrees. Julie asserts that she tried to switch things up that tribal council when Julia was voted out. They next ask Gavin his strategic game, and he said voting out Joe and Aubry were big moves. They next ask Chris about only playing the game for twelve days, and he says a big move he made was getting Lauren to play his hidden immunity idol for him. Lauren admits that Chris played her like a fiddle. Afterwards, the jury admit that they are still undecided how to vote.
Next is the Outplay portion of the game. Rick asks why didn’t they try to find hidden immunity idols, and Julie and Gavin admit they did look for idols. Gavin says that he was always with the numbers, so he didn’t feel like he needed to look too hard for an idol. Rick asks Chris about returning to the game with only three days left. Chris said he played the biggest game possible with the time he had. He said he flushed out an idol, correctly played an idol, won final immunity, and took a big risk competing against Rick to eliminate him from the game. Chris said he succeeded in his final days by understanding that they cannot treat people like chess pieces. His social bonds were real. Gavin points out that classic Survivor is surviving without getting voted out, but Julia tells him that the game evolves and this is the theme. However, Rick points out how Gavin went the whole game without getting a vote at a tribal council.
Lastly is the Outlast portion of the game. Gavin says he was playing this game to provide for his wife. Chris says he wanted to play a perfect game, but he got blindsided. He said he had to come to terms with losing control, and he came back to the game. He said he had to make the best possible move each time with the few days he had to play the game. Julie says the game was life-changing. She admits she is not an aggressive player, but she asks why isn’t a player like her just as worthy as anyone else. She gets emotional, and she thanks the jury for making the game a life-changing experience for her. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
We return to the live studio audience. Jeff thanks Chris, Gavin, and Julie before reading the votes.
The first vote is for…
Gavin
Chris
Gavin
Chris
Gavin
Chris
Gavin
Chris
Chris
Chris
Chris
CHRIS UNDERWOOD WINS SURVIVOR: EDGE OF EXTINCTION!
It’s time for the reunion show! Jeff congratulates Chris and asks him if he has any guilt for turning on Rick at the Final 4. Chris said he had to play the game, and he told Rick he would’ve voted for him if he was on the jury. Jeff talks to some of the other players next. David is grateful for the experience. Kelley says she learned that she can be both strong and emotional. Julie says playing the game was the hardest thing she’s done, but she believes she proved to her family that she can push herself. Gavin says he learned so much about himself playing the game. Next, Jeff reveals that recording artist Sia is a fan of Survivor, and she has awarded past Survivor players money. This season, she decided to gift Rick with $100,000.
Jeff talks to Reem next. He gives Reem props for staying on Extinction Island for 32 days. She breaks down in tears as she says she wasn’t ever going to quit. He talks to Wendy next, and he asks if she’s received messages from fans for being very open about her Tourette syndrome. She says she has, and people have sent her messages about how she has inspired them. He talks to more jurors, and Ron says he did not plan to be a villain. However, he recognizes how lying and manipulation is part of the game. Julia says she’s won from her experience in the game. Jeff also gives kudos to Lauren, Victoria, and Aurora on the games they played.
Next we see a sneak peek of the upcoming season. Former Survivor champions Sandra Diaz-Twine and Rob Mariano will be on the island to act as mentors for the new castaways. Survivor: Island of the Idols premieres in the fall.
And that wraps up the season finale of Survivor: Edge of Extinction. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back in the fall for a new season of Survivor.
