Written by Amanda Clark
Survivor Season 44 felt like some of the older seasons of CBS’ long-running series — making it the best season since Survivor: Winners at War aka Season 40.
Survivor is filled with 18 individuals competing on obstacle courses that test their physical and mental capability to win “immunity” to further themselves in the game. This season has three different tribes, which eventually merge as one tribe to start playing for individual immunity and reward challenges. Each person has the same goal: to outwit, outplay, and outlast everyone else to be named Sole Survivor and win one million dollars.
This season got rid of the new gimmicks the previous few seasons had, including the hourglass twist where one person got to choose if they will switch up who received immunity and the do or die twist that can cause someone to immediately leave the game — this twist never ended someone’s game, but thankfully it is permanently gone.
Other advantages that are not seen in Season 44 but viewers had starting in Season 41 is the summit, where one person from each tribe takes a hike and has to make a decision to get an advantage or not, the knowledge is power advantage where the person with it can take someone else’s idol, and the advantage amulet where three players during the first challenge choose between an advantage, delaying or finishing the challenge. Lastly, the beware advantage is no longer in Survivor. How this works is when someone finds an immunity idol, they need to say a code word at the challenge, and the advantage wouldn’t be able to be used until each tribe finds theirs.
Because these didn’t return is the reason why Season 44 appears to be more aligned with the layout of the older seasons before the pandemic. This is why the season is the best one in the 40s that has no returning players. Too much change never goes well, especially with Survivor. A few changes to the game aren’t bad, but when there are multiple changes to a system that is and has been working for more than 20 years, the game starts to feel like a different show.
>One of the twists Season 44 kept is the shot in the dark, where players can give up their vote at tribal council, sacrificing their chance to vote someone out of the game to have a one-in-six shot at immunity. This is a twist that is hardly used in the latest season, but it’s a nice advantage players have because it can change up who goes home and who stays in the game while not actually changing the game.
One shock that came from the beginning of this season, like the summit twist, is that one player from each tribe went to a different island and is immediately given an idol but needs to switch tribes. This gives viewers a chance to make predictions as to what will happen next and see more people have a chance to interact with one another, while changing each player’s strategy.
One twist that Survivor host Jeff Probst confirmed during the finale will come back from Season 44 is fake idols. Idols give each player immunity if they use it before Probst reads the names of who is voted out, even if their name is written down, which normally causes drama in the tribe — something that viewers feed off of. But with the possibility of a fake idol, players thought that no matter what they’re safe from elimination when, in reality, they’re not. This can also cause drama and suspense, as any viewer would love.
As always, Probst says his iconic Survivor phrases throughout each event, like “This challenge is on” or “Drop your buffs,” and his mindset is right in the game with the players. He is the narrator that every viewer not only needs but has also happily grown accustomed to seeing him in the same role each season. Nothing has changed about Probst this season, it’s the same screaming throughout the challenges and the same attitude toward the game, but why should he change when what he does works so well?
Besides seeing Probst repeat the Survivor lines that everyone is attached to — unless it’s “the tribe has spoken” line because that player just got voted out — the players this season are like no other season — each player has a distinct personality. Even though they are trying to outlast one another in the game, when someone is down or needed help in the game to get farther, other players step in to assist them, whether it’s playing their idol for someone else, teaching their possible opponent how to make fire when that could end their gameplay, sparking a romance, or switching up their original gameplay.
This season is filled with many surprises, but the one surprise that didn’t happen is bringing the live reunion show back. Just like Season 41 to 43, Season 44 is no different where Probst reads the final votes at tribal, announces the winner right there, and only the players who made the jury talk about the season as food is being handed out. The live show is something that should come back because it allows players to talk about what happened after viewing the season and gives them enough time where, if there was any malice held at the final tribal, it would most likely be gone by the live show.
However, this set of jury members didn’t need the time off to cool down and accept what happened because no one held any anger toward the final three. This is another reason these players are like no other, especially because they did recognize that it is just a game.
Survivor is a life-changing experience, but when it comes down to it, it is just a game, and this season helped reinforce that while allowing viewers to reminisce about the older seasons.
