Survivor 45

Survivor 45 is the forty-fifth season of the CBS competitive reality television series . 
Running 90-minute episodes for the entire season, Survivor 45 documented an eclectic cast, including Emily Flippen, who pivoted from tribe outcast to social nexus, and returning player Bruce Perreault, whose abrasive personality made him the center of many tribal conflicts, notably against Katurah Topps. The season also saw the return of classic Survivor elements like the tribe switch and auction. Strategically, the season came to be dominated by the Reba Four alliance, which marched unimpeded to the end as its rivals proved futile in aligning against them. Spearheading the alliance was Dee Valladares, who was ultimately crowned the season's Sole Survivor over Austin Li Coon and Jake O'Kane.
==Production==
The 45th season was filmed in the same production cycle as Survivor 46 and, despite the lifting of COVID-19 safety protocols, retained the 26-day format established in .
On May 10, 2023, CBS announced Survivor 45 as part of its fall programming schedule; in a first for both series, it was confirmed that Survivor 45 and The Amazing Race 35 will air 90-minute episodes instead of the standard 60-minute episodes, making for a 180-minute primetime block.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-amazing-race-90-minutes-cbs-fall-2023/ The prolonged runtime was heavily attributed to the which halted the production of several scripted shows, leaving timeslots to be filled.https://parade.com/tv/survivor-season-45 
Bruce Perreault, who was evacuated on the first day of due to a serious head injury, was formally invited by Jeff Probst to return to Survivor 45 on the first episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst,https://ew.com/tv/survivor-44-premiere-medically-evacuated-bruce-perreault-invited-back/ which he accepted.
In response to the trend of players replicating and practicing Survivor puzzles before competing, the challenge department committed to retiring many recurring puzzles used in past challenges.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-45-retired-puzzles-3d-printers/
==Twists/Changes== 
* 26-Day Game
* Returning Player: Bruce Perreault was invited to compete on the season following his Day 1 evacuation in .https://ew.com/tv/survivor-44-bruce-perreault-interview/https://ew.com/tv/survivor-45-bruce-perreault-teaser-first-look-logo/
* Tribe Division: The 18 castaways were divided into 3 tribes of 6. No unifying theme was used in dividing the tribes.
* Amended Sit-Out Rules: Starting from this season, tribe members will no longer be allowed to sit out in back-to-back challenges, including after an elimination.
* Penalties for Losing Immunity Challenges
** Pre-Merge: The tribe that lost an Immunity Challenge was forced to surrender their flint to Jeff and could only win it back if they won the next Immunity Challenge.
** Post-Merge: The members of the team that placed last in the Immunity Challenge at the final nine lost their right to vote at the upcoming Tribal Council.
* Shot in the Dark 
* Beware Advantage/Hidden Immunity Idol: Each tribe had one Beware Advantage which directed its owner to a series of clues to the idol's hiding place. The idols were concealed in a container which the player must break. The idol was originally usable for one Tribal Council, but its lifespan may be extended if its owner sacrificed their vote at their next two Tribal Councils.
* Observing: The tribe that finished first in the first Immunity Challenge nominated one member to go to the losing tribe's camp, where they had the opportunity to talk to the losing tribe members ahead of Tribal Council. The observer was also given the ability to secretly cast a vote against one of those tribe members via Tree Mail.
* Journeys 
** Safety Without Power: Castaways from different tribes were taken to another island. Separately and in private, each castaway could decide whether to wager their vote and undertake an individual challenge for the advantage. If they completed the challenge in time, they would receive the advantage; otherwise, they would be unable to vote at their next Tribal Council.
** Advantage Amulet: Castaways were given the option of taking a sandwich or the Advantage Amulets.
** Regain Vote: At the final nine, the losers of the Immunity Challenge were given the chance to regain their lost votes by completing an individual challenge.
** Individual Immunity: At the final seven, the castaway who went on the journey was given the option to compete in an individual Immunity Challenge; success would grant them immunity at the next Tribal Council, while failure would cost them their vote.
* Goodwill Advantage: The person that participated in the raid on Day 6 could give this advantage to one member of the raided tribe. This advantage allowed its holder to restore one vote at any Tribal Council where they would have otherwise been unable to vote.
*Tribe Switch: A tribe switch occurred on Day 8, shuffling the remaining fifteen castaways into three tribes of five.
*Earn the Merge: The final 13 players were divided into 2 teams of 6 by random draw. The teams competed in an Immunity Challenge where the members of the winning team won individual immunity, a spot on the merge tribe, and the merge feast. Before the challenge, the odd player out predicted which team would win the challenge; if they were correct, they would also receive immunity and the merge feast.
* Double Elimination: On Day 14, the Dakuwaqa tribe was subjected to a Double Elimination, where the tribe was divided into two groups of six and two castaways were eliminated through two separate Tribal Councils, the first of whom would not join the jury. Following the Immunity Challenge, one group remained at the Dakuwaqa camp, while the other was sequestered at the old Lulu camp for the afternoon.
* Simplified Final Four Tribal Council
* Expanded Jury and Final Three: The Final Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing an eight-person jury.
* Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak individually, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists. The discussion was divided into three portions—"social", "physical", and "strategic".
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Switched Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Hannah Rose32, Baltimore City, MDTherapist 	 	 	 	 	0
 	Brandon Donlon25, Sicklerville, NJContent Producer 	 	 	 	 	4
 	Sabiyah Broderick27, Jacksonville, NCTruck Driver 	 	 	 	 	2
 	Sean Edwards34, Provo-Orem, UTSchool Principal 	 	 	 	 	3
 	Brando Meyer22, Seattle, WASoftware Developer 	 	 	 	 	3
 	J. Maya24, Los Angeles, CASinger 	 	 	 	 	10
 	Sifu Alsup30, O'Fallon, ILGym Owner 	 	 	rowspan="12" 	 	6
 	Kaleb Gebrewold28, Vancouver, BCSoftware Salesman 	 	 	 	16 	
 	Kellie Nalbandian29, New York, NYCritical Care Nurse	 	 	 	5 	
 	Kendra McQuarrie30, Steamboat Springs, COBartender 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Bruce Perreault46, Warwick, RI 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Emily Flippen28, Laurel, MDInvestment Analyst 	 	 	 	2 	
 	Drew Basile22, Philadelphia, PAGraduate Student 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Julie Alley49, Brentwood, TNEstate Attorney 	 	 	 	13 	
 	Katurah Topps34, Brooklyn, NYCivil Rights Attorney 	 	 	 	1 	
 	Jake O'Kane26, Boston, MAAttorney 	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	8 	
 	Austin Li Coon26, Chicago, ILGraduate Student 	 	 	Runner-Up 	0 	
 	Dee Valladares26, Miami, FLEntrepreneur 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	2 	
==Season Summary==
The 18 castaways were divided into three tribes of six: Reba, Lulu and Belo. Lulu struggled the most, losing four of the first five challenges, being quickly reduced to its last three members. While Emily initially found herself targeted for coming off as abrasive, but slowly secured the trust of her remaining tribemates. On Belo, the undefeated tribe came to be defined by tribal dysfunction centered around the rivalry between Katurah and returning player Bruce. On the dominant Reba, a core alliance of four formed between Dee, Julie, Austin, and Drew. The tribes merged into the Dakuwaqa tribe on Day 13.
With Belo and Reba entering the merge with five members each and Lulu down to only Emily and Kaleb, Reba capitalized on Belo's tribal fractures, reducing them to just Jake and Katurah while wiping out the remaining Lulu in separate power plays. Prior to Lulu's extinction, however, Austin and Drew decided to turn on Julie. When Austin notified Dee (whom he had developed romantic feelings for) of his and Drew's plan, the latter went behind his back and divulged their agenda to Julie, who played Austin's Hidden Immunity Idol to save herself. The former Reba turned on each other in the next round, with Dee using her social connections to blindside Drew. 
In a last-ditch effort to turn the game in his favor, Jake attempted to make amends with Katurah and orchestrate a seemingly foolproof plan to out Dee involving an idol, but Katurah reneged on the deal and helped eliminate Julie instead. After narrowly escaping elimination the next day thanks to Jake and Katurah's failure to work together, Dee won the Final Immunity Challenge and elected to bring Austin to the Final Three. This forced Jake and Katurah to compete in the fire-making showdown, which the former won.
At the Final Tribal Council, both Dee and Austin argued over who had more control over the game, while Jake argued that he persevered despite insurmountable odds. Ultimately, Dee's revelation that she told Julie to play the idol without telling Austin earned her the jury's respect, and she was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-3-0 vote over Austin and Jake.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* Survivor 45 is the first season of to feature only one returning player.
* Survivor 45 is the first season since to have an opening title sequence, and the first season since to air the opening title sequence.
** As confirmed by Jeff Probst, each version of the titles featured "Easter eggs" intended to provide insights into each episode.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-45-jeff-probst-90-minute-episodes/
*** In , the Beware Advantage was shown, foreshadowing the discovery of the Hidden Immunity Idol later in the episode.
*** In , a Hidden Immunity Idol was shown, foreshadowing Austin and Sabiyah's acquirement of their idols in the episode.
*** In , a clip of Buffs being thrown foreshadowed the upcoming tribe switch.
*** In , the Advantage Amulet was shown, foreshadowing its introduction in that episode's journey.
*** In , the Shot in the Dark die was shown, foreshadowing Kaleb's successful Shot in the Dark play in that episode.
*** In , the Immunity Necklace was shown ahead of the first individual Immunity Challenge of the season.
*** In , a gavel was shown hitting a sound block, teasing the upcoming Survivor Auction.
*** In , the hourglass from that episode's summit was shown, teasing the challenge that the losing team at the Immunity Challenge had to compete in.
*** In , the Lulu idol was shown, foreshadowing Bruce's decision not to play his idol.
*** In , the green rock that Emily ended up drawing to go for the journey was shown.
*** In , a helicopter was shown, teasing that episode's reward.
*** In , a knife striking flint was shown, teasing that episode's fire-making challenge.
* Survivor 45 is the first season since to include the "Previously On" segment at the start of each non-premiere episode.
* Survivor 45 is the first season since to not have the jury vote be 7-1-0.
** This is the first season since where every jury vote was read.
* Survivor 45 is the second season, after , where every finalist shared the same birth year, 1996.
** This is the first season with a Final Three to hold this distinction.
==References==
45
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
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Category:Seasons with a reused location
Category:Survivor 45