Survivor: Kaôh Rōng

Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, also unofficially known as Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, is the thirty-second season of . It utilized the same tribe division twist as .
Described as the most punishing season in Survivor history, Kaôh Rōng saw a record number of medical evacuations. After a dynamic game filled with numerous strategic shifts, the season was won by Michele Fitzgerald in a 5-2-0 vote over Aubry Bracco and Tai Trang. The season has produced five returning players to date (Aubry Bracco, Caleb Reynolds, Debbie Wanner, Michele Fitzgerald, and Tai Trang).
==Production==
Though billed as the 32nd season, Kaôh Rōng was filmed earlier than its "predecessor" season, .http://parade.com/415787/joshwigler/jeff-probst-tells-you-everything-you-need-to-know-about-survivor-second-chance/7/ This marks the first time the show has aired seasons out of order.
The pre-jury contestants were sequestered and had their trip in Vietnam.https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNKEauy-4LJvOAjw3upZpbWVw3zoswi6eiB7BfTJrv79bNpFK3UnUNWBENXHiUs0A?key=Z0hxcW04QkFWUGdpRjlleGhJa0oyeFh2U1ZXQXhB
==Twists/Changes==
*Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty: The division of the tribes is based on the most prominent personal attributes of each castaway.
**The ​​ tribe is the "Brains" tribe; consisting of players who mostly rely on intelligence to get by in life.
**The ​ tribe is the "Beauty" tribe; consisting of players who mostly rely on their looks and social skills.
**The ​​ tribe is the "Brawn" tribe; consisting of players who mostly rely on their brute strength and endurance.
*Hidden Immunity Idol: While the current format still applies, there is also the option to combine two idols to create a "super idol" that can be played after the votes are read to save any player still in the game.
*Tribe Switch: On Day 12, a tribe switch occurred, simultaneously dissolving the To Tang tribe and mixing 12 of the 13 remaining castaways into two tribes of six. The odd person out who drew the red buff would be exiled until the next Tribal Council.
*One-Time Exile: During the tribe switch, 12 people would be assigned to either Chan Loh or Gondol, leaving one person without a tribe. That person would be sent to the former To Tang camp, where they would be ineligible for the next vote, and would join the losing tribe at the next Reward Challenge.
* Merge: This season merged with 11 castaways in the game.
* Extra Vote: A castaway would get the right to vote twice at the same Tribal Council.
* Juror Removal: A castaway would get the power to eliminate a juror of their choice.
* Final Three: Instead of the conventional Final Two facing the jury, the Day 39 Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing a seven-person jury.
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Switched Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Darnell Hamilton27, Chicago, ILPostal Worker 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Jennifer Lanzetti37, Salt Lake City, UTContractor 	 	 	 	 	3
 	Liz Markham26, New York City, NYQuantitative Strategist	 	 	 	 	5
 	Caleb Reynolds27, Hopkinsville, KYArmy Veteran 	 	 	 	 	0
 	Alecia Holden23, Dallas, TXReal Estate Agent 	 	 	 	 	8
 	Anna Khait26, Brooklyn, NYProfessional Poker Player 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Peter Baggenstos34, Minneapolis, MNER Doctor 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Neal Gottlieb38, Sausalito, CAIce Cream Entrepreneur 	 	 	rowspan="11" 	 	0
 	Nick Maiorano30, Redondo Beach, CAPersonal Trainer 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Debbie Wanner49, Reading, PAChemist 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Scot Pollard40, Carmel, INFormer NBA Champion 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Julia Sokolowski18, Boston, MACollege Student 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Kyle Jason30, Detroit, MIBounty Hunter 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Joe del Campo71, Vero Beach, FLFormer FBI Agent 	 	 	 	1 	
 	Cydney Gillon22, Douglasville, GABodybuilder 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Tai Trang51, San Francisco, CAGardener 	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	4 	
 	Aubry Bracco29, Cambridge, MASocial Media Marketer 	 	 	Runner-Up 	8 	
 	Michele Fitzgerald24, Freehold, NJBartender 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	2 	
==Season Summary==
The 18 new castaways were divided into three tribes based on primary attribute: Chan Loh (Brains), To Tang (Brawn), and Gondol (Beauty). It was all but total disaster for the To Tang tribe as they lost three of the first four Immunity Challenges and, coupled with tension surrounding the outspoken Alecia, they saw half their tribe members leave the game. Contrarily, the Chan Loh tribe only lost one member in spite of their constant manipulations and ego permeating. While the Gondol tribe went undefeated in Immunity Challenges, they also suffered a major setback when Caleb was medically evacuated after collapsing from heat exhaustion on Day 9.
Following the Tribe Switch on Day 12, few major cross-tribal alliances formed aside from the unlikely friendship between Scot and Tai. This ultimately proved crucial for Tai's survival, as original Gondol members Anna and Julia were targeted in his place. Though the former of the two was eliminated, Julia narrowly escaped the same fate after original Brain Aubry flipped against her former tribe and voted out Peter on Day 16.
This initially seemed to be a costly mistake on Aubry's part, as the remaining Brawn and Beauty members formed an alliance against the Brains following the merge on Day 17. However, Cydney had grown tired of the men's overconfidence and banded the women together to vote out Nick, forming a new majority. Though the minority alliance held two Hidden Immunity Idols, Aubry convinced Tai to betray his allies, getting rid of one of the idols and joining the majority.
From there, a core alliance of Aubry, Cydney, and Michele would vote out Scot's remaining allies, eventually becoming the final four along with Tai. With Michele winning immunity on Day 37, Aubry and Cydney were forced to turn on one another, resulting in a fire-making tiebreaker. Aubry ultimately won, joining Michele and Tai in the finals. At the Final Tribal Council, the jury was skeptical of both Aubry and Michele's games, while not respecting Tai's due to his constant floating and flipping. Ultimately, Michele's social game impressed the jury more than Aubry's strategic game, winning her the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-2-0 vote.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* The art design for this season's buffs and flags appears to be inspired by the , a traditional Southeast Asian style of tattooing deity or animal designs accompanied by Pali phrases said to offer good luck or fortune.http://sak-yant.com/
* The font used for this season is Croteau.http://www.fonts.com/font/typodermic/croteau/regular
* Kaôh Rōng is the third season in which the starting tribe colors are blue, red, and yellow, and the merged tribe color is black, following and .
* Kaôh Rōng features the most medical evacuations, with three.
* Kaôh Rōng is the first season with an equal number of Reward Challenges and Immunity Challenges.
** Kaôh Rōng is the only season where the last challenge was played for reward rather than immunity.
* Kaôh Rōng is tied with for the fewest players voted out, with 12.
* Post-merge, no people from the same starting tribe were eliminated consecutively.
* Kaôh Rōng is the first season since where no Hidden Immunity Idols were played.
*Kaôh Rōng is the only season whose finale aired over a year after filming concluded.
* Kaôh Rōng is the only season with new players to have a Final Three where all three finalists returned for a future season.
** The Final Threes of , , , , and all returned for future seasons, but Heroes vs. Villains was a full returning players season, and all other such seasons (including returnee season Micronesia) had a Final Two.
==References==
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Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor: Kaôh Rōng
Category:Seasons with a reused location