Survivor 25

***Survivor 25*** is the twenty-fifth season of the PM Survivor Series.

This season was the second season to feature the Fans vs. Favorites format, originally introduced in *Survivor: Cuba*. Clara Souza was crowned the Sole Survivor in a 6-3-0 vote against Phenix Hernandez and Sammie Woodside, making her the first winner to defeat a returning player.

## Production

The 25th season was filmed in the same production cycle as Survivor 26. The cast for the twenty-fifth season will be revealed on March 5, 2023.

## Twists/Changes

* **Fans vs. Favorites:** Similar to past season *Survivor: Cuba*, this season will feature one tribe made up of die-hard Fans of the show, while the other tribe will be made up of Favorite returning players from previous seasons.
* **Returning Players:** As implied by the theme, ten former players returned to compete against ten new castaways.
* **Hidden Immunity Idol:** Like previous seasons, at least one Hidden Immunity Idol is hidden in each tribe's camp, playable until Day 36.
* **Tribe Switch:** On Day 10, four Fans were switched to the new Berhala tribe and four Favorites were switched to the new Pemuja tribe.
* **Double Elimination:** On Day 30, **Alyak** was subjected to a Double Elimination. At the Survivor Auction, one castaway was lucky enough to purchase a game-changing advantage. The advantage provided the contestant with their choice of individual immunity at first or second vote at the double elimination Tribal Council. All players (including the person who bought the advantage) will compete in the immunity challenge for whichever is not chosen.

## Season Summary

The two tribes were selected prior to the start of the game: Berhala, composed of ten returning Survivor contestants (the "Favorites"), and Pemuja, ten new players (the "Fans"). Berhala lost the first two challenges, allowing rivalry between Ahmad and Samir to start and finish at the end of both Tribal Councils. The Pemuja tribe majority alliance was created and destroyed by founder Jalen at their first and only Tribal Council before the swap.

The tribes were shuffled in Day 10, with both new tribes containing four Favorites and four Fans. The significantly weaker new Berhala tribe lost nearly every single challenge, with the Favorites (Jax, Kenza, Molan and Ziya) creating the Swapped Berhala Alliance that voted out all the new players. Kasey and Sammie worked together with the women of the Pemuja Tribe, dissolving any loyalty between returning players and newer players.

The tribes merged with seven Favorites and five Fans remaining. The Alyak tribe quickly saw the swapped tribes stick together for the first vote of the game with Clara calling the shots before Kasey and Talon made the decision to flip against the majority for the following two votes to take out Ben and Adrianna. With Kasey playing the middle, she flipped back to the swapped Pemuja Alliance to take out two members from the Swapped Berhala Alliance. With Kasey's threat level growing, Clara realized that she was a big threat despite the final three between the two of them and Phenix, ultimately voting her out at the final four.

Clara, Phenix, and Sammie ultimately were the final three players. During the Final Tribal Council, Sammie was criticized for her lack of moves and playing what the jurors deemed a "sheep" game. While Clara and Phenix were recognized as a pair towards the end of the game, Phenix was condemned on being a follower to Clara, but swayed three jurors based on withholding his unplayed Hidden Immunity Idol from Clara. Despite the revelation, Clara was praised for being the big dog in the Swapped Pemuja Alliance, often calling all the shots on who went home while maintaining her relationships within the tribe, leading to Clara earning the title of Sole Survivor in a 6-3-0 vote.

## Trivia

* This is the fifth season to feature returning players.
	+ This is the first season where a new player defeated a returning player in the Final Tribal Council.
* This is the first season since *All Stars* that the first person voted out won at least one challenge.
	+ *Chile* is the only other season to feature this feat.
* *Survivor 25* has the most consecutive different immunity winners with 7.
	+ However, it is tied for the most different winners in a single season with *Cuba* and *22*.
* This is the second season, after *Tahiti*, where Hidden Immunity Idols were active, but none were played.
* This is the first season where the multiple people that found Hidden Immunity Idols were LGBT contestants.