Survivor 42

Survivor 42
Season Information
Version	United States
Season No.	42
Filming Location	Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
Filming Dates	May 16, 2021 - June 10, 2021
Season Run	March 9, 2022 - May 25, 2022
No. of Episodes	14
No. of Days	26
No. of Castaways	18
Winner	Maryanne Oketch
Runner(s)-Up	Mike Turner Romeo Escobar
Tribes	Ika Taku Vati Kula Kula
Viewership (in Millions)	5.368
Cast
Season Chronology
Previous	Survivor 41
Next	Survivor 43

Survivor 42 is the forty-second season of Survivor.

Adhering to the format of its predecessor, this season notably featured a greater degree of character development as its cast attempted to navigate the dangerous twists of Survivor's new era. After a medical evacuation at the start of the season, the tribal phase saw two tribes succumb to infighting as the Taku Four emerged as the only unified bloc heading into the merge. Following a fairly straightforward early merge controlled by a supermajority alliance, Maryanne Oketch broke through as a pivotal player that dictated the endgame. In the end, Maryanne won in a 7-1-0 vote over Mike Turner and Romeo Escobar, becoming the second Black woman and second consecutive Canadian to become Sole Survivor.

Production

Seasons 41 and 42 were slated for May 2020, but the outbreak of COVID-19 pushed the production and filming of both seasons a year later. Safety protocols and mobility practices used in Survivor 41 were still enforced.

According to Survivor 41 contestant Ricard Foyé, his cast had left for the airport the same day that the cast of Survivor 42, who had just finished their quarantine, arrived at Ponderosa.

Eventual Survivor 43 castaway Lindsay Carmine was initially cast for this season, but was removed after testing positive for COVID-19.

Capitalizing on the fact that the cast had yet to see Survivor 41, production decided to keep most of the twists introduced in the previous season for Survivor 42. Another holdover from Survivor 41 was the on-location after-show held directly following the conclusion of Final Tribal Council and the announcement of the Sole Survivor. Jeff Probst has expressed his preference for this after-show format, stating that it will be employed for all seasons in the foreseeable future.

For the first time since its introduction in Survivor: Micronesia, scenes at Ponderosa were not published for unknown reasons.

Twists/Changes

• Shortened Game: As was the case in Survivor 41, the game lasted for 26 days, 13 days shorter than the standard 39. Like in the previous season, no food rations and limited camp supplies were given to the castaways and reward items won in challenges were scarce.
• Tribe Division: The 18 castaways were divided into 3 tribes of 6. No unifying theme was used in dividing the tribes.
• Penalties for Losing Immunity Challenges: 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.
• Shot in the Dark: By sacrificing one's vote at Tribal Council, a player in trouble may invoke this advantage for a chance to be immune from the vote. While the chance of a favorable outcome was slim, if successful, the play acted as if a Hidden Immunity Idol was played. In a change to its original mechanics in 41, this power could be invoked until the final six.
• Advantage Amulet: Each player who performed the second leg of the first Reward Challenge had the choice of taking an Advantage Amulet for each of them. If all three amulets were used, they could collectively cast an Extra Vote. If two amulet holders were left, using them together would give them a Vote Steal. If only one active amulet remained, it could be used as a regular Hidden Immunity Idol. The amulets remained in play until there were six players left.
• Beware Advantage: Game advantages were hidden in packages labeled "Beware Advantage", the contents of which may only be obtained if its finder opened it and fulfilled its demands.
  • Hidden Immunity Idols: Each camp had one idol, that if found, its finder had to utter a certain phrase before an Immunity Challenge, and if members of the other tribes respond with their own code phrases, all three idols will have power. Until then, the idols remained powerless and their finders without a vote at Tribal Council. Unlike in 41, however, the idols had full power after the merge when the vote penalty ended. A regular Hidden Immunity Idol with no restrictions was also hidden after the merge.
  • Knowledge is Power: At the Day 15 Reward Challenge, a Beware Advantage was hidden for the contestant sitting out to find. Upon opening the advantage, that contestant must then find the Knowledge is Power hidden at camp by sundown; failing which, they would lose their vote at the next Tribal Council. The advantage entitles a player to ask another castaway if they possess a Hidden Immunity Idol or an advantage at Tribal Council. If the target is indeed in possession of the demanded item, the asker may steal it from them; otherwise, the advantage becomes useless. In the event that the target had more than one advantage in their possession, it is up to them which advantage to give up and they do not need to reveal every advantage in their possession. This advantage can be played until there were six players left.
• Journeys: Castaways from different tribes were taken to another island where they were given a choice between protecting or risking their vote on their next visit to Tribal Council. If all of them chose "protect", they kept their votes. If all of them chose "risk", none of them were able to vote at their next Tribal Council. If there was a split decision, those who chose "protect" get to keep their vote, but those who chose "risk" obtained an Extra Vote which would remain playable until the final six.
• Idol Nullifier: On Day 8, an Idol Nullifier was introduced and hidden at the camp of the tribe that won the Reward Challenge. This advantage however went unaired.
• Earn the Merge: The 12 remaining survivors abandoned their tribe colors and competed in an Immunity Challenge in 2 teams of 5. The winning team earned individual immunity, a spot in the merge tribe and merge feast, and the power to choose which of the 2 unchosen players from the challenge will be joining them. The last player unpicked was sent to Exile Island until the next Immunity Challenge.
  • Hourglass: The exiled castaway was presented with an hourglass. If the player wished to "reverse" the events of the challenge, they must break the hourglass, hence revoking the winning team's immunity. The exiled player and the members of the losing team were given individual immunity instead, while the members of the winning team were forced to compete in the individual Immunity Challenge.
• Double Elimination: On Day 17, the Kula Kula tribe was subjected to a Double Elimination, where the tribe was divided into two groups of five and two castaways were eliminated through two separate Tribal Councils. Following the Immunity Challenge, one group remained at the Kula Kula camp, while the other was sequestered at the old Taku camp for the afternoon.
• Do or Die: On Day 21, the first player to be eliminated from the Immunity Challenge was subjected to a game called "Do or Die", the mechanics of which were identical to the Monty Hall problem. At Tribal Council, the player had to select the box with the fire symbol to win individual immunity. If the chosen box contained a skull symbol instead, the player would be eliminated from the game with no official vote taking place and any advantage or Hidden Immunity Idols owned by the player cannot save them. The castaways were given the option to sit out of the Immunity Challenge if they did not want to take the risk.
• 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		Tribe Affiliation		Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Jackson Fox 47, Houston, TX Healthcare Worker	Taku		Evacuated Day 3	0
	Zach Wurtenberger 21, St. Louis, MO Student	Ika		1st Voted Out Day 3	5
	Marya Sherron 47, Noblesville, IN Stay-at-home Mom	Taku		2nd Voted Out Day 5	4
	Jenny Kim 42, Brooklyn, NY Creative Director	Vati		3rd Voted Out Day 7	5
	Swati Goel 19, Palo Alto, CA Ivy League Student	Ika		4th Voted Out Day 9	3
	Daniel Strunk 30, New Haven, CT Law Clerk	Vati		5th Voted Out Day 11	5
	Lydia Meredith 21, Santa Monica, CA Waitress	Vati		6th Voted Out Day 14	9
	Chanelle Howell 28, New York, NY Executive Recruiter	Vati	Kula Kula	7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 16	9
	Rocksroy Bailey 43, Las Vegas, NV Stay-at-home Dad	Ika		8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 17	4
	Tori Meehan 24, Rogers, AR Therapist	Ika		9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 17	5
	Hai Giang 28, New Orleans, LA Data Scientist	Vati		10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 19	7
	Drea Wheeler 34, Montreal, QC Fitness Consultant	Ika		11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 21	5
	Omar Zaheer 30, Whitby, ON Veterinarian	Taku		12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 23	3
	Lindsay Dolashewich 30, Asbury Park, NJ Dietitian	Taku		13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 24	5
	Jonathan Young 28, Gulf Shores, AL Beach Service Company Owner	Taku		Eliminated 8th Jury Member Day 25	7
	Romeo Escobar 37, Norwalk, CA Pageant Coach	Ika		Second Runner-Up	6
	Mike Turner 57, Hoboken, NJ Retired Firefighter	Vati		Runner-Up	4
	Maryanne Oketch 23, Ajax, ON Seminary Student	Taku		Sole Survivor	2

Season Summary

Taking advantage of the fact that its cast had yet to see the previous season, Survivor 42 adopted many of the twists used in Survivor 41. The accelerated 26-day game started with three tribes of six: Ika, Taku, and Vati. While Taku was the first to lose two members, they became a united front and dominated in challenges largely due to Jonathan's brute strength. Ika's lack of cohesion resulted in disunity, giving Drea and Romeo the power to dictate tribal dynamics. Vati quickly fractured into three pairs and two chaotic visits to Tribal Council sowed even more discord between its members.

The individual portion began with the formation of a cross-tribal alliance built on the advantages that its members possessed. However, the introduction of the Hourglass forced the alliance to turn on itself, simultaneously allowing the Taku Four to position themselves securely amidst the two other starting tribes, which dissolved under significant infighting. The majority alliance took out the remaining outsiders before cannibalizing each other, leaving Maryanne and Romeo safe while Mike aligned with Taku to eliminate Hai and Drea.

At the final six, the Takus finally decided to turn on each other. Realizing that Omar and Lindsay had been controlling the tribal dynamics, Maryanne joined the rest of Kula Kula to orchestrate their eliminations. At the final four, Romeo won the Final Immunity Challenge and brought his late-game ally Maryanne to the finals, forcing Jonathan to face Mike in the fire-making challenge. Mike won and joined Maryanne and Romeo in the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Mike was commended for his social game, but criticized for breaking his word while also preaching honor; Maryanne was praised for her growth throughout the game, but the jury was unclear about her approach to the game; and Romeo was criticized for having no control in the second half of the game. In a 7-1-0 vote, Maryanne's eloquence in articulating her growth narrative and strategic decisions won her the title of Sole Survivor over Mike and Romeo.

Episode		Air Date	Challenges		Eliminated (Vote)	Finish	Viewers (in millions)	Ratings/Share (18-49)
			Reward	Immunity
1	"Feels Like a Rollercoaster"	March 9, 2022	Ika	Taku	Jackson (no vote)	Evacuated Day 3	4.96	0.8/7
				Vati	Zach (5-0)	1st Voted Out Day 3
2	"Good and Guilty"	March 16, 2022	Vati1		Marya (4-0)	2nd Voted Out Day 5	5.06	0.8/7
			Ika1
3	"Go for the Gusto"	March 23, 2022	Taku1		Jenny (2-2; 1-1; 2-0)2,3	3rd Voted Out Day 7	5.35	0.8/7
			Ika1
4	"Vibe of the Tribe"	March 30, 2022	Taku	Taku	Swati (3-1)	4th Voted Out Day 9	5.63	0.9/7
				Vati
5	"I'm Survivor Rich"	April 6, 2022	Ika1		Daniel (2-2-1; 3-0)2	5th Voted Out Day 11	5.58	0.9/8
			Taku1
6	"You Can't Hide on Survivor"	April 13, 2022	Hai, Jonathan, Lydia, Maryanne, Tori [Lindsay]1,4		TBD	6th Voted Out Day 14	5.12	0.8/7
7	"The Devil You Do or the Devil You Don't"		None	(Chanelle, Drea, Mike, Omar, Rocksroy, Romeo)5	Lydia (6-2-2-1)
				Tori
8	"You Better Be Wearing a Seatbelt"	April 20, 2022	Chanelle, Jonathan, Mike, Rocksroy, Tori	Tori	Chanelle (7-3-1)	7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 16	5.43	0.9/7
9	"Game of Chicken"	April 27, 2022		Hai	Rocksroy (4-1)	8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 17	5.72	0.9/7
			Jonathan1,6		Tori (4-0)7	9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 17
			(Drea, Lindsay, Maryanne, Tori)
10	"Tell a Good Lie, Not a Stupid Lie"	May 4, 2022	Lindsay [Mike, Omar]	Lindsay	Hai (6-2)	10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 19	5.62	0.9/8
11	"Battle Royale"	May 11, 2022	None	Jonathan	Drea (5-3)	11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 21	5.38	0.8/7
				(Lindsay)8
12	"Caterpillar to a Butterfly"	May 18, 2022	Omar [Maryanne, Mike, Romeo]	Lindsay	Omar (3-2-2)	12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 23	5.70	0.9/8
13	"It Comes Down to This"	May 25, 2022	Mike1		Lindsay (4-1)7	13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 24	5.11	0.8/7
			[Jonathan]
			None	Romeo	Jonathan (no vote)9	Eliminated 8th Jury Member Day 25
			Jury Vote		Romeo (7-1-0)	Second Runner-Up
					Mike (7-1-0)	Runner-Up
					Maryanne (7-1-0)	Sole Survivor
14	"Aftershow"
Notes: ^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge. ^2 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote would commence. ^3 Per Survivor rules, in case of a deadlock tie, the non-immune players would have an open discussion to eliminate one of the tied players. If no consensus is reached, the non-immune castaways would be forced to draw rocks. ^4 The twelve remaining players were divided into two teams of five and two sit-outs, with the winning team winning reward and immunity, as well as the right to take one of the two sit-outs (Lindsay and Rocksroy) to join them. ^5 The unchosen sit-out from the last challenge (Rocksroy) was exiled. There, he was given an hourglass which he may choose to break to strip the winning team of their immunity, transferring it to the losing team and himself. Rocksroy broke the hourglass. ^6 At the Immunity Challenge, the ten remaining players were divided into two teams of five, with one person from each team winning immunity. The last player standing overall (Jonathan) won reward for their team. ^7 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^8 By winning the "Do or Die" game, Lindsay was granted immunity at Tribal Council. ^9 Instead of a traditional vote, the winner of the Immunity Challenge, Romeo, would choose someone to take with them to the Final Three. He chose Maryanne. The remaining two castaways, Jonathan and Mike, would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Voting History

		Original Tribes									Merged Tribe
Episode		1		2	3			4	5		7	8	9		10	11	12	13
Voted Out		Jackson	Zach	Marya	Tie	Deadlock	Jenny	Swati	Tie	Daniel	Lydia	Chanelle	Rocksroy	Tori	Hai	Drea	Omar	Lindsay	Jonathan	Romeo	Mike	Maryanne
Vote		No vote1	5-0	4-0	2-25	1-16	2-07	3-1	2-2-15	3-0	6-2-2-1	7-3-1	4-1	4-08	6-2	5-3	3-2-2	4-18	No vote10	7-1-0
►	Maryanne	—	—	Marya	—			—	—		Lydia	Romeo	—	Tori	Hai	Drea	Omar	Lindsay	—	Jury Vote
																	Omar9
►	Mike	—	—	—	None3			—	Chanelle	Daniel	Lydia	Chanelle	Rocksroy	—	Hai	Drea	Romeo	Lindsay	—
►	Romeo	—	Zach	—	—			Swati	—		Maryanne	Hai	Rocksroy	—	Jonathan	Mike	Omar	Lindsay	—
►	Jonathan	—	—	Marya	—			—	—		Lydia	Chanelle	—	Tori	Hai	Drea	Romeo	Lindsay	Eliminated		Mike
►	Lindsay	—	—	Marya	—			—	—		Lydia	Chanelle	—	Tori	Hai	Drea	Jonathan	Jonathan				Maryanne
►	Omar	—	—	Marya	—			—	—		None4	Romeo	Rocksroy	—	Hai	Drea	Jonathan					Maryanne
►	Drea	—	Zach	—	—			Swati	—		Lydia	Chanelle	—	Tori	Hai	Mike						Maryanne
																Mike9
►	Hai	—	—	—	Jenny	Jenny	Jenny	—	Daniel	Daniel	Lydia	Chanelle	Rocksroy	—	Jonathan							Maryanne
►	Tori	—	Zach	—	—			Swati	—		Jonathan	Chanelle	—	None2								Maryanne
►	Rocksroy	—	Zach	—	—			Tori	—		Lindsay	Chanelle	Romeo									Maryanne
►	Chanelle	—	—	—	None4			—	Mike	None	Jonathan	Romeo										Maryanne
►	Lydia	—	—	—	Jenny	None	None	—	Daniel	Daniel	Maryanne
	Daniel	—	—	—	Lydia	Lydia	Jenny	—	Chanelle	None
	Swati	—	Zach	—	—			None2
	Jenny	—	—	—	Lydia	None	Voted Out
	Marya	—	—	None2
	Zach	—	None2
	Jackson	Evacuated
Notes: ^1 Jackson was evacuated over his medical condition. No vote occurred for his removal. ^2 This castaway played their Shot in the Dark, making them ineligible to vote at Tribal Council. The scroll they selected, however, read "Not Safe", thus all votes against them remained valid. ^3 This castaway found the Beware Advantage containing the Hidden Immunity Idol, and until all of the Hidden Immunity Idols were activated, they were barred from voting. ^4 This castaway lost their vote at the summit, thus they were unable to cast a vote. ^5 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote was held where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie. ^6 Per Survivor rules, in the case of a deadlock tie, the non-immune players would have an open discussion to eliminate one of the tied players. If no consensus is reached, the non-immune castaways would be forced to draw rocks. ^7 By consensus, Jenny was eliminated. ^8 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^9 This castaway played an Extra Vote advantage, allowing them to vote twice at Tribal Council. ^10 Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Immunity Challenge, Romeo, would take someone with them to the Final Three. He chose Maryanne. The remaining two castaways, Jonathan and Mike, would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Trivia

• Survivor 42 follows Island of the Idols as the second season to contain contestants of East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast-Asian descent.
• Survivor 42 contains 5 LGBT contestants: Chanelle, Hai, Jackson, Lydia, and Romeo. This record was broken in Survivor 44, which had 6 LGBT contestants.
• Survivor 42 is the first season where three different tribes attended the first three Tribal Councils; this would happen again in Survivor 44.
• Survivor 42 is the first season since the introduction of the rock draw where a deadlocked vote occurred during the tribal phase.
• Survivor 42 is the first season with more than two starting tribes to merge with equal numbers between all tribes.
• Survivor 42 ties the record previously set in Survivor 41 for most contestants immune at a single Tribal Council; 7 contestants had individual immunity at the final 12 Tribal Council.
  • Survivor 42 is tied with Survivor 41 for most contestants to have individual immunity at Tribal Council, with 10.
  • Including Maryanne, who played an idol before the vote at the Double Elimination, Survivor 42 is the first season where every person who made the jury phase had some form of immunity at Tribal Council.
• Survivor 42 holds the record for most consecutive episodes where at least one contestant is sitting out of a challenge, with 8.
  • The only tribal challenge in which every remaining contestant participated was the opening Reward Challenge on Day 1.
  • With an additional episode outside of this streak, Survivor 42 contains a record 9 episodes where at least one contestant is sitting out.
• Survivor 42 is the first season since Edge of Extinction to contain multiple individual Reward Challenges.
• The final three challenges of Survivor 42 were all variations of challenges previously seen in the finale of Cambodia.
• Survivor 42 is the third season, after Marquesas and Philippines, with a three-way tie for most individual Immunity Challenge wins: Jonathan, Lindsay, and Tori each won two challenges. This is the first instance where none of the tied contestants won a challenge in the finale.
  • This is also the second season, after Samoa, where the same woman (Tori) won the first two individual Immunity Challenges.
• Survivor 42 is the first season to have multiple Hidden Immunity Idols expire unused.
• Survivor 42 is the second season whose finale aired over a year after filming commenced, after Kaôh Rōng.
• Survivor 42 is the first season where women and men were alternately eliminated during the jury phase.
• Survivor 42 is the second season to produce a Final Three containing one representative of each starting tribe, after Worlds Apart.
• Survivor 42 is the first season since Fiji whose Final Three did not include any Caucasian contestants.
• Survivor 41 and Survivor 42 are the first seasons since One World and Philippines to produce consecutive female Sole Survivors.
• Survivor 42 is the first season since China to not have Ponderosa videos for the jury.