Survivor Wiki
Advertisement
Survivor Wiki

Survivor: David vs. Goliath is the thirty-seventh season of the CBS competitive reality television series Survivor.

Inspired by the eponymous biblical story, David vs. Goliath pitted a group of tenacious underdogs against a group of accomplished leaders in their fields. The season saw 39 days of creative strategic gameplay, an eclectic cast that collaborated as often as they conflicted, and a merged tribe where the power shifted on a regular basis. Despite usurping control of the numbers, the David Alliance was unable to keep itself intact, breaking apart and leaving the field open for an unpredictable endgame. Ultimately, the last remaining David Nick Wilson defeated Goliaths Mike White and Angelina Keeley in a 7-3-0 vote to become the Sole Survivor.

Production[]

The season was filmed in the spring of 2018, following the same schedule as Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X and Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.

Casting[]

According to Elizabeth Olson, Cirie Fields's son Jared was planned to compete on this season, before dropping out last minute and being replaced by Davie Rickenbacker.[4] Jared would later go on to compete on Big Brother 25 alongside Cirie herself.

Twists/Changes[]

  • David vs. Goliath: The castaways were divided into tribes defined by their degree of success in life. The David​ tribe was comprised of underdogs, while the Goliath tribe was comprised of overachievers.
  • Hidden Immunity Idol
  • Tribe Expansion: On Day 10, fifteen of the sixteen remaining players were randomly spread across three tribes of five. The David and Goliath tribes were renamed Vuku and Jabeni respectively; and a third, tribe, Tiva​, was introduced.
  • One-time Exile Island: The castaway who did not receive a buff during the Tribe Expansion was sent to Exile Island with the opportunity to find the Idol Nullifier. The exiled player later joined the tribe that went to Tribal Council, replacing the member it lost.
    • Idol Nullifier: Introduced on Day 10 following the Tribe Expansion, the Idol Nullifier advantage can be used to void the use of a Hidden Immunity Idol.[5]
  • Merge: The merge occurred with thirteen players remaining.
  • Vote Steal: A vote steal was hidden after the merge.
  • Simplified Final Four Tribal Council: Instead of a traditional vote, the person who wins the final four Immunity Challenge will get to choose one person to take with them to the Final Three. The remaining two castaways competed in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated.[6]
  • Expanded Jury and Final Three: The Final Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing a ten-person jury.
  • Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak one by one, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe1 Expanded Tribe Merged Tribe
S37 pat t Pat Cusack
41, Watervliet, NY
Maintenance Manager
David Evacuated
Day 3
0
S37 jessica t Jessica Peet
19, Lakeland, FL
Waitress
David 1st Voted Out
Day 6
5
S37 jeremy t Jeremy Crawford
39, New York City, NY
Attorney
Goliath 2nd Voted Out
Day 9
9
S37 bi t Bi Nguyen
28, Houston, TX
MMA Fighter
David Quit
Day 10
0
S37 natalia t Natalia Azoqa
25, Irvine, CA
Industrial Engineer
Goliath Vuku 3rd Voted Out
Day 11
3
S37 natalie t Natalie Cole
57, Los Angeles, CA
Publishing CEO
Goliath Jabeni 4th Voted Out
Day 15
4
S37 lyrsa t Lyrsa Torres
36, Boston, MA
Airline Agent
David Jabeni 5th Voted Out
Day 17
9
S37 elizabeth t Elizabeth Olson
31, Longview, TX
Kitchen Staff
David Vuku Kalokalo 6th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 20
13
S37 john t John Hennigan
38, Los Angeles, CA
Professional Wrestler
Goliath Tiva 7th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 22
3
S37 dan t Dan Rengering
27, Gainesville, FL
S.W.A.T. Officer
Goliath Tiva 8th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 25
6
S37 alec t Alec Merlino
24, San Clemente, CA
Bartender
Goliath Vuku 9th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 28
9
S37 carl t Carl Boudreaux
41, Houston, TX
Truck Driver
David Vuku 10th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 30
6
S37 gabby t Gabby Pascuzzi
25, Denver, CO
Technical Writer
David Tiva 11th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 32
2
S37 christian t Christian Hubicki
32, Tallahassee, FL
Robotics Scientist
David Tiva 12th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 35
18
S37 davie t Davie Rickenbacker
30, Atlanta, GA
Social Media Manager
David Vuku 13th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 36
7
S37 alison t Alison Raybould
28, Chapel Hill, NC
Physician
Goliath Tiva 14th Voted Out
9th Jury Member
Day 37
13
S37 kara t Kara Kay
30, San Diego, CA
Realtor
Goliath Vuku Eliminated
10th Jury Member
Day 38
0
S37 angelina t Angelina Keeley
28, San Clemente, CA
Financial Consultant
Goliath Jabeni Second
Runner-Up
6
S37 mike t Mike White
47, Los Angeles, CA
Filmmaker
Goliath Jabeni Runner-Up 1
S37 nick t Nick Wilson
27, Williamsburg, KY
Public Defender
David Jabeni Sole Survivor 0
Notes:
^1 Vuku and Jabeni were known as "David" and "Goliath" respectively before the Tribe Switch.

Season Summary[]

The 20 new players were initially divided into two tribes: David and Goliath. The Davids struggled at the beginning, quickly losing three members which put them in the minority following the tribe switch. On the other hand, distrust and tension among the Goliaths caused them to vote among themselves, eating away their numbers. The tribes merged 7-6 still in favor of the Goliaths.

At the merge, while it would seem the original Goliaths would easily decimate the Davids following the elimination of Elizabeth, the Davids found and correctly used a Hidden Immunity Idol and two game advantages, allowing them to gain temporary control until former Davids Christian and Gabby betrayed the alliance.

With tribal lines at a stalemate at 5-5, inter-tribal strategies took place, with both sides eliminating members within their own ranks. Former Goliath Mike used the opportunity to lead the charge to eliminate the rest of the Davids. However, the last remaining David, Nick, won the remaining Immunity Challenges, forcing the Goliaths to turn on each other. Mike, Nick, and another Goliath, Angelina, made up the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Angelina was ignored by the jury, being perceived as transparently opportunistic and theatrical, and Mike was praised for his slow but steadily progressive game play, but it was Nick whose strategic moves, strong social relationships and underdog status won him the title of Sole Survivor in a 7-3-0 vote.

Episode Air date Challenges Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewers
(in millions)
Ratings/Share
(18-49)
Reward Immunity
1 "Appearances Are Deceiving" September 26, 2018 David Pat
(no vote)
Evacuated
Day 3
7.83[7] 1.7/7[7]
Goliath1
2 "The Chicken Has Flown the Coop" October 3, 2018 Goliath1 Jessica
(5-4)
1st Voted Out
Day 6
7.27[8] 1.5/7[8]
3 "I Am Goliath Strong" October 10, 2018 David1 Jeremy
(9-1)
2nd Voted Out
Day 9
7.28[9] 1.4/6[9]
4 "Time to Bring About the Charmpocalypse" October 17, 2018 Carl2 Bi
(no vote)
Quit
Day 10
7.21[10] 1.4/6[10]
Tiva1 Natalia
(3-1-1)
3rd Voted Out
Day 11
Jabeni
5 "Jackets and Eggs" October 24, 2018 Vuku Vuku Natalie
(3-2)
4th Voted Out
Day 15
7.37[11] 1.5/6[11]
Jabeni Tiva
6 "Aren't Brochachos Just Adorable?" October 31, 2018 Tiva Tiva Lyrsa
(3-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 17
7.06[12] 1.3/6[12]
Jabeni Vuku
7 "There's Gonna Be Tears Shed" November 7, 2018 None Alison Elizabeth
(12-1)
6th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 20
7.69[13] 1.6/7[13]
8 "You Get What You Give" November 14, 2018 Alec, Alison,
Christian,
Gabby,
John, Nick
Dan John
(3-0-0)3
7th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 22
7.20[14] 1.4/6[14]
9 "Breadth-First Search" November 21, 2018 Alec, Dan,
Davie,
Kara, Mike
Alec Dan
(6-3-2)4
8th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 25
7.09[15] 1.3/6[15]
10 "Tribal Lines Are Blurred" November 28, 2018 Alec, Alison,
Christian,
Gabby, Mike
Christian Alec
(9-1)
9th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 28
7.60[16] 1.6/7[16]
Carl, Davie,
Kara, Mike
Davie Carl
(5-4)
10th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 30
11 "So Smart They're Dumb" December 5, 2018 Angelina,
Nick
[Davie, Mike]
Kara Gabby
(2-1-0)3
11th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 32
7.51[17] 1.5/7[17]
12 "Are You Feeling Lucky?" December 12, 2018 Davie
[Kara,
Nick]
Mike Christian
(3-2-0)3,5
12th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 35
7.77[18] 1.5/7[18]
13 "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" December 19, 2018 Nick1 Davie
(4-2)
13th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 36
7.72[19] 1.5/7[19]
[Angelina,
Mike]
None Nick Alison
(4-1)5
14th Voted Out
9th Jury Member
Day 37
Nick Kara
(no vote)6
Eliminated
10th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Angelina
(7-3-0)
Second Runner-Up
Mike
(7-3-0)
Runner-Up
Nick
(7-3-0)
Sole Survivor
14 "Reunion" 5.17[19] 1.0/5[19]
Notes:
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 As Carl drew a package containing no buff, he was exiled without a tribe. Because of this, he did not attend Tribal Council and was immune for the episode.
^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^4 Carl used the Idol Nullifier on Dan, canceling out Dan's idol.
^5 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.
^6 Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Immunity Challenge, Nick, would choose someone to take with them into the Final Three. He chose Angelina. The remaining two castaways, Kara and Mike, would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Expanded Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Voted Out S37 pat t
Pat
S37 jessica t
Jessica
S37 jeremy t
Jeremy
S37 bi t
Bi
S37 natalia t
Natalia
S37 natalie t
Natalie
S37 lyrsa t
Lyrsa
S37 elizabeth t
Elizabeth
S37 john t
John
S37 dan t
Dan
S37 alec t
Alec
S37 carl t
Carl
S37 gabby t
Gabby
S37 christian t
Christian
S37 davie t
Davie
S37 alison t
Alison
S37 kara t
Kara
S37 angelina t
Angelina
S37 mike t
Mike
S37 nick t
Nick
Vote No vote1 5-4 9-1 No vote2 3-1-1 3-2 3-1 12-1 3-0-04 6-3-25 9-1 5-4 2-1-04 3-2-04,8 4-2 4-18 No vote9 7-3-0
Nick Jessica Natalie Lyrsa Elizabeth John Dan Alec Alison Christian Christian Alison Alison Jury Vote
Dan6
Mike Jeremy Natalie Lyrsa Elizabeth Christian Christian Alec Carl Gabby Davie Davie Alison
Angelina Jeremy Lyrsa Lyrsa Elizabeth Christian Christian Alec Alison Gabby Christian Davie Alison
Kara Jeremy Davie Elizabeth Christian Angelina Alec Carl Christian Christian Davie Alison Eliminated Mike
Alison Jeremy Elizabeth Christian None7 Alec Carl Christian Davie Davie Mike Mike
Davie Lyrsa Natalia Elizabeth John Dan Alec Alison Christian Alison Alison Nick
Christian Jessica Elizabeth John Dan Alec Carl Alison Alison Mike
Gabby Jessica Elizabeth Angelina Dan Alec Carl Christian Nick
Carl Lyrsa Exiled3 Elizabeth Angelina Dan Alec Alison Nick
Alec Jeremy Natalia Elizabeth Christian Angelina Carl Nick
Dan Jeremy Elizabeth Christian Christian Nick
John Jeremy Elizabeth Christian Nick
Elizabeth Jessica Natalia Angelina Nick
Lyrsa Jessica Natalie Angelina
Natalie Jeremy Lyrsa
Natalia Jeremy Elizabeth
Bi Lyrsa Quit
Jeremy Natalie
Jessica Lyrsa
Pat Evacuated
Notes:
^1 Pat was medically evacuated over his injured back. No vote occurred for his removal.
^2 Bi elected to quit the game due to an MCL injury. No vote occurred for her removal.
^3 Because the number of castaways at the time of the tribe switch was not divisible by 3, Carl was exiled and rejoined the game as a member of the tribe that lost the Immunity Challenge, Vuku, replacing Natalia and evening the tribes at 5-5-5.
^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^5 Carl used the Idol Nullifier on Dan, canceling out Dan's idol.
^6 This castaway used the Vote Steal advantage, allowing them to steal another castaway's vote to vote twice at Tribal Council.
^7 This castaway's vote was stolen by the Vote Steal.
^8 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.
^9 Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Immunity Challenge, Nick, would choose someone to take with them into the Final Three. He chose Angelina. The remaining two castaways, Kara and Mike, would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Trivia[]

  • David vs. Goliath breaks the record Cagayan set with the Philippines for the longest consecutive use of a country, as David vs. Goliath marks the first time a country has been used five consecutive times.
  • David vs. Goliath was previously tied with Micronesia, Game Changers, Island of the Idols, and Survivor 41 for having the most LGBT contestants, with three: Jeremy, Lyrsa, and Mike. This record was broken by Survivor 42, with 5, and Survivor 44, with 6.
  • The Tribal Council set is specifically designed to hide the voting booth away from the contestants to prevent them from catching who played the Idol Nullifier advantage.
  • David vs. Goliath marks the first time that tribes are officially renamed, as David and Goliath were renamed to Vuku and Jabeni, respectively, after the tribe expansion.
  • David vs. Goliath is the second season, following Micronesia, to have both an evacuation and a quit.
  • Along with The Australian Outback, Survivor 44, and Survivor 46, David vs. Goliath has the fewest pre-merge Tribal Councils, with only five.
  • David vs. Goliath is tied with South Pacific for the most different individual immunity winners, with eight.
    • In addition, David vs. Goliath holds the record for the longest streak of unique individual immunity winners.
  • David vs. Goliath contains the most contestants who did not receive any votes cast against them, with 4.
    • David vs. Goliath is the only season where the first person eliminated and the Sole Survivor both received zero votes against them.

References[]

  1. https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-fall-preview-2018/news/1008633/the-cbs-fall-2018-19-tv-premiere-schedule-has-us-pumped-for-primetime/
  2. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/survivor/listings/
  3. https://www.truedorktimes.com/s37/calendar.htm
  4. https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/f53480/is_there_a_list_of_all_the_contestants_who_were/fhyqssr/?context=3
  5. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-david-goliath-jeff-probst-season-37-1139268
  6. http://ew.com/tv/2018/05/24/survivor-finale-jeff-probst-ghost-island-tie/
  7. 7.0 7.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-sept-26-2018/
  8. 8.0 8.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-3-2018/
  9. 9.0 9.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/tv-ratings-wednesday-oct-17-2018/
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-17-2018/
  11. 11.0 11.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-24-2018/
  12. 12.0 12.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-31-2018/
  13. 13.0 13.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-7-2018/
  14. 14.0 14.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-14-2018/
  15. 15.0 15.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-21-2018/
  16. 16.0 16.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-28-2018/
  17. 17.0 17.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-dec-5-2018/
  18. 18.0 18.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-dec-12-2018/
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-dec-19-2018/

Survivor (U.S.) Seasons
BorneoThe Australian OutbackAfricaMarquesasThailandThe AmazonPearl IslandsAll-StarsVanuatuPalauGuatemalaPanamaCook IslandsFijiChinaMicronesiaGabonTocantinsSamoaHeroes vs. VillainsNicaraguaRedemption IslandSouth PacificOne WorldPhilippinesCaramoanBlood vs. WaterCagayanSan Juan del SurWorlds ApartCambodiaKaôh RōngMillennials vs. Gen XGame ChangersHeroes vs. Healers vs. HustlersGhost IslandDavid vs. GoliathEdge of ExtinctionIsland of the IdolsWinners at WarSurvivor 41Survivor 42Survivor 43Survivor 44Survivor 45Survivor 46Survivor 47
Advertisement