Survivor 42

''Survivor 42'' is the forty-second season of the American competition television series ''Survivor''. The season premiered on March 9, 2022, on CBS in the United States and Global in Canada. It ended on May 25, 2022, when Maryanne Oketch was voted the Sole Survivor, defeating Michael "Mike" Turner and Romeo Escobar in a 7–1–0 vote. With her victory, Oketch became the second Canadian castaway to win the game after Erika Casupanan from ''Survivor 41'', the fifth castaway of African descent to win after Vecepia Towery from '' Survivor: Marquesas'', Earl Cole from '' Survivor: Fiji'', Jeremy Collins from '' Survivor: Cambodia'', and Wendell Holland from '' Survivor: Ghost Island'', and the second black female castaway to win after Towery.

Both the 41st and 42nd season of ''Survivor'' were originally ordered in May 2020. Production and broadcast of the season were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming occurred in Fiji for the tenth consecutive season during May and June 2021.

Production

Development

Much like the previous season, it is a shortened season spanning only 26 out of the usual 39 days, due to the COVID-19 pandemic requiring all cast and production members to quarantine for 14 days and taking up some of the short production time.

Gameplay

This season reused several twists introduced in the previous season. Returning twists included the "Shot In the Dark," the "Beware Advantage," and various decision games which forced players to make game-altering choices. New to this season was the "Advantage Amulet" which was initially shared by three players at the start of the game; the fewer of its owners remained in the game, the more power it gained.

Contestants

The cast was announced on February 9, 2022, and consisted of 18 new players divided into three tribes: Ika, Taku, and Vati. The tribe names, in Fijian, come from various species of "fish," "hawksbill sea turtle," and "swimming crab," respectively. The merged tribe name Kula Kula comes from the Fijian word "kula" meaning collared lory, the national bird of Fiji. Swati Goel, one of this season's contestants, was previously a contributing author for the Wikimedia Foundation.

Season summary

Eighteen new castaways were divided into three tribes of six: Ika, Taku, and Vati. Taku dominated the tribal phase, losing only one immunity challenge thanks to Jonathan’s strength, though they also lost Jackson to an early medical removal. Jonathan, Omar, and Lindsay took control of the tribe, leaving Maryanne on the outside, yet they were the most unified of the three tribes. Ika and Vati proved to be more fractured; Drea and Romeo took control on Ika, as did Hai, Lydia, and Mike on Vati. All three tribes entered the individual portion of the game with four members apiece, though it became three for Vati as Lydia was blindsided prior to the jury phase.

At the merge, the tribe initially banded together against outsiders Chanelle and Tori. Afterwards, Omar established strategic control with Lindsay and Mike, voting out Vati and Ika leaders Hai and Drea as big threats. Omar was then blindsided by his old tribemate Maryanne, who used her extra vote advantage to capitalize on a split vote. Lindsay then followed after being left vulnerable by Omar's elimination. After struggling as an outlier for the entire merge phase, Romeo won the final immunity challenge and elected to take Maryanne to the end, as Mike eliminated Jonathan in a fire-making challenge.

At the end, Mike was criticized for claiming to have played a game of honesty and integrity, yet breaking his word with too many people, while Romeo was criticized for never having control after the merge. Meanwhile, Maryanne highlighted her continual growth in the game and strong late-game moves, which earned her the jury’s respect and the victory in a 7–1–0 final vote.

Episodes

Voting history

;Notes

Reception

Critical reception

''Survivor 42'' received mainly positive reviews with praise directed towards the cast, editing, and the eventual winner. However, the season received some criticism for repeating many of the twists and challenges from ''Survivor 41''. Dalton Ross of ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked this season 20th out of 42. He stated that "the entire season often felt like a rerun" due to the repetition of the format used in the previous season. However, he praised the producers and editing direction for having more focus on the players rather than the twists and called Maryanne's victory the best story of the season. Jake Cole of ''Slant Magazine'' ranked the season 8th out of 42, praising the cast, editing, gameplay, and the winner's "masterclass" Final Tribal Council performance. Gordon Holmes of Xfinity said that "For better or for worse, seasons 41 and 42 are going to be linked together forever. They're basically an identical format with different casts. And 41 was fine while 42 was great." Andy Dehnart of ''reality blurred'' called ''Survivor 42'' an improvement over the previous season due to "a clearer, stronger story arc that spans at least half the season, if not more."

Viewing figures

United States

References

External links

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42
2022 American television seasons
Television productions postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 in Fiji
Television shows filmed in Fiji
Television shows set in Fiji