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The Big Picture

• Survivor 45 brings back the drama and strategy that made the series iconic, pleasing fans who missed the old elements.
• The new era of Survivor allows marginalized contestants to share their stories and raise awareness of important issues.
• Dee Valladeres' dominant gameplay and win in Survivor 45 signals a return to the show's core tenets while showcasing positive growth.

Survivor, created by Charlie Parsons for CBS, is a popular reality show that maroons its competitors on a patch of wilderness and has them fight for immunity, strategically betray one another, and overall 'survive' to win the $1,000,000 prize. Yet as with any long-lasting reality show, Survivor has seen its format shift over its many seasons, creating a new status quo. One that's left many people missing the elements that drew them to the series in the first place. From shortening the number of days the players compete to a distinct lack of drama (when compared to the theatrics of earlier eras), it's unfortunate that the past five seasons' positives are discounted because they lack what originally made the series so iconic.

Viewers have been waiting for these features to return and for the show to properly balance its new social awareness. All with the pulse-pounding strategy and dramatics of the old, which makes the show's 45th installment a true blessing for the franchise. This season marked itself as historic in its first episode and only continued breaking boundaries from there, steadily evolving into something that gave the audience a new story that blended the energy of the past with the intelligence of the now. Only ending at the tail end of 2023, but already cementing itself as an iconic chapter of the franchise, Survivor 45 is a landmark season that will shape the program going forward.

Survivor

A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.

'Survivor 45' Chose Chaos at Every Turn

It's not uncommon for show producers to surprise their contestants with twists, but it's even more shocking when the players decide to throw their own right back at them. For Survivor, one of the most notorious and thankfully rare examples of players taking back their power is something that used to infuriate host Jeff Probst, is to quit. Someone who beat off thousands of other applicants decides to willingly lose their chance at the $1,000,000, usually to the wide-eyed shock of those around them. The reasons for past quits vary, yet almost all take place closer to the middle portion of the game after a few days have passed, and the contestants are beginning to struggle. But, thanks to resident therapist Hannah Rose of the Lulu tribe, this season made history by being the first to have someone ask to be voted off in the very first episode.

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This was only the beginning of the chaos of the Lulu tribe, as within the next few episodes it saw one member flounder in every challenge, a player with an immunity idol in her pocket gets blindsided, and yet another quit with Sean Edwards tearfully pleading for his current tribe to vote him out. This new era of Survivor has not been a stranger to bombastic moments like these, but rarely are they done in such quick succession and with such a frenzied attitude. All of these call back to the immense drama and strategy of the past that fans long for, starting the season with the messiness that has made so many past seasons fan favorites. And while it gives itself some moments to breathe, this havoc persists throughout the season and makes Survivor 45 a thrilling watch throughout - and not at the expense of the aspects associated with its 'New Era'.

The Survivors Make the Story Compelling to Viewers

One great improvement of Survivors said 'New Era' is its survivors being able to not only tell their stories but to be treated with respect by other players and the show itself when they do. It's saddening when looking back at its decades of airtime to see how badly the series mishandled topics like race and sexualit. With CBS' mandate that 50% of all its reality shows' contestants be people of color, the recent seasons of Survivor have given marginalized competitors a chance to platform their experiences and raise awareness on important issues. This season was no different, allowing players like Katurah Topps and Jake O'Kane to discuss their obstacles and how the strength they developed to face past struggles is what powered them throughout their time in the game.

While players being given these platforms is (luckily) no longer uncommon, this season especially allowed these 18 fierce competitors a complexity that not many past ones were able to give. Whether it be through their relationships, their romances, or their betrayals, people who make it far into the game have their stories told in a nuanced way that offers an intimate glimpse of them as both a player and a person. Each offers a unique style and personality that not only makes the game more pulse-pounding but causes viewers to care that much more about their progress within it. While compelling, this element of the show is bittersweet as the audience watches the people they'd grown so fond of get sent home. But this genuine hurt at seeing someone's dream to win end only further emphasizes just how effective Survivor was this season at presenting gripping survivors the audience could root for. Though, of course, none of those stories would be possible without the people themselves.

'Survivor' Has Gained a New Legend

While nail-biting throughout, Survivor 45's only lull came mid-season when an alliance of four players took the lead in the game and began orchestrating every vote to their liking, creating a rather predictable plot. This may have been how the group began, but it only took members Austin Li Coon and Drew Basile attempting to vote out Julie Alley for this dominant team to begin spiraling out most entertainingly, with the remaining players being dragged along with them. As people scrambled to secure their safety, one player rose above this dysfunction to become a dominant force who essentially ran the season's last few episodes. Making people question themselves, thriving during challenges, and gaining so much trust from others that they hurt their games to help hers, Dee Valladeres' win this season is the finishing touch that truly makes it a landmark one.

Exemplified by legends like Parvati Shallow, winner of Survivor Micronesia and famous leader of the 'Black Widow Brigade'. Your typical 'Dominant Survivor Player' is someone who exhibits control over their seasons' players, running the game before eventually grabbing the ultimate win. It's great that this new era has so many winners who created their own distinct style, but it's surprising the number of contestants who thrive in this controlling way only to get booted right before the finale. This made many people wonder if something about these new casts would only allow more subtle players to win - ensuring every dominant player going forward would be immediately targeted. Enter Dee, who wore her identity as a Cuban immigrant proudly and held a level of authority over her fellow players that future contestants can only dream of. In a scattered tribe, her social capital was unmatched; she felt no shame in flexing how strong of a competitor she was and knew that with her strong bonds with prominent players, she was never really at risk of getting voted out. Coming off of seasons where this command over gameplay resulted in disappointing losses so close to the end, Dee's win signals a return to the Survivor that so many people fell in love with, one where people didn't have to play a quiet game to clinch the cash prize and the title of 'Sole Survivor'. It may be a while before we see success as great as Dee's again, but the fact that she achieved one at all brought back elements of the older season while still embodying the core tenets of the new and improved Survivor.

With this new age of Survivor seeming determined to separate itself from its previous 40 seasons, is it possible that so many of the things that made those past ones great are lost forever? Or rather, is there any way to see them return while maintaining the positive growth that these newer seasons have delivered? This season featured all the positives of its new era while recalling the electrifying theater of its old self that established the series as a television marvel more than 20 years ago. And with its eventual crowning of someone who represents a synthesis of the old and the new, this season proves to be a landmark one for the show - one that showcases just how great it can still be and the amazing heights it can reach going forward.

Survivor is available for streaming on Paramount Plus in the U.S.

WATCH ON PARAMOUNT+

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