‘Survivor 47’ finale recap: Rachel, Sam, Teeny, and Sue battle for the $1 million prize [Live Blog]
Heading into the 14th and final episode of Survivor 47, only four players remained in the running to win the $1 million prize: Rachel LaMont, Sam Phalen, Teeny Chirichillo, and Sue Smey. The night’s two-hour climax included one last immunity battle, a fire-making challenge, and a final tribal council in which the jurors voted for the winner. So how did it all play out on Wednesday night?
Below, read our minute-by-minute Survivor 47 finale recap/live blog of “The Last Stand” to find out what happened on Dec. 18, 2024, at 8/7c. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite castaways on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most, and what you think of this year’s addition to the Survivor winners list. Jeff Probst once again hosts and produces the program.
Keep refreshing/reloading this Survivor 47 live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on Survivor!” In last week’s 13th episode, the final six contestants competed in an immunity/reward challenge with Genevieve winning and taking Sue and Teeny with her to the Survivor Sanctuary. Andy Rueda was voted out at tribal council after Rachel used her hidden immunity idol to negate the votes cast against her. Later, the top five attended a second immunity challenge and Rachel pulled out a victory. Genevieve Mushaluk was ousted by a three-to-two vote over Sam, setting the stage for a final four that included Rachel, Sam, Teeny, and Sue. Who will win? Let’s go!
8:03 p.m. – Freshly minted as a final four contestant, Teeny was ecstatic to finally have gotten “legend” Genevieve out of the game, Sue was happy to know she’ll be making her children proud, Sam was feeling both “fulfilled” and “motivated,” and Rachel couldn’t believe that she managed to survive this far with a target on her back.
8:07 p.m. – For their final immunity challenge, the last four standing ran an obstacle course with both a letter combination puzzle in the middle and a hanging bat-shaped puzzle at the end. At stake this time is a guaranteed spot in the final three and the decision to choose one other person to bring with them, leaving the other two forced to make fire in order to earn their spot. The winner could, of course, choose to make fire themselves as well.
8:09 p.m. – Sam and Rachel were quickest in the first few stages of the course, but then Rachel pulled ahead at the gate that leads to the word lock. Shortly after, Sue had caught up to the gate and unlocked hers, leaving Sam and Teeny behind to catch Rachel at the lock. Teeny was eventually the third person through and then Sam got through as well. The first three didn’t notice that when they uncovered their locks a clue reading “it’s what you need to do” was revealed. Sam may have noticed the clue because he solved the puzzle very quickly and then advanced after covering his answer from the others. Rachel then solved hers without covering it and Teeny caught a glimpse so that she could solve hers as well. On the final puzzle, Sam got a great start and placed many pieces quickly, but Rachel and Sue were able to catch up and even surpass him to the point that Rachel pulled away in the lead and despite an initial incorrect piece was able to close out the challenge for a fourth individual immunity win, a tied record among female players.
8:23 p.m. – Back at camp, the players were greeted by sets of knives and flint in order for the three potential fire-makers to practice for the upcoming last chance to make the final three. Meanwhile, Rachel was relishing in the fact that she was joining legendary players Jenna Morasca, Chrissy Hofbeck, Kelly Wiglesworth and Kim Spradlin as the fifth female player to earn four individual immunity challenges. She was keenly aware, however, that both Chrissy and Kelly did not win despite making it to the end of their game with that record.
8:24 p.m. – Knowing she had to make a right decision in order to give herself the best chance of winning, Rachel was not shy about declaring to the others that her choice was very clear and there’s no need for debate: Sam and Teeny would be making fire. Sue had been fully loyal to Rachel and “it wouldn’t feel right” to not bring her to the final three. Rachel didn’t think she needed to make fire against Sam because it wouldn’t “elevate” her game enough and so she felt no need to risk going in. With Teeny set to compete, Rachel sat with her, helped her practice and even offered her some “technique change” to secure a better approach. Sam told the women that he’d never made fire before, but they thought he was lying until Sue watched him attempt in practice and knew immediately that Sam wasn’t lying and he has no idea what he’s doing. In perhaps his lowest moment of the experience, Sam felt like the game was slipping through his fingers and that he’d lose fire to Teeny, but he was rejuvenated to continue to work after re-reading his letter from home and the encouraging words of his father.
8:36 p.m. – At tribal council, Jeff emphasized to everyone that Rachel’s immunity wins don’t make the game a “slam dunk” for her. Sam spoke to that topic by further explaining that it’s possible to admire the history of Rachel’s accomplishment while also differentiating it from “what it takes to ‘Outwit, Outplay, Outlast’.” Andy whispered to Caroline Vidmar in the jury box that it was a “good answer actually.” Rachel was very clear that she didn’t think she needed to win another challenge to prove herself and so she chose loyalty in the decision to have Teeny and Sam make fire.
8:45 p.m. – In the fire-making showdown, Teeny got the first spark, managed to turn it into a flame and then grew it to a legitimate fire that began to kiss the edge of the rope she needed to break. In that time, Sam struggled to start his own fire, only first getting a spark and flame by the time Teeny’s fire was going strong. With gusts of wind coming through the council, Teeny’s flame was darting all around the rope and never sticking in place. Sam was able to build his fire up to match the size of hers and then by mostly luck, his fire kept a consistent enough position to burn through the rope and claim the win over Teeny.
8:50 p.m. – Suffering such a close loss, a dejected and emotional Teeny told Jeff that she’s “heartbroken” and understands she’ll have to “deal with forever” the fact that her rope never burned through. She asserted that she played the game fully as herself and she can at least say that she thinks she would have won if she had made it to the end and no one will be able to prove otherwise. Sam took a moment to express his own “elated” feeling and defined his game as “one of resilience.”
9:00 p.m. – When the final three woke up on Day 26 and Sue’s 59th birthday, they were treated to a final breakfast that included Sam’s first ever taste of a watermelon. As they enjoyed their food, we heard testimonials from the jurors with thoughts on the finalists. Sierra Wright called Sam a goal-focused person that shouldn’t be underestimated, Solomon “Sol” Yi acknowledged Rachel’s advantages but qualified that to him they weren’t just luck, Gabe Ortis appreciates the power of Sue’s loyal game, Kyle Ostwald thought Sam “played his underdog story perfectly,” Caroline considered Sue an ideal partner, Andy sees Rachel as “the threat of threats,” Genevieve understood how in control Rachel was, and Teeny referenced Sam as a “scrappy” and “pariah” player that “truly played” the game.
9:11 p.m. – Now in front of the finalists, Gabe began the jury session and conversation by asking them how they think their game will be remembered. Rachel said that she “fell on her face” and had to adapt and became a threat, but ultimately doesn’t care how it’s remembered by others. Sam differed, saying that he does care about it and referred to his game as “scrappy” because he used “some charm” and “creative strategy.” Sue took her chance to reveal her true age of 59 and said that her grandson will get to see that she’s played a completely honest and loyal game. Genevieve challenged Sue’s wholly loyal game and asked if that means she sees lying and deception as negative traits, but Sue said no and she’s only judging herself.
9:14 p.m. – Caroline asked them what their biggest mistake in the game was and how they recovered from it. Rachel explained that she “miscalculated” the dynamics of her tribe up until Sierra’s exit and then had to rebuild her game by building different connections. She also pointed out how she listened to the conversation where Teeny told them about her Block a Vote, but Sam countered that they already knew about it and that whole conversation was a ruse anyway. Rachel insisted that the conversation is the reason she knew to play her idol. Sam called his mistake “not tying up loose ends” because he lost trust with allies like Andy, but he was able to pivot and weaponize the sharing of information around camp. He brought up when he told them about Genevieve’s fake idol, but Rachel and Sue said that didn’t matter anyway (to which Sam obviously disagreed). Sue said believing Andy was her mistake, but kept it short at just that.
9:17 p.m. – Sol offered Rachel the chance to give him “one thing” he doesn’t know about her game already that will “blow [his] mind.” She pointed to the final six where she played her idol perfectly and likes that everyone in the game was making the case to the jury for her on why she was the biggest threat. Sol pivoted to Sam about how what they said about Rachel “backfired” on him. He said that it worked in his advantage because Rachel became the one that had her back against the wall to win immunity, not him and he was able to navigate the dynamics of the game. He got nods from Kyle, Gabe and Andy, but Rachel said the problem is he “didn’t take the threat out.” Sam responded by telling the jury that Rachel helped Teeny with fire all day, wouldn’t help him and kept saying that they needed to get Sam out in fire.
9:19 p.m. – Andy also directed a question at Rachel, asking her how she can reconcile the fact that as a known superfan who doesn’t rank winners Mike Holloway and Ben Driebergen very high when in the end of this game she has played very similarly to how they won their own. He also pointed out that she has the “worst voting record of the final three.” Rachel admitted that this isn’t how she thought she’d get through the game, but she wasn’t able to convince anyone to do what she wanted and so she had to find new ways to win the game. Sam jumped in to highlight Rachel’s own words that she “couldn’t get people to do her bidding anymore.” Rachel tried to fight back, saying Sam had it easy not being a target, but Sam reminded everyone that he got more votes against him than her or Sue and he voted correctly in more eliminations than either of them as well.
9:21 p.m. – Sierra said that she played her own game closest with both Rachel and Sam and she wanted to know how they overcome the lows they had in the game. Sam said he “channeled the joy” from “the other end.” He was reminded by his loved ones back home to not give up, getting emotional recalling his childhood self and not wanting to let him down. Rachel said her rock bottom was when Sierra went home and she felt like she had no one else to play with, but thought of her husband and realizes that things “kept working” when she does that. She also got emotional, saying that she’ll take home with her an ability to be proud of her own accomplishments. Gabe wanted Sue to answer the same question because he had a personal connection with her. Sue pointed to the compassion she received from everyone else in the game and that’s what she drew upon in her own “times of weakness.”
9:24 p.m. – In closing statements, Sue underscored her age and what a big accomplishment it was for her to outlast many of them in challenges. Sam acknowledged that his game wasn’t perfect, but he called it “the most well-rounded, adaptable, dynamic and creative game of the three people sitting” in the final. He also mentioned “resilience” and “control” he had throughout “without winning immunity” or “raising [his] threat level” or “buying the right item at the auction,” all of which were to throw Rachel’s game under the bus. Rachel countered that she had “the most dominant” position in the game, suggesting that it wasn’t “just through luck” and she controlled the advantages in the post-merge game and then managed to play them in “incredibly large fashion.” She said she “went from a super underdog to a big dog.”
9:31 p.m. – When the jurors cast their final vote for a winner we saw Sierra hesitate, Kyle write Sam, Caroline write Rachel, and Gabe struggle to make a decision. Once all eight ballots were in place, Jeff read the votes: Rachel, Sam, Rachel, Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. In the end, a return to the “new era”-defining 7-1-0 final vote and Rachel is the winner!
9:38 p.m. – In the after show live in Fiji following the naming of Rachel as the winner, she explained an “out of body experience” that she lived out a dream despite the dynamics of the game “flipping on its head” from what she expected it to be. As the only voter in favor of Sam, Kyle said that he loves him dearly and he’s impacted his life permanently. Jeff and the rest of the jurors acknowledged that he made a rather compelling argument for himself in front of the jury, but Sam said he always knew it was “an uphill battle.” Jeff gave Sue props for being one of five women over the age of 50 that was able to make it to the end.
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