Some of the details of Survivor may change from season to season, but at its heart, it is and has always been about a group of castaways trying to outwit, outplay and outlast one another to be the sole survivor. That's not going to be any different with Survivor season 45, which features 18 new castaways trying to win the game. Well, 17 new and one familiar castaway, but we'll get into that more below.
As he always has, Jeff Probst hosts Survivor, helping frame the goings on for viewers during challenges and at the all-important tribal councils. In an interview previewing season 45, Probst was asked what makes a great Survivor contestant?
He said, "It seems to be the same quality that makes great humans, which is you do have to kind of have some kind of emotional intelligence. You have to understand when you walk in the room where do you fit and do you have the social abilities to get that person to reach their hand out and say hello. It's all those little social skills. Because what's fun about Survivor is you are also a detective. You are playing this game of who knows what and what do they know about me and how can I get around here, but you’re doing it with real people while you’re surviving a storm in the middle of Fijian jungle."
After 13 episodes, Survivor season 45 has crowned it's winner. Here's who took home the title of Sole Survivor (and a $1 million prize):
Dee Valladares
Dee had built up a solid resume throughout the season that included three individual immunity idol wins and playing key roles in a couple of big votes that resulted in Emily and Drew being eliminated. When it came time for the final tribal council, she was able to convince the jury of her former castaways that it was her, not Jake of Austin that deserved to be crowned the winner, and sure enough they agreed with her, making her the Sole Survivor of season 45.
Who's been voted off on Survivor season 45
Hannah Rose
The Lulu tribe had its struggles in the opening days of Survivor. Brandon struggled physically with the tasks (even needing medical attention, but continued with the game), while Hannah dealt with nicotine withdrawal and Emily was overly critical of mostly everyone and got on people's nerves. However, when it came to Tribal Council, a vote wasn't even needed, as Hannah opted to call it quits at the first chance she had.
Brandon Donlon
Lulu lost two of its castaways in the first two weeks of the show, though Brandon actually required a vote this time to leave. Though Emily was probably the early favorite to be voted out, she made efforts and has a potential redemption arc coming for her this season. Meanwhile, Brandon struggled again with completing a puzzle, which was enough for his tribemates to send him home.
Sabiyah Broderick
Lulu lost again, their third straight trip to Tribal Council in the first three weeks of season 45. Before Tribal, all eyes seem to be on Emily, until she tells Kaleb that the plan is to vote him out if he doesn't vote for Sabiyah. But Sabiyah has an advantage to play, needing to melt a candle to see what it is. It's an immunity, but if she doesn't vote it can last until the tribes merge, but if she votes it's only good for tonight. She opts to not vote and pocket the immunity. However, Kaleb was convinced my Emily, with the other Sabiyah being voted out 2-1.
Sean Edwards
After the tribes were rearranged, Lulu finally avoided Tribal council, but Sean, now in Reba, didn't. But things never even got to a vote, as Sean followed in Hannah's footsteps and just opted to quit the game. His reasoning was that he wanted the chance to go and live his life as a gay man with his partner after years of having to hide his true identity because of his conservative religious upbringing.
Brandon "Brando" Meyer
Belo headed to tribal council for the first time (save for Emily). Brando touted his connections as a reason to keep him around, and knew that he had a strong connection with Kendra (both original Belo) heading into this vote, but Drew countered that Brando's connections is what makes him a threat worth getting out. Drew and Austin (originally both from Reba) seemed align, so the vote came down to Emily, and she opted to send Brando home.
Janani "J" Krishnan-Jha
After Kaleb was successful in using his shot in the dark, which actually saved him from being voted off (season 44's Jamie Ruiz was the first to successfully use a shot in the dark, but turns out she didn't need it, so this was a franchise first), J Maya was the person that officially left the island as the tribes officially made the merge.
Nicholas "Sifu" Alsup
In what was a double elimination episode, Sifu was the first cast member voted off. While much of the discussion during the episode was centered around whether or not Bruce or Drew would be the target, but ultimately they switched to Sifu to remove a strong player from the field. As a result of being the first of the double elimination, Sifu now won't serve on the season's jury.
Kaleb Gebrewold
In episode 7's second vote, Kaleb was the odd man out. After saving himself last week with his shot in the dark and then trying to make ground with the rest of the players this week, it was all for naught, as he was officially ousted.
Kellie Nalbandian
After a thrilling episode, it all ended with a shocking vote at tribal council. With the seemingly clear targets Jake pleading for his game to continue and Bruce safe because of an immunity win, the hammer surprisingly came down on Kellie, who was just as shocked at anyone to find her time was up.
Kendra McQuarrie
Kendra joined the jury after being voted out in the November 22 episode.
Bruce Perreault
Bruce's second chance on Survivor came to an end on the November 29 episode. Despite having a idol that could have protected him, he went into to tribal council thinking that his fellow castaways were going in a different direction, only to be blindsided when he received four votes and was the low man and the next to join the jury.
Emily Flippen
The plan was clear going into Tribal Council for most of the castaways — vote Julie out. However, she had an hidden immunity idol in her possession that she opted to play, meaning all of the votes against her were nullified. That left only her vote as the one that counts, and it was for Emily, who joined the jury and promised she would vote for the "best player" when it came to decide a winner.
Drew Basile
Drew just missed out on making it into the final five, being eliminated in the penultimate episode of the season. This was a bit of a stunner for Drew, who heading into tribal council thought everyone was lining up to vote Julie out, only to see four of the six votes go against him. As Kellie noted, he was not happy.
Julie Alley
After surviving the penultimate episode and a major twist in the tribal council, Julie was not able to use that to springboard herself into the final tribal council, ultimately being added to the jury.
Katurah Topps
Katurah was expected to vote for eventual winner Dee at the first tribal council in the season finale, but a last-minute switch to Julie changed all that. From there, she was not able to overcome the Dee and Austin alliance to make it to the final tribal council and was eliminated in fourth place.
Jake O'Kane
While all credit to Jake O'Kane for making it to the final tribal council, he was a total non factor with the jury, receiving no votes to become the winner of Survivor season 45 and as a result coming in third in the season.
Austin Li Coon
Austin and Dee had a close relationship on Survivor, but it ultimately came down to the two of them on who would win. But Dee's savy moves in the final few episodes were ultimately too much for Austin to convince the jury to pick him over her, and he finishes in the runner-up spot for the season.
Survivor season 45 airs Wednesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS. Catch up with the latest episodes on-demand via Paramount Plus.
