Survivor 42: A History Of The Final 4 Fire-Making Challenge

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The reality hit Survivor is full of twists and turns, and in season 35, the show introduced one of the most controversial and exciting twists: the final four fire-making challenge. The final four is a pivotal moment for new-era Survivor castaways. It is the penultimate tribal council, which determines which contestants get to make their cases to the jury for a shot at the million dollar prize and Sole Survivor title.

Fire-making at the final four tribal council isn't necessarily new. Before the fire-making challenge was implemented in Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, the castaways had a traditional vote at final four. If the vote resulted in a tie, the two cast members receiving votes would go head-to-head in a fire-making challenge. Now, there is no vote, and the castaway who wins the final immunity challenge decides who will join them at the final tribal council. They also decide which two will face off in the fire-making challenge, because (as always) in Survivor, fire represents a person's life in the game.

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Host Jeff Probst is a fan of this twist. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he said that the fire-making challenge solves a final four "problem that has bothered [him] for years." The fire-making challenge gives the biggest perceived threat a chance to make it into the final tribal council, without a unanimous vote-out at the final four if they didn't win the immunity challenge. In Survivor 34,Tai Trang, whom many believed was a strong contender to win, was voted out unanimously in the final four, and the same thing happened to Kelley Wentworth in Survivor 31. The fire-making challenge gives the castaways a final chance to take