For the first time in years, television viewers will have the chance to catch up on a classic tradition to the series during the Survivor season 35 finale.
Over the past few years, CBS has increasingly abandoned the most iconic (but time-consuming) moments of reflection from the show’s runtime. In the big movez era, the focus on character-building and gameplay-developing is more important than remembering the players that bring you to the conclusion a la the Survivor season 35 finale.
Thankfully, not all classic traditions will be missing from this week’s finale. Survivor executive producer Matt Van Wagenen has made it known on his Twitter account that the Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers finale will include the show’s main title sequence. That means that all 18 players from the show will be seen, in some format, before the reunion.
You don’t need to wait until the finale to catch the Survivor theme for season 35 online, as it has been posted ever since the game’s pre-show coverage back in September. At 75 seconds long, it shouldn’t take too much away from the two-hour runtime of the finale segment, especially as there will be just two eliminations to get to the Final Tribal Council compared to a Final 6 situation that happens with 20-player seasons.
We haven’t done Rites of Passage in years but the #SurvivorHHH finale has the full main title. Great seeing a little bit from the entire cast. #SURVIVOR
— Matt Van Wagenen (@mattvanwagenen) December 14, 2017
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One thing I am bummed about it that we don’t get the Rites of Passage anymore. I know it’s old hat at this point, but getting the perspectives of the Final 3 as they reflect upon the memories of their gone, but not forgotten, former castaways is a simple tug of the heart that is near and dear to a classic Survivor fan’s heart.
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At the very least, the Survivor theme for the opening credits will bring back those memories of players past later this week when the Survivor season 35 finale, “Million Dollar Night,” airs on Wednesday, December 20 at 8 p.m. ET. It will run for two hours, followed by the one-hour reunion from ~10-11 p.m. ET.