Though there’s a lot to dislike surrounding Survivor season 38, Edge of Extinction, the format change means reliable standards are now mysteries.
Survivor could not make it to 36 seasons on the air without changing up their formula. An Outcast twist here, a three-tribe format there, Hidden Immunity Idols sprinkled in, and all the advantages in the world have helped evolve the game, heighten the drama and improve the strategic and social play.
However, it’s hard not to argue that Edge of Extinction (the reported theme for season 38 that sees players stay on Extinction Island until the merge and Day 35/36 to compete in chances to return to the game) will be the biggest fundamental change to the game’s format since Redemption Island. It even carries some of the Redemption Island qualities and dials them up to 11.
Because we’re months away from getting an official confirmation from CBS surrounding the season, we have tons of questions surrounding almost every aspect of the show. With two tribes of nine players each and four returning captains, here are our biggest questions surrounding Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
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What place will people finish?
Anybody who is voted out from Night 3 onward can come back into the game at the merge and at Day 35/36 (if they don’t quit). However, once Extinction Island is over, how do you determine placements? If you fail to get back in, are you placed based on when you were voted out? Placed based on when you fall in the battle back challenges? How will payments work if everyone’s onscreen throughout the season? Do quits also determine placement?
Who is the season’s first boot?
A tidbit of info looking back; in each of the Redemption Island seasons, the first person voted (or switched) out of the game was also the first eliminated in the first challenge of their respective seasons. This gives Edge of Extinction viewers a conundrum; what qualifies as the first boot?
Technically, someone voted out on Night 3 can win the season, so would they be called a first boot? Is it 18th place, even if they were voted out on Night 34 and come last in a full Extinction Island final challenge? It will be interesting to find out.
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What will the season’s edit look like?
Normally, Survivor’s Redemption Island seasons offer brief glimpses at island life when just a few players are there. However, should the majority of the cast be on Extinction Island ahead of the finale, how will the edit be balanced? If all the returnees are there, we’ll likely see a lot more of them. Does that cut into strategy talk? Will we see others try to get others to quit?
From an editing standpoint, production has a lot of standards they need to reconsider when telling the season’s story.
How will the jury work?
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If the players stuck on Extinction Island are jury members if they stay up to, and beyond, the merge, how will they know what’s going on? Will they get to sit in on the post-merge Tribal Councils? Will they rely on the word of those leaving the game? Are we completely abandoning Ponderosa videos for those who don’t quit? Are there going to be a dozen or more people at each Tribal? 12+ votes for the winner?
Will the Final Four fire-making challenge still be in effect?
I don’t know how a Survivor jury in this format will vote, as they might grow fond/agitated with a player who beats them out to re-enter the game and make it to the end. However, should the Final Four fire-making challenge be forced again, doesn’t that aid the re-entering player’s story in an unfair way?
How can the players who played strategically compete with someone who fought it out for weeks at a time with little food, water and shelter amid the players who are on the jury? Add the triumph of possibly making fire to earn the seat at the Final Tribal Council, it presents a huge narrative imbalance.
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These are just some of the main questions we immediately have surrounding Survivor: Edge of Extinction. Please, if you have any questions or concerns about the format, let us know!