Survivor Millennials Vs. Gen. X Finale Recap: The Sole Survivor

By Mickie McLeod
CBS 62/CW50 Intern

What a great season it's been! Has it been one of the best? Being the Survivor nerd I am I haven't missed one season. I can confidently say this was one of the most interesting ones to watch out of all 33!

This season of Survivor started off with 20 castaways, divided into two tribes of 10, Millennials (castaways born between 1984 and 1997) and Generation X (castaways born between 1963 and 1982). One of these 20 castaways is now the Sole Survivor of Season 33. What generation Outwit, Outplayed, and Outlasted?

Here's the recap of how the Finale went!

To The Final Five

The Final Six castaways battled their way through.  Dave, feeling unsure and vulnerable, decides to make a fake idol and hide it in the woods.  Jay, also feeling unsure and vulnerable, believes he had found another Idol to save himself, actually picking up the fake idol that Dave created out of shells and collected beads.  This strategy to fool Jay was excellent in Dave's game!

The Immunity Challenge was a "Million Dollar Lock Combination."  Jay was in the lead the whole time until he made the mistake of not hiding his revealed combination.  Because of this, Dave copies his combination and ultimately wins himself Immunity, leaving Jay frustrated and upset.

Ken reveals that his mysterious Legacy Advantage guarantees him a spot in the final five along with Dave. Brett, Hannah, Adam, and Jay are all on the chopping block at Tribal.  Because of his "Idol," Jay was confident he was also safe at this vote.  However, this Idol was fake indeed and did not save him.

It was ultimately Jay who was the biggest threat.  He had blown the challenge and didn't secure his spot in the final five.  The rest of the tribe took this opportunity and voted him off.  He was a great sport and was proud of his game.  I thought Jay could've won the whole thing! Great move.

Final Five: Ken, Brett, Hannah, Dave, Adam.

To The Final Four

Who would be safe and be guaranteed a spot in the final four?  Anything is possible with a word puzzle!  At the Immunity Challenge, it was Ken who won again by solving a word puzzle. He was secure, but not everyone else was.

There was one Idol left out there in the woods.  Once there are no Idols left in anyone's possession, another Idol is hidden and left up for grabs.  Adam was the only one to search and ultimately find another Idol (and the very last Idol) in the game.  This Tribal would be the last time to use an Idol, and that meant Adam would be guaranteed a spot in the Final Four with Ken.

It was Dave, Hannah, or Brett who would be voted out at Tribal.  The Jury has been watching each Tribal intensively.  Each move ultimately shows your credibility towards the million dollars and the Sole Survivor title.  It was only Brett and Adam who voted Dave, who was clearly a huge threat in the game. Ken, Dave, and Hannah had control of the vote however and ended up voting Brett out, making him the next member of the Jury.

Final Four: Dave, Hannah, Ken, Adam.

To The Final Three

It was the ultimate battle to the Final Three! It's the biggest move you can make in this game -- who do you want to sit by when the Jury makes the decision of the Sole Survivor?

This battle was a showdown.  At Immunity, it was between Ken and Hannah securing their spot.  Ken was once again the winner of Immunity, securing him a final spot in the game. It was between Adam and David who would be voted out because of how big of a threat each of them were.

Because of how big of a threat they each were, it was between Adam and David who would join Ken, along with Hannah, in the Final Three. Adam and Hannah were for sure voting David at this Tribal.  David was for sure voting Adam at this Tribal, hoping his biggest ally, Ken, would've joined him.  It was Ken who broke his alliance with David and David was the next member of the Jury.

Final Three: Ken, Hannah, Adam.

The Sole Survivor

The Final Three, Ken, Hannah, and Adam all fought their way until the very end.  The Jury asked questions to the Final Three to determine who they'd want to vote as the Sole Survivor.

I'll truly say, out of all the seasons I've watched of Survivor (which is every single one of them) I've never cried at the results, until this one.  At the very end of Tribal, Adam had finally revealed about his mother's Lung Cancer to the entire Jury, being the purpose and motivation of his entire game.  We at home have seen his journey the entire season, but Jay was the only castaway that knew this about Adam's mom.

Adam never told anyone besides Jay about his mother's cancer.  The entire Jury was touched when Adam revealed the real reason and motivation for his game.  Adam was shown as an honest and humble player within the whole season.

As a result, at the LIVE Reunion and results, Adam received EVERY SINGLE Jury vote and was given the one million dollar check and the title of the Sole Survivor.

At the LIVE Reunion Show, Adam revealed more about his mom being his motivation during his entire game.  Being touched throughout the season, Adam explained that his mother fought her way until the very same day he had come home from taping the show.  He said that his mother held on until that exact day and he got to tell her that he made it to the Final Three.  Adam said his mom had passed away just one hour after telling her.  She was so proud and supported him and fought her way until the very end.  He said that he just knew that she had known he had already won.

The sweetness of the result truly had me in tears!  What also was revealed was that Adam and his mom both tried out for Survivor season's back (Blood Vs. Water). Because of her cancer, Adam passed up the first opportunity and had joined this season alone instead.   As a result, he won the title for his mom.

What did you think of this season of Survivor: Millennials Vs. Gen. X? A humble, hardworking Millenial won the title of one of the best seasons of Survivor.  I'm proud to have Adam represent the Millennials in such a positive way.

I can't wait until next season, Survivor: Game Changers – Mamanuca Islands! Returning players from previous seasons will battle to redeem their game! Stay tuned until early March 2017 to check out Season 34 and my weekly recaps!