Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for ‘Survivor 46’s finale.
And with that, one ofSurvivor’smost chaotic seasons has officially crowned its winner! This historicreality series, created byCharlie Parsonson CBS, has added another amazing contestant to its long line of champions in an installment that has truly subverted all expectations. There have been so many twists this season — most created by the players themselves — that have left viewers wondering who would rise above this enjoyable chaos to snag the ultimate $1,000,000 grand prize.
From one of the most confusing tribal councils ever,to emotional explosions over Applebees, to one of television’s most infuriating games of Rock, Paper, Scissors, this season’s winner has had to fight through this nonstop mess to rise victorious among a cast of fierce competitors ready to do whatever it takes to win. She did this through some amazing strategic plays and, above all,using her natural charm to delude others into thinking she wasn’t a threatwhile creating one of this program’s most successful social games ever. She didn’t have an easy path getting there, but with all the mayhem she had to fight through to win the title of “Sole Survivor,” nobody deserved the win this season more than the astoundingKenzie Petty.
A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
Survivor 46’spremiere introduced audiences to a whole new cast of great characters, with each willing to do whatever it takes to win — mostly. Despite Petty being immediately ready to flex her social skills and strategize, she was shocked to find thatmost of her tribe wer focused more on forfeiting challenges and “winning a million hearts” than getting further in the game. One of her first alliances,David Jellinsky, not only quit a Sweat Challenge prematurelybut gave up the chance at an advantage during a journey, his fate being sealed when he screwed up the puzzle in their first Immunity challenge.
Despite his vote-out, Petty luckily found a good alliance-partner withTiffany Nicole Ervinand laterQ Burdette, a trio who proved vital to keeping this team afloat;Jess Chong’slack of sleepleft her largely inept, the alliance fooling this exhausted player into thinking she’d found a hidden Immunity Idol so they could easily vote her out second. Throughout these two votes, the viewers watched as their final member,Bhanu Gopal, began bursting into tears and wild bouts of paranoia, with Petty being the only one able to calm him down. This tribe’s early losing streak saw all three of these quirky characters leave in quick succession and, because they never won a flint, left Petty and her allies cold, starving, andwondering how they could move forward.
This early portion of the game is vital for any player’s chances at winning, and while immensely messy, it made one thing clear about Petty: She was an extremely social, likable person. These traits almost proved detrimental as Gopal and Burdette (correctly) cited her as a potential social threat and almost convinced Ervin to blindside her, Gopal hilariouslytitling her as a “Mermaid Dragon” for how her kind disposition disguised a cutthroat personality.After winning the first Individual Immunity challenge post-merge, she evaded this and began ingratiating herself into the countless little alliances that had begun to form. Confessionals and talks with Ervinproved Petty to be an intelligent, strategic mind, and while she managed to keep her threat level low with her relentless sweetness, she was always scoping out her competition to learn who could be exploited to get her further in the game.
On ‘Survivor,’ Kindness Can Take You a Long Way
Survivordemands the most out of its players, something Petty and Ervin learned quickly when, in the season’s most chaotic tribal council, Burdette asked everyone to vote him out and revealed that Ervin had a hidden Immunity Idol. This left everyone scrambling and put the two former allies at odds, though Petty didn’t let it slow her down; immediately afterward, she cozied up to the power duoCharlie DavisandMaria Shrime Gonzalezand made it clear:She loved Ervin, but she’d also love to get her out.
Petty did this while still making close bonds with everyone around her; some of her best moments this season were when she would help the rockerBen Katzmanthrough horrible nightly panic attacks. She reiterated she knew these panic attacks were personal, not strategic, as she had people in her own life who struggled with mental health, and she never wanted to let someone struggle through that alone. It spoke to the competitor’s genuine kindness and why everyone viewed her as authentic — a perception that helped her relaxHunter McKnightinto getting blindsidedwith an Immunity Idol in his pocket. This was a huge success for Petty’s game, though it didn’t stop her from shockingly having to watch Erving get voted out at the next tribal council.
While Petty had been open to Ervin’s blindside, it happened without her knowledge and told her that her place in the social hierarchy wasn’t as secure as she’d thought. It was a wake-up call for the player to do what she did best: make friends. Strengthening her bonds with players like Katzmanand the iconicVenus Vafaensured that even when they were eliminated, competitors joined the jury with a glowing opinion of Petty. This style of gameplay — making quick but deep alliances with people and helping them pull off eliminations —got her to the Final Five, where how much everyone liked Petty was epitomized inLiz Wilcoxderailing her chances at winning immunity by helping Petty beat out the front-runner, Shrime Gonzalez. TheFinal Four fire-making challengesaw Katzman set the pair against one another in a twisted version of the bond they’d obviously built, though Petty conquered this andexpressedin a beautiful speech in front of an emotionally invested jury, how good it felt to suffer for so much of the game for not having fire only to have it be what got her into the Final Three with Katzman and Davis.
We Weren’t Expecting THAT ‘Survivor 46’ Finale
‘Survivor 46’ ended with a shocking bang, crowning Kenzie Petty the winner.
Kenzie Petty Proves the Importance of Making Friends and Jury Management in ‘Survivor’
There have been many amazing final tribal performances throughoutSurvivor’slong history, but few have excelled as well as Petty. She had the odds stacked against her entering the final Tribal Council; while Katzman was largely a non-factor, Davis’ multiplemoments of intense strategy left him with a large resume comparedto Petty’s track record of lying low. Petty owned up to using her charisma to make it through the game andexpressed how it was because of the close bonds she built with people that she lasted as long as she did. A last explanation of what she’d use the money for — to finally get some financial rest after working hard for more than a decade and owning her own business — won her five votes over Davis’ three and the title of “Sole Survivor.”
Players often forget that, beyond the hardcore strategy and lethal gameplay,people have to want to vote for you in the end.Petty illustrates the importance of building relationshipsand that people trusting you is essential in keeping yourself safe. While she did play strategically, she ensured that she was never at the forefront of any big move, keeping herself safe from being seen as a threat and making sure the jury didn’t see her as the reason their dreams were crushed. Petty’s win is one built on social expertise and a positive attitude, making her one of the most charismatic winners this franchise has ever seen and proving why she is the rightful winner ofSurvivor 46.
