Survivor 46 Episode 13 Finale Recap

This article contains spoilers for the finale of Survivor 46.

Summary Survivor 46 finale had intense challenges and strategic gameplay, leading to a tough decision for the final three castaways.

Maria tried to navigate alliances and blindside attempts, but ultimately faced elimination in a tough tribal council.

Kenzie emerged as the winner, receiving 5 out of 8 votes from the jury, claiming the title of Sole Survivor and $1 million prize.

Survivor 46 episode 13 brought the castaways to the final tribal council where they met with the jury and discovered who won the $1 million grand prize and the title of Sole Survivor. Throughout Survivor 46, the castaways have dealt with some of the most intense conditions that the show has seen in seasons. While the tribes had a difficult time regulating themselves prior to the merge, the game post-merge has been one of the most dynamic in seasons. With blindside after blindside, there have been a historic number of idols found but not played in the game this season.

Although there were still five castaways left at the beginning of the episode, the pool of potential Sole Survivors narrowed down as the hours wore on. With Maria Shrime-Gonzalez, Charlie Davis, Ben Katzman, Kenzie Petty, and Liz Wilcox all competing for the number one spot, the castaways were working as hard as possible to keep their games alive. Though they’ve all been strategic throughout the game of Survivor 46, the castaways had to use everything in their arsenal to fight their way to the end of the game. Despite knowing only one could win, the castaways supported each other through.

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Maria Tried To Do Damage Control With Charlie

She Tried To Blame Everyone Else

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After Q Burdette’s elimination during Survivor 46 episode 12, Maria knew that she had to do damage control with Charlie, who’s been her closest ally throughout the season. After making a play to vote him out with Q, Maria was blindsided by the fact that the rest of the Survivor 46 cast voted out Q behind her back. Maria shared with Charlie that she’d felt pushed to vote for him, making it seem like the rest of the castaways had forced her hand. Charlie didn’t believe her, but the pair made amends.

The First Immunity Challenge Was Neck & Neck

Two Castaways Worked Together To Solve It

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In the first of two immunity challenges during the episode, the final five castaways competed for their lives in the game. Despite having Charlie as a longtime ally, Maria didn’t have anyone else on her side, and she was far too strong for the rest of the cast to keep in the game if she didn’t win. The castaways did their best to fight through the relay race and make their way to the finish, and at the end of the game, Liz sacrificed her own puzzle to help Kenzie solve her own and win the immunity challenge.

Kenzie & Ben Strategized At The Sanctuary

They Wanted To Get Maria Out

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After Kenzie’s win, she was able to take one of her fellow castaways to the sanctuary and enjoy a meal of pasta, caesar salad, and other Italian food. She chose to bring Ben, who had yet to go to the sanctuary, and after the pair were full up on food, they got down to discussing the next tribal council vote. Both explained that they felt the vote would be clear, as they all knew Maria had to leave the game in order for them to progress forward in the final stage of the game.

Maria Did Her Best To Strategize With The Other Castaways

She Tried To Throw Ben Under The Bus

While Kenzie and Ben were at the sanctuary, Maria tried to hatch a plan to keep herself safe in the game. She spoke to Charlie and Liz about the fact that she hadn’t trusted Ben throughout the game, sharing that she didn’t feel it was smart for anyone to align with him at this juncture. Maria did her best to sell her ideas, and when Kenzie returned to camp she tried to talk to the immunity challenge winner as well. Kenzie shared that she was going to entertain Maria, but would be voting for the strong player to be eliminated.

The Castaways Voted Maria Out At Final 5

Charlie Knew He Had To Get Rid Of His Ally

The castaways took to their final standard tribal council and spoke to Survivor host Jeff Probst about their current positions in the game. While it was clear that Maria wanted to stick around, she shared that she knew it was the right move for the rest of her Survivor 46 castmates to vote her out of the game. Emotionally, Maria was eliminated and said goodbye to the rest of her tribe, including Charlie, who did his best to be kind as he bid his former ally goodbye.

The Final Immunity Challenge Was Meant To Be Tough

The Castaways Struggled To Complete Their Puzzles

At the final immunity challenge, the pressure was on for the castaways to win their way into the final three. The castaway who won the challenge wouldn’t win an extra reward, but they choose would who went into the firemaking challenge, and who got to join them in the final three. Though the castaways had a challenge that would put their focus to the test, they all worked their hardest to work their way through the back and forth of the challenge. The challenge was a long haul, but Ben ultimately came out victorious, winning his first challenge this season.

Ben Made A Difficult Decision On Who To Send To Fire

He Struggled To Separate His Allies

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Although Ben was excited about the win, he quickly realized that he would have to choose between two of his closest allies as he moved himself forward. Ben struggled with the fact that he would have to put either Kenzie or Charlie against Liz in fire, knowing that it would make one of his allies vulnerable. Though he spoke to both Charlie and Kenzie about what he should do, the decision was ultimately Ben’s. He decided to put Liz and Kenzie into fire, leaving himself and Charlie as two of the final three castaways.

Liz Was The Final Castaway Voted Out

Fire Was Her Downfall

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The tribal council met to watch the firemaking competition, with Liz and Kenzie both stressed about their skills as they tried to get their fire as high as possible. While Liz was clear that she knew her skills were lesser than Kenzie’s, she wasn’t going to give up on the opportunity to put herself into the final three. Kenzie, who has been building fires successfully all season, shared that her confidence was shot after she couldn’t create a spark during her practice all day. Though she struggled at the start, Kenzie completed the firemaking challenge, sending Liz to the jury.

The Jury Questioned The Final Castaways

Their Deliberation Was Difficult

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After the final three were established as Ben, Kenzie, and Charlie, they made their way back to camp for one last night to iron out the arguments that they’d present to the jury. The following evening, they met for the final tribal council along with the jury, which included Liz, Maria, Q Burdette, Venus Vafa, Tiffany Ervin, Tevin Davis, Hunter McKnight, and Soda Thompson. The jury questioned the final three, asking them to discuss the strengths and weaknesses they had in the game, and articulate the strategic moves they made during their time on the Survivor 46 beach.

Kenzie Was Crowned The Winner Of Survivor 46

The Vote Was 5 To 3 For Kenzie Over Charlie

After the votes were tallied, Survivor host Jeff talked to the jury a bit before reading out the results. Throughout the competition, it was clear that there were allegiances built that would likely shake out in the end of the game, and those allegiances pushed the game into Kenzie’s court. By a vote of 5 to 3 to 0, Kenzie was crowned the winner of Survivor 46 over Charlie and Ben. Though the jury seemed to believe there may be a tie amongst the members, Kenzie successfully took the title of Sole Survivor and the grand prize of $1 million.

Survivor is available to stream on Paramount+.