'Survivor' Finale: Second Castaway Fights Their Way Back From 'Edge of Extinction'

It was a last-ditch effort for a spot in the Survivor finale for the inhabitants of the Edge of Extinction, and Chris Underwood rose to the challenge.

At the start of Wednesday's 2-hour finale of the CBS reality show, the 11 inhabitants of the desolate island who chose to tough things out after being eliminated at tribal council for another shot at the prize were given one last shot to return to the main island.

Chris, who spent 27 nights on Extinction Island after being blindsided early on, managed to outperform his fellow Extinction members — Reem Daly, Aubry Bracco, Joe Anglim, Eric Hafemann, Julia Carter, David Wright, Kelley Wentworth, Dan "Wardog" DaSilva, Ron Clark and Aurora McCreary — in the physical and mental challenge.

Despite not winning a spot back in the game, the eliminated castaways all took something valuable away from their time toughing things out in such a difficult spot.

"I am grateful that I got to play this game that I love and honestly that I got to go to the Edge of Extinction," Julia explained, adding that the time in isolation finally helped her process her father's death after years. "It's been 18 years and I still was not able to overcome that grief, and it caused me a lot of burden. On the Edge of Extinction I was finally able to realize how strong I am and actually believe it. So thank you Survivor Gods for putting me here in this moment. I hated it."

Aubry added of her journey, "Survivor is a reminder is not that you lose, but the true character of who you are is what you do with your losses. That's what Survivor is about."

Joining remaining castaways Rick Devens (the first castaway to fight his way back from Extinction), Lauren O'Connell, Gavin Whitson, Victoria Baamonde and Julie Rosenberg, Chris was in a tough spot right off the bat as he returned to the complex game after nearly a month away from the action.

Will Chris be able to win a spot in the final three?

Photo credit: CBS