‘Survivor’ Eliminates Controversial Twist Ahead of Season 43 Return

Survivor has been on long enough that producers get more opportunities to test twists and challenges to see what will work. After two fast-paced seasons filmed back-to-back crammed with new twists and problems for the contestants, they figured out that one particular twist didn’t work. The controversial Change History, or Hourglass twist, is not coming back in the upcoming Season 43, host Jeff Probst confirmed.

Back in May, after Season 42 ended, Probst told Entertainment Weekly that some of the changes introduced in Seasons 41 and 42 will “come and go, depending on the season” in the future. In a new interview with the magazine, Probst said two twists will not return for Season 43, Change History and Do or Die. The Change History one caused an uproar among longtime fans, so its death isn’t a shocker.

Change History was introduced in Season 41. It begins with all the players being separated into two teams to take part in a challenge. The winners would automatically receive immunity at the next Tribal Council, earning them a spot into the merge. The losers then had to take part in individual immunity challenges and one would be voted out. Two players did not take part in the team challenge.

Next, the winning team could pick one of the two contestants who didn’t play to join them as winners, even though they didn’t contribute to the victory. In Season 41, the winners picked Naseer Muttalif, leaving Erika Casupanan to be sent to Exile Island alone.

If you’re still following along, we’re not done. Next, Casupanan was given the chance to break an hourglass with a hammer. If she decided to break it, everything that happened before would be reversed! The winning team would now be in danger of going home and those who lost were safe! Even Casupanan would be safe if she broke the hourglass. She chose to break it, saving herself and the losing team. She went on to win the entire season! The twist caused an uproar among fans and, understandably, the contestants. Danny McCray even told Probst it was unfair.

Season 42 brought back Change History, but there were some tweaks. Probst told the winning team that the contestant they sent to Exile Island would have a chance to change the results, something the Season 41 contestants were not aware of. One member of the winning team could also choose to send themselves to Exile Island to change the results, but they would skip the Tribal Council and possibly lose immunity. Still, it didn’t make anyone feel like the winners were completely safe from losing everything, despite being victorious moments earlier.

The Do Or Die twist was also used in Seasons 41 and 42. This one gave a contestant the chance to sit out of a challenge, but that meant they lost an opportunity for immunity. However, if they played the challenge and were the first person out, they had to play a game of chance. If they lost that game, they could be eliminated completely from Survivor.

“I can already hear some fans celebrating and others saying we caved to criticism,” Probst told EW. “We love fan feedback, and the feedback on Change History was amazing.People either really liked it or really hated it, but not a single person said ‘Eh, I could take it or leave it.’ And with Do or Die, the drama was electrifying but we also felt that was one twist we could put on the shelf… for now.” Survivor returns on CBS Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. ET with a two-hour episode.