Free Idea for Survivor: Crown an “Edge Champion” In Addition to “Sole Survivor”
The season finale of Survivor is this week and it’s anyone’s game. No, literally anyone can win Survivor because everyone who has been voted out can squeeze back into the finale — reality purists are, at best, disappointed. At worst, furious. The Edge of Extinction twist has kept beloved players on our screens and technically still in the game, that’s cool. All while not having to worry about being voted out at Tribal Council, way less cool.
If the Edge of Extinction is going to become a permanent component of Survivor, let’s frame it in a way that captures the spirit of competition without letting someone who already lost the game back in to steal it. Jeff Probst, Mark Burnett, Survivor Nation, I’m pitching a twist less gaudy than super immunity idols, that will enhance a twist already incorporated. I’m pitching a secondary title called the Edge Champion.
The Olympics has bronze medal game. Pro wrestling has the Intercontinental Title. Think more than Honorable Mention, less than a championship banner. Not $1 (or 2) million and the title of Sole Survivor, but more than a footnote on the season. The Edge Champion can be a lower tier accomplishment that the viewing audience still cares about. Another podcast segment on The Pod Has Spoken, another paragraph for Dalton Ross.
If this would have been in place for Winners at War (and if episodes were more than 45 minutes) all of the happenings on the Edge would have higher stakes within the reframed context of what would essentially be an entirely different game. With the title of Sole Survivor out of reach, as it should be for anyone with a snuffed torch, it would be compelling to watch Boston Rob, Tyson, and Sophie duel for a different prize. It would be fun seeing Kim, Yul, and Parvati have a designated second prize shoot-out.
The new currency system can stick around. All of the times exiled players had opportunities to win fire tokens and sell them to people, keep that. Those fire tokens can be used in the exact same way they currently are — for advantages, comfort, and food while out of the game. This is probably the best use of this new Survivor economy as the players in the game struggled to employ fire tokens while eliminated players appeared to adapt well to it.
Let’s add some stress, strategy, and screen time to the Edge. It would take on a life of its own and could provide an entirely new component of the show. On the season finale there’s a high stakes challenge focusing on the “outlast” element of Survivor — since the Edge contestants have already been outplayed and outwitted. Think back to those “stand on this pole and keep your hand on this other pole” type challenges. Think the show’s edit toggling back and forth between Tony and Sarah duking it out for the main event while Natalie and Jeremy log 8 hours in the final Edge challenge.
There’s room on the season finale to throw some shine on the Edge Champion without taking focus from the Sole Survivor. Much like the “Fan Favorite” vote of the past, it’s another title to look forward to, just one with higher stakes that fans can follow along over the course of the season. It will also serve as another keepsake from the season. Fans would go into the finale hoping Sarah pulls off the big win while pulling for Ethan to win the Edge.
The Edge winner shouldn’t be mentioned with same level of authority as the Sole Survivor but it provides a B storyline, another layer of the best reality competition show on Earth. If we’re going to experiment with a currency system, let’s also experiment with the finished product.
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