Returning twists included the "Shot In the Dark," the "Beware Advantage," and various decision games which forced players to make game-altering choices.

Maryanne, Tori, and Chanelle were on the outs of their initial tribes heading into the merge, at which point Omar took control and orchestrated the blindsides of Vati and Ika leaders Hai and Drea as big threats.

Drea, Hai, and Lindsay agreed on taking the secret advantage, and Taku’s large lead going into the final stage was squandered to Ika.

At Ika, two alliances of three (Drea-Rocksroy-Romeo and Swati-Tori-Zach) formed, but some tribemates were put off by Rocksroy’s method of leadership when building the shelter.

On Day Two, one representative from each tribe went to a summit: Maryanne from Taku, Jenny from Vati, and Drea from Ika bonded on their journey before deciding to risk or protect their vote.

The alliance of Jonathan, Lindsay, and Omar debated voting out Marya or the more outgoing Maryanne, the latter of whom searched for an idol.

Taku easily finished first largely due to Jonathan's efforts, while Vati and Ika struggled in the turbulent waters.

Jeff halted the challenge, having the two tribes come to shore while production retrieved their keys in the water and continuing from that point.

Taku was tasked to send one member from Vati and one from either their own tribe or Ika to the summit; they chose Chanelle and Omar.

Daniel started the ensuing discussion by stating he did not want to go to rocks, leading Hai to declare he would not change his vote.

Rocksroy wanted to vote out Tori for being untrustworthy, but Swati's name came up after it was revealed that she had told each of her tribemates that they were her "number one."

Romeo explained to Rocksroy the tribe’s reason for targeting Swati, reassuring him they’re still tight, though Tori desired to jump ship.

At Vati, Hai and Lydia believed Chanelle was more dangerous, but the tribe questioned whether Daniel’s shoulder injury was as severe as he claimed following a fishing trip.

Lydia and Rocksroy were selected for the summit; they purposefully withheld information about their tribes, causing both players to protect their vote.

Mike's trust in Chanelle diminished upon learning she was the one who voted against him, while at Ika, Tori annoyed Rocksroy with questions about his summit trip.

When the challenge winners got back to the Vati camp, many new friendships were formed, and the tribe (except for Chanelle and Tori) agreed to align against the two of them.

On Exile Island, Rocksroy was met by Jeff, who offered him to either leave things as is or smash an hourglass to reverse the outcome of the previous challenge, giving himself and the losing team immunity.

Maryanne's name was thrown out by Jonathan to give the perception that Taku wasn't a tight four, but Omar (without a vote due to his summit visit) tried to convince tribemates to blindside Lydia to keep his closer allies in the game.

At Tribal Council, Tori joined the majority under Mike's lead to send Chanelle to the jury.

Rocksroy approached Mike and Jonathan about forming an all-male alliance, which they agreed to; however, Omar and Hai did not appear receptive to the idea.

Omar debated which of the two was the bigger threat to him, but at Tribal Council, Romeo was the only one left out of the vote as Hai was sent to the jury.

The other players made a Top 5 pact, but Mike secretly wanted to target Drea as she was too powerful with all of her advantages.

Jonathan also started to get on people’s nerves as his hunger made him unpleasant to be around, and Lindsay convinced others to target him if he failed to win immunity at the next challenge.

Despite Lindsay’s advantage giving her fewer knots to untie, she lost immunity to Mike by one puzzle piece.

Mike told Romeo that he had no hard feelings about being forced to make fire, and strategized with him about whether to take Jonathan or Maryanne.

At the Final Tribal Council, the three finalists highlighted their different paths to the end: Mike making strong social bonds and flashy strategic moves, Maryanne managing her threat level and keeping her options open, and Romeo fighting to stay alive from the bottom.

However, after Maryanne highlighted her growth in the game and her strong under-the-radar moves such as finding the secret merge idol, the jury voted in her favor 7–1–0 over Mike and Romeo, awarding her the $1 million and the title of Sole Survivor.

After the votes were read, castaways enjoyed champagne and pizza while discussing the game with Jeff in a Survivor after-show.

However, he praised the producers and editing direction for having more focus on the players rather than the twists and called Maryanne's victory the best story of the season.

Jake Cole of Slant Magazine ranked the season 8th out of 42, praising the cast, editing, gameplay, and the winner's "masterclass" Final Tribal Council performance.