‘Survivor 45’ finale recap: Did Austin, Dee, Jake, Julie or Katurah win the $1 million grand prize? [LIVE BLOG]
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After 26 days full of Lulu losers, Belo blindsides and Reba revenge, the 45th winner of “Survivor” was crowned on Wednesday night during a three-hour event on CBS. But was it Austin Li Coon, Dee Valladares, Jake O’Kane, Julie Alley or Katurah Topps that claimed the $1 million grand prize?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Survivor 45” Episode 13 recap/live blog of “Living the Survivor Dream” to find out who won on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite castaways on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and what you think of this latest addition to the “Survivor” winners list. Jeff Probst once again hosts the long-running competition series.
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8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Survivor’!” In the 12th episode, Austin won the reward challenge and took Dee and Katurah with him on the helicopter ride and sandspit picnic. In the immunity challenge, Dee won in a showdown against her showmance partner, Austin. At tribal council, Austin played his amulet-idol as it was the last time it could be used. Austin and Drew Basile ended up voting for Julie, just as they did the prior week. But the other four players all wrote down Drew’s name, blindsiding him and making him the sixth member of the jury. So who will become the Sole Survivor of Season 45? Let’s go!
8:03 p.m. – Arriving at their new beach after Drew’s blindside, Austin reflected that it was the first time in the game that he was blindsided by where the vote was going. Dee pulled him for a chat to apologize for the Drew vote and for not telling him about it in advance. Austin admitted that he would have given Drew the amulet idol if he had known and so he told Dee that her decision made sense. She said she was worried about him turning on her because she didn’t do for him what he did for her and Julie, but he affirmed his trust in her going forward. While the two of them were off talking, Julie, Katurah and Jake commented that they are a clear pair and Katurah expressed frustration that they “fumbled the ball” by not realizing how close they are earlier in the game.
8:07 p.m. – The next morning, the players saw a box with a combination lock on it and a note that directed them to race to count items at three other stations in order to open the box and retrieve an advantage. The players could try the lock once, but before they attempt another guess they’d have to race back to all three stations. Austin and Dee went to stations together in order to help each other out, checking their counts against one another, while the other three worked independently. Julie was the first to the lock, but her attempt failed. Austin and Dee were also incorrect on their first guesses. Jake knew that he wasn’t the best runner in the group so he took his time at each station to get an accurate count and then attributed each total to the winner of that particular season of “Survivor.” That gave him 18 crabs represented by J.T. Thomas, 25 bamboo sticks represented by Denise Stapley, and 43 coconuts represented by Mike Gabler which on his first attempt at the lock proved correct. The win gave him an advantage in the upcoming immunity challenge.
8:17 p.m. – To earn immunity at final five, the players ran the ultimate obstacle course: digging up a machete, collecting sandbags to toss into baskets, using numbers to solve another lock, climbing a tower to unlock a puzzle that they must solve as the last step. The winner also earned a trip to the Sanctuary for a steak dinner reward. As his advantage, Jake had two of his sandbag toss baskets already weighed down and so he’d only need to get bags into the third one in order to advance to the next stage.
8:20 p.m. – Austin got to the sandbag toss first, but Jake was right behind him and then landed his only basket quickly giving him a clear lead. Austin didn’t take long getting bags in his three baskets and when Jake forgot his keys he had to descend the tower and climb back up in order to unlock his puzzle. That gave Austin the window to take over the lead, but neither of them were particularly successful at the puzzle and so eventually Katurah, Dee and then Julie all caught up to them. Austin was in fact the first person to finish the first tier of the puzzle with Jake hot on his tail. Julie was in last place prior to the puzzle, but passed up Katurah and Dee to take the third spot. Austin did not let up though and finished the second tier of his puzzle as well and then his third and final tier in order to earn immunity and secure his spot in the final four. For his reward, Austin decided to bring Jake along with him because of how close their fight for immunity, leaving the three women to return to camp on their own.
8:32 p.m. – Back at camp, Katurah was concerned with how she’d convince Julie to turn on Dee for this vote. Julie’s first response was that she’d “love to go to the end” with her, but that she prefers that Katurah vote with her and Dee to take Jake out instead. Julie was still seeking vengeance for Jake wanting her out and also needed to show loyalty to Dee. When the Jake option was brought to Dee, she was on board with it because they know Jake to be good at fire-making.
8:35 p.m. – Once at the Sanctuary, Austin was happy to be with Jake because he believed that Jake would be open about any secrets he still has. Without second guessing, Jake opened up to Austin about how he has the last hidden idol and that he’d be playing his idol in order to take Julie out no matter what. Austin was shocked that Jake opened up about the idol and his plan so as soon as he got back to the beach he told Dee about Jake’s plan. Because of that plan, Dee and Austin realized that their only option would be to vote Katurah instead so that Jake’s idol play is ineffective.
8:38 p.m. – Jake told Katurah about his idol as well which prompted her to talk Jake into them voting for Dee instead of Julie. She pointed out that Dee is more likely to win a challenge and she will choose to take Austin with her, leaving them to make fire against each other. Still, Jake’s concern was making sure that his play of the idol is correct because he needs to show the jury that he’s had power in the game. He also mentioned that he hadn’t heard his name, but that he has heard Katurah’s name. Julie was still insisting to Dee that they vote Jake because she doesn’t believe his idol story. Austin was also second guessing the Jake vote because it’s not better for his game that Julie remains in the game. Dee was potentially okay with Austin voting for Julie, but she was not going to and would stick to her Katurah vote. Ahead of Tribal Council, Katurah asked Jake to swear on his nana that he’d be voting for Dee alongside her.
8:47 p.m. – At TC, Jeff started off right away by pointing out how Jake squandered his advantage and prevented himself from overtaking Austin on the puzzle because he was missing a piece. It was another public display of Jake flailing in the competition which would not go over well with the jury. Katurah and Julie both told Jeff that they see themselves as vulnerable to going home at this point and Dee added that everyone’s names had been thrown out as vote options. At the voting booth, Dee voted Katurah, Jake voted Dee, Julie voted Jake, and we heard Katurah tell the camera that she’s “changing her vote” because she believed everyone would be voting for her. When asked, Jake did decide to play his idol for Katurah. Jeff read the votes: Katurah, Jake, Dee, Julie, Julie. So in the end, Katurah’s switching of her own vote curtailed her own plan to send Dee home and she single-handedly sent Julie to the jury instead, leaving Jake puzzled why he was the only vote for Dee and ultimately rendering his idol play ineffective. On her way out, Julie whispered “go to law school” to Katurah and “win this game” to Dee.
8:59 p.m. – Back at camp, Jake was upset about Katurah’s switched vote and so he told Dee and Austin that it was her plan to go after Dee and she made him swear on his nana’s life that he’d vote Dee as well. Katurah acknowledged what Jake was saying, but ultimately she didn’t trust that Jake would be going with Dee and so she switched her vote in order to pad votes on Julie. Jake was upset that his attempt at making a big move flopped, but Katurah’s point was that he didn’t even tell her about the plan to play the idol on her and if he had then it would have stopped her from switching the vote. Katurah was also frustrated because she doesn’t like that Dee and Austin are still in the game together.
9:01 p.m. – For their final immunity challenge, the four players competed in a race to stack 17 bowls on a perch that was connected to a rope grid that they had to go through back and forth to retrieve the bowls. Not only does the winner earn their spot in the final three, but they’d also take one other person with them, leaving the remaining two to battle in a fire-making challenge to earn their spot as a finalist. Dee was the first one to get eight bowls stacked, followed by Jake at the same pace, Austin one behind, and Katurah two behind. After stacking seven, Austin hit his grid and they all fell, requiring him to start over. After placing his 13th bowl, Jake hit his grid on his way out and lost his entire stack, giving Dee a huge lead with only three bowls left to place.
9:07 p.m. – Frustrated after collecting his toppled bowls, Jake stomped on his floating grid and did not heed Jeff’s verbal warning that if he broke his grid that he’d be taken out of the challenge. Jake continued to stomp and broke his grid, causing Jeff to disqualify him from competing any further. On her own 11th bowl, Katurah toppled her stack as well, but it didn’t matter because Dee managed to place her 17th and exit without ever knocking her stack over. With that, Dee won immunity in flawless execution.
9:15 p.m. – Dee’s win meant that she won more individual immunities than any other player this season. For her, she thought she checked off so many boxes in her game that she doesn’t need to put herself in the fire challenge and was almost certain that she’d be saving Austin. Jake told Dee that he didn’t want to be saved by her because he needs the opportunity to make fire in front of the jury and for personal reasons wants to be able to say that he accomplished something. Dee told him she’d honor his wishes and put him in fire. Katurah knew that Dee would take Austin and Dee told her that she’s scared to sit next to Katurah in the final three because she’s well-liked by the jury and she’s a very articulate debater. Austin was confident in his own fire-making ability and wanted to go against Katurah in order to secure her elimination, but he also understood that it’s not in Dee’s best interest to give Austin the chance to do something showy in front of the jury like that. Katurah was disappointed that her vision of the end game that prompted her to want Dee out at final five was playing out all because she switched her vote out of fear, but she also saw the fire build as an opportunity to surprise herself and the jury, as well as thwarting Dee’s plan to have her eliminated. But once Austin watched Jake attempt to build fire, he went back to Dee with another argument that she should put him in there in order to ensure that Katurah does not beat Jake.
9:27 p.m. – At TC, Dee told Jeff that she had conversations with all three players about what her decision would be. Katurah added that Dee said she doesn’t want to sit next to Katurah because she’s afraid of the moves she’s made and allowing her to speak to the jury. Both Austin and Jake asked Dee to be put in to the fire build, but Austin said that it’s not a decision Dee wants to make because it gives him another positive mark to the jury. Despite his, Dee made the final decision to bring Austin with her to the final three, leaving Jake and Katurah to battle it out for the final spot.
9:35 p.m. – In the fire-making challenge, Katurah was the first to turn a spark into a flame, but it went out in a bit of wind and Jake answered with a flame of his own. Katurah’s second flame went out quickly as well while Jake’s small fire stuck around as he attempted to build it higher. Katurah had a third flame go out as well, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because by this point Jake’s fire was kissing the rope and it quickly broke, earning him the final spot in the final three.
9:43 p.m. – For their last day in the game, the final three received a breakfast where they could reflect on their journey this season and we heard from confessionals from the jurors on their thoughts. Kaleb Gebrewold said that Jake had the biggest fight to battle and that he had “more of the right instincts than people realize.” Kellie Nalbandian discussed Dee’s social relationships that made people “unwilling” to vote her out. Kendra McQuarrie eyed Austin as a potential winner because he was an obvious big threat that created strong alliances and was never voted for by anyone. Bruce Perreault wanted the finalists to “own who you are,” Emily Flippen saw Jake as a pawn that didn’t give up and no one wanted to get rid of, Drew was #TeamAustin for obvious reasons, Julie was #TeamDee for equally obvious reasons, and Katurah expressed that she wants to vote for the “strongest play overall” and won’t reward “passive play.”
9:56 p.m. – At the Final Tribal Council, Kendra opened by asking them how they all “took the bull by the horns.” Jake said he was willing to do any and everything that crossed his path in the game, Dee focused on staying in the present and “detaching from the outcome” in order to have fun, and Austin admitted to being an alternate that had to expose himself to everything because it almost didn’t happen. Katurah flipped the conversation by asking about their fears. Austin didn’t like the lying and blindsides because of the personal relationships, Dee also wanted to be loyal to people and so that was hard, and Jake talked about his fear of failing so things not going his way in the game forced him to rebound and tackle that fear.
10:00 p.m. – Drew gave Dee and Austin space to talk about the “core four” alliance of Reba and how they helped it be successful. Dee said their strength was having “open and honest conversations” and she admitted to the luck of being put in Reba with people she could connect with. Austin differed a bit by saying that he was a big part of the alliance sticking together and preparing them to be strong at the end. Dee countered by saying that she was never scared that she was a threat because she believed in her alliance protecting her. Austin countered again by discussing bringing Emily in during the tribe swap and about how his acquisition of idols padded his game as well as the alliance’s. Dee argued that she brought Katurah in and the Kendra decision was because Dee recognized she was pulling in Austin and Drew. But Austin insisted that he was “the most insulated player in the game” and that’s why he was never voted.
10:04 p.m. – Emily jumped in to ask Dee directly for an example of her using her “brain not heart.” Dee rejected that question by stating that both are connected and all of her decisions involved both. All Dee cared about was building relationships because the strategic moves would come from those relationships. Kaleb wanted to hear from Jake what he did to get to the end. Jake used the Kaleb vote as a moment for Jake to pivot in order to protect himself because that made him a target. Drew reached further for Jake, wanting to hear that there was a “method to the madness.” Jake replied that he was “taking cracks” with every opportunity he was given, but Austin and Dee never had to. Kellie wanted Austin to speak to his use of the idols, which everyone knows didn’t work to his advantage. Emily added that Austin wasn’t even able to save his number one when Drew was voted out, but Austin said that it wouldn’t have been good for him to set next to Drew anyway. Dee used the topic as an opportunity to describe how she hid from Austin what he didn’t hide from her and then somehow found a reason to throw Bruce under the bus for never using his idol.
10:10 p.m. – Julie wanted to know about the status of the showmance between Austin and Dee – is it real and how did it impact their game? Dee said that it is real and like she said earlier, the natural connection blossomed and the strategic thing just fell in place. Austin agreed with that perception, but Emily pushed back on Austin because Austin told them that he wasn’t going to tell Dee and then did. She sees it as a “sign of weakness” that Austin wasn’t able to control the move the way he wanted it to go, but Austin retorted that in the end it didn’t impact his game anyway. That’s when Dee opened up about having told Julie, something she hadn’t admitted to Austin yet. Dee said that she knew how strong her social game was and that people would trust her which is what allowed her to convince Julie to not vote Austin out and to go for Emily instead.
10:19 p.m. – The jury members vote at the lectern, and Jeff reads them aloud. Dee wins “Survivor 45”! The final vote count is 5 for Dee, 3 for Austin, 0 for Jake. That’s a wrap, everyone. See you next year for “Survivor 46”!
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