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‘Survivor: Edge Of Extinction’ Season 38 Finale Recap: Who Won And Took Home The Money?

By Stacy Carey
Published on: 04:28 PST, May 16, 2019

Wednesday night, CBS aired the finale of Survivor: Edge of Extinction. Spoilers had teased that the Season 38 ending would contain some shockers and that was definitely the case.

As The Inquisitr had shared previously, there were plenty of rumors swirling around about how this Survivor battle supposedly ended. Early on, there had been some talk that one castaway would spend most of the season on Extinction Island, win a spot back in the game right at the end, and possibly take home the win. It seemed like something of a far-fetched possibility, but ultimately, that’s exactly what happened.

Survivor spoilers from the network had teased that this would be a wild finale with an unexpected outcome, and it’s fair to say that the hype was accurate. Us Weekly details that Chris Underwood fought hard against the other 10 castaways who had been on Extinction Island and while Joe Anglim came close, Chris won and got the opportunity to fight for a spot at the last Tribal Council.

Once Chris was back in the game, he aligned with Rick Devens. Chris wasted no time in connecting with Rick while also talking with Lauren O’Connell about the idol she had and advising how he thought she should use it. The next challenge was for both immunity and a food reward, and Julie Rosenberg won. Chris helped her, and Rick was not happy to see this.

Julie took Lauren and Chris on the reward with her, and the three talked strategy while eating the spread made available to them. At Tribal Council, Rick used his idol and Lauren saved Chris with hers, leaving Victoria Baamonde eliminated. Overnight at camp, Devins searched for idols and hid two fakes. Rick managed to find an idol again, and then Lauren and Julie found the fakes and thought they were legitimate.

An obstacle course was the focus of the next immunity challenge, and a big puzzle toward the end was involved as well. Devens pulled off the win and at Tribal, he used his idol to keep Gavin safe. Lauren and Julie played their idols and were naturally thrown to learn they were fake. Chris used the idol he had to keep himself safe. After all of this, Lauren ended up eliminated.

Chris won the final immunity challenge. At the next Tribal Council, things got intense. Devens anticipated Chris sticking to the deal they had made to work together to the end, but Underwood gave his immunity necklace to Julie as he wanted to prove he had earned his spot.

Rick and Chris faced off in a fire-making challenge, and Survivor spoilers had teased that a fire-making challenge toward the end would have a massive impact on how the rest of the season played out. That was definitely the case, as Chris won and Rick was sent to the jury.

The Hollywood Reporter recaps that after winning the fire-making challenge, Chris talked about how he was the player he was because of his time on Extinction Island. He argued that his game ultimately was better than what Gavin and Julie managed to do in 39 days.

This fire challenge ending left Chris, Julie, and Gavin Whitson as the final three. As early Survivor spoilers had teased, newbies made it to the end and Chris, who had only been in the game for eight days before heading to Extinction Island, was one of those finalists.

Chris definitely had to fight for votes and convince jury members that despite spending 28 days away from camp, he deserved the win. He went through the plays he made at the end, and Gavin and Julie did their best to plead their case, too.

Of course, many argue that Underwood had a significant advantage in having spent so much time with the other jury members on Extinction Island. Gavin argued this was an unfair advantage, but ultimately, the jury members apparently didn’t agree with him.

Gavin got votes from Lauren, Kelley Wentworth, Rick, and Aurora McCreary. Julie ended up with no votes, and Chris received the remaining nine, making him the winner. This is surely going to be a pretty controversial Survivor ending given Chris Underwood’s experience, but the jury obviously was convinced he deserved the win over Gavin Whitson and Julie Rosenberg.

As The Inquisitr detailed, coming up this fall is Season 39’s Survivor: Island of the Idols. This battle brings back “Boston Rob” Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, and it should debut in September.

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