The Flint Problem on ‘Survivor’

The Big Picture

• Yanu Tribe finally won Immunity and earned flint after an 11-day streak of deprivation.
• Jeff Probst believes in the New Era concept of earning everything in Survivor.
• Fans and contestants question the fairness of withholding essential tools like flint.

The Yanu Tribe broke their 11-day streak of being without flint on Survivor 46. Having never won an Immunity Challenge, they did not earn their flint and thus, the domino effect of being unable to light a fire and cook caused the tribe to deplete to almost nothing. But producer and host Jeff Probst, speaking on his podcast On Fire with Jeff Probst, seems to think this is not a problem on the reality series. In the New Era of Survivor, he believes it’s all about earning everything. But is forcing a tribe to not have access to the essentials a step too far? It might actually be! Before the Immunity Challenge on the fifth episode of Survivor 46, Jeff Probst decided to share a bit of Survivor history with the remaining castaways. By day 11, the Yanu Tribe had made history by not having their flint for the longest streak. Should they lose this next Immunity Challenge, they would not only continue to build on their historical record, but they would own the title of the most losing tribe in the New Era of Survivor with four straight Immunity Challenge losses. Certainly no one wants to own a title like that!

Being a game changer on Survivor has proven important, but not in this way! Luckily for Q Burdette, Kenzie Petty, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin, fate was on their side and they did finally win Immunity! Well, they came in second place, so they earned safety. And a reward for fruit and pastries. But more importantly than that, they finally earned their flint, allowing them the ability to make their fire and sleep in some warmth. This was a milestone moment for the remaining trio on Yanu, but it should not have been. Losing the Immunity Challenge multiple times is one thing, but preventing them from improving their conditions due to the lack of flint is simply unfair. And despite Jeff’s refusal to give in, the fans are pleading for it to be changed. On his podcast, Jeff clearly and blatantly stated, “Let me get a bullhorn. The new era is here. Everyone earns everything. Penalties for losing. Yeah, expect more of that. This is what Survivor is about. If you want a ‘fun’ experience, go find another show. This is Survivor.” Well, that’s a way to alienate your devoted life-long fanbase!

Why Flint Should Be Given and Not Earned on ‘Survivor’

A big obstacle to winning Survivor, since introduced in season 35, Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers, is overcoming the Final Four Fire-Making challenge. The winner of the final Immunity Challenge has the power to decide who they want to sit next to in the final three and who they want to force to make fire to earn the third and final spot. Of course, the winner of said Immunity Challenge has the opportunity to put themselves into the line of fire and make fire themselves. With such a crucial element necessary to win the game and the title of Sole Survivor, it seems a bit counterintuitive to deprive contestants of flint and the opportunity to practice making fire from the moment they step on the beach. It feels as if Jeff wants to pick and choose the importance of certain elements without properly thinking about how they affect other elements. In a game where fire represents your life and when your fire is gone, so are you, how can you even start the game if you prevent your players from even having fire? Fire has always been a crucial theme of Survivor. So why is it so inconsistent now? Making the contestants earn food? Fine. It’s been part of the game. Making them earn a Hidden Immunity Idol or Advantage by taunting them with a Beware Advantage? Sure. But the flint? It’s way too important for survival and thus, hurts the game in the long run. If Jeff wants to prevent flint from the start, then eliminate the Final Four Fire-Making Challenge. It seems like a good trade-off to me!

As many Survivor fans remember, Jeff Probst has been adamant that the New Era of Survivor is essentially a revival, as new elements have been implemented into the game that we all know and love. Aside from the Sweat or Savvy Challenge or the lack of subtitles attached to each season’s name, one of the most dominating elements to be introduced is forcing each tribe to earn their tribal supplies, specifically the flint. While there are multiple opportunities for castaways to win their flint, Jeff Probst has stated that it must be earned. So going on an extended losing streak means a tribe can not earn the flint. And thus, the domino effect comes into play. How can a tribe win if they are continually unable to provide sustenance by cooking food and keep warm by a fire if they can’t build said fire? The New Era of Survivor has seen many tribes fall into the trap of major losing streaks during the tribe stage of the game. Especially focused on Survivor 45 and Survivor 46, the extended losing streak by one specific tribe has cost them their downfalls as they had no signs of improving their conditions. There is an element of psychological warfare inherent to Survivor, but perhaps holding back on flint is a step too far. There is no reason why things cannot be earned on Survivor. But flint, that should be given. In the past, when it came to flint, Jeff would take away flint from the tribe that would lose the Immunity Challenge. And that seems like a fair deal! Everyone can start off on an even playing field with their flint, and should they lose a challenge, then that’s when it should be taken away and be earned back at the next challenge.

Is the New Era of ‘Survivor’ Too Hard?

It has become a big debate whether the New Era of Survivor still lives in the overall grand universe of Survivor. It’s still the same great show, the storytelling has been adjusted, but with so many changes, is Survivor too hard? Shrinking the game to 26 days has been a sticking point for many fans, especially for those who crossover and watch the Australian version, which goes for a lengthy and brilliant range of 47 to 55 days. Jeff Probst has stated that the game is faster in the New Era and thus, they have to make the game trickier by preventing castaways from their essentials. In the past, the hardest part of the game was forcing players to simply wear the clothes off their backs. But that trade off included them from having rice and flint. Is having a complete wardrobe truly a fair barter for the lack of food and fire? Is it the players’ fault that production wanted a faster game? While it may be more exciting to watch the strategy happen sooner in a shortened game, fans are not happy to see a single tribe overtake the first half of the game because they’ve been on a massive losing streak. This season, little is known about the Siga and Nami Tribes in comparison to the Yanu Tribe. And in the age of storytelling, it’s a bit of a disservice to the goal of the New Era. Everyone’s journey is different, but it’s hard to watch an end game edit when the pre-merge is so heavy-handed swaying toward those who will only last a few episodes.

Back in the day, there was a season of Survivor called Survivor: Fiji, ironically filmed in the same locale the series has stuck to for the past thirteen seasons. For the fourteenth iteration of the game, the major twist was “Haves vs Have Nots.” As predicted, the Haves dominated the season. You would think a show that looks back at their history would often be reminded of why essentially creating another full-time “Have Not” tribe would not be in the best interest of the show.Survivor is a game that is not necessarily always fair. It’s the way of life. For a game with money on the line, there needs to be a sense of fairness. Making the game too hard in the New Era is not fair. Something has got to give. Survivor is allowed to evolve, but at what cost? As Survivor 46 has proven, even if a tribe who has been losing day after day finally wins a Reward Challenge, and they don’t have the flint to use the Reward, is that really fair? Should Survivor be a game of bartering? Only if there’s a Survivor Auction!

Even in certain Immunity and Reward Challenges, there is an equalizer portion of the challenge, namely the puzzle. Survivor needs to take a step back and look at where an equalizer can be implemented in the tribal part of the game. And it all comes down to the flint. Survivor fans are totally fine watching players struggle to survive, but it’s not fun when the predictable is predicted. The course of the game should include shocking blindsides, but that can’t happen when one tribe continues to fail at the game. One element can pretty much cause an avalanche. With so much game left to play in Survivor 46, anything could happen. With the merger coming, the numbers are not on the Yanu 3’s side. They will either be picked off one by one or be pulled in to be a number and float to the end. The best Survivor seasons, especially in the New Era, come when the unexpected occurs. Here’s hoping an unexpected change comes in the future.

Survivor 46 airs Wednesdays at 8:00pm on CBS. All seasons of Survivor are available to stream on Paramount+.

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