Jeff Probst and CBS pulled out a bevy of new tricks and advantages for Survivor’s return to screens in 2021 after a lengthy COVID-19 hiatus. Slowly but surely, they’ve been appearing yet again in the new Season 42 as well, including the three-way tribe immunity idol and the criminally underused Shot in the Dark. It was for the most part all well and good – until the worst twist ever reemerged in the latest episode: the hourglass twist. And fans have made it very clear that they never want to see it again.
In essence, the hourglass twist was disliked so much last year because it allowed the holder to effectively flip which group had immunity right at the most crucial juncture in the game (the merge). Survivor 41’s Danny McCray supposedly even got into an unaired argument with Jeff Probst about its unfairness. Given that Seasons 41 and 42 were filmed back-to-back, the show wouldn’t know how viewers were equally as displeased about the change until it was too late, but they did take the last cast’s complaints into consideration. Going into the next cycle, the show remixed the rules somewhat. No dice, though, because the twist still ain’t hitting. See this Twitter user’s response:
Jeff: “so listen #survivor fans, we know you hated the hourglass from season 41, but WHAT IF we added a corporate sponsor?” #Survivor42 pic.twitter.com/0zZkz1YMBBApril 14, 2022
While Survivor 42 players, unlike their predecessors, got some sweet Applebee’s out of the twist, it still had the effect of creating undesired chaos (as if any chaos is desired). The hammer that could smash the hourglass and “turn back time” fell into wildcard Rocksroy Bailey’s hands – and no one knew if their safety or lack of safety was even real. According to another fan online, the extra drama was all a bit unnecessary: but
Incredible cast, phenomenal vote, amazing characters, stories, narratives & gameplay. Only 5 people being vulnerable was constricting enough to force a more dramatic outcome & harder gameplay through the chaos, this didn't need the hourglass on top of that
They aren’t kidding, either, because the scrambling got to DEFCON-5 in the latest episode. Rocksroy Bailey, of course, broke the hourglass, which flipped the immunity groups and put a huge target on comp beast Jonathan Young’s back instead of select others. Young is the odds-on favorite to win by none other than Survivor: Tocantins’ runner-up Stephen Fishbach, and the thought of him getting taken out by the twist was apparently just too much to consider. Check out Fishbach’s reaction to the events as they were unfolding in real-time:
If Jonathan is voted out of #survivor bc of this hourglass twist, my vendetta against glass sand-containing objects will be endless.April 14, 2022
Interestingly, the final blow didn’t land on Jonathan Young, thanks in large part to a certain veterinarian with too much cow anatomy knowledge. It ultimately landed on Lydia Meredith who was sent packing in the final vote. I just want to know – how could Hai Giang betray her after previously almost going to rocks for her?? But what Survivor 41’s Evvie Jagoda wants to know is: how could the powers that be keep such a “cruel” twist in the game? She wrote on Twitter,
Coldest take in the book but whyyyy shouldn’t the hourglass boot be on the jury?! It’s just such an unnecessarily cruel part of the twist! So mean to Lydia and Sydney! They know everyone! Give them a jury vote! I was one vote away from that fate and it haunts me.
So far, then, we have Survivor 42’s use of the hourglass twist described as thus: hated, unnecessary, overcomplicated, unfair, and cruel. Well, last but not least, it’s also being called “stupid,” as you can see below from another disgruntled fan:
This hourglass twist is *precisely* as stupid as it was last season, Applebees be damned. #SurvivorApril 14, 2022
It should be safe to say at this point that the worst or, certainly, the most despised twist of perhaps all time is done-zo. With the dust still settling from Rocksroy Bailey’s decision, the question is now whether or not it will prove as fruitful for him as it did for Season 41’s Erika Casupanan, who took it all the way to the bank on her finale night. Tune into Survivor 42’s next episode on Wednesday, April 20 at 8 p.m. EST, on CBS (or next day streaming with a Paramount+ subscription) to find out.
