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Survivor Season 42 is part of the “new era” of the CBS reality competition series. This means many new twists, accelerated gameplay, and fewer rewards. But the forty-second season will still feature the final four fire-making challenge, as seen in previous iterations of the game. And according to alleged Survivor spoilers, we might know who the next victim of fire-making will be.

[Spoiler alert: This article may contain spoilers from Survivor Season 42.]

Jeff Probst, who hosts 'Survivor' Season 42 on CBS, wears a blue short-sleeve button-up shirt, light pants, and a black, white, and green 'Survivor' baseball cap.
Jeff Probst | Photo by Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images

The series introduced the permanent final 4 fire-making challenge in season 35

Prior to Survivor Season 35 and season 42, if a tiebreaker ensued during the final four Tribal Council, the two castaways who had votes cast against them would compete in a fire-making challenge. Whoever built a fire big enough to burn through a string above it would win their spot in the final three. However, things changed in Survivor Season 35.

Starting in Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, a fire-making challenge took place in the final four, even if there wasn’t a tie. The Immunity Challenge winner would pick one tribemate to take with them to the final three. And the other two players would automatically make fire.

For eight seasons, including Survivor Season 42, the series featured this version of the final four fire-making challenge. Many fans are not fond of this new aspect of the game. But perhaps it won’t be around much longer.

How the ‘Survivor’ Season 42 fire-making challenge allegedly plays out

One Survivor fan who claims to have insider information about season 42 posted detailed spoilers on Reddit. They posted the entire bootlist and specific aspects of what occurs during the season. And so far, they’ve been right.

According to them, Jonathan Young will be the next victim of the final four fire-making challenge.

“Jonathan goes in fire and loses to Mike [Turner],” the Reddit user claimed.

While none of this is confirmed, some Survivor Season 42 fans believe that Jonathan might win the final four Immunity Challenge and send himself to fire. Some castaways have done this over the years to impress the jury. But if Jonathan voluntarily competes in the fire-making challenge and loses, that would be a nightmare.

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‘Survivor’ Season 42 Fans Believe the Winner Is Obvious

Why fans believe ‘Survivor’ Season 42 will feature the last fire-making challenge

Given the Survivor Season 42 spoilers, some fans believe that future seasons will not feature the automatic final four fire-making challenge. One fan even posted their speculation in a Reddit thread.

They wrote, “Will Jeff [Probst] axe final four fire-making from now on? Final three was because Terry lost. No more jury speeches was because Aubry lost. Firemaking was because David lost. Now fire making is going to be the reason Jonathan loses, and he is Jeff’s new golden boy crush that he always gets on the big athletic guys. Do you think he’s gonna get rid of it?”

As the Reddit user mentioned, fans believe Survivor switched from a final two to a final three because Terry Deitz was voted out before the Final Tribal Council in season 12. They got rid of jury speeches because Aubry Bracco lost to Michele Fitzgerald in Survivor Season 32. And David Wright was voted out at the final four in Survivor Season 33. Now, some believe the show will do the same with fire-making if Jonathan leaves.

One fan commented on the Reddit post, “Doubt it, but it’s possible.” And another person wrote, “I don’t think so because it’s helped his previous favorites. I don’t think he will scrap it after just one time it went against what he wanted.”

Only time will tell if future Survivor seasons eliminate the final four fire-making. But we know that many fans would be happy to see it go.

Survivor Season 42 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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