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While he might have stolen the hearts of Survivor superfans nationwide, Austin Li Coon was not crowned the champion of Survivor 45 during the finale on December 20, leaving the castaway with quite a few regrets when looking back at his journey on the beloved competition series.
Given that they were in the same alliance all season long, Austin Li Coon played an extremely similar game to the winner of Survivor 45 (as well as his showmance parter) Dee Valladares, but he made two major mistakes that ultimately cost him the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize. These mistakes were foiling the plan to blindside Julie Alley in episode 11, as well as failing to properly use his Amulet turned Hidden Immunity Idol in order to save Drew Basile (his closest ally in the game) in episode 12.
As mentioned, the beginning of his demise began in episode 11. In an attempt to blindside Julie, the plan seemed to be in motion until Austin told Dee, something that he will regret for the rest of his life…
Given the best friendship that Dee and Julie formed with one another, the former told the latter, ultimately causing the plan to fall apart. Julie played her Hidden Immunity Idol at tribal council (which Austin had handed to her a few days prior), causing just one vote to determine who would be heading to Ponderosa that fateful night. While Julie talked about casting her vote for Austin, she casted her vote for Emily Flippen instead, ultimately leading to her untimely exit.
When the roles were reversed and there was a plan to blindside Austin’s closest ally in episode 12, Dee kept her mouth shut, ultimately sealing her fate as the winner of Survivor 45. At final tribal council, the difference in the duo’s gameplay was brought to light, causing the jury to view Dee as a smarter, more strategic player than Austin andcausing her to defeat him in a five to three vote.
Why did Austin tell Dee the plan, and does he regret it? In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly post-show, the 26-year-old spilled the tea…
In said interview, reporter Dalton Ross asked, “How does this game play out differently if you do not tell Dee about the Julie vote?”
Naturally, the graduate student sang like a bird, walking Dalton Ross through the alternate scenarios and admitting that “It’s something [he has] definitely thought about a lot” since filming for Survivor 45 wrapped this past summer. This mistake has been haunting him!
“If I did not tell Dee about the Julie vote, then I think Drew and Emily get put in a much better position. It helps their games more than it helps my games. It would give them a lot of the power. To Drew, he’d become the most insulated person at that point of the game, having Emily and me as his number ones, and then Dee would lose a lot of trust in me. She probably would still want to work with me, but that was kind of unclear, so I was worried about losing my positioning in the game,” he dished, admitting that he does regret his decision, however, he is glad that he did not give Drew and Emily any more power.
Walking through all of the potential paths to the finale had he kept quiet that fateful day, Austin is unclear what would have happened had he not foiled the plan, but he knew one thing for certain: “I needed both Drew and Dee to make sure that I could get to the end.”
Nonetheless, while he might not have taken home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize, to watch Austin Li Coon’s journey on the beloved competition series from start to finish, fans of the franchise can stream the entirety of Survivor 45 via Paramount Plus now. It is truly a must-see!