Challenges have become stale and redundant, but Survivor season 43, episode 7 proved what challenges should be like. While pre-merge challenges have elaborate sets and multiple stages to get through in order to claim immunity at the end, all that is gone once the merge occurs. Instead, the immunity challenge becomes some form of standing in a line holding an object until it falls, with the last one standing winning individual immunity.

In a recent EW article, Dalton Ross reminds viewers that this is done to create a fair environment for each player, regardless of age or gender. Hence, why most Survivor post-merge challenges involve balance and endurance. In Survivor 43, episode 7, "Bull in a China Shop," a new challenge was performed where players were put into pairs and forced to crawl through a twisted net and then dig for planks. Then they needed to use those planks to cross a rope bridge where the first two pairs to do this would hold 25 lbs of their pre-game weight on a pulley for as long as they could.

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Survivor Immunity Challenge Create Dynamic Storytelling Moments

What makes this challenge so great is that it keeps the audience entertained while still maintaining fairness. Dalton even called it "kick-a**." Competing in pairs creates captivating interactions between players, which can either be positive, as was the case between Noelle Lambert and Sami Layadi, or negative, as evidenced by Ryan Medrano's exhausted disappointment with James Jones's performance. While recent Survivor twists have been a creative failure, this immunity challenge twist has not.

Most of the challenge shows dynamic movements from the players as they struggle through the twisted net or attempt to cross the rope bridge with just a few wooden planks. Production then levels the playing field with the individual endurance portion, which historically tends to favor leaner contestants as opposed to more muscular ones. In the end, it was Mike Gabler who won individual immunity, someone who has been both weak and exhausted throughout the season, proving that anyone is capable of winning a challenge such as this one.

The one issue this challenge creates is the amount of time it takes up in the episode. Survivor season 43, episode 7, was dominated by this immunity challenge, utilizing nearly half the episode for the challenge alone. With Survivor 43 becoming more unpredictable than ever, episodes need to focus on strategy and camp life instead of challenges. By spending so much time on the challenge, storytelling and continuity end up confusing and difficult to piece together for the viewer.

While the challenge may have taken up more time than needed, it still brought enough dynamic interaction and character development to make it worth it. By forcing contestants to either work together or compete directly against one another, it instantly creates more compelling scenes to work with as they decide who is being voted off. It's imperative to keep challenges varied on Survivor, both for the contestants to show off numerous skills and for the viewers to be entertained week after week.

More: Why Survivor 43’s Ryan Medrano Didn’t Focus On Social Game

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Source: EW