ReviewWell that one took forever to rewatch... not quite sure why. I still really like this season, but I don't know. I always find these early seasons to be a bit of a chore to watch due to lack of strategy, but I feel like of the first 4 seasons this one definitely has the most strategy in it. The pre merge was a little blah other than the Hunter boot, but the merge was pretty interesting to watch. First Rob goes which makes it seem like it's going to be Rotu in control, and then Neleh and Paschal flip and cause the downfall of one of my least favorite alliances in Survivor history. This leaves us with a bit of an interesting end game with Kathy as the swing vote between two power duos.
I give early seasons a lot of sh*t just because of how developed the game has become recently... but I have to give credit where credit is due, Marquesas was actually pretty entertaining. The cast was pretty good for the most part (there were a lot of duds, but the good characters made up for it), and there were a few power shifts that kept it fun. And the fights this season were exciting as well. I don't know, Marquesas I think will always be my favorite early season.
AwardsPlayer of the Season: Kathy
Hero of the Season: Kathy
Villain of the Season: Rob
Rankings
So I usually do my write ups as the season goes along and as people are being eliminated, but since it took me so long to watch this season I'm doing them all at the end now... so they might not be as long as usual. Also decided to color code it this time. Red = Hate, Yellow = Neutral, Green = Like, Blue = Love
16. Zoe
Still ranked last for me even on a rewatch. The entire time she just seems like stone cold b*tch and has no emotions. Then on her boot episode she turns into a major b*tch. Not a fan.
15. Gabriel
This guy dropped a whole lot from my previous ranking. The not wanting to play the game aspect of him was annoying. Ok, fine... I guess at the time it could kind of be understandable... but still, don't like him.
14. John
Ok, as much as I respect his gameplay... he was a pretty huge a**hole and leader of my least favorite alliance in history. He came off as a bully most of the time, and it seemed like he was threatening people for going against him.
13. Hunter
I'm never a fan of the alpha male leaders... ever. And although Hunter wasn't that big of a voice, he still fit into the role and something about him I just didn't like.
12. Sarah
Honestly don't remember much about her except for her being Rob's first showmance, and her getting upset about receiving votes.
11. Peter
Probably one of the most entertaining first boots... at least in the early seasons. Still he was just a weirdo to me. Nothing crazy special about him, but it's nice to have a first boot that is memorable by the end of the season.
10.Patricia
Oh Mom... she was kind of funny because nobody wants to have their mom out on the island, and then you have this mom like resemblance barking orders at everyone. She seemed like a sweet lady but she came off too strong.
9. Robert
Out of the four in the Rotu alliance he was the least seen I think. Out of the 4 of them, I know the least about the General. Could be a good thing... but yeah, still don't have much of an opinion on him.
8. Tammy
I would say for me Tammy came off as the realest of the alliance. I still didn't really like her much, but she seemed very straight up and not as much of a snake as Zoe and John were. It seemed more like she was along for the ride.
7. Sean
Yeah I don't know about Sean. I'm always mixed on this guy... This time around I was annoyed with him Pre Merge and then respected him Post Merge for actually fighting for his spot in the game. Still I don't think he was the interesting of a character.
6. Gina
I guess she's sort of here just for being a sweetheart and pretty innocent. She really didn't do anything noteworthy and I don't necessarily like her, but I have less of an opinion on her then the other people... and the people I ranked below her all have something negative that brings them down, whereas she was just neutral.
5. Paschal
I like Paschal mostly for his bond with Neleh. It was cute... but I mean Paschal was a little bit lame. I just don't think he did much and that's sad considering he made it to the final 4. Still I never had a moment where I disliked the guy... so it's only fair to rank him higher than people I disliked at some point.
4. Vecepia
I feel like Vecepia is one of the most controversial winners. She played a social game but played no strategic game really. She was extremely UTR and at time you could forget she's even on the island. I liked her positive sprit, and I liked her socialness where she knew she was on the bottom but would still try to fit in with the new tribe. I don't know, something about her was really likeable to me even if she was UTR.
3. Neleh
I love Neleh. She was such a sweetheart and she had some pretty funny moment due to her being a sweetheart (like when she brought a candy back from reward and took it out of her mouth to share with everyone). She was cute with the Paschal relationship... and the thing that I like about her more that past sweethearts (Colleen and Elizabeth) is that she actually made some decently big moves in the game (being one of the main reasons the Rotu 4 failed)
2. Rob
This is the only season where I ever liked Rob, and it all comes down to him being an underdog this season. He still had the cocky attitude, and his a**holeness... but because he was never really in a position of power it was actually entertaining to watch. He spoke his mind, spoke up against the people in power, and tried to make big moves but would always fail. I think it's kind of nice considering I watched most of his later appearances before actually seeing this season for the first time, so it was a nice transiting to see him in power in the first seasons I watched with him in it, to having little to no power this season.
1. Kathy
Oh Kathy, definitely the star of the season for me... and considering I think she had the most confessionals out of everyone she definitely was the star of the season. She had so many ups and downs the entire time, like first feeling like an outsider for being different than everyone, to then becoming a bit of a power player, and then being a swing vote. I think she was one of the most entertaining characters in the first 4 seasons just for being so out there all the time. You never really knew what to expect from her and it was fun to watch her progress through the season from Underdog to Power Player.
Who Should Come Back
1. JohnOkay... as much as I hated his cockiness attitude, he seems like he could be a really good game player in a future season. I feel like he's an old school player that could be dropped in a new school season and be able to adapt really fast and actually play a really good game. And I also feel like he would be edited more like Varner in Cambodia was and that would make me like him much more than I did this season.
2. VecepiaI want her to come back and prove why she won. I think if she came back and stuck to the same strategy she would make it to mid merge in a recent season... I'd be curious to see her come back and possibly switch up her strategy to redeem herself.
3. NelehMeh, this one I could kind of do without. I just think it would be cool to see a genuine sweetheart back in the game. I feel like we don't get many of them now due to the amount of strategy that goes on now.
Winner Rankings1. Richard HatchHe's iconic because he's the first winner, and to be fair he played a really, really good game considering it was the first season. He's strategic, and he was all around a really interesting character. He pissed people off, and somehow still found himself winning the game.
2. Tina Wesson It's kind of nice to see the exact opposite from the first seasons winner. Richard was a strategic player, whereas Tina perfected the social aspect of the game. Sadly she wasn't as interesting, and honestly she wouldn't be as memorable as Richard.
3. Ethan ZohnHe's a very disappointing winner I think. He didn't really play that strong of a game and just seemed to be in the right alliance at the right time. He never really had any struggles, and pretty much just sailed right to the end. Also not much personality which drops him big time.
4. Vecepia ToweryIt was a toss up for last between her and Ethan. I feel like neither of them are very strong winners, but at least Ethan had a good alliance and in that sense he played a better game than Vecepia. Vecepia on the other hand lucked out a lot, and that's the only reason she made it to the end. There were so many moments where Vecepia was in trouble. One plus for Vecepia is she had personality. But yeah, the under the radar strategy just didn't do it for me.
Season Rankings1. MarquesasLike I've said before, I feel like this was the most exciting season of the early era in Survivor. So much going on constantly, whether it be strategy, overthrowing of the main alliance, or just the cast having fun. There were tons of power shifts and it was (at points) unpredictable. For some reason it holds up highly for me, and I always remember it as a good season. Seasons before this just had a boring tone to it... and I don't know what it was, but Marquesas had a more fun tone to it that made it enjoyable to watch. Plus some good game players... which were hard to come by on early seasons.
2. AfricaI really enjoyed this while rewatching it. I feel like everything was picked up a notch, and everyone was there to play the game. It felt a lot more real, and the danger of the survival element just seemed so much more threatening. The cast I also feel was a lot stronger than the first two seasons, and we get the first real twist in Survivor history which effected the game.
3. Australian OutbackI'm a little surprised by this, considering last round of rewatches I did, I definitely liked Borneo better. But this time, Borneo just felt really unbearable, and I actually got a little bit of enjoyment out of this season. Also a lot more memorable events happened in this season, and the survival element felt a lot more real. The strategic game I felt also really picked up this time around.
4. BorneoYeah, the cast was stronger in this season... but the editing, and the lack of strategy made it extremely difficult to watch. It had it's moments, but I feel like if I were to rank this one higher it would simply be due to it being the iconic first season. But yeah, I would much rather watch Australia than this one. The editing style also brings it down a bit.