Not surprised that I very much enjoyed this season. So much to love in it, with great moments and characters... and the twists were entertaining to watch. I felt like there was a solid story going on through the whole season and everything felt connected in a way.
Player of the Season: JFP
Hero of the Season: Lill
Villain of the Season: JFP
Rankings:
16. Andrew Savage
I've never been a Savage fan and never will be a Savage fan. I've already talked about how much I hate leaders... and Savage takes everything I hate about leaders and blows it up by a million.
15. Osten Taylor
The first quitter in Survivor history. Who would have thunk the strongest looking guy out there would whine the most?
14. Darrah Johnson
Surprisingly didn't like her... she was very UTR but the times she was shown her voice kind of annoyed me, and she honestly didn't seem like the sweetheart she was supposed to come off as. She seemed very bitter about getting voted off... and I don't know, she just rubbed me the wrong way.
13. Trish Dunn
Not memorable. A girl tried hitting on her in the village... that's about it.
12. Michelle Tesauro
I don't really remember her... other than an alliance with Burton and Shawn. And the whole supposed to look weak at the food eating challenge, and not following through.
11. Tijuana Bradley
Hmm... well I remember her yelling at a girl in the village "MONEY"... and that's about it. By the end of the jury questioning I don't even remember her asking a question lol.
10. Ryan Opray
I liked him, but there was nothing that he really ever did so I don't know why I liked him... at the end of the season he was just sort of a meh.
9. Nicole Delma
She was alright. Seemed like a bit of a b*tch honestly. Mostly all I remember about her was getting in a feud with Tijuana and not having a bra on.
8. Christa Hastie
She dropped quite a bit during my rewatch. Her voice annoyed me lol. And she just wasn't really as entertaining as I remember her being. I remember her being crazy, but this time she just seemed... different. I don't know how to explain it. Bonus points for getting blamed for the fish bucket. Felt bad for her at that moment.
7. Shawn Cohen
I was mixed on him. Sometimes he just seemed like an a**hole, and sometimes he seemed like he was playing a decent game. At the end of the day I guess the a**hole won out. Bonus points for having an awesome feud with Fairplay though.
6. Ryan Shoulders
He would have been a decent underdog had he lasted longer, but I mean you could tell this guy never had a chance. Cute alliance with Lill though.
5. Rupert Boneham
I remember liking Rupert a lot more during my first watch of Pearl Islands. I guess his futures appearances kind of tainted my opinion of him a bit, but based on this season alone he was actually alright. Yeah I get he was a little bit extra, but he provided some entertainment, and it was just kind of cool to see someone like him on the season that's based around pirates. He always seemed like he was a target which also made him fun to watch. He was a little bit self entitled, but I mean when you're literally the one providing for the tribe I kind of understand.
4. Lillian Morris
I feel like she got the underdog story that Ryan should have got... but the funny thing is, she was never really an underdog. Anytime someone needed a vote, they'd go to Lill. She was actually always a powerplayer, but she got edited in a way where we were supposed to take pitty on her. I love her for the Savage scene where she says "Remember when you told me you'd let me know?" (in regards to Savage asking Lill to let him know is she would vote him out). The reason she's not higher... she was a bit whiny. But she was still a power player in teh game.
3. Burton Roberts
I really, really like Burton. Before his first vote out he didn't really seem like a good character and just seemed like a bully, but then he comes back into the game and boom... major strategist. He played a really good game, and he was such a powerful character to me. His relationship with Lill was probably one of the most interesting of the game, and his alliance with JFP made things interesting. He proved to be a good player, and for that reason I'm glad the outcast twist was used this season.
2. Sandra Diaz-Twine
Had a very hard time picking who would be first between these two... and ended up putting Sandra as second. She was really good, and made for great entertainment. She was loud, got in arguments, spoke her mind, and despite all that she still ended up winning. In the end, what puts her below Fairplay for me (which was a hard choice because I love her as a character) was the effect on gameplay. I feel like she didn't play as strong a game as Fairplay, and I do think she ended up being lucky in the end. Don't get me wrong, I love Sandra a lot and would love to see her on every All Star season.
1. Jon Dalton
Such a fun character. Okay yes, he was an a**hole... but he was an entertaining a**hole. Without Jonny Fairplay I feel like this season would have been completely different and not nearly as entertaining as it was. His feud with Sandra... amazing. His rivalry with Shawn... amazing. Grandma lie... iconic. Alliance with Burton... amazing. This guy literally made the season what it was I think, and I feel if he wasn't on this season a lot of people wouldn't consider this the best season. Whether you love him or hate him (I feel like most fans love him), he made this season what it was.
Who Should Come Back:
100% want to see Burton come back. Played a very good game this time, and I feel like he would come back and do it all over again.
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. I still rank him first because although he had some flaws, he did have a good mix of strategic and social game which the other winners either had a good social game (and terrible strategic game), or good strategic game (and terrible social game). Plus considering he had no other seasons to go off of I'd say it's a pretty impressive win.
2. Brian HeidikSome people will disagree with him being under Richard, and cool... I get it. The reason I place him her is because although Brian has a near perfect strategic game, and was able to have everyone do whatever he wanted... I feel his social game wasn't as strong. He pissed quite a few people off, and it really showed in the end. Not to knock him down at all, he played a very good game, and I understand why people have him ranked first... but for me there were flaws in the social game. And honestly, he just seems like a terrible person and I think his cast mates started to realize that.
3. 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.
4. Sandra Diaz-TwinePersonally she would be my favorite winner because of personality. But in terms of playing the game I can't really rank her higher. I'm not docking her on her game, she played good for the strategy she wanted to play with. No one had won with the "As long as it isn't be" strategy, so I respect her for that a lot. And to be fair, she almost became the perfect winner to play a perfect game if it wasn't for Tijuana's vote. Also, to be as loud and outspoken as her and still be able to get to the final 2 without a single vote against you, you had to be doing something right. But yeah, can't rank her any higher due to her not really having much control on the game.
5. 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.
6. Vecepia ToweryAlways debate 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.
7. Jenna MorascaLike I said in my season ranking, Jenna is a pretty terrible winner in my eyes. I understand she started playing an alright game at the merge, but before the merge she seemed to be doing everything wrong. Only hanging out with her other 2 beautiful girls, purposely making people feel like outsiders (not talking to Christy), and overall just being lazy. There's no moment in Jenna's game that I can honestly look at as a winning moment. She was a bit of a b*tch as well. I don't know, she just doesn't seem like she should've been a winner.
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. Pearl IslandsKind of controversial to not have this ranked first, and don't get me wrong I totally love this season. I feel like the cast was slightly weaker than Marquesas, and this season was very reliant on a controversial twist (outcasts), whereas if that twist never happened I feel like this season would not have been nearly as good as it was. I feel like this season always left a good memory for me, but I just feel like Marquesas outshines it for some reason. Still, this season had a great cast and I feel like the little twists it had (like the treasure chest, looting, and kidnapping) brought it up so well and I definitely understand why people say this is the absolute best season of Survivor...
3. AmazonWasn't expecting to rank it this high before I started the season, but after it was very solid. I think the cast might be the strongest of the early seasons, and it had an extremely good and exciting merge (which can't really be said for any of the other early seasons). One of the most strategic seasons in the early stages for sure. Pre Merge was a little lackluster, but as said, the merge more than makes up for that. Terrible winner though... but that's still not enough to ruin the season.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. ThailandDuring the rewatch I noticed that the season does have a few good moments, but that doesn't take away from how boring the season is as a whole. There were no outstanding moments in the season, no episode that really sticks out as "wow, this is good", and top it off with the most unlikeable cast in Survivor history. I think it deserves it's spot as ranked last on my list.