39. Survivor: Redemption Island

Unpredictability 2/10

Cast 4/10

Strong Outcome 7/10

Storyline/Edit 3/10

Theme/Locale 1/5

Challenges 3/5

Total Score: 20/50

The moment the idea of Redemption Island was released, and that Boston Rob and Russell were going to be joining a cast of newbies, I did not have high hopes for Season 22, as I typically don’t like seasons where 1–2 vets are mixed in with newbies, and I am also not usually a fan of giving players a chance back in the game after being voted out.

The season reflected my expectations, as while the first three episodes were fun with the Phillip vs. Francesca tribal and the Matt and Russell blindsides, the rest of the season was a pretty boring slog where Rob carried his Ometepe tribe members to the end, and then they allowed him to get to the final three with two of the biggest goats in Survivor history. In the end, Rob was a decently satisfying winner as he clearly deserved to win, but overall, it was an extremely predictable season with a lot of forgettable players who didn’t seem to know how to play Survivor.

38. Survivor: One World

Unpredictability 3/10

Cast 3/10

Strong Outcome 10/10

Storyline/Edit 3/10

Theme/Locale: 2/5

Challenges: 3/5

Total Score: 24/50

The concept of One World wasn’t necessarily a terrible concept, but the decision to split the tribes between men and women was part of what doomed this season. With the casting so lopsided between the men and women, splitting the tribes up by gender made it clear from the beginning that the women were going to dominate. One World was also compounded by the uncomfortable presence of Colton, who was too nasty and mean-spirited to be good TV, and his exit was very anticlimactic and in my opinion, somewhat unfulfilling. What’s even worse is that after he left, the season went from being uncomfortable to just being boring, as Kim and her alliance steamrolled to the end with little resistance. The one thing I liked about this season was that the winner was extremely well-deserved, and the final three of Kim, Chelsea, and Sabrina was a likable and satisfying final three in a season full of misfits, caricatures, and nasty personalities.

37. Survivor: All-Stars

Unpredictability: 4/10

Cast: 8/10

Strong Outcome: 2/10

Storyline/Edit 4/10

Theme/Locale 4/5

Challenges: 3/5

Total Score: 25//50

It might seem odd that a cast that included Rudy, Colby, Richard Hatch, Sue Hawk, Ethan, Rupert, Rob Cesternino, and Jerri wouldn’t receive a 10/10. One of the biggest problems, however, is that most of those people were voted out pre-merge. The boot order of this season was devastating, as it took out the biggest characters of the show early and left mostly people who were seen as borderline All-Stars in the end-game. Also, like One World, there was an undercurrent of nastiness that wasn’t necessarily good TV, and pretty much every character that we loved from the first seven seasons had their legacy tarnished by the end of the season. It was a season that started out with so much promise and good characters, only for it to turn into an utterly predictable finish of showmance Rob and Amber running the game with ease, and by the time we get to the final tribal council, there are so many hurt feelings and ruined friendships that there isn’t really anything left that is fun about the season, and all we have left is a highly anticipated season that was a major letdown as we watched a mostly predictable season where it was pretty clear that nobody was really having any fun.

36. Survivor: Ghost Island

Unpredictability: 3/10

Cast: 5/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 3/10

Theme/Locale: 4/5

Challenges: 2/5

Total Score: 27/50

I actually liked Ghost Island as a concept, and there were some fun moments with some of the relics brought back into the season, but the problem was that the cast was so bland and it reflected in the gameplay and overall tone of the season. There were a few fun moments thrown in there, such as the Chris Noble blindside, and the Wendell/Dom partnership that culminated in the first-ever tie vote at final tribal council. But between the passive gameplay of almost everyone else, and the majority of cast being severely underedited, made for a very underwhelming season that I struggle to find much good about outside of the competitiveness of the final tribal council.

35. Survivor: Cook Islands

Unpredictability: 4/10

Cast: 6/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 5/10

Theme/Locale: 1/5

Challenges: 3/5

Total Score: 29/50

Cook Islands is one of the most polarizing seasons in the Survivor community. Some people have it ranked low like I do, but others see the impressive Aitu comeback and all of the good players that have come out of this season, like Parvati, Penner, and Ozzy. My issue with Cook Islands is that outside of a few strong characters and moments, there is almost nothing else notable about the season. The cast is top-heavy with a handful of fun characters, but outside of those four or five people, the rest of the cast is very bland and forgettable. And even some of the standout characters like Parvati, Penner, and Ozzy were more compelling characters in their future seasons, in my opinion.

As much as the Aitu comeback is impressive, it takes up so little of the season that it doesn’t actually move the meter that much for me. When the mutiny occurs, the numbers are even at 6, and when Candice and Jonathan flip, Aitu is all of a sudden down 8–4, with almost no leadup to it (unlike tribes like Jalapao and Foa Foa, where there were multiple episodes dedicated to their downfall, which set up what I believe to be a more satisfying comeback story, but we will get to those seasons later). And then once Aitu is down 8–4, it only takes three episodes for them to get the majority back, and after that, it is a boring Pagonging to the endgame.

Overall, the mutiny episode, the merge episode where Yul flips Penner back to his side, and the finale, with the humourous Becky vs. Sundra firemaking challenge, and the suspenseful final tribal showdown between Yul and Ozzy are the only episodes even worth watching in the entire season, which is why it ranks so low for me, because even though there are a few highs here and there, there is so much boring filler in between those highs that it doesn’t make for a fun season to watch.

34. Survivor: Caramoan (Fans vs. Favorites II)

Unpredictability: 6/10

Cast: 5/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 3.5/10

Theme/Locale: 2/5

Challenge: 3/5

Total Score: 29.5/50

Caramoan is a season that had a horrible start, a decent mid-game, but then a pretty predictable and boring finale. First of all, the cast of favorites were not nearly as dynamic as the cast of favorites from the first time they did Fan vs. Favorites in Micronesia. What was even worse though was the cast of fans. Most of them were not only very forgettable, but also didn’t appear to be fans as much as they were recruits who hadn’t seen the show before.

This made for a lopsided game from the beginning as the Favorites ran the game, and we once again saw some dark moments that didn’t make for good television, including the behavior of contestants like Brandon and Shemar, and the uncomfortable final tribal where Brenda demanded that Dawn take out her false teeth and show the jury as retribution for blindsiding Brenda.

There were some fun blindsides after the merge, and I personally did enjoy Cochran as a winner, but other than that, this was not a good sequel to the first Fans vs. Favorites installment.

33. Survivor: Nicaragua

Unpredictability: 7/10

Cast: 6.5/10

Strong Outcome: 7/10

Storyline/Edit: 4.5/10

Theme/Locale: 2/5

Challenges 3/5

Total Score: 30/50

Nicaragua is a season that has some decent moments, but overall isn’t good enough to keep it out of the bottom 10. The pre-merge is solid but unspectacular, and the season’s highest point is probably right after the merge. The problem is that two of the best characters get voted out early on in the merge in Marty and Brenda, which was entertaining at first, but it is clear that their absence leaves a big hole in the rest of the season. And then on top of that, the double quit really kills the momentum of the season, as the storyline and tribal dynamics completely shift as a result of the two quits, which makes for a very disjointed narrative. In the end, it is a season with some fun characters and a surprising winner, but events near the end of the season really damage the overall narrative and story of the season, which brings it down to the bottom ten for me.

32. Survivor: Gamechangers

Unpredictability: 7.5/10

Cast: 7/10

Strong Outcome: 7/10

Storyline/Edit: 5/10

Theme/Locale: 1/5

Challenges: 3/5

Total Score: 30.5/50

Gamechangers was an odd theme from the start, because the phrase ‘gamechangers’ and what made each contestant a ‘gamechanger’ was so vague and at times ill-fitting. Like All-Stars, the season was a let down, as some major characters went out early, which led to many of the people who went far lacking in character complexity and strong narration skills, which made for an underwhelming finish and bland post merge. Even though this season had some good blindsides down the stretch, many of the people left in the game by the end didn’t inspire much enthusiasm, with the exception of Cirie, and watching her get royally screwed once again in the game was not necessarily fun to watch. Sarah was a more than deserving winner, but overall, it was a season that was too gameplay heavy and didn’t have a strong enough cast in the end game to help contribute to a compelling and entertaining narrative.

31. Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers

Unpredictability 7/10

Cast: 6.5/10

Strong Outcome 6/10

Storyline/Edit 6/10

Theme/Locale 2/5

Challenges: 3/5

Total: 31/50

As Rob Cesternino said, Survivor is like pizza, even if its bad, it’s still good. We are getting to the point in my rankings where I actually like the seasons, even if they are ranked this low. To me, we are in the tier of ‘mediocre’ seasons, which are seasons that are not terrible, and that have some solid moments and fun characters, but are overall either majorly flawed or mostly forgettable.

I would say that HHH can be classified as either of these. I would say the pre merge of season 35 is solid but mostly forgettable, and it doesn’t really get compelling until a couple of votes into the merge, which the exception of a few moments here and there, such as the Patrick and Alan blindsides. I also classify the cast as good, but not great, as there aren’t necessarily alot of duds in the cast, but there aren’t necessarily many people that I would say are top tier characters, either. I think the strongest additions to the cast, in my opinion, are Devon, Lauren, Patrick, and Alan, and two of those people are gone by the fourth episode. I will say however, that I am impressed by many of the contestants that go far from a gameplay standpoint.

The part where HHH is majorly flawed is the ending. There were many strong players at the end of the game that would be been strong winners, including Devon, Lauren, and Chrissy. The fact that Ben idols his way to the end, and then takes advantage of a dubious twist at the end of the game, is a fairly unfulfilling ending considering the strength of the competition at the end.

Overall, HHH is a season that I definitely don’t hate, but it doesn’t inspire alot of strong positive feelings from me, either. There are simply seasons that I found more memorable and entertaining.

30. Season 5: Thailand

Unpredictability: 4/10

Cast: 7.5/10

Strong Outcome 7/10

Storyline/Edit 7.5/10

Theme/Locale 3/5

Challenges 3/5

Total Score: 32/50

While I am a fan of pretty much all of the seven pre-all star seasons, Thailand is pretty clearly my least favorite. That being said, it does have a pretty decent cast, and Brian is a well-deserving winner with some underrated one-liners (“Cause and Effect. You caused this effect.”), even if his personality and off-the-island transgressions make him a pretty unlikeable winner in Survivor lore, and somebody that the show has been happy to distance themselves from.

The biggest issue with Thailand is that it is pretty predictable, and compared to other seasons, especially the seasons surrounding it, it just doesn’t have a whole lot of memorable moments that make it a season that really resonates with me. Overall, it is another decent but wholly unspectacular Survivor season.

The seasons I have ranked from 21–29 are coming soon!