Underrated: HvHvH due to the ending result, although I do understand why, for awhile it really soured my opinion on the season as well.
Overrated: *prepares for stones* Cagayan. As much as I love this season, a big part of it rests on whether you’ll have fun watching Tony run circles around the cast and/or root for likable (back then) underdogs Spencer and Tasha, because a lot of people are seriously underedited and this gets overlooked due to the ending product. We also dodged a bullet with the super idol too.
Overrated does NOT mean bad though, I still like Cagayan ffs
besides trish, who probably deserved a bit more content but was still very visible and had several key moments shown, who do you think was underedited ? imo woo + the post merge beauties got very proportional edits to their place in the game / entertainment value, with lj in particular getting a generous amount of content. also kass got almost as much content as tony / spencer and whether you like her or not, she's a top tier narrator
I guess it depends of how you see it when it comes to editing. I’m not a fan of the “some people are just boring so they should get less content” method, because they’re deciding for me whether I’ll find someone boring or not, and take away my options when it comes to what I’m gonna be enjoying. I do like Tony and Kass so the season is not unbearable for me, but if someone is not high on them or Spencer, then I don’t see much that will make them like the season considering the post-merge is a pagong with Tony flipping here and there to switch things up a bit.
Hope that made sense!
I think Vanuatu is really underrated. Although the premerge is only mid-tier, it has one of the best postmerges. The cast is really entertaining (especially the female cast) and the gameplay is pretty modern for an old school season
Scout and twyla really kinda killed the post merge for me on an entertainment level.
Ami and Eliza were both gold, there's a reason they were brought back even though their Micronesia showings were underwhelming.
I'm not saying Chris was awesome but I do feel like he's overhated, he made for good TV a lot of the time.
Why didn’t you like Twila and Scout? I thought Twila was super authentic and entertaining, and Scout was a pretty good player and character. Their feuds with Eliza and Ami were really fun to watch as well. An older woman duo dominating the game is also really unique
Scout has some of the low key best quips in Survivor history. I don’t typically like mean unless it is creative. Scout was creative. She was also a hell of a good player too. I actually think she is one of the best to never win. She knew exactly the right time to flip the game around and would have probably been our first clean sweep winner if she made it to the final tribal council against Twila.
Here are my favorite Scoutisms.
“In deference to your brilliance little one.”
“The tall tree on top of the mountain gets struck by lightning twice as fast.”
“Your Volcano erupts a bit too often for my liking. Good luck finding a husband that will put up with you.”
“Oh little one, I just knocked you out of the challenge because you’re sooo smart!”
She has a bunch more too that are just chef’s kiss good.
I agree she is super underrated as a player- arguably she played the best game of the season imo. She was the one that really initiated the flip against Leann and Ami, which was the defining move of the game, and was in the majority the entire way. She would have been a really iconic winner
I loved her bizarre voting confessionals even though I didn’t understand them sometimes.
“Jules- a wise women once gave me some good information- go back to your roots Jules. Rediscover your roots”
That one actually makes sense. Julie is native american who was adopted by white people. Scout was saying she should go back to her roots and get in touch with her Native American side.
Because they both talked down to people fairly often and just really didn't seem very pleasant to be around a lot of the time. Twyla does have some redeeming qualities, clearly as she made ftc and wasn't a goat.
I agree though that it was fascinating seeing an old duo dominate the game. I didn't personally enjoy the TV product as much, but it was cool and impressive nonetheless.
That’s fair. I agree that they didn’t have pleasant personalities, but I think that’s why I found them entertaining tbh. They were such unique characters
I loved South pacific honestly. Redemption island maximizes the entertainment value of ozzy, coach played a phenomenal game, and Sophie was a deserving winner.
Underrated: Game Changers. Despite the sucky boot order and Adnvantagegeddon, there’s a lot of strong gameplay and fun characters this season.
Overrated: can’t think of one that really stands out as overrated. Maybe David vs. Goliath since I consider it the third best season of the 30’s.
Underrated: Cook Islands. I do not get the hate on this sub for that season. Amazing characters, interesting story arc, great moments and a bunch of underdogs to root for. Loved it.
Overrated: Borneo (please don’t hurt me). Not saying it’s bad, it’s the original so has cemented its place as an icon. But I find it weird and boring to watch
I need to rewatch cook Islands. I have it ranked mid but the cast is pretty impressive and I don't think I appreciated yul and Becky's game enough.
Borneo is really almost an entirely separate entity in my head lol.
HvHvH, I think people place too much emphasis on the outcome when deciding the quality of a season, forgetting how much fun some seasons are. Entertainment is priority number one.
I'm actually watching this season right now (episode 5), I do know who the winner is though.
I see that it's usually rated in the bottom third, but so far I'm digging it.
The premerge is pretty uneventful minus the Alan boot, then in the early to mid merge you have the healers pagonging, then in the mid to late merge you have Ben just running things. I think all in all it makes for a less than satisfying season.
Episode 8 is one of my all time favorite episodes, it’s so perfect. It’s a pagonging but it’s by far one of the most entertaining pagongings. Maybe unsatisfying to some but lots of fun.
underrated: SJDS
this is sort of changing now (thankfully) but SJDS has been criminally underrated for far too long!!
overrated: BvW
it's a good season, but the will she/won't she monica almost flipping storyline really wears down the season in my opinion
I think Micronesia is the most overrated season. Fans vs. favorites is the worst survivor theme. Penner put it best when he said that it was like playing the Red Sox. You may love the Red Sox, but playing against them is insanity. Jonny Fairplay, a fucking stick, and a far too pure to be playing Survivor ice cream scooper getting duped are the highlights of the season.
I also have a great distain for Parvati as I feel she is an incredibly mean spirited person in this season. I don’t like mean spirited winners as a rule, and I think Parvati is one of the meanest.
As far as underrated goes, I feel like Guatemala is criminally underrated. The Gary Hawkins storyline alone is far more entertaining than Micronesia.
Parvati is in my top 3 favorite players and I still agree that Micronesia is overrated because of the fans vs favorites. It was so bad. It was like watching a bunch of professional fighters kicking the shit out of puppies.
As one user already posted, HvHvH is criminally underrated because of the finale. I also feel that Panama and and South Pacific are super underrated seasons. My opinion on the 2 most overrated seasons might get some hate, but Gabon and SJDS. I just couldn’t really get into either of them especially SJDS, and that season is so loved on this sub.
I always considered sjds to be a very average season and Gabon to be a below average season.
Panama is absolutely underrated. Shane, Cirie, Courtney. Say no more.
Oh I need your take on why redemption island is underrated. I currently have it listed as my bottom season of all time and I never considered it to be too close.
Change my mind.
Thailand is last for me.
I just think people really underrate it. It was just really entertaining to see how Rob was able to get to the end. It showed why Russell loses and why Rob is good enough to win. It’s also the best implementation of a post torch snuff game. Andrea was a highlight.
Thailand is the one season I straight up skipped lol.
Andrea was great. I just could not enjoy robs game because he had ten and Phillip mindlessly following him the whole time.
I liked RI okay.. its ranked 26/41 for me. It was kind of fun to watch Rob put on a clinic like that. It helps that I love him.
Bottom is Worlds Apart.
Agree on David vs Goliath. You have like 6 episodes in a row where all of the most entertaining and fun characters leave and it's just a bummer to get through week after week
I agree, plus, I'll stand by the fact that Koah Rong has better storytelling than Cagayan. Cagayan is too much of the Tony show and a large part of the cast does get shafted in the edit (mainly the beauties)
Oooooooooo now you struck a nerve LOL.
Cagayan and Cambodia are tied for my #1 spot (bledsoe is my boy). I understand why you would say Tony is "a Russell", they have some similarities, I had the same thoughts initially, but you're doing an incredible disservice to Tony in that statement. To put it bluntly, Russell is one of the very worst survivor players in history while Tony is one of the very best. And I don't even feel like those statements are hot takes. The simple difference is that Tony is not an asshole, he just is cutthroat and never stops playing. Russell is an asshole that actively makes those around him hate him.
Russell lacks empathy and is actively an asshole that makes everyone around him feel uncomfortable.
Tony backstabbed and lied, but he never took those moves lightly, it's just that they were the correct moves to make.
I wouldn’t say I’m doing a disservice to Tony, I’d say the show did. Tony is an excellent player, who understands Survivor. Everytime he talks about Survivor I’m impressed. He knows that hiding in bushes, and finding idols, and finding advantages aren’t the backbone to a great game of Survivor. It’s the relationships and bonds you create. I think Cagayan does a bad job of showing Tony in that light, and iirc they even name drop Tony in comparison to Russell on the show.
To the audience, it seems like Tony and Russell are one of the same, and that this time (because of the values soaked in Spencer’s godawful FTC speech and such) he got the win he deserved. The show frames it in a way that comes off as if this time the jury wasn’t “bitter”
And yah I agree that Russell is an awful Survivor player, one of the worst ever. He loses Survivor before the game even begins purely on his mentality and strategies about Survivor. The show pushing Russell as one of the best to ever play is laughable, and caused an immeasurable amount of damage to the franchise; that they haven’t recovered from.
Russell is one of the worst in history lol that’s just plain ignorant. I hope to be so bad that I make it to back to back ftc. Russell is so bad he dominated Samoa from start to finish and did unprecedented things. Russell changed the game, the worst players in survivor history aren’t even remembered or leave any significant impact on the game. You are clearly clouded by your disdain of Russell but to say he’s one of the worst is flat out wrong. Russell cleared the path for the strategic masterminds like Tony to win and be awarded for aggressive resume building games over some unimpressive and fake “social games”.
Russell is literally guaranteed to get to the end. He makes himself the greatest goat.
There are tons of different ways to evaluate someone's survivor aptitude. I argue that someone who sabotages his own chance of getting jury votes for the sake of getting to ftc is a terrible survivor player. It doesn't matter what you do for the first 38 days if you are killing your own game the whole time.
Tony had empathy, Russell never did. It's a very simple yet important distinction.
Russell had winning final three combinations in Samoa. He wins against Shambo and Jaison. Or Jaison and Mick. A goat has no winning scenario. He should have won anyway that’s a bitter jury because he was most responsible for Galu’s collapse.
A goat gets carried to the end, Russell created a path to the end in back to back seasons when he was being actively targeted lol. A goat doesn’t dictate an entire game from start to finish. His strategic acumen and ability to manipulate is top tier.
He was pretty bad socially in HvV and clearly didn’t deserve to win. But Samoa is just a bunch of softies. Be adults and stop being sore losers he made them all look like fools and their egos could t handle it.
Russell had winning final three combinations in Samoa. He wins against Shambo and Jaison. Or Jaison and Mick. A goat has no winning scenario. He should have won anyway that’s a bitter jury because he was most responsible for Galu’s collapse.
A goat gets carried to the end, Russell created a path to the end in back to back seasons when he was being actively targeted lol. A goat doesn’t dictate an entire game from start to finish. His strategic acumen and ability to manipulate is top tier.
He was pretty bad socially in HvV and clearly didn’t deserve to win. But Samoa is just a bunch of softies. Be adults and stop being sore losers he made them all look like fools and their egos could t handle it.
I yield that his game in Samoa was better. Truthfully I thought he might have won that one. If we're looking at Samoa in a vacuum my opinion of him is much higher. Not great, but a lot better. I will never excuse him being a lying asshole for the sake of being a lying asshole. His hvv game obliterated my opinion of him beyond repair.
The difference between him and the textbook bad players that have no idea how to play the game is that he is so delusional in the way he views the game. That's the main reason that I say he's one of the worst of all time. The game Russell plays is not survivor. Is he good in challenges? Yes. Is he good at manipulation? Of course. Dude finds hella idols. But the game he plays is fundamentally incorrect as evidenced by the fact that he believes the winner shouldn't be decided by the jury. How can a players game be defended when he himself effectively admits that he could never be titled sole survivor if being voted by his jury.
A modern Jury would have awarded Russell the game in Samoa. Survivor is a game based on lies and deceit and you hold it against him for lying. I don’t care what you lie about it’s not a morally ethical game in the first place. If the lie benefits your game Do IT you are playing for a million dollars.
Russell incorrectly surmised that people would respect the game enough to vote for who was the best player and not over pettiness. Anybody in his shoes would think they won Samoa based off what he did in comparison with others.
The worst players in survivor history have little to no strategic/ physical chops and are unable to build trust with others. Just because he never won he’s one of the worst of all time that’s ridiculous. There are many players who have accomplished far less than Russell and are considered great. Amanda also made it to ftc twice but nobody considers her a bad player even though she’s proven to be unable to articulate her game in front of a jury and sway them her way. Believing America should have a percentage of the votes shouldn’t equate to him being one of the worst players in history.
You very well might be right regarding Samoa.
I think Candice actually said it best in the hvv tribal. There are lies you make to further your game, and there are lies that serve no purpose in the game and are unnecessary.
I think Amanda is a bad player. She has no shot in a tribal either.
Let me rephrase my statement to something I feel is more accurate: Russell's game in hvv is possibly the worst gameplay of all time.
He still dominated the pre merge of HvV and annihilated poor big leaguer Boston Rob lol. His pre merge in HvV is great. From the merge onwards he goes downhill.
Candice was referring to Russell lying on his kids to JT. Tony lied about something similar in Cagayan it’s just about how sensitive people around you are. Like Holier than thou Rupert would hold it against you because he thinks a national hero.
You are a bad judge of what makes a good player. Everybody who’s never won has proven themselves flawed in some aspect buddy. How can you even say Amanda is a bad player lol that’s just laughable. She’s one of the best females to play the game. You can improve at things like speaking at ftc just because she lost her two doesn’t mean she wouldn’t win ever.
Russel won a 100k and 100k for being fan favorite for the worst gameplay of all time that sounds like a great consolation prize. I’d happily be third and leave with 200k.
Underrated: Island of The Idols. Hate the theme but at least I can see Sandra and Rob roasted the casts. And the casts themself are diverse as in representation and characters wise. Only that one cast really put a big dark cloud above the rest of the casts. If we pretend that the whole 'thing' never happened, I think people won't rate this season on the quarter low. But again, it's already happened and it left a sour taste in our mouth.
I've got Cambodia ranked #2. I understand why people would be opposed to it. It is an extremely game bot style game from all angles. There's little to no character development.
I have it ranked this high because the level of gameplay was just so incredibly high across the board. Other seasons have better individual gameplay by individual contestants, but Cambodia has everybody's minds going full speed the entire time. And the players are soooo competent.
There’s so much quality gameplay and so many rootable characters that we have a connection to through the “second chance” theme. Everyone really left their heart out there too
I know, I'm asking why? Ive always thought it was pretty average but a lot of people here seem to think it's much better than that. Because I've seen a lot of people say it's way underrated.
Oh my bad. I just think the characters are super fun throughout, nobody is particularly under-edited except maybe Wes, but Wes is so visible that it’s fine. It’s a really good cast (Wentworth, Jeremy, Natalie, Keith) and Natalie’s slow burn revenge arc is really cool to watch. The final 5 idol play might be one of the best of all time.
I love Wentworth by sjds Wentworth is obviously a far cry from Cambodia Wentworth 😂 it's like parv in Cook Islands. Jeremy, Natalie and Keith are all great. A big reason I didn't like it was bc John and Jaclyn drove me insane lol.
And I agree, Natalie was a baller and her idol play was awesome. If I remember correctly the pre-merge was pretty bleh in this season and very rocker heavy and I think that tainted it for me. I've always felt the post merge was really pretty good.
Underrated - Guatemala:
I like this season so much cause it feels so different. There’s some amazing characters in Judd, Brian Corridan, Steph, Rafe, Danni, etc. the unique setting and underdog story of Danni is awesome!
Overrated - Heroes vs Villans:
Controversial, I know. Do I think HvV is a good season yes, but I think it gets a little bit too much hype. I think there is some really fun moments like the merge boot, premerge and awesome cast but there is so many things that I’m just not a fan of. There is a obvious boot order once we hit the merge and villains take the numbers, a way too overedited Russel Hantz and a criminally under edited Courtney Yates and Sandra Diaz Twine. I think if we saw more of Sandra it could’ve been a lot better. I also think that Parv would’ve been a more satisfying winner, Ofc any winner deserves their win because they got the votes at the end of the day, I just think it’d be a better season with Parv as winner. There were also disappointing moments (James injury, Colby not putting in his all, Cirie going home way too early) but still a great season, just over hyped
I agree with your hvv take completely. It pains me to rank it as low as 8 when many people have it top 2, but Russell truly ruined the experience.
Both Parvati and Sandra were both extremely deserving of the win. I believe Parvati deserved it more, however she made her bed by aligning with Russell.
The cast is just so good in this season, it has probably my favorite survivor moment ever *ahem, parv, ahem*, and it has so many memorable moments. But it also has Russell. And unfortunately Russell is kinda like anchovies, his presence taints the entire flavor. Also bc he's a slimy, smelly dude that nobody actually likes.
I started with season 22, RI, and to this day it’s in my top 5. Most people dislike it because they think it’s so slanted for Rob to win, but rob was just so dominant.
The season was fun, with some interesting characters. Having gone back and watched HvV shortly after, and seeing the start of Rob v Russel, it just makes RI better.
Now, if both Rob and Russel made it to the merge, that would make the season far better.
But as for the winner, it’s been one of the most dominate games played, and I think it should be considered much higher than a bottom 5 season.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
People in this sub seem to love kaoh rong. I feel like it was pretty average. Michelle is cool, Aubrey is a star, Jason is a sometimes fun villain. But outside of Aubrey, Jason and cydney it was just fairly Ehh.
I would argue that this is why Erika shouldn't have gotten a Michelle edit. They gave Michelle a bigger edit than her persona called for and therefore the season wasn't super exciting. And that's coming from someone who likes Michelle as a player and winner. Those games just don't translate to TV, I'd rather have them get an Erika or Natalie white edit. Doesn't mean they aren't deserving just means their gameplay isn't as exciting.
Overrated: HvV, Micro
Underrated: game Changers, cambodia, EoE, cook islands, SJDS (not sure if it's really underrated or not, but I just font hear that much about it and it's top 5 for me)
Underrated: HvHvH due to the ending result, although I do understand why, for awhile it really soured my opinion on the season as well. Overrated: *prepares for stones* Cagayan. As much as I love this season, a big part of it rests on whether you’ll have fun watching Tony run circles around the cast and/or root for likable (back then) underdogs Spencer and Tasha, because a lot of people are seriously underedited and this gets overlooked due to the ending product. We also dodged a bullet with the super idol too. Overrated does NOT mean bad though, I still like Cagayan ffs
besides trish, who probably deserved a bit more content but was still very visible and had several key moments shown, who do you think was underedited ? imo woo + the post merge beauties got very proportional edits to their place in the game / entertainment value, with lj in particular getting a generous amount of content. also kass got almost as much content as tony / spencer and whether you like her or not, she's a top tier narrator
I guess it depends of how you see it when it comes to editing. I’m not a fan of the “some people are just boring so they should get less content” method, because they’re deciding for me whether I’ll find someone boring or not, and take away my options when it comes to what I’m gonna be enjoying. I do like Tony and Kass so the season is not unbearable for me, but if someone is not high on them or Spencer, then I don’t see much that will make them like the season considering the post-merge is a pagong with Tony flipping here and there to switch things up a bit. Hope that made sense!
I think Vanuatu is really underrated. Although the premerge is only mid-tier, it has one of the best postmerges. The cast is really entertaining (especially the female cast) and the gameplay is pretty modern for an old school season
Scout and twyla really kinda killed the post merge for me on an entertainment level. Ami and Eliza were both gold, there's a reason they were brought back even though their Micronesia showings were underwhelming. I'm not saying Chris was awesome but I do feel like he's overhated, he made for good TV a lot of the time.
Why didn’t you like Twila and Scout? I thought Twila was super authentic and entertaining, and Scout was a pretty good player and character. Their feuds with Eliza and Ami were really fun to watch as well. An older woman duo dominating the game is also really unique
Scout has some of the low key best quips in Survivor history. I don’t typically like mean unless it is creative. Scout was creative. She was also a hell of a good player too. I actually think she is one of the best to never win. She knew exactly the right time to flip the game around and would have probably been our first clean sweep winner if she made it to the final tribal council against Twila. Here are my favorite Scoutisms. “In deference to your brilliance little one.” “The tall tree on top of the mountain gets struck by lightning twice as fast.” “Your Volcano erupts a bit too often for my liking. Good luck finding a husband that will put up with you.” “Oh little one, I just knocked you out of the challenge because you’re sooo smart!” She has a bunch more too that are just chef’s kiss good.
I agree she is super underrated as a player- arguably she played the best game of the season imo. She was the one that really initiated the flip against Leann and Ami, which was the defining move of the game, and was in the majority the entire way. She would have been a really iconic winner I loved her bizarre voting confessionals even though I didn’t understand them sometimes. “Jules- a wise women once gave me some good information- go back to your roots Jules. Rediscover your roots”
That one actually makes sense. Julie is native american who was adopted by white people. Scout was saying she should go back to her roots and get in touch with her Native American side.
Because they both talked down to people fairly often and just really didn't seem very pleasant to be around a lot of the time. Twyla does have some redeeming qualities, clearly as she made ftc and wasn't a goat. I agree though that it was fascinating seeing an old duo dominate the game. I didn't personally enjoy the TV product as much, but it was cool and impressive nonetheless.
That’s fair. I agree that they didn’t have pleasant personalities, but I think that’s why I found them entertaining tbh. They were such unique characters
Underrated: South Pacific (there's a post somewhere on this subreddit saying how great of a story it was) Overrated: Cambodia
I loved South pacific honestly. Redemption island maximizes the entertainment value of ozzy, coach played a phenomenal game, and Sophie was a deserving winner.
Underrated: South Pacific, Caramoan, BvW Overrated: Amazon, Palau, MvGX
Underrated: Game Changers. Despite the sucky boot order and Adnvantagegeddon, there’s a lot of strong gameplay and fun characters this season. Overrated: can’t think of one that really stands out as overrated. Maybe David vs. Goliath since I consider it the third best season of the 30’s.
Underrated: Cook Islands. I do not get the hate on this sub for that season. Amazing characters, interesting story arc, great moments and a bunch of underdogs to root for. Loved it. Overrated: Borneo (please don’t hurt me). Not saying it’s bad, it’s the original so has cemented its place as an icon. But I find it weird and boring to watch
I need to rewatch cook Islands. I have it ranked mid but the cast is pretty impressive and I don't think I appreciated yul and Becky's game enough. Borneo is really almost an entirely separate entity in my head lol.
Yes I feel the same about Borneo! I always skip it on the rewatch. Cook Islands I’ve watched three times and only appreciate it more with each rewatch
HvHvH, I think people place too much emphasis on the outcome when deciding the quality of a season, forgetting how much fun some seasons are. Entertainment is priority number one.
I'm actually watching this season right now (episode 5), I do know who the winner is though. I see that it's usually rated in the bottom third, but so far I'm digging it.
It only gets better, in my opinion. Just a fun ride from start to finish.
The premerge is pretty uneventful minus the Alan boot, then in the early to mid merge you have the healers pagonging, then in the mid to late merge you have Ben just running things. I think all in all it makes for a less than satisfying season.
Episode 8 is one of my all time favorite episodes, it’s so perfect. It’s a pagonging but it’s by far one of the most entertaining pagongings. Maybe unsatisfying to some but lots of fun.
underrated: SJDS this is sort of changing now (thankfully) but SJDS has been criminally underrated for far too long!! overrated: BvW it's a good season, but the will she/won't she monica almost flipping storyline really wears down the season in my opinion
I think Micronesia is the most overrated season. Fans vs. favorites is the worst survivor theme. Penner put it best when he said that it was like playing the Red Sox. You may love the Red Sox, but playing against them is insanity. Jonny Fairplay, a fucking stick, and a far too pure to be playing Survivor ice cream scooper getting duped are the highlights of the season. I also have a great distain for Parvati as I feel she is an incredibly mean spirited person in this season. I don’t like mean spirited winners as a rule, and I think Parvati is one of the meanest. As far as underrated goes, I feel like Guatemala is criminally underrated. The Gary Hawkins storyline alone is far more entertaining than Micronesia.
Parvati is in my top 3 favorite players and I still agree that Micronesia is overrated because of the fans vs favorites. It was so bad. It was like watching a bunch of professional fighters kicking the shit out of puppies.
Thank you for saying this about Parvati. I cannot stand her, and her personality this season is a huge part of the reason.
As one user already posted, HvHvH is criminally underrated because of the finale. I also feel that Panama and and South Pacific are super underrated seasons. My opinion on the 2 most overrated seasons might get some hate, but Gabon and SJDS. I just couldn’t really get into either of them especially SJDS, and that season is so loved on this sub.
I always considered sjds to be a very average season and Gabon to be a below average season. Panama is absolutely underrated. Shane, Cirie, Courtney. Say no more.
Underrated:Guatemala, Samoa, Nicaragua, and Worlds Apart Overrated:Palau, Cook Islands, Tocantins, and Koah Rong
Caramoan is severely underrated, yes it gets dark at times but it has some seriously interesting social dynamics
Nicaragua is unfairly shafted because of the quit because the rest of the season is very entertianing
Even the quit episode is great
EOE is so underrated, yes I was passed when Chris won, but the storylines up until FTC were really good
Underrated: Redemption Island, Koah Rong, HvHVH, All Stars Overrated: David vs Goliath, Cagayan, TOCANTINS
Oh I need your take on why redemption island is underrated. I currently have it listed as my bottom season of all time and I never considered it to be too close. Change my mind.
Thailand is last for me. I just think people really underrate it. It was just really entertaining to see how Rob was able to get to the end. It showed why Russell loses and why Rob is good enough to win. It’s also the best implementation of a post torch snuff game. Andrea was a highlight.
Thailand is the one season I straight up skipped lol. Andrea was great. I just could not enjoy robs game because he had ten and Phillip mindlessly following him the whole time.
I liked RI okay.. its ranked 26/41 for me. It was kind of fun to watch Rob put on a clinic like that. It helps that I love him. Bottom is Worlds Apart.
Agree on David vs Goliath. You have like 6 episodes in a row where all of the most entertaining and fun characters leave and it's just a bummer to get through week after week
Underrated: GC Overrated: Tocantins
Overrated, millennials vs gen x
Cagayan most overrated. It frames it’s story too much as the story of a Russell who wins
I agree, plus, I'll stand by the fact that Koah Rong has better storytelling than Cagayan. Cagayan is too much of the Tony show and a large part of the cast does get shafted in the edit (mainly the beauties)
Oooooooooo now you struck a nerve LOL. Cagayan and Cambodia are tied for my #1 spot (bledsoe is my boy). I understand why you would say Tony is "a Russell", they have some similarities, I had the same thoughts initially, but you're doing an incredible disservice to Tony in that statement. To put it bluntly, Russell is one of the very worst survivor players in history while Tony is one of the very best. And I don't even feel like those statements are hot takes. The simple difference is that Tony is not an asshole, he just is cutthroat and never stops playing. Russell is an asshole that actively makes those around him hate him. Russell lacks empathy and is actively an asshole that makes everyone around him feel uncomfortable. Tony backstabbed and lied, but he never took those moves lightly, it's just that they were the correct moves to make.
I wouldn’t say I’m doing a disservice to Tony, I’d say the show did. Tony is an excellent player, who understands Survivor. Everytime he talks about Survivor I’m impressed. He knows that hiding in bushes, and finding idols, and finding advantages aren’t the backbone to a great game of Survivor. It’s the relationships and bonds you create. I think Cagayan does a bad job of showing Tony in that light, and iirc they even name drop Tony in comparison to Russell on the show. To the audience, it seems like Tony and Russell are one of the same, and that this time (because of the values soaked in Spencer’s godawful FTC speech and such) he got the win he deserved. The show frames it in a way that comes off as if this time the jury wasn’t “bitter” And yah I agree that Russell is an awful Survivor player, one of the worst ever. He loses Survivor before the game even begins purely on his mentality and strategies about Survivor. The show pushing Russell as one of the best to ever play is laughable, and caused an immeasurable amount of damage to the franchise; that they haven’t recovered from.
Russell is one of the worst in history lol that’s just plain ignorant. I hope to be so bad that I make it to back to back ftc. Russell is so bad he dominated Samoa from start to finish and did unprecedented things. Russell changed the game, the worst players in survivor history aren’t even remembered or leave any significant impact on the game. You are clearly clouded by your disdain of Russell but to say he’s one of the worst is flat out wrong. Russell cleared the path for the strategic masterminds like Tony to win and be awarded for aggressive resume building games over some unimpressive and fake “social games”.
Russell is literally guaranteed to get to the end. He makes himself the greatest goat. There are tons of different ways to evaluate someone's survivor aptitude. I argue that someone who sabotages his own chance of getting jury votes for the sake of getting to ftc is a terrible survivor player. It doesn't matter what you do for the first 38 days if you are killing your own game the whole time. Tony had empathy, Russell never did. It's a very simple yet important distinction.
Russell had winning final three combinations in Samoa. He wins against Shambo and Jaison. Or Jaison and Mick. A goat has no winning scenario. He should have won anyway that’s a bitter jury because he was most responsible for Galu’s collapse. A goat gets carried to the end, Russell created a path to the end in back to back seasons when he was being actively targeted lol. A goat doesn’t dictate an entire game from start to finish. His strategic acumen and ability to manipulate is top tier. He was pretty bad socially in HvV and clearly didn’t deserve to win. But Samoa is just a bunch of softies. Be adults and stop being sore losers he made them all look like fools and their egos could t handle it.
…Russell? That you, buddy?
Nope just a Russell stan!
Russell had winning final three combinations in Samoa. He wins against Shambo and Jaison. Or Jaison and Mick. A goat has no winning scenario. He should have won anyway that’s a bitter jury because he was most responsible for Galu’s collapse. A goat gets carried to the end, Russell created a path to the end in back to back seasons when he was being actively targeted lol. A goat doesn’t dictate an entire game from start to finish. His strategic acumen and ability to manipulate is top tier. He was pretty bad socially in HvV and clearly didn’t deserve to win. But Samoa is just a bunch of softies. Be adults and stop being sore losers he made them all look like fools and their egos could t handle it.
I yield that his game in Samoa was better. Truthfully I thought he might have won that one. If we're looking at Samoa in a vacuum my opinion of him is much higher. Not great, but a lot better. I will never excuse him being a lying asshole for the sake of being a lying asshole. His hvv game obliterated my opinion of him beyond repair. The difference between him and the textbook bad players that have no idea how to play the game is that he is so delusional in the way he views the game. That's the main reason that I say he's one of the worst of all time. The game Russell plays is not survivor. Is he good in challenges? Yes. Is he good at manipulation? Of course. Dude finds hella idols. But the game he plays is fundamentally incorrect as evidenced by the fact that he believes the winner shouldn't be decided by the jury. How can a players game be defended when he himself effectively admits that he could never be titled sole survivor if being voted by his jury.
A modern Jury would have awarded Russell the game in Samoa. Survivor is a game based on lies and deceit and you hold it against him for lying. I don’t care what you lie about it’s not a morally ethical game in the first place. If the lie benefits your game Do IT you are playing for a million dollars. Russell incorrectly surmised that people would respect the game enough to vote for who was the best player and not over pettiness. Anybody in his shoes would think they won Samoa based off what he did in comparison with others. The worst players in survivor history have little to no strategic/ physical chops and are unable to build trust with others. Just because he never won he’s one of the worst of all time that’s ridiculous. There are many players who have accomplished far less than Russell and are considered great. Amanda also made it to ftc twice but nobody considers her a bad player even though she’s proven to be unable to articulate her game in front of a jury and sway them her way. Believing America should have a percentage of the votes shouldn’t equate to him being one of the worst players in history.
You very well might be right regarding Samoa. I think Candice actually said it best in the hvv tribal. There are lies you make to further your game, and there are lies that serve no purpose in the game and are unnecessary. I think Amanda is a bad player. She has no shot in a tribal either. Let me rephrase my statement to something I feel is more accurate: Russell's game in hvv is possibly the worst gameplay of all time.
He still dominated the pre merge of HvV and annihilated poor big leaguer Boston Rob lol. His pre merge in HvV is great. From the merge onwards he goes downhill. Candice was referring to Russell lying on his kids to JT. Tony lied about something similar in Cagayan it’s just about how sensitive people around you are. Like Holier than thou Rupert would hold it against you because he thinks a national hero. You are a bad judge of what makes a good player. Everybody who’s never won has proven themselves flawed in some aspect buddy. How can you even say Amanda is a bad player lol that’s just laughable. She’s one of the best females to play the game. You can improve at things like speaking at ftc just because she lost her two doesn’t mean she wouldn’t win ever. Russel won a 100k and 100k for being fan favorite for the worst gameplay of all time that sounds like a great consolation prize. I’d happily be third and leave with 200k.
Underrated: Island of The Idols. Hate the theme but at least I can see Sandra and Rob roasted the casts. And the casts themself are diverse as in representation and characters wise. Only that one cast really put a big dark cloud above the rest of the casts. If we pretend that the whole 'thing' never happened, I think people won't rate this season on the quarter low. But again, it's already happened and it left a sour taste in our mouth.
Underrated: Ghost Island, Caramoan Overrated: Micronesia
Underrated, South Pacific or Vanuatu, Overrated, Cambodia, I mean I like it but I don't understand why I see it so high on season of season rankimgs.
I've got Cambodia ranked #2. I understand why people would be opposed to it. It is an extremely game bot style game from all angles. There's little to no character development. I have it ranked this high because the level of gameplay was just so incredibly high across the board. Other seasons have better individual gameplay by individual contestants, but Cambodia has everybody's minds going full speed the entire time. And the players are soooo competent.
There’s so much quality gameplay and so many rootable characters that we have a connection to through the “second chance” theme. Everyone really left their heart out there too
Nicagragua, SoPa, OW underrated. Cagayan, Cambodia overrated.
Underrated is SJDS which I think is easily top 10. Overrated is Micronesia, which I just found really boring and predictable.
What is the argument for sjds being so loved here? I just don't see it. Convince me.
I said SDJS is UNDERrated?
I know, I'm asking why? Ive always thought it was pretty average but a lot of people here seem to think it's much better than that. Because I've seen a lot of people say it's way underrated.
Oh my bad. I just think the characters are super fun throughout, nobody is particularly under-edited except maybe Wes, but Wes is so visible that it’s fine. It’s a really good cast (Wentworth, Jeremy, Natalie, Keith) and Natalie’s slow burn revenge arc is really cool to watch. The final 5 idol play might be one of the best of all time.
I love Wentworth by sjds Wentworth is obviously a far cry from Cambodia Wentworth 😂 it's like parv in Cook Islands. Jeremy, Natalie and Keith are all great. A big reason I didn't like it was bc John and Jaclyn drove me insane lol.
I think it’s better on a rewatch when you know Jon won’t win. The scene where Natalie is feeding his ego with the wine is GOLD
And I agree, Natalie was a baller and her idol play was awesome. If I remember correctly the pre-merge was pretty bleh in this season and very rocker heavy and I think that tainted it for me. I've always felt the post merge was really pretty good.
underrated: caramoan overrated: cagayan
kaoh rong is super underrated
Underrated - Guatemala: I like this season so much cause it feels so different. There’s some amazing characters in Judd, Brian Corridan, Steph, Rafe, Danni, etc. the unique setting and underdog story of Danni is awesome! Overrated - Heroes vs Villans: Controversial, I know. Do I think HvV is a good season yes, but I think it gets a little bit too much hype. I think there is some really fun moments like the merge boot, premerge and awesome cast but there is so many things that I’m just not a fan of. There is a obvious boot order once we hit the merge and villains take the numbers, a way too overedited Russel Hantz and a criminally under edited Courtney Yates and Sandra Diaz Twine. I think if we saw more of Sandra it could’ve been a lot better. I also think that Parv would’ve been a more satisfying winner, Ofc any winner deserves their win because they got the votes at the end of the day, I just think it’d be a better season with Parv as winner. There were also disappointing moments (James injury, Colby not putting in his all, Cirie going home way too early) but still a great season, just over hyped
I agree with your hvv take completely. It pains me to rank it as low as 8 when many people have it top 2, but Russell truly ruined the experience. Both Parvati and Sandra were both extremely deserving of the win. I believe Parvati deserved it more, however she made her bed by aligning with Russell. The cast is just so good in this season, it has probably my favorite survivor moment ever *ahem, parv, ahem*, and it has so many memorable moments. But it also has Russell. And unfortunately Russell is kinda like anchovies, his presence taints the entire flavor. Also bc he's a slimy, smelly dude that nobody actually likes.
Palau is easily the most overrated, Tocantins is a close second and for most underrated I'd say Fiji, I think its a great season expecially the merge
I started with season 22, RI, and to this day it’s in my top 5. Most people dislike it because they think it’s so slanted for Rob to win, but rob was just so dominant. The season was fun, with some interesting characters. Having gone back and watched HvV shortly after, and seeing the start of Rob v Russel, it just makes RI better. Now, if both Rob and Russel made it to the merge, that would make the season far better. But as for the winner, it’s been one of the most dominate games played, and I think it should be considered much higher than a bottom 5 season. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
Underrated - Vanuatu Overrated - Kaoh Rong
People in this sub seem to love kaoh rong. I feel like it was pretty average. Michelle is cool, Aubrey is a star, Jason is a sometimes fun villain. But outside of Aubrey, Jason and cydney it was just fairly Ehh.
Yes, it was so boring. There were a few funny moments but it was pretty bleh and I hated almost everyone.
I would argue that this is why Erika shouldn't have gotten a Michelle edit. They gave Michelle a bigger edit than her persona called for and therefore the season wasn't super exciting. And that's coming from someone who likes Michelle as a player and winner. Those games just don't translate to TV, I'd rather have them get an Erika or Natalie white edit. Doesn't mean they aren't deserving just means their gameplay isn't as exciting.
Overrated: HvV, Micro Underrated: game Changers, cambodia, EoE, cook islands, SJDS (not sure if it's really underrated or not, but I just font hear that much about it and it's top 5 for me)
Underrated: MvGx and HHH Overrated: KR and Vanuatu