As another threat is eliminated, we are down to the final 5.
Plus: updated season rankings!
Every second onSurvivoris precious.
Ricard Foye and Danny McCray on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
It’s why we no longer have the opening credits.
Or the “Previously on…” intro.
I point this out because I AM ABOUT TO BRUTALLY TAKESURVIVOREDITORS TO TASK!
Jeff Probst and the cast of ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
You saw the not-so-subtle shift to all-caps!
You see the seemingly never-ending assault of exclamation points!
BECAUSE IT IS FREAKIN' ON,SURVIVOREDITORS!!!
Heather Aldret, Jeff Probst, and Deshawn Radden on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
See, I’m so mad I’m back to the all-caps again.
Because this is war.
You declared war on me this last episode.
Cast members of ‘Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites’.CBS
And don’t pretend like you don’t know what you did.
You know DAMN WELL what you did.
What youdidwas air the two worst words ever uttered in 41 seasons of this show.
The cast of ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.CBS
Shame on you, CBS!
I am referring, of course, to the words “Go Cowboys.”
But hey, at least it’s no longer racist!
The cast of ‘Survivor: Winners at War’.Robert Voets/CBS
Where will season 41 land?
You’ll find updated rankings after the recap, so let’s get started.
Clues or Red Herrings?
The cast of ‘Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X’.Monty Brinton/CBS/Getty Images
She also pointed out, “It’s been a long time since a woman’s won.
I want to see a woman win ideally me.”
This once again got my Spidey sense tingling.
The cast of ‘Survivor: Cook Islands’.ABC
“Hmmm…” I thought to myself.
Probst’s reply then: “I did not realize that.
I have zero idea.
The cast of ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
I need to pay more attention!
I wonder if you merely pointing it out will impact the future.
Sometimes, that is all it takes.”
The cast of ‘Survivor: Game Changers’.Timothy Kuratek/CBS/Getty Images
But here’s what was so right about that answer: Probst could haveeasilygiven me some B.S.
He could have done that.
But he didn’t.
The cast of ‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’.CBS/Getty Images
Instead, he acknowledged that it took him by surprise.
He acknowledged that he didn’t know what was behind it.
Isn’t that what you ultimately want in an answer?
The cast of ‘Survivor: Edge of Extinction’.Robert Voets/CBS
So let’s now fast-forward to season 41.
Naturally, you have to wonder: Does this mean Erika wins?
(Although I suppose none of the other contestants can claim to have made history by changing history.)
Sandra Diaz-Twine and Boston Rob Mariano on ‘Survivor: Island of the Idols’.Robert Voets/CBS
It certainly makes me feel like Erika has a good shot at taking home the loot.
But what if shedoesn’twin?
In a way, it would be even more impressive thatSurvivorstill chose to air these snippets.
off of, I knew we were in for a treat.
And Deshawn and Ricard both delivered in a big way.
Many thanks for that.
That is a very overlooked aspect of challenges like that.
Had she not been, maybe she could have made history by changing history!
Only one person (Sydney) has played a Shot in the Dark all season!
Joesounding Knowledge Is Power advantage was nullified, and an advantage hidden at a challenge was never found.
It’s a weird dichotomy in what in other respects is the twistiest installment inSurvivorhistory.
Challenge Beast
I lied.
There is one thing I love more than watching people dive awkwardly into water.
It is watching dizzy people fall down, run sideways, and generally become super discombobulated.
I don’t care if it makes me sound like I’m 5.
Now, I’m not suggestingSurvivortake a page from theBigBrotherbook.
and then go across obstacles and solve aSurvivorword puzzle.
That’s okay, Heather.
You’ve struggled before."
That she has, Jeff.
So much for the plans to send him packing.
The Demise of D&D
The bromance between Danny and Deshawn finally came to an end.
Knowing that all was lost, the two even openly acknowledged they would be voting for each other.
Perhaps, but also perhaps not.
Because due to the stupid final-four fire-making, there is only one more vote to survive.
(Xander is already fast-passed to the final four due to his immunity idol.)
If Ricard and Deshawn are both options, you have to get rid of Ricard.
We’ll see if Deshawn’s quoting of Gabby Pascuzzi comes back to haunt him.
The dude was a stud.
I just wish Probst would have flown me to Fiji and allowed me to do the snuffing.
If he makes it to the final four, he becomes the favorite.
Erika has a real shot at this.
We have already looked at the edit clues that point to a potential woman winning the game.
Deshawn certainly has a path to victory as well.
We know he has Danny’s vote.
Which brings us to… Heather.
Honestly, Tata the Bushman has about as much a chance of winning this season as Heather.
That’s nothing against her at all.
She’s just not going to win.
She’s along for the ride, and I sincerely hope she has enjoyed it.
But right now let’s see where season 41 ranks compared to the others.
As always, address all hate mail to me on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
Okay, let’s get to the season rankings!
Survivor Season-by-Season Rankings from best to worst
1.
AfterMicronesiaaired, I named it the bestSurvivorseason ever.
So then I returned that to the No.
If I wanted to watch one season again, it would beMicronesia.
If you ask me which is the mostimportantseason, well, obviously it’sBorneo.
3.Survivor: Heroes vs. VillainsThe Russell vs. Boston Rob feud made for the best pre-merge run of episodes ever.
And the greatness just kept on coming.
Filled with huge memorable moments like Tyson voting himself off, J.T.
giving Russell his immunity idol, and Parvati handing outtwoimmunity idols at one Tribal Council.
I know many people would consider this No.
1, but it’s all returnees.
For me, the fresh blood ofMicronesiakeeps that season higher.
(Maybe not well at all times, but at least they were playing.)
moment to a truly exhilarating season.
That’s what it all comes down to.
And it’s not just Christian, who was one of the most universally loved contestants of all-time.
That is an amazing 9 out of 20 that I would easily welcome back on another season.
Often, that’s all a season needs.
And that really is first and foremost the reason Davidvs.
Goliathbecame an all-time great.
But there were other trophies to hand out as well.
The editing job done by producers was perhaps the show’s best ever.
They experimented with new techniques that served to freshen up the franchise in its 37th season.
They added comedic flourishes that were totally unnecessary yet improved the episodes nonetheless.
They cut back and forth between players and stories in ways they never had before.
A top 5 finish.
6.Survivor: Cambodia Second ChanceThe first thing to note aboutCambodiais how well all the production twists turned out.
Letting fans vote in the cast?
Hiding idols at challenges?
I think you all know how I feel about that.
Tempting people to quit an immunity challenge for a mystery vote steal advantage?
All the tribe switcheroos?
They played out to perfection.
TheSurvivorproducers always throw a bunch of twists out there.
Usually, some work and some don’t.
This season, they all paid dividends.
I also appreciated how hard the bulk of the cast was playing.
Usually, you get a small handful of big-time gamers.
Another plus: The votes were completely unpredictable from week to week, leading to some truly crazy Tribals.
Sure, the challenges were a bit blah, but still, a rousing and triumphant success.
(MaybePirate Masteris to blame for that?)
Obviously, there was a stellar cast with big personalities.
Fairplay not only pulling off the dead grandma lie but also getting drunk at Tribal Council.
Osten becoming the first person to lay down his torch.
Savage willing his tribe to win.
And Sandra getting in faces.
It was all delicious.
Some people, like Ben and Michele, had something to prove.
His return alone was one of the best reality TV stories ever.
Go back and watch it.
It’s amazing on both a technical and an emotional level.
And Tony Vlachos cemented his reputation as the most entertaining and dominant player of all time.
I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have a great winner on such an important season.
And itdidfeel special, even with its flaws.
I wish the show would shake things up like that more at the outset to keep contestants off-balance.
One of the best creative decisionsSurvivorever made was not panicking and reshuffling the tribes once Koror started dominating.
Also, I’d bring back Jolanda, Coby, Katie, and Ian back in a heartbeat.
Every single person added something.
That’s how you win a million dollars.
Possibly the least scenic camps inSurvivorhistory.
It just looked absolutely miserable.
And I still jump when Chicken gets voted out.
WhenMillennials vs. Gen Xstarted, most of us were like, “Yeah, it’s fine.
Not amazing, but not terrible either.”
But then things kept happening.
And everyone kept flipping on one another.
And everyone kept getting blindsided.
And everyone kept futilely using their idols for other people.
It was madness and chaos in the best way possible.
And what was so fascinating was that (with the exception of Michaela) nobody took their ouster personally.
This was a season remarkably free of any sort of fighting whatsoever.
None of the ugliness ofWorlds ApartorKaoh Rongpermeated the proceedings, even amongst all the lying and backstabbing.
Even Hannah was entertaining with her neurosis.
Even Ken was entertaining with his late-game cluelessness.
Bret gave us a touching moment where he came out as gay to Zeke.
Sunday outsmarted Adam and Hannah with a ruse at Tribal Council.
(However, I still can’t figure out why they went with three-person duels a.k.a.
truels and they definitely should have stopped RI at the merge.)
So why is it so high?
Because the casting and storylines that developed gave us people to root for and against something every greatSurvivorseason needs.
And that’s not all.
Seriously, that guy was straight gold in every episode.
BRING HIM BACK!!!!
There were some other problems early on as well, but what a difference a mutiny makes.
Then we had clearly defined people to root for and against.
There are other things to love as well.
Plus, just look at all the great first-time contestants (Parvati, Penner, Ozzy, Yul).
I love you, Billy.
But hear me out first before you Russell any feathers.
It was flat-out grating.
But everything post-merge was spectacular.
There were moves and countermoves galore down the homestretch.
Also, don’t overlook how great the bevy of water challenges was.
Should I push it down in the rankings due to the lackluster Reunion show that followed?
He was denied in the end, though, in the most controversial jury decision ever.
19.Survivor: TocantinsOkay, you may roll your eyes at Coach 1.0.
But imagine for a second this season without him.
His unintentional comedy single-handedly lifts this into middle of the pack territory for me.
However, the unlikely alliance between bookish northerner Fishbach and country boy J.T.
certainly made for a compelling thread throughout the season.
Shane Powers should have been brought back forHeroes vs. Villains.
And theSecond Chanceseason, for that matter.
Seriously, what the hell?!?
Get that guy back on TV.
But I still can’t figure out how/why Bob Dawg didn’t get a bigger and better edit.
That guy is an absolute gas, whether in or outside of Casa de Charmin.
21.Survivor 41Drop the four and… replace it with a two?
This may be the hardestSurvivorseason ever to rank.
Let’s get to the bad before the good.
That’s not good.
Which was a shame because when allowed to, this cast delivered in a huge way.
Early boots like Brad and J.D.
That’s a hell of a lineup right there.
Not that I thought all the changes were bad.
22.Survivor: Ghost IslandThis was another hard season to rank.
This idea was used a few years later onSurvivor South Africa: Immunity Island.)
And then there is the ending, which also has plusses and minuses.
So again, both good and bad.
Like I said, a hard season to rank.
But the ending was fantastic, and I was engaged throughout, even with the noted weaknesses.
I liked watching Kellyn act like a super-spaz.
I was fascinated with the Laurel and Donathan strategic push-and-pull.
Throw that all together and you end up in the middle of the pack.
23.Survivor: Game ChangersWhat a weird season this was.
We were treated to two titans of the game (Tony and Sandra) going toe to toe.
But something was missing.
Said events were all exciting, but they failed to form a cohesive unit.
all gone before the merge.
And despite the gameplay and unpredictability down the stretch, that is kind of what happened.
And then there is what happened to Cirie in the finale.
(The fact that it happened to a true legend in Cirie made it even harder to swallow.)
But there is one thing I reallydiddig about this season, and that is the cast.
25.Survivor: The Australian OutbackAn overrated season in my book.
Pretty predictable boot order as well.
Dude did burn his hands off, though.
And, outside of one mind-bogglingly boring loved ones reward contest, the challenges were strong.
But now comes the bad news.
Like the majority ofSurvivornation, I was not a fan of the new final four fire-making twist.
That was a bummer.
27.Survivor: Kaoh RongNot one of the best seasons ever; not one of the worst.
That’s always exciting.
Working against this season is the fact that there simply were not enough transcendent players in the cast.
That’s a problem.
That said, man, were there some hate-fueled fireworks at those final few Tribal Councils.
The fact that so many unworthy players went so far is simply too damning.
31.Survivor: Redemption IslandThe first three episodes were dynamite, but then the fuse blew out.
32.Survivor: AfricaSome great challenges.
Not that much else was great.
33.Survivor: Edge of ExtinctionFlat.
That’s the best word I can think of to describe the season.
At least give them a place where they can go in the water!
Rafe was good for a few laughs, though.
Especially on rope obstacles.
35.Survivor: VanuatuI don’t blame producers: The battle of the sexes seemed like a fine enough concept.
This season just never took off.
That counts for something.
37.Survivor: One WorldLook, I have total respect for Kim’s game.
Like Tom inPalauand Rob inRedemption Island, she excelled strategically, socially, and physically.
Unfortunately, that is really the only good thing I can say about this season.
And that’s too bad because I do think the “One World” concept was a solid one.
But, man, what a thoroughly uninspiring cast.
Speaking of awful creative decisions…
40.Survivor: NicaraguaIt’s way down here for a few reasons.
- Splitting the tribes up by age and the Medallion of Power were both enormous flops.
)Nicaraguahad just too many unlikable players.
Two people quitting with only 11 days left.
No big memorable moments.
Unfortunately, it was people quitting, and that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
41.Survivor: Island of the IdolsI’m a guy who tends to be pretty analytical.
But even I recognize that when it comes to rankingSurvivorseasons, it ultimately comes down to a feeling.
But nothing seemed fun in light of the far more serious issue that clearly outweighed the final game result.
Quite simply: It made the rest of the season impossible to enjoy.
And so here it sits.
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