Board Thread:Season Rankings/@comment-24899664-20141222121159/@comment-27391152-20170315095220

#12 - Survivor: Tocantins

Maybe this is too high for Tocantins but there's just something about this season that draws me to it and for a long time, I wasn't really sure what it was. The cast was good but not great, the gameplay was good but not as intricate as others, there are some good blindsides and moments but nothing that REALLY stands out. After thinking long and hard about it, I realised that the reason I just love this season so much is because it really has no flaws in my eyes.

The only two things that could be considered a negative are perhaps the pre-merge and end-game, both of which I feel are greatly underrated. I mean, sure the pre-merge is a little slow, but we had some great characters such as Sandy and Candace who provided some good entertainment. Then we have the Exile Island alliance's formation, which is unbelievable how well they pulled that off (especially how Taj was such a great actress by always acting mad when she was chosen). There's also, Erinn and Coach's rivalry, Tyson being hilarious <3, Sierra's underdog story <3 and Sydney being called out by Sandy for wearing JT's boxers XD. Also, the end-game is often criticised because JT had a walk to the win, but Taj was still an extremely viable contender, and her blindside genuinely shocked me (ERINN IS SUCH A GODDESS THO).

Tocantins really has a tick next to every criterium needed for a good season. Strategy? Exile Alliance. Blindsides? Tyson, Brendon, Debbie (all of whom are amazing characters <3). Moments? Debbie not knowing how to count at the auction, Coach's impression of Erinn, Taj screaming "I'M HOT". I mean, even the editing this season was good, with nobody really being ignored by the edit besides maybe Joe. Tocantins is a great representation of what a Survivor season looks like but just isn't good enough to get into my Top 10.

#11- Survivor: Vanuatu

If somebody ever told you ranking seasons is easy, they are straight up lying to you because this is NOT EASY! I mean, I really do love Vanuatu, it's underrated as hell, yet I still can't let it squeeze into my Top 10! Vanuatu is actually the most recent season I've watched (I finished it over the holidays), and it completely blew me away with how great a season it was. I think like Marquesas, this season couldn't be scripted any better if they tried because the story of this season is perfect to a tee.

We have two tribes; one of catty, bitchy women that all can't stand each other, and one of a civil group of men that seem to get along quite well. However, despite it seeming like the men would dominate the season, the catty women were somehow able to set their differences aside and actually work together to take down the men one by one until the Final 7. It is here that the women decide they just cannot take it any longer and all turn against each other. This leads to a series of vicious catfights, arguments, and betrayals, meanwhile, Chris is able to slip through all the cracks while the women are too busy focusing on one another. To everyone's surprise, Chris is able to emerge victorious and win the season, proving that women's alliance can almost never work.

Besides the great storyline, there is also plenty of drama and characters to keep the audience entertained, from Eliza and Twila's constant rivalry to Ami ruling the game only to be dethroned by Scout and Twila to Lisa talking in hypothetical causing Ami to suddenly vote her out to Eliza being the social outcast yet making it all the way to the finale, this season was really amazing. Also, the FTC is the best I've ever seen, with everyone having such an emotionally-driven speech <3. The only reason this season isn't up in the Top 5 is because the men's tribe and early post-merge episodes were SO boring. Like, every episode a woman was voted off was better than every episode a man was voted off. XD

~THE TOP TEN SEASONS: Amazon, Pearl Islands, China, Micronesia, Gabon, Heroes vs. Villains, Nicaragua (YASSSS), Phillippines, Cagayan & Kaoh Rong~

#10- Survivor: Phillippines

We have now entered the stage where almost every season left is hard to fault. Seriously, I ADORE every season in my Top 10 and I know it's going to pain me to not be able to put each season just a little bit higher. Phillippines definitely saved the series after the horrific stretch of RI - SP - OW, and it's with good reason. This season was consistently great from start to finish, with the clusterfuck that was Matsing, the unpredictable first few merge episodes and a decent and extremely underrated winner in Denise.

I remember rewatching this season and realising just how amazing both Matsing and Tandang were. I mean, we have Matsing, an arguably strong looking tribe, getting absolutely decimated challenge after challenge, which was unfortunate considering how great the characters were. We have Zane, the guy who had a Final 2 with everyone only then to ask to be voted out because of the challenge (WTF? XD), Roxy, the religious nut-head who had hilarious facial expressions, Angie, the typical dumb blonde that only wanted to have some cookies and Russell, the once great leader of Galu turn into a terrible leader of Matsing. Then on the other hand, we have Tandang, where the power is constantly shifting, with RC and Abi going from allies to bitter enemies thanks to Pete's genius move, Skupin, who was always on the bottom but never seemed to be in danger and then Lisa, who never really seemed to fit in but was always a part of the majority somehow!

The merge comes along, and chaos just erupted. I mean, go back and watch the first two merge episodes and you'll see how crazy those votes were, with the target changing every five minutes and idols being pulled out left and right. I do feel that after Artis' blindside, things do slow down significantly, but there were still some great moments like Abi tricking everyone into thinking she had an idol clue, Abi winning immunity and Penner STUPIDLY rejecting an alliance offer. Philippines was really just a huge mess of a season, yet it was an interesting, funny mess that made this season so enjoyable to watch. Perhaps the ONE reason it's only at ten is because of the unbalanced editing and Kalabaw being snooze-inducing but otherwise, it was a fantastic season.