Survivor season rankings: All Survivor seasons, ranked

33. Ghost Island (Season 36)

What a hot-and-cold season of Survivor entertainment.

Ghost Island is unique in the fact that it brought forth relics from past seasons to offer to its players. However, each item (whether it was a Vote Steal, a Legacy Advantage or a Hidden Immunity Idol) was deemed cursed, meaning it was up to the player to break the curse or continue its cursed legacy.

There were a ton of advantages this season because of that historic bend, and instead of players using them to make moves and take out big threats, players used the opportunity for one tribe to Pagong the other, even though they were deemed to be “the best tribe ever.” We heard way too often of players staying “Naviti strong,” or other players saying, “Now is not the right time to make a move.”

As such, it meant that the top 2 winner contenders were set in stone pretty much since episode 4, as it became predictable who or which group was going home each night. There were some character highlights such as Jacob Derwin’s epic crash and burn and some individual characters the show would likely love to bring back, but the season’s entertainment was bookended by the premiere and finale. Too many characters were underdeveloped to tell a full story.

Written by Daniel George.