Survivor season rankings: All Survivor seasons, ranked

2. Cagayan (Season 28)

Love it or hate it, there’s never been another season of Survivor quite like Cagayan. Imagine a player that has the ruthlessness of Russell Hantz, the anxiety of David Wright (MvGX) and the ability to make nice of the best marriage counselor in the world. Got the picture? It better be of Tony Vlachos, the winner of Cagayan, because that’s pretty much how he operated.

Frankly, there are a lot of similarities to the way that Tony played in season 28 to how Hantz played in both Samoa and Heroes vs. Villains. He made promises to everyone, had no problem turning on people, and even shared the same knack for finding idols. What separates the two, though, is Tony gave off the aura of a player just immersed in the game while actually being a good guy—not a snake being a snake in the game like Russell. He played recklessly and still managed to win the Final Tribal Council vote 8-1 over the very likable Woo.

Tony simply makes this season as one of the most entertaining players in the history of the game. Because of all of his qualities as a player, his existence in the game and the season makes every move exciting and dramatic as you truly have no idea what he’s going to do or how he’s going to get out of a hole he dug. It’s Survivor at its finest.