Most Underrated Seasons in Survivor History: No. 4 – Gabon
Before I got on Survivor Reddit, I didn’t really think much of Survivor: Gabon. It was one of the seasons I typically listed near the bottom of my rankings simply because of how nasty everyone was to each other. For those of you on Survivor Reddit, however, you’ll know that people on there LOVE Gabon and think it’s highly underrated.
After my last rewatch of season 17, I’d say I have to agree with my fellow Redditors — Survivor: Gabon is great.
First, the cast is highly entertaining.
Bob — who went on to win Gabon — is a hoot, but he’s not even the star of the season. That could be a toss-up between Sugar, Kenny, Crystal, or Randy, all of whom provided constant drama and entertainment. I didn’t even mention Corinne who was the mean girl of the season or Ace, who we all wish would have made the merge because oh my goodness could you imagine?
One of the more memorable moments from Gabon is when Bob makes a fake idol and gives it to Randy, who then plays it and is laughed at by Sugar, Crystal, and several others. There’s also Crystal’s voting confessional when voting off Randy “FORGET YOU – GO HOME. GOOD-BYE.” Oh, and how could I forget to mention the disaster that was the Fang tribe?
Something I also really enjoyed about Gabon was the challenges. There was a really cool bowling challenge as well as a golf challenge (that led to yet another hilarious Fang moment) and watching Gabon made me realize that Survivor doesn’t do a good job with creating new and exciting challenges anymore. It’s all about swimming to collect puzzle pieces and then solving a puzzle. That’s pretty much every challenge now.
The only returnees we’ve had from Gabon were Sugar and Randy, who were taken out first and third in Heroes vs Villains, and Corinne, who was voted out pre-merge in Caramoan. Gabon doesn’t get the respect it deserves and while I do admit the nastiness the contestants all had toward each other is offputting, it really is an entertaining season.