Gabon doesn’t even feel like a real season, more like a hilarious fan fiction come to life. The fact that someone like Sugar basically controlled the whole game by her emotions is just iconic.
Really happy to see Gabon mentioned for the best. It's so underrated and has so many fun characters and moments and whenever I re-watch Gabon I look back very fondly on it.
@@kingofthorns203 They had potential to be great and could've been strong adversaries against Crystal and Kenny. Though, I wouldn't say I wanted that over the masterpiece that is the post-merge.
I just finished redemption island again and that season is so rigged in favor of rob it's unbelievable. The person he's supposed to be battling is voted out 3rd in a thrown challenge. Russell's former tribe then chokes and goes into merge down numbers. Rob has every single person on his tribe in his back pocket as a duo so they all trust him. He takes out grant who's likely his biggest threat and it's smooth sailing
I've gotta make an argument for Cook Islands in the top 5, just personally. The mutiny and the Aitu Four's rise were insane to watch, and there were some pretty great boots as well
I was expecting it to be cringey and/or dull from Mario Lanza's descriptions in the Funny 115, but then I watched it and was like, "what was he talking about? This was awesome!"
I recently watched Game Changers again and I gotta tell you, the JT boot episode was one of the best of all time. On one tribe you have JT, Michaela, Sandra, and the sugar, on the other tribe Debbie going insane to the point that even TAI calls her crazy. Shocked that the Redemption Island Premerge didn't make the cut for worst.
Gabon is so slept on. I love seasons with big characters. It's often treated as one of the black sheep seasons of Survivor but that entire season was a comedic treasure trove. It's one of my favorite seasons.
Potential video idea: Luckiest (or unluckiest) breaks in Survivor. Especially with Elaine's recent advantage, it goes to show you need some element of luck to make it in the game.
The big omission for me is Palau as having one of the best pre-merges. It was basically like a post merge that happened in a pre merge, and had a really great arc for Stephenie. We won't get another one like it, probably.
I get a feeling when it was happening production was going to merge the players in Palau at 10 then because of the story that could be told they decided to merge at 9. Every other season that didn't have a merge at 10 in the 1st 18 seasons had some sort of twist be involved and that is the only one not to have a twist be involved.
caramoan post merge is meh for me, cochran was definitely a good person to watch but eddie and reynold was basically the entire storyline and there was so much crying and shit it got plain after a while and it was obvious who the winner was gonna be
I feel like Fiji's awful twist in the pre-merge led to post-swap Ravu going down in numbers come the merge which led to a pagonging. I am surprised i have seen no one mention that.
Season 14 (Fiji) was definitely the worse. The have vs have not twist and way they did it killed the entire season by guaranteeing one tribe would win everything. Pre-season I was excited about this twist, because I thought they were dividing the tribes by wealth (with people who are poor in real life on one tribe, and people who are very well off financially on the other tribe), so the premiere was a HUGE disappointment for me.
Gabon will always be one of my favourites.. absolute fucking gold. Randy was the first character I really fell for once I started rewatching again live.
I LOVE that you put out survivor videos so rapidly! By the time I finish watching the latest episode in Australia I can go and watch something more survivor about that same season!! LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!
The fact that Tyson is one of your favourites makes me love you even more!! :) I agree with your picks (and LOVE that you included Gabon which is so underrated) but I would say that DvG has a pretty great pre-merge, it's in my top 5 for sure!
I would say DvG had a great pre merge that I thoroughly enjoyed! The IotI pre merge was pretty decent as well! I 100% agree with your placement of Gabon, what a hilarious trainwreck of a season and most of it goes down in the pre merge.!
I really enjoyed the pre-merge of pearl islands. We got Rupert the pirate and Morgan behind, two of the funniest survivor moments ever, in the premiere.
Do a video about the Dan thing, I feel bad for Janet because she trusted those girls when they used a serious topic to get further in the game and then stepped back when Dan asked about it. They even admitted when Janet called them out.
Vanuatu (Season 9) One of the best theme introduction the show has ever done. This was the second season to initially divide the tribes by gender. The boot order at premerge and swap were blandly predictable but it had moments that built the narrative, and the characters this season had to offer did enough to carry the story on. It was entertaining to watch the females found a way to work together at merge only for them to collapse and blew a 6-1 advantage.
Great video, here’s an idea for another video: Best Final jury members: players who placed 4th or 3rd and who could have won if they made FTC. Such as Wentworth (Cambodia) and David (MvGX)
A.J Deets, sorry, I have only watched the more recent seasons of survivor so I am unfortunately unfamiliar with Jerri’s and Cirie’s game. I would hate to make a judgement on something I have a limited understanding of, as you have clearly done in referring to the icon Kelley Wentworth as Wentworthless. Shame on you✌️
I think David vs Goliath definitely solidifies itself as a top tier premerge. The Davids are one of the most compelling starting tribes of all time. Characters like Natalie C, and Angelina and Jeremy on the Davids were amazing to watch. The swap was CRAZY with the Natalia blindside and the eventual misfit final 3 being on the same tribe. On the flip side, South Pacific I will always have a vehement hate for when it comes to the premerge. Too much time eaten by Coach and Ozzy who shouldn't have been brought back. Redemption Island as a twist is still there which is nauseating. The treatment of Christine and Stacey as outsiders sucks and while Christine's RI streak was great, her losing to Ozzy was such a slap in the face and I cannot believe she hasn't been back. The Family alliance is sickening and Brandon getting Mikayla targeted because he's afraid of her as a strong woman is super gross. Just not a good premerge at all.
Hey Peridiam. Thanks for hearting my last comment! I can’t edit it or the heart will go away but I have more ideas for future videos, such as, male and female challenge beasts for Big Brother. I think that will be cool because fun fact Donny from BB16 won the same amount of comps as Caleb and Cody with 6, only second to Frankie, who had 9 wins.
Then I guess I'm one of the monsters lol. Because for me, Gabon is a bottom 5 season, sorry. I respect your opinions, but DAMN, I just never understood why Gabon is so liked. I've always just hated it. I might get killed, but it's actually a bit below Redemption Island and One World for me lmao I'll just stop talking now
@@survivor8518 This is an outdated opinion lol. Last year I did a chronological marathon of the whole series. And while Gabon still sucks, it rose a couple spots for me and RI and OW are worse than it imo.
I always gotta comment on it whenever someone brings it up because it always brings up very strong feelings. Zekes outing was horrific but I'm glad the editors, producers, Jeff, and Zeke were able to make it into something that wasn't the complete worst situation. It really does show how much they try, and yes they have a lot of mess ups (Dan should have been dealt with way sooner) I feel like there really wasn't much they could've done to prevent Varner from being himself in that moment than just not inviting him back for the third time, which they had no reason to think based on his first two appearances that he would do something like that. He's just a person I wish never got the chance to play again let alone three times
I think some honourable (best pre merge) mentions should be: Marquesas, Pearl Islands, Palau, Cambodia, David vs Goliath, Island of the Idols. Some dishonourable (worst pre merge) mentions should be: Thailand, All Stars, Samoa, South Pacific, Ghost Island.
Carter is one of the greatest and most underrated characters of all time and no one can convince me otherwise. Evidence that a background character when done well can be just as fun and engaging as the characters in the forefront.
I'll never understand why Kelly was treated so badly, she didn't have a jacket, she was basically invisible to the show with the "Purple Kelly edit" and now Jeff apparently hated her alot(unless that's just a joke, but Jeff has hated quitters) But I can't blame Kelly wanting to quit when she was slowly dying from the rain and cold.
fantastic vid as usual, Game Changers is imo a very good underrated pick. Caramoan deserved Worst 5 pre-merge but imo not the worst, some of the drama is hillarious- and should 100% be a Top 5 postmerg- not sure if I agree with One World - the first episodes I actually loved the dynamics of men vs. women (then it got much worse)
The Phillip racism drama in RI, both Brandon Hantz elimination episodes, the Bill boot episode from one world, the double feature merge episode of ioti, and the Varner/Zeke tribal from GC come to mind
I would switch Fiji with Caramoan. Caramoan at least has the Francesca shocker, and some good gameplay by the fans (mostly Sherri). Fiji has nothing. Also, I would put other returnee seasons ahead of Philippines, like Cambodia, All Stars or even Edge of Extinction.
Eh the Edge of Extinction pre-merge was just decent, it didn't really pick up for me until the Chris boot. Before that, I thought it was kinda slow. The Aubry blindside is where that season really hit its stride though. But I agree that Cambodia should definitely be up there with Philippines, and I also agree that Fiji is a tad worse than Caramoan for the exact reason you cited.
The beginning of HvV was the best storyline I've seen. The heroes always have it together at camp and have good spirit while the villain camp is a disaster because Russell is constantly undermining it. Boston Rob carries the villains to numerous challenge wins yet ultimately gets blindsided right before the merge. No way Russell would've made it so far had they not won all the initial challenges, so Rob dug his own grave by being such a legend at the beginning
Sad to see no Ghost Island on the top list. People poo-poo the season as a whole, but that pre-merge was pretty exciting. A lot of good story arcs (Jacob and Stephanie J. come to mind), good challenges, and the only point where the season had mystery as to who would win in the end. Heroes vs. Villains is still probably number one for me for pre-merge, but Ghost Island for me is a solid second place. Also, while I love Gabon, it's not for the pre-merge. Gabon doesn't pick up until the Ace boot, which while technically pre-merge, doesn't make up for the boring if not painful episodes before it. Really, the rise and fall of Ken makes this season, so once he starts to come to power, that's when the season gets good. He and Ace need to return, especially if there's a rivals season.
Right! I'm surprised he didn't mention Michelle in the entertaining list for that season. She was so sweet and had her funny moments (particularly her iconic fall) and was heartbreakingly twist fucked at the final 10 and left way too early. Rocky on the other hand? Ughhh. He was an annoying, loud mouthed dick with a problem with recall. Him to Anthony: "Jessica and Erika were greater players than you and they're gone, and you're still here." Yet Rocky voted for Erika at her last tribal. Absolute dick.
Ciera later said in an interview that she, Tony, Caleb, Malcolm, JT, Sandra and Jeff had an epic time at Ponderosa that season, and they remain in touch today. I'm inclined to believe her.
I never, NEVER post comments on RU-vid, but I am glad SOMEONE finally sees the value in Gabon. It's my favorite season at heart (tied with Micro) and always will be.
For as bad as the postmerge was (til that finale), the Ghost Island premerge was GOOD. The Gonzalez and Jacob double boot premiere where both of them tanked their game with completely different methods of awful gameplay. The 1st swap where James tricked Dom and Wendell and killed Morgan. Then the Brendan boot where Michael tried his big swing saying ths China idol had double immunity power was fun. It slowed down a little with the Steph and James boots but was riotous with Bradley getting his comeuppance in the final pre merge. Also the entire time we had the Dom and Chris war which came to a head at that awesome merge ep. If u look at the pre merge boot order, kinda fascinating how it's a circular firing squad of instant karma. Brendan kills Gonzalez 1st and Steph kills Jacob 2nd, only for Brendan and Steph to be killed by Bradley 4th and 5th. James kills Morgan 3rd just to be killed himself 6th. And Bradley who killed Brendan and Steph 4th and 5th is killed 7th. All great characters pre-merge. Where does IOI rank as a pre merge? I think it's good.
This is fine and all but LISA IS A QUEEN HOW DARE YOU actually tho how can you forget she flipped to get Dolly out out of nowhere, and was also voted out of nowhere because she asked Ami if she could teach her how to cook coconuts “Just in case”
The way I look at it, Gabon was never a good season. It was a fun season. So like, I can see why it's rated so low, but at the same time it was one of the most entertaining seasons of all time.
My Top 5 Best: 5. Gabon 4. Cagayan 3. Philippines 2. HvV 1. David vs Goliath My Top 5 Worst: 5. Redemption Island 4. Fiji 3. Caramoan 2. One World 1. Thailand
I'm one of Gabons haters or at least I was but I appreciate it so much, toxic behavior made memorable, examples of the worst types of humans but somehow it feels like a tragic comedy.
Really good list, for both the bests and worsts. But I've got to shoutout Millenials v. Gen X. I'm okay if the likes of Cece and Rachael made the pre-merge a little less enjoyable than GC or Cagayan. But everything else was amazing, especially post-swap. Michaela's blindside is still probably the best blindside + reaction in the whole franchise. There were lots of other golden moments too, like David's insane idol play to save Jess, Michaela spoiling Jay's idol find, Figtails failing to be discrete and then getting broken up - just to name a few.
SJDS (Season 29) Some say the pre-merge is dull or slow, but this season is near unrivaled when it comes to setting up its dominoes so that when they drop the result is beyond worth it. It's definitely a more character/narrative oriented season. If your main interest is frenetic gameplay with lots of hard-gaming strategists, this season might not wet your whistle, though it unquestionably has some fantastic players who make some of the most exciting plays in Survivor history.
Worst 10. Vanuatu 9. Island of the Idols 8. Micronesia 7. Millennials vs Gen X 6. Nicaragua 5. Thailand 4. Redemption Island 3. South Pacific 2. One World 1. Caramoan Best 11. Borneo 10. Gabon 9. Guatemala 8. Africa 7. All Stars 6. Worlds Apart 5. China 4. Philippines 3. Cagayan 2. Cambodia 1. Pearl Islands
Just because I watch waaayyyy too much Survivor lol, I decided to rank every single pre-merge of every season. I was also thinking about this topic after the Island of the Idols pre-merge wrapped up last week. And I do think that the season potentially has a top 10, hell maybe even top 5, pre-merge of all time. Dead serious. I thought it was an incredible watch week after week. But only time will tell once the season wraps up. So, here's my ranking. 39. Fiji 38. Caramoan 37. South Pacific 36. All-Stars 35. Thailand 34. One World 33. Nicaragua 32. San Juan Del Sur 31. Tocantins 30. Gabon 29. Redemption Island 28. Panama 27. Africa 26. Samoa 25. Vanuatu 24. China 23. Edge Of Extinction 22. Blood Vs. Water 21. Game Changers 20. Heroes Vs. Healers Vs. Hustlers 19. Guatemala 18. Worlds Apart 17. Palau 16. Marquesas 15. Ghost Island 14. Cook Islands 13. Borneo 12. The Amazon 11. Island Of The Idols 10. David Vs. Goliath 9. Kaoh Rong 8. Pearl Islands 7. Cambodia 6. Micronesia 5. Philippines 4. The Australian Outback 3. Cagayan 2. Millennials Vs. Gen X 1. Heroes Vs. Villains
Also, what are your overall thoughts on the IOI pre-merge? I thought it was incredible overall. The Tom boot was kinda whatever just because it was just another normal case of the majority picking off the minority. But every other episode I thought ranged from solid to amazing.
Well, right after i saw the video title i could only think "geez, San Juan del Sur must be in the worst pre-merges. It's probably my personal most bad-good-contrast between pre and post merge in all seasons"
It's amusing to think of how different Gabon could have been, assuming the first 2 boots were Gillian and GC. It was clear after the schoolyard pick "challenge" that Gillian wasn't cut out for the show, then GC barely digging with 1 hand....like how the hell do you keep them over Michelle? I also think Ace set up Paloma to go, there was no reason to put her on the post in the reward challenge, and she's up there with Skinny Ryan and Mitchell Olson as my early boots that should've made it a lot further but hit the wrong circumstances so they never got their footing (though Mitchell was equally screwed because he hit a tie vote when they didn't have a proper tiebreaker so they made something up without a revote). It's nice that we got the Fang train wreck, especially with how Randy is clearly confused as to how the hell they got that way and just turning into the grinch, then becoming the happiest man in the world to see Fang suffer.
Carter is one of the, if not THE single funniest people to ever play Survivor. He is hilarious lmao and half the time he wasn't even trying to be 😂 I really hope he plays again some day
You what I always think would be a funny twist in Fiji? If they just didn't say sht to anyone and just switched all of their sht while they're at a challenge and then they go back to camp and surprise! The Haves are now Have-Nots and vice-versa ( except for anything won on reward) Well I guess they can't really move a whole shelter lol but you know what I mean.. just completely switch the set up with no warning at all lmao
I think Island of the Idols had an awesome pre merge first you have the Ronnie and molly blindsides that came out of nowhere, then 2 people in a row (Vince and Chelsea) are blindsided with idols, then Tom is gone, after that Elaine plays a vote block on Jason to send him packing in a situation that was almost destined to go to rocks, and then Dean plays an idol to send Jack to the jury. If only they didn’t cast Dan I think Island of the Idols is a top tier season
I still think that Russell Swan deserves a real second chance. Got screwed over twice. Was in excellent position both times within the top 3 of his tribe and then got medevacted the first time and the second time was literally the rarest thing to ever happen in survivor, with Malcolm and Russell somehow not being able to win a single immunity
Going off One World, I think there could be a season wherr everyone is on the same beach and the tribes change every episode and it would make the players have to communicate with everyone because they dont know who will be on the tribe until the challenge.
Gabon is such a stupid season, but that doesn’t change the fact that if a friend of mine asks what survivor season should I watch, that I answer Gabon just to see their reaction.
