With Survivor 43 now underway, viewers will be watching to see whether this will be another season for the books, whether that means one of the best of all time or one of the worst.
It will be hard for Survivor 43 to earn a reputation as the best season with a totally new cast. After all, Survivor: Cagayan featured a group of freshman castaways, and it's widely considered to be the show's best season of all time. From the players to the challenges to the gameplay and all the chaos between, there are many reasons why Cagayan is just so good.
Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty
While recent seasons of Survivor has moved away from set themes for each season, Cagayan was from an era of brilliant themes that really defined their seasons. The Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty theme established a great narrative that really fit with the social experiment aspect of the show.
The theme contributed to the strength of Survivor: Cagayan's cast, as each player was specifically chosen to fit an interesting role. Unlike Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, each role also felt fully defined and comprehensible for a wider audience, which is perfect.
The Dysfunctional 'Brains' Tribe
Of course, a great theme doesn't necessarily mean every tribe fits its role perfectly. Despite the Brains tribe being composed of brilliant players, it was one of the most dysfunctional tribes in Survivor history. That alone helped to make the pre-merge utterly hilarious.
From confusing strategy from Garrett to Spencer's eternal frustration and bafflingly poor performances in challenges even when it came to puzzles, the Brains tribe was a genuine disaster. Yet, despite their miserable time on the island, they were never boring, which took their failure to the next level.
The Winner Of Survivor: Cagayan
Some great seasons are held back by lackluster winners, like South Pacific or Gabon. But instead of having one of the worst winners like those seasons did, Cagayan had one of the best. Tony was always incredibly interesting, and his excited gameplay helped to keep the season moving and active.
Thanks to Tony, there isn't any filler in the season. Every one of his moves kept the pace of the season up and kept fans engaged. It's why it was so extraordinary to see him actually take home the million, after a full season of thrilling fans everywhere.
The Bond Between Trish And Tony
Some seasons have bonds between castaways that carry the entire narrative of the show. JT and Stephen are a great example, and the recent duo of Ricard and Shan were another. Cagayan originally had Sarah and Tony, the bond between Trish and Tony managed to overtake it all.
The two of them were a perfect pair. While Tony had his chaotic behavior that alienated his alliance, Trish was always the social force calming those around Tony and assuring them that their alliance was safe, even after multiple blindsides among themselves. It was a great narrative, and it made Tony's eventual betrayal even more tragic.
Survivor: Cagayan's Fun Rewards
Some seasons have better rewards than others. While it is fun to see good rewards, the real benefit of the touching and helpful rewards in Cagayan is that they help to keep players engaged and active as the season goes on. Rewards like fire, a spa trip, and a trip to volunteer to help out kids in need.
The trip to go visit the kids was one of the best Survivor rewards, and it's because it helped to showcase Woo's personality and friendly nature. Though he was a reserved character throughout the season, it humanized him, while also showing just how kind and caring each castaway was — outside of the game, at least.
Woo's Mistake
The entire narrative of Cagayan changed the second Woo made the worst game-ending mistake in Survivor. When given the chance to choose an easy win against Kass, Woo instead chose to take Tony to the end, despite it being the only possible way that he could lose.
Essentially, Woo chose to play the game that Coach says that he plays, and it's the reason that he lost. Still, despite it being an obviously poor choice, it cemented Woo in Survivor history, even if it wasn't quite the way he might have wanted to be remembered.
Chaos Kass
One of the most fascinating players was Kass, a player who was such a polarizing element in the game that she truly earned the moniker "Chaos Kass". Between aggravating Tony enough to get him bleating like a llama and becoming a swing vote to knock off the other swing vote, she proved that she was made for Reality TV.
Her surprising immunity win during the Loved Ones challenge was also incredible. Despite infuriating every other player in her tribe and in the majority, she was always an engaging character who kept fans at home enthralled by the game. It was good to see her get that win, even if she couldn't take home the million.
Spencer's Run
There are few castaways who have survived as long as Spencer did, despite the fact that he was an underdog from the start. The moment Garrett isolated the Brains, Spencer was on the bottom of his tribe, and he never really recovered in the aftermath.
Always on the bottom and surviving by the skin of his teeth, Spencer's surprising stay in the game was an interesting storyline, especially considering how few friends he had among the majority. The fact that he almost managed to survive over Kass, despite Kass' status in the majority, was also incredible.
Tony's Spy Shack
The introduction of Tony's secret spy encampments came in Cagayan. After realizing that his fellow castaways were gathering around the water well to share secret information and strategies, Tony decided there was an easy way to handle the issue without anyone noticing.
Tony immediately decided to implement what was certainly the funniest strategy in the history of Survivor. He put together a spy shack and hid inside the leaves to listen. There are few scenes as hilarious as anytime the show would cut to Tony hiding between the leaves, while his fellow castaways wandered by unaware.
J'Tia's Behavior At Camp
Like Brandon Hantz, J'Tia discovered that the tribe was conspiring against her, and her immediate response was to take their food supply and throw it on the fire. It was the ultimate act of self-sabotage that should have given the tribe the perfect excuse they needed to boot a player without any regrets.
Instead, bafflingly, the tribe chose to keep J'Tia with them. Though she was a challenge liability, poured out their only source of food, and a chaotic element in camp, they elected to keep her as a number, then nearly booted Spencer in the next tribal, despite J'Tia sitting right there. It was incredibly confusing, but certainly entertaining.