Survivor Retrospective: Panama - Exile Island

Rating: 5.5/10

Survivor's 12th chapter was as predictable a season as would ever come, but a strong all-new cast, impactful innovations and enduring storylines buoyed Panama to the median. Its principal gimmick, Exile Island, provided enough intrigue, strategy and character development to persist as a feature for several more seasons. Four of the sixteen castaways would justifiably return for later seasons.

Exile Island's cast began as four tribes divided by age and gender (younger men, older women, etc.), a gimmick that lasted just one episode. (Interestingly, the final four would be comprised of one member of each initial demographic). After the older women lost the first immunity, the tribes were condensed to two using a schoolyard pick. Still, two of the next three exits were older women - leaving season tour guide and the season's most charismatic player, Cirie, as the last remaining older woman. Cirie was the season's most articulate player, its obvious heroine and dramatic center.  Her three subsequent appearances - including two more deep runs - were well-deserved. 

A handful of above-average players accompanied Cirie past the Merge, including scrappy social worker Sally, aw-shucks young writer Austin, unblemished Aras, megababe Danielle, erratically entertaining Shane and one-dimensional fighter pilot Terry, a premier physical player. Casaya entered the Merge up 6-4, an advantage they exploited until only Terry remained. Terry won five straight immunities, all while possessing an overpowered immunity idol that could be played after the vote. Terry never appeared to seriously consider saving a tribemate with his idol, including an opportunity to save Sally and oust Aras.

While the meta strategy was unquestioned, Panama managed to maintain intrigue through the minutiae of Casaya's relationships. Cirie began hopelessly at the bottom, but hung around long enough to forge the tightest bond (with Aras) in a season with few of them. Casaya's Bruce was med-evaced with six left. When push finally came to shove for Casaya, they opted for annoying Courtney and Shane before Cirie. "I'm in an alliance with three nutballs," Aras had earlier lamented. He broke that alliance for Cirie, but it wasn't enough: Danielle and Terry voted for her with four left, forcing a firemaking tiebreaker that Danielle won to pare the field to three. She upset the rival alphas in the climactic final immunity challenged and decided to roll with Aras, succumbing in a 5-2 vote. He wasn't the show's most engaging champion, but wasn't particularly objectionable either: an average winner for an average season.

Like many early seasons, voting intrigue in Panama wasn't its primary diversion. The physical elements were fierce: brutal storms, flooded camps, starvation, the solitude of Exile Island, Bruce's digestive discomfort. The solemnity of the karate blackbelt's evacuation was underscored and undermined by a naked Shane helping to carry the stretcher out. Most of all, Panama managed to get intelligent, interesting and attractive people on the screen - a simple recipe too often forgotten in Survivor's annals.