Survivor Retrospective: Gabon

Rating: 4/10

Short on strategy, stimulation and affection, Gabon was one of the more forgettable chapters of the Survivor canon. It's best remembered as the first HD season of the show, congruent with the pretty cast and exotic locale. Shots of elephants, gorillas and undulating green meadows jumped off the screen; producers would have been wise to devote extra time to the landscape and wildlife in favor of the feeble cast. Gabon also featured perhaps the meanest group in franchise history, a far cry from the compassionate but ruthless casts of the New Era. It's also notable as the season with the oldest winner.

The season puttered along early, with the Fang tribe losing and languishing and season narrator and emotional heroine Sugar getting sent to Exile Island five times in a row. Sugar found the idol planted on Exile quickly, then relaxed each time in the "Sugar Shack" by choosing "comfort" over "clue." She acknowledged her closest ally Ace was a "snake" before turning on him for nerdy but equally serpentine Kenny, then tearfully regretted the move in confessional. 

After a single-vote tribal swap, Susie turned on the stronger Kota tribe to join Kenny and Olympian gold medalist Crystal to dump alpha favorite Marcus. His edit was immaculate, his exit tragic, but he never got another crack at the competition. The Kenny/Crystal/Susie alliance took control of the game, orchestrating the demise of once dominant Kota. The voting intrigue waned, with most of the season's most memorable moments coming courtesy of castaways dunking on each other. Sugar got Bob to give Randy his fake idol for the tribal she voted him out, seemingly just to embarrass the curmudgeon. Corinne said really mean things. Kenny pulled strings like an evil puppeteer before he was caught playing both sides. The good and evil dynamic was accentuated by Sugar's heroic edit and kindly bro Matty's emotional proposal during the loved ones visit. "I might have to go to the end with Bob, and Bob will dominate, but at least good will prevail," Matty announced in one confessional. Sugar turned on Crystal and Kenny cause they bullied him unnecessarily. 

57 year-old Bob won five straight challenges down the stretch. Susie won Final Immunity, with Sugar joining Bob to force a 2-2 tie with Matty. Bob crushed the surfer in firemaking to make the Final; Matty would have won over the Jury if he'd made it. At an abysmal Final Tribal, Corinne the Bitch and Randy the Curmudgeon bullied the finalists, Bob didn't even try to claim strategic acumen and Sugar didn't tell the Jury what they wanted to hear. Despite the sympathetic edit, she received zero votes. Surprisingly, Susie garnered three. While Bob was one of Survivor's least strategic champions, he certainly was likable: he shipped the fan favorite as well.