[Braden]

prelude: so episode 13 was actually good. I appreciate Donathan's neuroticism saving the tail-end of this season. I don't think anyone has self-destructed as badly as him during the end-game, but I'm thankful for his tirade against Domenick and Wendell. Simply because the way they treated him was super-crappy and obnoxious, and it definitely cemented my dislike for both of them. Other than that, it was actually a little sad to see Kellyn go. I grew to like her towards the end.

finale: was kinda basic and straightforward, aside from Donathan continuing his plan to carry out a war against (mainly) Domenick and (to a lesser extent) Wendell. Sea Bass suddenly joining Donathan in planning to get rid of—either Domenick or Wendell, I can't remember which one— was very fitting, considering this is the season of late opportunities. Donathan's attitude is just so hilarious to watch during tribal councils because he's obviously scared of being voted out, but is still trying to intimidate Domenick and Wendell by being as passive aggressive as possible, lmao.

It obviously felt right to have a Domenick, Laurel, Wendell final three, since the edit it made it painfully obvious. The split vote at final tribal council didn't excite me as much as I thought it would, probably because I already knew it was going to happen. Laurel ultimately voting for the winner was boring and made the live vote reveal extremely anti-climatic.

ghost island: so this season was definitely not great. I can see why it's panned on here. and watching on a week to week basis was probably painfully tedious. The cast was quite bland and there was an obvious supporting cast to cater for big characters who were either obnoxious over unnecessary, overblown CP. The theme of Ghost Island itself was okay, but the abundance of idols and advantages was pretty stupid but never amounted to much anyway.

Still, enough was going on, I wasn't completely bored. There were a few genuinely entertaining and endearing characters that I'd be happy to see return. However, the season was pretty much a damp squib. My favourite episode was probably Morgan's boot or Kellyn's boot, but Chris' presence was the main thing I enjoyed about this season.

cast ranking:

Chris (definitely the most enjoyable person from this season and someone I hope gets to play again. Naturally charismatic and engaging, although he lacks self-awareness, it makes him even more perfect to watch.)
Angela (aside from the tattle-tailing of Sebastian's extra vote, Angela was pretty iconic. Like I've previously said, it's like someone went back in time and took someone who was supposed to play old-school Survivor and randomly plonked her onto an island to play modern-day Survivor.)
Kellyn (wasn't sure on Kellyn to begin with, but she ended up being genuinely endearing and sweet. Her superfan tendencies were actually enjoyable and weren't obnoxious or pompous as we've seen from other superfans.)
Donathan (came through at the last hour. His crusade against his boring alliance members was great and he deserves to come back purely for that. Even if it is likely he'll share the same season with Domenick again.)
Desiree (very nearly was green, but wasn't shown enough to justify it. She seemed like a cool person and was hilarious in her boot ep. Points for single-handedly wanting to take Dom/Wendell out.)
Jenna (excellent for resting-bitch face, kinda plain and ordinary for everything else. I love her purely for her reaction to getting voted out and just sitting there casually bemused during the other split tribal council.)
Sebastian (didn't know I needed to know what it was like to watch a stoner play Survivor. He would be higher if he hadn't stuck with Dom/Wendell for no apparent reason. God love him and his drunk huurt feelings at final tribal. His relationship with Jenna was cute, even if only exsisted for one ep.)
Bradley (great villain, but kinda annoying and genuinely unlikable at times. Would like to see him again, though. He obviously wasn't an awful, awful person.)
Chelsea (hard because she seems really likable, but she really didn't exist for the season. Can't say anything about her other than I liked her for the very little she was there.)
James (a bit boring but also perfectly likable. His reaction his blindside was memorable, lmao.)
Libby (did like her, but she was one of the many background characters who would've benefitted from a better edit.)
Jacob (fun for while he lasted, can't say I missed him, however.)
Stephanie (get the appeal, but thought she was over-edited for no reason. Don't see what makes her a super-special pre-juror.)
Morgan (orange territory. She would've tagged with Dom and Wendell to the end, so I'm glad she was voted off when she was. Slightly arrogant, dare I say.)
Domenick (scarily enough, there were times where I actually enjoyed Dom, but his treatment of Donathan was gross. The game-botting was boring and his desperation to make his feud with Chris into a big thing was too ego-centric for me.)
Laurel (boring doesn't even cut it. She's probably lovely, but she also ruined this season multiple times so she was destined to be here.)
Wendell (part of the deadly trifecta that killed this season. Something particularly irksome about him that bothered me. Tried too hard to be cool.)
Brendan (really terrible Andrew Savage vibes from him. Glad he left early.)
Gonzalez (remember her coming across really unlikable during her only episode and was glad she went so???)
Michael (oh god, soooooo annoying. a) there's genuinely, genuinely no need to lie about your age on Survivor. b) I only remember him finding one idol, yet was dubbed the idol king by everyone, which was irritating. c) every confessional was sleep-inducing. d) you're in position to let other jury members know who's desrving of making the final. e) pleeeeeease don't come back.)