All-Stars
I'm very excited about this season- this is the first "All Star Season" that I get to go back and look at. What I love about these types of seasons is that they are often celebratory of the show, and usually almost entirely feature challenges from previous seasons. I think that's really fun and sometimes nostalgic- the question is, which challenges did All-Stars decide to being back to celebrate the first few years of the show, and did they make good choices?
Episode 1 immunity challenge
Quest for Fire Physical Race
The very first challenge of the season is a throwback to Survivor: Borneo- it's the return of "Quest for Fire," and I love the fact that they decided to bring this back as the first challenge; it feels very special, especially since this challenge had been absent in the previous few seasons. This is very much the original version of the challenge, with a few small changes: there is a new section at the end that involves moving the raft through an "army crawl" obstacle, and of course, this is the first (and only) time this challenge is played in three teams. The interesting thing is, I gave the original Borneo version of this challenge a score of 3/5, and even though this is almost the exact same thing, it feels grander to me. I think it's because now all of a sudden, this challenge has a legacy, where it did not in Borneo; it didn't feel special in Season 1, but here, it absolutely does. I just really appreciate that they brought this challenge back as the first Immunity Challenge for the first All-Stars season.
4/5
episode 2 reward challenge
Stairway to the Stars Physical Race
Now for a throwback to Survivor: Africa, and just like in that season, this appears as the first Reward Challenge of the season. Once again, there a few changes this time around: instead of racing across the desert to find the logs and them carrying them through obstacles, this season, all of the logs are out in the ocean. I guess this is kind of one of those "swim into the ocean, bring something back" challenges, but this one is unusually brutal. You can really see the toll this challenge takes on everyone playing. Another interesting change is that, much like in The Amazon's opening challenge, the amount of people involved in each heat of the challenge decreases each time. This puts more pressure on the tribe's percieved stronger members, and I think it's a very good change. This is the last time we ever see this challenge, which is unfortunate, because it has always delivered.
4/5
episode 2 immunity challenge
Float Your Boat Physical Race
Survivor: All-Stars continues to present itself as an extremely physical challenge season. Here is this season's first throwback to Survivor: Marquesas, and this challenge is just as perfect as it was in that season. The only difference this time is that instead of rocks in the boats, there are these heavy crates. Once again, this is the tragically the last time this challenge is ever seen.
5/5
episode 3 reward challenge
Better Homes and Island Living Miscellaneous Challenge
This is one of Survivor: All-Stars's very few original challenges, and it's stellar. So let's break the entire thing down scene by scene, because this is a challenge that deserves to be talked about; this challenge actually takes up like half of the episode because there is no Immunity Challenge or Tribal Council, so we are treated to more of this amazing challenge instead. Before I start, I just want to reiterate how much I love these types of challenges; up to this point, we only had one other challenge like this, "Distress Signal," which was where each tribe had to make an SOS signal to be seen from the sky (or ship)- I like this even more.
We start off with Saboga checking treemail, and they find a Home Depot box. That's right, product placement done right on Survivor! Inside the box are a whole bunch of tools, and the tribe is told to "dream it, desire it, do it." In other words, they have 1 day to build a shelter, and whichever tribe does the best wins. After all three tribes get the news, we get a scene at the Chapera tribe, were Sue starts talking about her plans, and Tom calls her in confessional, a "hag from hell." There wasn't a doubt in his mind that "her elevator don't go to the top floor." Sue decides to sit out and then gives a confessional where she says that "these are really stupid people I'm with. They are- they're so stupid. I hope they don't get jack off of this challenge just to bring them down a notch." You guys, this is Survivor: All-Stars at its best. Rob Mariano steps up for his tribe, as he is in construction and loves to build. We then see some impressive leadership by Mariano, as the shelter starts to come together nicely, but in the background, Rob Cesternino gives a confessional talking about how he is disappointed that he is being left out of the fun and that he isn't being the "big help" he thought he would be. Then, we get to see the Rob and Amber romance develop a bit more, before Rob gives a confessional saying that "Alicia thinks she's this architect for some zen company or something. Her vision is about as deep as... yeah, that's about how deep it is." Then, regarding Cesternino, he says, "Cesternino I think is useless all around. Seems like he's on a neverending coffee break." I don't know what it is about this challenge that makes people hate each other so much, but I love it so much. Rob Cesternino comes back to camp and claims to have gotten "lost in the jungle," and then, Alicia gives a confessional ragging on him too.
Alright, let's move on to the Saboga tribe; this is going to be good. Right off the bat, Rupert claims to be a "rehabber by trade," and that working on houses is what he does. He decides for his tribe that they are going to build a log cabin, and dig down into the sand a couple of feet to add to their height (???) so that when you walk into the cabin, you can stand up. I'm not sure what this accomplishes that taller walls do not, but Rupert surely knows what he's doing. The evil Jerri Manthey dares to question Rupert, and tells him that she doesn't think that digging into the ground is a good idea. Jerri makes a very good point about how the moisture of the underground could be a big problem, but Rupert provides a counter-argument: "Do we want to be an eye catcher, a pop 'em 'OH MY GOD!!!', or do we want to be like everybody else?" He goes on, "NONE of them are gonna make a structure as creative as ours. They're gonna make huts (disgusting!). We're gonna make a log CABIN." Then he starts laughing as if he can't believe Jerri would even for a moment consider that he doesn't know what he's doing. Jerri calls Rupert a "complete control freak" in confessional- such a hater. After they quarrel a bit more, Rupert becomes frustrated. "How do you have any idea? I know what I can do- I'm 40 years old! I've done my **** for years! I've built houses for 20 years!" Finally, Jerri decides to bitterly submit to Rupert's plan. We then get a great Ethan confessional: "Jerri and Rupert got in a fight. Perfect. It's just what I wanted."
It's pretty obvious that Rupert's tribe is going to win with the log cabin, but fine, let's just see what the Mogo Mogo tribe is planning. Lex is planning to make the "most amazing treehouse you've ever seen." Colby and Lex have a whole plan- there's going to be an elevated floor plan, a little balcony out front, a kitchen area over on the left, a nap area down below, and perhaps even a crow's nest up top to think and "zen out." We get some cute dialogue between Jenna and Shii Ann, and then Richard gives a confessional where he talks about how happy he was to sit out of this challenge. The way he describes it is, Colby and Lex are building the shelter, and Jenna and Shii Ann are "helping" build the shelter. And then he does his classic Richard Hatch chuckle. Shii Ann wants to add a whole bunch of extra cosmetic stuff, and the guys aren't having it. "It was as if, when we spoke, they couldn't hear it. They had their transmitters tuned to each other only," she said. Finally, we get a sad scene with Jenna talking about her mom, setting the stage for what's going to happen at the end of the episode.
Now it's night time at Saboga, and the whole tribe is up hammering and sawing away. Ethan says that "Rupert's idea was a little ambitious," and they had to work all through the night in the pitch black. After hours and hours of work, and Rupert had already dug out half of the trench, there turned out to be a ginormous tree trunk buried right where the log cabin's interior was supposed to be. "My God, I could not believe the stupidity," Jerri complained in confessional. Everyone seemed pretty distraught at this point, and Rupert wasn't pleased about it. Then, Jerri gives a beautiful confessional: "In a single day, we've went from a happy group of 4, working together, to three people not knowing what the hell's going on, and one going completely mad. This is Rupert gone mad." Is it possible? Did Rupert's dream house log cabin idea truly fail? It couldn't be...
Cut to the morning- time for the judging. Jeff first stops by the Mogo Mogo camp, with his new friend, Raffa; I love this guy. He's a Panamanian construction expert, and it's up to him to decide who has the best shelter. The great thing about Raffa is that at each camp, he goes around violently shaking everyone's shelter (that they need to sleep in later), and he genuinely does not care one bit about possibly breaking anything. Raffa seems quite impressed by the Mogo Mogo shelter, and even gives Colby an "Mm," which is a compliment coming from Raffa.
Next, let's finally check back in with Chapera; Jeff and Raffa walk into the camp to find Rob Mariano nonchalantly spread across a swing, and everyone is excited to give Raffa a tour. Raffa seems to have a good time at the camp, and leaves with a smile on his face. Only camp left to visit... (Okay, at this point, it is so obvious that Chapera has the best shelter— there's zero question about it. There is absolutely no need to even visit the Mogo Mogo camp other than for pure comedic value, and that's exactly what happens.)
"Welcome to Chez Saboga," Rupert says as he begins the big tour. Okay, we have to get this out of the way— Saboga's shelter looks absolutely pathetic compared to the other tribes. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the editors aired this out of order, just for maximum juxtaposition about how sloppy it looks compared to the other two. It's so fantastic because the entire time, the audience knows what's about to happen, but it's one of those delightful car crashes that you can't look away from. Rupert brings him inside the cabin, and Raffa continues to shake stuff, making it eminently clear that this shelter isn't even surviving one thunderstorm. "He didn't like down," Rupert observed Raffa's expression. Rupert amazingly tries to sell the giant wooden log as a "foot rest." I can't get over the expression on Rupert's face after Raffa exits the cabin; he just looks dead inside. Then, back outside the shelter, there's this amazing scene where Rupert talks about how "sturdy" the shelter is and acts like he's shaking the structure very hard and it isn't budging. Then, Raffa tries, almost gently, shaking some of the leaves on the roof and it's almost like the entire roof is damaged by this tiny vibration. At a certain point, Jenna Lewis just straight up starts laughing. After Jeff and Raffa leave, we get one of the most pitiful scenes in Survivor history. Everyone just seems so disappointed, and Ethan waves goodbye, "thanks for coming," with the saddest tone you could imagine. Then, we get a scene of just Jeff and Raffa. "Saboga," Raffa laughs while shaking his head, "oh! No, no no!" The sad thing is, this only takes place a few yards away from the camp, and the Saboga tribe members actually see Raffa shaking his head. It's like one of those awkward moments when you leave the room and the people who were there thought you were far enough away that they could start talking about you, but in fact, you can still hear them. In the end, Chapera takes first place and a crate of goodies are parachuted down to their beach. And so ends one of the best challenges to ever take place on this show.
5/5
episode 4 reward challenge
Match Maker Mental
Alright before I get to this, even though it has nothing to do with the challenge, I have to talk about this moment that happens at treemail because it is not talked about enough. Rob Cesternino gets the treemail, and instead of reading what's actually printed, he makes up his own treemail verse: "We've played this game with kisses and hugs. Now it's time to see if you can eat bugs." I love this so much. The two lines don't flow together at all either, that's what makes it even better. This is the last episode of Survivor Rob Cesternino ever plays in, and it is so nice that he goes out with a moment like this. Anyway, time for a throwback to my favorite challenge from Survivor: The Amazon! I mentioned back then that the challenge would only appear one more time, and here we are- too soon Matchmaker, you deserved a much longer life. This challenge is fantastic once again; there's something spectacular about seeing all of these classic characters from the original Survivor seasons interacting with each other having so much fun. This challenge just has some sort of magic to it, which is very hard to explain with words, but anyone who has seen it knows exactly what I mean... And holy cow, that's three perfect scores in a row.
5/5
episode 4 immunity challenge
Blind Cube Crisis Physical Race / Mental
As of the most recent season of Survivor, "Blind Leading the Blind" is the most frequently used challenge on the show. It would go on to be used many more times after this rendition in All-Stars, but I'm kind of surprised that they ever brought this challenge back again after what happens here. You could combine every injury that was inflicted from when they used this challenge in seasons 2, 4, 5, and 6, count them together, and it still would not come close to as brutal this challenge was. People are getting huge, heavy blocks slammed into them, or dropped onto their feet, left and right, to such an extent that it's almost painful to watch. Big Tom is hit particularly hard this challenge; I can't imagine how much pain he was in by the end of this one. Just to illustrate how rough this one gets, here are just some of the things that happen during this challenge:
-Tom walks into a tree branch
-Rupert slams into Jenna M. with a block
-Ethan slams a block hard onto Colby's feet
-Rob M rams into Tom with a block
-Tom charges right into a block being carried by someone
-Tom majorly trips over a block on the ground
-Rob M slams a block into Kathy
-Colby slams a block into Tom's head that literally flies his hat off
And this is where I'm conflicted; production went way too far with this one- but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the most entertaining blindfold challenge we've seen so far, and one of the most entertaining of all time. I don't know what it is about us humans, but we simply take pleasure in seeing other people get hurt in cartoonish ways; it's that degree of schadenfreude that encompasses us all which has allowed shows like America's Funniest Home Videos to stay on the air for decades, and why although challenges like these can be uncomfortable to watch, most of us have a hard time looking away. But even though this was one of the most entertaining blindfold challenges, I can't give this a perfect score- when ever I watch this, there's always that part of me reminding myself that this shouldn't be happening, and that the show is very lucky that no one got seriously injured, because if they did, it would all be on production. As for the puzzle itself, it's a larger version of the one from Survivor: Thailand that the Survivors competed in with their loved ones- it's fine.
4/5
episode 5 reward challenge
Shipwrecked Raft Rescue Physical Race
This is a throwback to the "Shipwrecked" challenge that appeared in Borneo and Marquesas, and I like this version the most- it takes the best elements from both previous versions and puts them together. In the Marquesas version, instead of rescuing their tribemates, the paddlers just had to collect floating crates, which I said I didn't like very nearly as much, but would I did like was that, prior to the challenge, each tribe was tasked at building their own raft to use. All-Stars' version of the challenge once again tasks each tribe with making their own raft, but plays more similarly to Borneo's version, where the paddlers are rescuing their actual tribemates. There is also a bit of new stuff, like a portion that involves grabbing a flag and bringing it back to the shore. I love the way this challenge is designed, and what I also love is that the Mogo Mogo tribe, which created ostensibly the worst raft out of the three tribes, goes on to the win the challenge.
4/5
episode 5 immunity challenge
Pilfering Pirates Physical Race
Time for a Survivor: Thailand classic! I don't think I need to remind anyone about how this "ATTACK ZONE" challenge works, so instead, I'd like to begin by talking about how this version is different from the original. Most notably, there really isn't an "Attack Zone" at all anymore- there's a "Battle Bridge," but it functions differently from the Attack Zone. The Attack Zone was a very narrow section of the bridge, and you had to be standing in the zone in order to engage in physical contact. This version is much more liberal— the entire bridge is fair play for battling, which I think is much better design. As amazing as the Thailand version was to watch, it's very likely that none of the commotion would have happened in the first place if the challenge was designed better. What I find interesting is that there is still an area on the Battle Bridge painted white, which almost implies that spot was originally going to be the Attack Zone; maybe when the challenge was tested they decided to just forget about the strict Attack Zone and let the entire bridge function as grounds for combat. The second notable change is that now there are a whole bunch of balance beams that connect the Battle Bridge to the opposite ends of the course, making it a bit more tricky to get from one side to the other. The third major change, and one which confuses me in their reasoning, is that this challenge is played on land instead of on water. I mean, I guess it doesn't make much of a difference, but come on, this challenge is called "Pilering Pirates," why not play it in the water? Playing on the water is also safer, which I think is best exemplified when Ethan falls off the Battle Bridge and painfully hits his head on the edge of the pool below. Also, the Thailand version had very beautifully decorated boats from which the opposing tribe had to steal, but this version just has generic platforms on either end of the course- just a small complaint. Ultimately, this version of the challenge is designed much better than the Thailand version, but that does not necessarily make it better- really, you just can't top the Thailand version. This is the last time we see this challenge, but even if they continued to use it every season, there's no way any of those versions could top the Thailand version. But I also think it's important to recognize that just because this version isn't as memorable as the Thailand version, that doesn't mean it isn't a great challenge. Of course, we also need to quickly talk about the Richard and Sue incident, which ultimately results in Sue quitting the game in the next episode... it's bad. Very bad. However, it doesn't really affect my enjoyment of the challenge that much. If anything, it's the entire next episode that is going to suffer because of it, but not the challenge itself, because in the challenge, it comes off as a trivial, 2 second ordeal.
4/5
episode 6 reward challenge
Tribal Stomp-ede Skill
This is a throwback to the "Stomp-ede" challenge from Africa, only, as the name suggests, this is a tribal version of the same concept. Whether it's an individual or tribal challenge, it always manages to provide some simple but fun entertainment.
3/5
episode 7 reward/immunity challenge
Floating Puzzle Physical Race / Mental
Even though this challenge shares a name with a Thailand Immunity Challenge, it is not the same, and is actually another one of the only challenges that originated in All-Stars (it hasn't returned). It's extremely good in my opinion— intricicate, challenging, and creative. The tribes start on floating platforms out in the ocean. One at a time, Survivors from each tribe have to swim out to get floating puzzle pieces and bring them back to the platform. Once all of the pieces are back, they are used to assemble- get this- a puzzle boat. That is just such a cool idea, I absolutely love it. The tribe will then use the puzzle boat to paddle to shore, and we're still not done yet. Once at shore, one tribe member races through the jungle to cut a rope, releasing more paddles. They then return to the boat, where the tribe has to paddle back to the starting platform. Again, intricicate, challenging, and creative. Whenever you make a challenge this long, you risk having a blowout, where one tribe quickly takes the lead making everything else kind of boring; thankfully, that does not happen here- the challenge is quite close between the two tribes.
5/5
episode 8 reward challenge
Log Jam Miscellaneous Challenge
Throwback to Survivor: The Amazon! It's still a great challenge; it's a unique 1 on 1 challenge. It doesn't feel quite as jovial as the original version- it might just be the different music, but something doesn't feel quite as fun as in season 6. But again, still fun.
3/5
episode 8 immunity challenge
Choose Your Weapon Skill
It's the return of the "Choose Your Weapon" challenge, and we are going back to Borneo's tribal format as opposed to what we saw recently in The Amazon. The challenge has a new set-up: this time, the first two rounds exist solely to award advantages to their winners in the third and final challenge, in the form of extra arrows. The first round is blow darts, then spears, and finally, archery. In the end, the first two rounds don't matter that much because both tribes begin Round 3 with three arrows. It's a good challenge.
3/5
episode 10 immunity challenge
Survivor History Mental
This is a very different kind of challenge- each tribe is quizzed on events from the previous seasons of Survivor. To make it fair, there are an equal amount of questions pre-selected from each past season. I really like this idea, although I do wish they could have made it a bit more interesting. I don't have much to say about the trivia questions themselves- most of them are pretty easy, although I will say, I was a bit concerned that Big Tom got the question "what country was Survivor: Africa filmed in?" wrong for his tribe... I also love that there was an entire question devoted to Robb Zbacnik and his performance in the original Pilfering Pirates challenge.
3/5
episode 11 reward challenge
Rock Bottom Physical Race
Finally we have our first individual challenge! It's another Survivor: Marquesas throwback! And Survivor: All-Stars continues to be the season where great challenges appear and then never return again. I praised this challenge quite a bit back in my Marquesas overview, and I find it to be just as enjoyable in this season. Survivor musical chairs is always a treat.
4/5
episode 11 immunity challenge
Waiting to Exhale Miscellaneous Challenge
This is another deliberately placed Survivor: Borneo throwback- the first Immunity Challenge following the first ever Merge returns as the first Immunity Challenge following the Merge in All-Stars. It is the exact same challenge- the first phase involves holding your breath underwater longer than anyone else, and the second phase is something of an underwater race. Just like in Quest for Fire, I really appreciate the producers' decision to bring this challenge back for this season at this point.
3/5
episode 12 reward/immunity challenge
Big Bad-O Course Physical Race / Mental
This is this season's version of "The Obstacle Course," and this one is going to have a format we haven't seen before. We're going to have the first half of the challenge be in teams, for Reward, and the second half of the challenge be individual for Immunity. I don't have strong feelings either way on this format, but I like them trying something new. Let's start by going through the team section: It begins with an obstacle similar to what we saw in Pearl Islands' first challenge, where the team has to break through a bunch of wooden timber in order to progress. Then, there's a balance beam, and then, another "army crawl" obstacle like what we saw at the end of this season's first challenge (although here they call it a "belly crawl"). Then, we get an obstacle straight out of Thailand's "Knock-Out" challenge- a wall that the entire team has to get over using only each other. Then, the team has to navigate through a "blown bridge" obstacle, which also appeared in the Thailand "Knock-Out" challenge as well has the original obstacle course challenge from Borneo. Then, the team climbs up a ladder where each member must cross a rope bridge obstacle, which we've seen before in the "Out on a Limb" challenge from seasons past. Once the entire team makes it across the rope bridge, three members drop down into a cage to dig up a flag, and then, the remaining member at the top of the bridge uses a flying fox to retrieve a key used to release the other tribe members who dug up the flag. Finally, everyone races to cross the finish line. Phew- that's a lot. It's almost all stuff we have seen before, but this is All-Stars, a season all about celebrating the first seven seasons of the show, so I really enjoy all of the stuff they throw together here. Let's move on to the individual section- each Survivor is tasked at solving an alternative type of klotski puzzle, something we last saw in Thailand's first challenge. The first to do so wins immunity. So anyway, there's a lot to digest here, but I think my takeaway has always been, it's an exciting challenge, and even if nothing about it is particularly inspired, the sheer scope of the challenge makes it a pretty good one.
4/5
episode 13 reward challenge
Face Off Mental
Time for another throwback to Survivor: The Amazon! It's the return of the fan-favorite "Q & A" challenge, better known as "Touchy Subjects." With the exception of this being played during the day instead of at night, this version only improves over what The Amazon started. Instead of playing for points, we are going to use the coconut-chop format, which had previously only been used in the "Survivor Quiz Show" challenge. This format had also only previously been used for Immunity Challenges, a decision which I repeatedly criticized because it was unfair. Well everyone, the challenge team finally figured this out, and realized that the format works perfectly for a Reward Challenge, which means we get to enjoy the amazing drama this challenge allows without feeling any guilt about it being unfair. The aesthetic of the format has also improved greatly over the boring "place a coconut into someone's bin" thing we got in Pearl Islands- now we are back to each person having a look-alike mask to be destroyed. Another improvement over the Amazon version is the types of questions that are asked. This time, there's a lot less sex stuff and a lot more soul-crushing questions like "who does not deserve to be an All Star?," and "who is under the false impression that they are smart?" (Ouch!) It's just such a good challenge, who can ever get enough of it?
5/5
episode 13 immunity challenge
When It Rains, It Pours Endurance
It's a throwback to Survivor: Africa, and it's a good one! This was, of course, the merge challenge back in Season 3, and lasted over five hours as T-Bird pulled out an amazing victory after singing about tomorrow. In my opinion, this version isn't quite as exciting as the Africa version, mostly because it doesn't go on for as long, but you could definitely argue that this version has a better story. The audience knows that Shi Ann needs to win this or she is going home— she has, at this point in the season, become the underdog. The entire challenge, Shi Ann is talking about how much she knows she needs this, so when it comes down to Shi Ann versus Rupert as the rain comes down, and Rupert drops after over two hours, it is such a great, satisfying ending. This continues to be an unbelievably effective challenge.
5/5
episode 14 reward challenge
Survivor Smorgasbord Miscellaneous Challenge
The All Stars have most certainly not played this season with kisses and hugs, but it is time for their loved ones to eat some bugs! That's right, we are taking a page out of Thailand's book and ruining the heartwarming aspect of the loved ones visit by forcing the Survivor's unsuspecting families to eat a bunch of gross stuff, and once again, I love it. In addition to eating local Panamanian delicacies, we are celebrating Survivor's impressive 8-season run by bringing back a whole bunch of stuff from previous seasons. The first item is something new- fish head. The second item is also new, a flying cockroach. I wouldn't want to eat either of those things, but really, not too bad so far. The third item is our first throwback, fafaru from Survivor: Marquesas- they even make the loved ones use one only their mouths to eat it again. Then, it's a Thailand throwback— roasted tarantula; Jenna Lewis' loved one screwed up this round by taking a drink of water. The final round is a few live witchetty grubs, a throwback to The Australian Outback. Overall, some pretty fun food items. I kind of wish they could have squeezed in cow blood for one of the rounds to pay homage to Africa, but I'm definitely not complaining about what we got- another one of the best food eating challenges! And once again, that's three perfect scores in a row. Wow!
5/5
episode 14 immunity challenge
Fire And Rain Miscellaneous Challenge / Physical Race
For this Immunity Challenge, it's a throwback toThe Australian Outback- this is a challenge I expressed quite a bit of enjoyment towards in its original usage, and this All-Stars version is almost exactly the same. It's also the last time this challenge is used on the show. Once again, it's a fun, unique challenge.
3/5
episode 15 reward challenge
Learn from Past Mistakes Physical Race / Skill / Mental
As per usual, it's time for the Survivor Pentathlon! However, this time, under a new format. Prior to this version, this challenge would always just be one really long race, but from now on, it's always going to be elimination style. While there's a part of me that enjoys the idea of it just being one really long challenge, I think this format is better; it makes it so that everyone is in the same place at the same time so you can focus on more people, and eliminates the possibility of an uninteresting blowout. The challenge combines at least six elements of previous challenges and once again acts as a fun trip down memory lane.
4/5
episode 15 immunity challenge
Survivor Scramble Mental
It's time for another Survivor "World Scramble," and this is pretty much identical to the Africa challenge "Swahili Scramble," but instead of looking for Swahili words, you are looking for the names of the previous tribes to appear on Survivor, an idea that I really like. Once again, you are trying to unscramble the intersecting letters to find one final word, and this time, the final word was "Chaboga Mogo," the name of the current Merge tribe, which I found to be a very fun idea. It also means that the challenge team had to scramble themselves to put this challenge together as soon as they found out what the merged tribe name was, and I appreciate that extra effort. There's still nothing too exciting about this challenge, but I like the idea behind it.
2/5
episode 16 immunity challenge
Obstacle Puzzle Maze Physical Race
"The Maze" is back, first seen in season 2, and then in 4, and this is definitely the best version so far. Just look at the maze, it's incredible! It's by far the biggest of the three versions so far, and I think it's also bigger than The Amazon's "Braille Maze" challenge. The design is somewhat similar to the one in Marquesas, only much larger, much more difficult, and much more visually appealing, especially in style. Also, for the first time, this is going to be an Individual Immunity Challenge, which I like so much more than the tribal version. The object of the game is to collect all eight ladder rungs and use them to build a ladder to the tower. Another thing that makes this challenge great is that, in order for Jeff to see everyone, they have him stand on top of the maze, specifically on the thick ring you see in the picture around the tower. It's so funny to me just seeing him walking around up there, like he has so much superiority over everyone else.
5/5
episode 16 final immunity challenge
Hand on a Hard Idol Endurance
We used the original Immunity Challenge, we used the original Merge Challenge, and now, it's time to finish the job by bringing back the original Final Immunity Challenge- that's right, "Hands on a Hard Idol" has returned as this season's final challenge, and like so many other fantastic challenges this season, this is the last time we are ever going to see it. Jenna Lewis, who desperately needed to win this one, accidently drops early on, which takes a lot of suspense out of the whole thing, but I really like that Rob and Amber decide to continue to fight for the win, unlike what happens in Marquesas where as soon as Kathy dropped, the remaining two just ended the challenge. After three hours, Amber accidently touches the post, and just like that, the final challenge of Survivor: All-Stars is over.
4/5
Final Thoughts
I don't even know what to say- what a challenge season. It's like the producers had this big idea- "what if, to celebrate our All-Star season, we bring back all of the very best challenges from the past seasons of Survivor?" And they actually DID IT?!!! It's hard to believe just how good this season's challenges are overall- the average score of all the challenges was 4/5- that is incredible. That's off-the-charts good- we are not even close to being done with this little project of going through each season, but I have doubts that this will be topped; I can think of maybe one season that might have a higher score, and it's coming up real soon, so we won't have to wait long to find out, but either way, this season's challenges are amazing. What a way to celebrate the franchise! Of course, all of these scores are subjective, and depending on how you would rate each challenge, this season could end up toward the bottom of the rankings, but I'm stunned about the scores I ended up giving this season; Not a single 1/5 (like The Amazon), only one 2/5, and eight 5/5s, a score most seasons only have three or four of tops?!!! It has been such a blast going through the challenges this season, and thankfully, there are still many more seasons to revisit, but when it comes to my original question of "what seasons have the very best challenges (and which have the worst)," I think we made a huge discovery with this season.
Average Challenge Score: 4.00
Ranking Overall So Far: 1/8 (Best so far!)
If you have any comments, questions, feedback, or just want to reach out to me, send an email to cadebw2@gmail.com!