Thailand
episode 1 immunity challenge
Flying Your Flag Physical Race / Mental
We are going to break convention here, as for the first time ever in Survivor, the first challenge is not a variation of "Quest for Fire." Instead, we get an exciting, large challenge, involving paddling all around an island to a series of puzzle stations. Even better, each puzzle is all up to 1 person to solve, so it creates that dynamic of "I better not screw this up for my tribe." Not only is this a great first challenge due to its size, but also, it does a great job as showcasing the beauty of Thailand. The challenge doesn't play out in a particularly tremendous way, and we are still just a bit before the era of Jeff narrating challenges, but it's still greatly entertaining to watch.
4/5
Episode 2 reward challenge
Palanquin Slalom Physical Race
Here is the third appearance of "Blind Leading the Blind," and I have to say, best version so far– no question. This time, they are really going to try and incorporate culture into the challenge, which is very unusual for a blindfolded challenge, and it pays off beautifully. The art department did a tremendous job with the palanquins, and really, the whole season, might I add! Everything about Survivor: Thailand has a very distinct, posh feel to it, and this is something that's going to be reflected in several of the season's challenges. As for the gameplay itself, it's definitely one of the more creative blindfold challenges, as the premise involves the caller being transported throughout the course. The challenge also has an interesting design that we'll see explored a few times throughout Survivor, where the tribe's paths cross at several points, allowing them to get in each other's way, although this never really comes up in practice. It's still just a blindfold challenge, but it's one of the better ones we get throughout the series, and I particularly love it for the cultural aspect.
4/5
episode 2 immunity challenge
Floating Puzzle Physical Race / Mental
This is a simple challenge we will see a few times throughout Survivor, that involves swimming to get floating puzzle pieces, and then putting together, as the name suggests, a floating puzzle. This isn't super interesting, but where this challenge gets bonus points from me is the decision to make the puzzle in the shape of a lotus flower, a plant that, as you may have guessed, is native to Southeast Asia. It really is the little things that count sometimes, and I always enjoy when challenge and location fuse together.
2/5
episode 3 reward challenge
Pilfering Pirates Physical Race
It is rare for the absolute highlight of a season of Survivor to be a challenge, but do you know what? I think that might be the case with this season, because this challenge, "Pilfering Pirates," but more commonly known as the "ATTACK ZONE," may be 8 of the best ever minutes of Survivor. Let's start from the beginning– this is the first challenge in the history of the show that actively encourages physical contact between the contestants, and much like Survivor Folklore and the Auction, I am biased and enraptured by these types of challenges; they are genuinely one of my favorite things about Survivor. The thing is, it's not hard to tell that this is the first time they ever did something like this, because the challenge is admittedly clunky; physical contact can only occur in a very specific zone, and it is seemingly very easy to overstep its boundaries and disqualify yourself from the challenge. The main objective of the challenge is to steal baskets from the other tribe, and the first tribe to steal 10 baskets wins. So if the challenge itself is a bit flawed, then what makes this sooo good? It's all thanks to how ridiculous the cast of Survivor: Thailand is. You see, the Sook Jai tribe has a particularly difficult time with the challenge's rules, and members from the tribe accidently, amazingly, break the rules by attacking outside of the Attack Zone- over, and over, and over again. Members of the tribe get increasingly frustrated, Jeff Probst gets increasingly frustrated (which is absolutely hysterical to watch), and the repeated self-inflicted penalties Sook Jai receives results in them completely squandering their lead, allowing Chuay Gahn to win. Afterwards, Robb claims, somehow with a completely straight face, that they didn't lose the challenge to other players, but rather to "a bunch of rules." The entire thing is golden, providing unintentional hilarity better than any scripted comedy could. On top of all of that, I also think it's necessary to give another shout out to Thailand's art department, as they did a tremendous job painting the boats in such a fantastically authenic way.
5/5
episode 3 immunity challenge
Temple Transfer Mental / Physical Race
This is Survivor's adaptation of a popular brain teaser known as "Tower of Hanoi," where there are three platforms, and you have to transport a structure from one platform to the other, only allowed to move pieces on top of smaller pieces. While the game has French origins, Survivor fitted the challenge to Thai culture by making the structures be temples, which I think is a great touch– again, it's the little things. While this is mostly a mental challenge, the pieces are big and the platforms are fairly spaced apart, so there is definitely some running around involved. This is also around the time where Jeff starts to actively narrate the challenges which, in my opinion, makes them more interesting. Still, this is just a puzzle, albiet a somewhat creative one.
2/5
episode 4 reward challenge
New Tribe Member Physical Race
I don't know what's more hilariously baffling, the fact that this challenge exists, or the fact that they actually bring it back, completely out of the blue, 16 seasons later. Let me just say, I love this. This is a physically tough challenge, where each tribe has to drag a 250 pound, 10 foot tall dummy (that they decorated) around an island. It looks like a truly grueling task. Shades of Marquesas in the weird, random, "what even is this challenge?" department, but ultimately, a lot of fun.
4/5
episode 4 immunity challenge
Tan-dy Gram Mental
On one hand, this is another static group puzzle challenge that doesn't translate very well to TV. On the other hand, it pays tribute to Asian culture, which again, I really appreciate.
2/5
episode 5 reward challenge
Survivor Auction Miscellaneous Challenge
Well here's something different— it's the Auction, but as a tribal challenge. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of this format, but I can appreciate it as a one-off attempt at shaking things up a little bit. The Auction is enjoyable as always, and once again, props to the art department for creating an auction set that feels completely different from anything that came before or after it.
4/5
episode 5 immunity challenge
Catch of the Day Miscellaneous Challenge
This is a fish-sorting challenge. That's right. It's about as exciting as you would expect it to be, which is not that exciting at all, because come on, they are sorting fish. I guess you could say this is another challenge that plays into Thai culture, but does it really? Fish, like pretty much all coastal countries? One interesting thing about this challenge is that Jeff apparently has superhuman eyesight, and called Chuay Gahn out for having a single misplaced fish when they said they were done. I don't know how he knew that, but I'm impressed.
1/5
episode 6 reward challenge
Wicker Flicker Physical Race / Skill
Here's the origin of what I consider to be a Survivor classic, where each tribe has a ball launcher, while everyone else on the course attempts to catch the balls. In every one of its appearances, I've always felt that this was a very solid challenge; never mind-blowing, but never disappointing. Apparently this is Survivor's version of a "famous Thai game," but it is never elaborated on which game they are talking about; still, it's nice to know there is some culture here.
3/5
episode 6 immunity challenge
Thai 21 Mental
This is Survivor's version of a popular math logic game called "Nim." There are 21 flags, and each round, a tribe can elect to take either 1, 2, or 3 flags. The tribe who takes the last flag wins. This is a very interesting concept, and definitely adds some challenge variety to the season, but there are some issues. First, much like the "Memory" challenge we saw in The Australian Outback, the audience can't play along because the edit speeds through the challenge too fast, though it's a catch-22, because if it went on too long, it would get boring. The bigger issue is that, in theory, whichever tribe goes first should be able win the game by default, by strategically taking amounts of flags that leave the other team with a number of flags divisible by four. If you are confused, the YouTube channel MindYourDecisions has a great video about this. Obviously, this is unfair, if one tribe has no chance at winning the challenge against another tribe with a smart player. However, thankfully, and quite frankly, unsurprisingly, no one on the Thailand cast was smart enough to figure this out, so the challenge does play out in a fair way. They can probably never bring this challenge back now that more people know about it and how to win it, but this challenge had a great opportunity to introduce a Tribal Advantage that could have been sold at the Auction, allowing a tribe to decide whether they want to go first or second, instead of settling it by coin toss; of course, this was before the days of advantages in challenges.
2/5
episode 7 immunity challenge
Jail Break Skill / Physical Race
Here is the origin of another Survivor classic— even the most casual of fans are sure to recall seeing, in at least one season, the challenge where you tie sticks together to reach a key to unlock a door. Well, here it is, for the first time! And I have to say, I really like this one. Sure, it's simple, but it's a novel concept. We are used to seeing this used as an Individual Challenge, but this tribal version is interesting; there are a whole bunch of keys they have to get instead of only one, and after they get all the keys, they have to dig underneath the cage to escape, which I believe is also the first time we see this, now common, "dig under a log" obstacle. There is also cultural history here; The season's filming location, Ko Tarutao island, was, as Jeff explains, a holding ground for prisoners between 1938 and 1948. So far, Thailand has really done a great job at fusing location and challenge.
3/5
episode 8 immunity challenge
Breathing Space Miscellaneous Challenge
I'm going to be blunt, I don't like this challenge at all. It's really a shame too, because it's such a great idea, it just plays out horribly. Each person has to go underwater and use a bamboo snorkel to breathe, but in order to use it, they first have to blow the water out of it. Then, it's a game to see how long you can last. Sounds great, but there are 2 major problems here. First, this should not be a tribal challenge. Like, whyyyy, it makes no sense! This should have been an Individual Immunity challenge; it would have been great as the first Merge challenge. It is so much more fun watching players compete against each other than it is to watch each tribe go one at a time to see which can get a better overall time. Second, the Thailand cast sucks at this challenge. It's downright pitiful, both for the players and for us as the audience, who are robbed of seeing a really interesting concept play out because no one on the entire cast knows how to use a snorkel or hold their breath for longer than 30 seconds. Like, even if there was no snorkel I would expect them to last longer. The entire thing is just so anticlimactic, and I think this challenge's potential is what makes it sting even more. Thankfully, the challenge team is going to take another swing at a similar concept in five seasons time, and that is going to be one of my top 2 challenges of all time— but we'll get there when we get there.
1/5
episode 9 reward challenge
Wicker Ball Relay Physical Race / Mental
It's a rare, Merge episode Reward Challenge! Here is this season's token obstacle course, once again being run in pairs of two. I think I like this version the best so far, for a couple of reasons. First, we see a couple of exciting new ideas here; this is the first time we see chopping through a rope in order to drop a ball, and there is also a section where the ball needs to be threaded through a fish net tube. Instead of doing the same challenge over and over again, the finalists move on to a second stage, where they have to solve a pyramid ball puzzle. We will see the exact same puzzle a few more times on Survivor; it's not a very interesting one, but I still enjoy all the new things they came up with for this challenge.
3/5
episode 9 immunity challenge
Thai Numbers Mental / Physical Race
This is a very interesting challenge; I'll start off by acknowledging the cultural aspect of this challenge- it's all about Thai characters, which I think is a great touch, and I'm actually surprised we don't see these early seasons incorporate language into challenges more often. There are two stages to this challenge, and the first stage is entirely mental. It is very straightforward, the Survivors have 30 seconds to study the Thai numbers, and then they are quizzed on them; not terribly exciting, but the second stage is where things really get interesting. There is a whole field of sandy mounds, and the Survivors have to dig up coordinates that reveal, using only Thai characters, the coordinates of tiles; there are ultimately 10 tiles that need to be collected. I've always found this to be a truly compelling idea, which translates surprisingly well to television, and also offers something rare on Survivor- a mentally grueling challenge.
4/5
episode 10 reward challenge
Knock-Out Physical Race
Alright, this is a truly unique challenge. It is very similar to Marquesas' "coconut-chop" style challenge in its intention to reveal the pecking order to perhaps otherwise unaware players, but it suffers because it fails to commit to this goal. So unfortunately, it doesn't really do much to change the course of Thailand's agonizing Pagonging, but it is absolutely worth noting the idea behind this challenge, and recognizing that this could have turned out to be a revolutionary challenge. The way it works is, you start with 7 people, and you have to team up with somebody else, so right away, someone is eliminated. That's great, it sends a clear message to whomever that person is. The next two sections are a bit less interesting, the last pair to get across a bridge obstacle is eliminated, then the teams are dissolved, and the last individual who fails to get across a "belly crawl" obstacle is eliminated. The fourth round is my absolute favorite though; there are only 3 people left, and a tall wall- the only way over the wall is to use other people, but only 2 people are allowed over the wall. No one wants to sacrifice themself, but really, the challenge almost demands it; I just find this to be a really interesting idea that we pretty much never see explored again on Survivor. The last section is just a balance beam to the finish. Ultimately, it's a very interesting challenge that had more potential than what was realized.
3/5
episode 10 immunity challenge
Snuff It Mental
Speaking of Marquesas' coconut-chop challenge, it has essentially returned as Episode 10's Immunity Challenge. This time, it's a NIGHT TIME CHALLENGE! Instead of chopping coconuts, if you get a correct answer, you can snuff someone's torch. Honestly, I like that even better. The Survivors are quizzed on Thai culture, which I always enjoy, but the major problem from Marquesas is still present here– this should not be an Immunity Challenge. It's not fair at all, this should always be used as a Reward Challenge, and because this challenge doesn't result in a historic flip like in Marquesas, but instead, sees the first person eliminated, Penny, go on to be voted out that night, this is even more painfully clear. I think having this challenge take place at night saves this from being a 2/5, but that's only because I am so biased towards night time challenges.
3/5
episode 12 reward challenge
Thai Menu Miscellaneous Challenge
We've seen the Survivor producers come up with evil things before, but I think the idea behind this challenge might be the most sadistic thing they've ever done, and it's freaking incredible. This is the Loved Ones challenge, and much like in Marquesas, the loved ones are competing by themselves in the challenge. Think about this— they bring out everyone's loved ones, an ordinarily heartwarming part of the season, and force them to participate in, what is in my opinion, the grossest food eating challenge they have ever done. I've never ate any of this stuff, but I'd imagine last season's fafaru tastes worse, and Africa's blood drinking challenges feels worse, but I honestly believe the sheer variety of disgusting stuff they have to eat here makes this the most horrifying rendition of Buggin' Out the show has ever had. The picture on the side here, the giant spoonful of disgusting dead bugs, is the first thing they have to eat, and that alone would have made this one of the hardest to stomach challenges, but it is immediately topped by the next item, the "maeng da" giant water bugs, that explode into the most nauseous puddle of juice when bitten into. Then, in something of an homage to Borneo, they have to eat live grubs, and round four is a boiled tarantula, which Jeff goes out of his way to make even worse by taunting the finalists with a live tarantula beforehand. The final round entails eating these big black scorpions, finishing off a true nightmare of a challenge. And on top of how delightfully cruel this challenge is, Helen is so hilariously obnoxious yelling at her husband, it just makes things even better. Also worth noting, this the first time the food eating challenge is not the second Immunity Challenge of the season, and obviously, also that it appears as an Individual Challenge.
5/5
episode 12 immunity challenge
Cube Crisis Mental / Physical Race
The loved ones also get to compete in this Immunity Challenge, but I find this Immunity Challenge to be very boring; it is just a cube-shaped puzzle. There really isn't much to say beyond that.
1/5
episode 13 reward challenge
Letter Hunt Physical Race / Mental
Let me just say that this challenge possibly has the most hysterical opening scene of all time. The castaways are just casually seen walking along the beach to the challenge, when Jeff randomly drives up behind them in a Chevy TrailBlazer. Then, he nonchalantly tells them to get the car, which he laters describes as "not a bad looking ride," and instructs Big Ted specifically to take shotgun. Once everyone is in the car, Jeff proceeds to recklessly swerve down the beach, as he transports the cast to the Reward Challenge. This is absolute gold– but let's get to the challenge itself. It's actually surprisingly intricate; there are a whole bunch of stations that the Survivors have to race to in order to find English letters among a whole sea of decoy Thai letters. There is some great variety in the stations, but my favorite is a treasure chest that has letters inside of it; for no discernable reason whatsoever, the producers decided to fill the chests with a bunch of dead fish, and Jeff doesn't tell them that before the challenge starts, so everyone is caught off guard when they open the chest. Once they get all of the letters, they have to unscramble the letters to form the phrase "Road Trip," and it ends up being very close. Brian makes the hilarious challenge mistake of the season when he accidently spells "Raod Trip," which allows shotgun Ted to pull out a clutch victory.
4/5
episode 13 immunity challenge
Step On Up Mental / Physical Race
This challenge is going to become a lot more popular in Redemption Island thanks to a certain shirt worn by Boston Rob, but the original Thailand version is a novel idea- build a staircase out of puzzle pieces. This challenge is going to get a lot harder in future iterations, but I really appreciate its simplicity here.
3/5
episode 14 immunity challenge
Try Again Physical Race / Mental / Miscellaneous Challenge
This season, "Survivor Pentathlon" appears as the penultimate challenge, and this is another fantastic iteration. This time, a whopping seven previous challenges are paid homage to, and all of the stages of the challenges flower together very well. The challenge ends with everyone having to eat a boiled tarantula, and I love when they incorporate food into these second chance challenges. Brian kind of wins this in a blowout, but it is still a great challenge.
4/5
episode 14 final immunity challenge
Slip Through Your Fingers Endurance
The only endurance challenge of Survivor: Thailand— where do I even begin with this one? Let's just get it out of the way– this is one of, if not the best Final Immunity Challenge the show has ever had, it delivers in almost every department, and I'd like to talk about the entire thing— what makes Survivor: Thailand's Final Immunity Challenge so great? Let's start with the design of the challenge itself– it's incredibly unique. Each player starts with 3 coins in each hand, wedged between their fingers. They are locked into a Thai pose (culture alert!) called the khon. You can feel the pain of this challenge just by looking at it. It's once again all willpower like previous Final Immunity Challenges, but this time, the element of pain is taken to a whole new level. This does, however, result in a very quick challenge, which is something I've never prefered to a very long challenge, but I think the challenge makes up for it in every other possible way. Let's take a look at the very clever symbolism of this challenge– it's in the title; don't let the money slip through your fingers. It is such a great double entendre, that manages to perfectly combine Thai culture with the fear that every player has when they are in the Final 3– what if I lose now? What if I lose this close to the end? But we're still just getting started. Let's take a look at the lead-in to this challenge...
Prior to the challenge beginning, the Final 3 paddle down a river for their Rites of Passage, and after remembering all 13 of their fallen comrades, they keep paddling until they reach the entrance of a cave; the river continues into the cave, and it creates this amazing, mysterious, almost chilling vibe– you aren't even there, but just watching them sail into the darkness, each holding a torch for light, gives you goosebumps. As they go deeper and deeper into the cave, they begin to see the ambient glow of torches in the distance. As they approach even closer, the true beauty of what awaits them at the end of the cave is revealed– we'll get to that in a moment. Jeff awaits the Final 3 at the end of the cave, and tells them that this used to be the home of the pirates who ruled the island they have been living on for the last 39 days. That. is. incredible. He also explains the perfect symbolism behind the Final Immunity Challenge, the "belly of the whale," taking place in the deepest part of a cave. The producers absolutely nailed the environment and symbology of this Final Immunity Challenge, and in fact, I can't even imagine a way that this could ever be topped. Now, let's talk about that set. Holy cow. I truly believe this is the crème de la crème of what the art department has ever been able to accomplish on Survivor. From the seemingly hundreds of candles, masterfully placed throughout the cave in such a way that it is just bright enough to maintain the cave's mysterious ambience, to the ornate structures the Survivors stand in during the challenge that look like they were stolen out of a thousand-year-old Thai temple, all of it is absolutely stunning. It's almost as if they created an entire, additional Tribal Council set just for this one challenge, and it all ties into Thailand's posh art direction I mentioned earlier so well. I can't even imagine how long it took for them to put this together, all for us to enjoy in a quick, 8 minute scene on a TV show that was already in its fifth season. It is that degree of heart and soul held by the makers of this show that have allowed it to stay on for as long as it has.
5/5
Final Thoughts
Alright, I clearly had a lot to say about Survivor: Thailand's challenges. More than any other season so far, I think Thailand is a pretty hit-or-miss challenge season. At best, you are watching the Final 3 compete in a grueling challenge accompanied by the best challenge set the show has ever seen, but at worst, you are watching two tribes sorting fish. Still, there's a lot to love about the challenges of Survivor: Thailand. The majority of its challenges had never been seen before, creating new classics like "Wicker Flicker" and "Step on Up," as well as introducing physical contact challenges in the most spectacular way imaginable. Also, Thailand did an incredible job at using its location's culture and incorporating it into challenges. At least half of the season's challenges make at least some reference to Thai culture, even if it's just a lotus-shaped puzzle. One of the best, and depending on how you feel about the season, perhaps one of the only good things about Survivor: Thailand is its unique location and emphasis on culture, and the challenges epitomize this emphasis like no season had previously.
Average Challenge Score: 3.13
Ranking Overall So Far: 4/5
If you have any comments, questions, feedback, or just want to reach out to me, send an email to cadebw2@gmail.com!