#21: Great Britain (Season 4, March - April 2013)
Winner: Kiko R./Kikorus (4-2)
Wiki page: http://bit.ly/WJASAK
So the ranking begins, as it must, with the shittiest season. Due to the amount of times it has been nicknamed Great Boretrain, it was obvious that the season was to end up here, and it's true, this season was one of the biggest disappointments in my hosting career, and I'll explain why.
Going into the season, it looked from the outset to be a season people would enjoy and one that would be extremely competitive. We had big names like Gaiaphage, Alyxandra, Etaco75, Yankeeman311, PizPaz, Janelle_Pierzina and Mattkwon1. The tribes looked (and were) equal in terms of challenge prowess, leading to an equal 5-5 merge.
However, the pre-merge was not interesting in any way possible. Despite a few decent confessionals from Alexandra, Evan, Chris and Dylan, five out of the six pre-merge Tribal Councils were unanimous bootings, with both Buckingham and Windsor holding immunity for two days each following a Double Tribal on Day 1.
The season had to redeem itself in the merge and become more exciting, and it started well with the 5-5 merge causing an immediate divide, which was solved by Windsor member Evan double crossing the Buckingham tribe by pretending to flip. After obtaining important info, Evan discovered they were targeting Alexandra, and she played an idol on herself, eliminating John from Buckingham. This was the high point of the season, as from there it declined into even more of a snooze fest as Jac, Chris and Matt were taken out one by one by the Windsor Five. The saving grace was Dylan, the last Buckingham, who won Immunity, preventing a full pagonging of the tribe, and giving Alexandra the chance to strike on big-threat Evan. This excitement was short lived as Dylan was then swiftly ousted next, and Alexandra was then betrayed by Kiko, leading to a disappointing Final Three of him, Gustavo and "Whiteboard" Adam (he got the nickname by saying in his final speech that he wrote everyone's names on a whiteboard and considered the moves he'd make. He did jack shit and it was a pagonging.).
Kiko got rid of Gustavo for a Kiko/Adam F2, probably the most unlikable Final Two of the Generation. Kiko triumphed over Adam (thank fuck), but the entire shambles of unanimous votes, pagongings and disappointments left a very bitter taste in everyone's mouthes.
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LEVEL OF STRATEGY: 1 out of 5.
Alexandra and Evan were the only two dominant strategic forces this season. Dylan, Chris and John from Buckingham had potential, but as soon as then got into the minority they couldn't do much to survive. It made matters worse that the twist of the season meant that ALL the idols of the season were with the Windsor tribe. You have to give Kiko SOME credit for pulling off the win, but the Alexandra boot was really the main credit he had. Not to take away the legitimacy of a UTR strategy.
ENTERTAINING/LIKEABLE PLAYERS: 2 out of 5
Alexandra and Dylan were the main entertainment, and it was pleasing that she made F4 and looked set for the win. Her demise at Kiko's hands was however crushing for the likability. The Final Three were just too dull and unlikable for the viewers to care who won. Evan and of course Chris were the other two personalities. Also Dylan was the sass, and extremely likeable for being an underdog challenge threat. But that was about it.
BLINDSIDES/DRAMA/SHOCKS: 1 out of 5
Despite the boots of John and Evan being the high points of the season, it lacked in any real flair or excitement in-game. You could even predict that John would probably be getting the boot because of Evan's clear loyalty to Windsor. Plus Alexandra's boot may have been a shock but it wasn't in any way pleasing and led to an even worse end than what people had been led to believe.
SATISFYING CONCLUSION: 0 out of 5
Nothing about the conclusion was satisfying. Sorry Kiko, I don't want to take away your win, but it was not what anyone wanted in the slightest. At the same time, the audience didn't have much of a variety to chose from. But everyone was hoping and pleading that Alexandra, or earlier, Dylan, was going to be sitting there to soak up the votes. Sadly that never happened, and at the F3, no one really cared which two got there. This would have been -1 if Adam got the win.
VIEWER RECEPTION: 1 out of 5
Initially the viewer reception was good. Despite a slow start, the equal merge had them hoping for an exciting merge. But then came the Windsor domination, and for everyone the fun and joy of Survivor wasn't there. More entertaining characters and a more satisfying conclusion would have made the season worth the watching, but it just wasn't at the end of the day.
TOTAL SCORE: 5 out of 25 (Grade: A Big Great Boretrain)
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SEASON HIGHLIGHT:
The John boot at the merge. And equal tribe scenario where it could have swung either way. Evan manipulated the game to his own advantage and put his tribe in the majority, duping the Buckinghams.
STANDOUT PLAYER:
Alexandra stood out for me this season. She had the perfect balance between UTR and head honcho. She wasn't the big boss in charge like Evan, nor the floater like Adam. She let Evan take point and used her social game to het his own allies to turn on him. It was a pity that Kiko convinced people to spoil that in a split second. She was likeable, sassy, and in a good position to take the win. It just didn't pan out.
SUM-UP:
I'm going to put this in a coffin, label it COW DUNG and throw it away, never to be seen again. This is basically the definition of shit on the internet.
HINT FOR NEXT POSITION:
Simple doesn't always mean better.
#StillInTheRunning
Mongolia
Saint Lucia
Brazil
Jordan
All-Stars
Venezuela
Caicos Islands
East Timor
Seychelles
Brunei
Friends vs. Favourites
Vietnam
Occultus Island
Moral vs. Merciless
Cursed Hand
Reclamation
Second Chances
Jan Mayen
Bingo vs. Suitman
Allies vs. Adversaries
#21: Great Britain (Season 4, March - April 2013)