With 41 Survivor seasons, it’s difficult to choose one season that stands out as the best, but season 7 continues to resonate, 20 years after its first taping. That pivotal season is still making its mark on viewers. Pirate themes, unworthy victors, and a cast of some of the most memorable players of all time abound in season 7. Here are the reasons why it’s the best Survivor season of all time.
Filmed in 2003, season 7 was at the mercy of the resurgence of pirate culture, due to the release of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, and Survivor was the perfect conduit for this theme. The season utilized a range of swashbuckling tactics, from the eventful opening to having the starving teams search for buried treasure that had been ruined by moisture, to the unruly antics of some cast members. Season 7 is a true adventure and the most enjoyable Survivor season to date.
The opening episode sets a quick pace for the unfolding of one of the most interesting and well-developed narrative arcs in reality TV history. Forced to abandon ship with only the clothes on their backs, the 16 contestants were split into two tribes. There was the outgoing and democratic Drake tribe and the intense (yet physically apt) Morgan tribe. In a Survivor first, the teams were sent into a local village with very little money in order to barter items to take back with them. Rupert Boneham and Sandra Diaz-Twine stole the show, bartering throughout the town and ultimately gaining enough supplies to get their tribe through most of the season.
As the season developed, there was a clear difference in attitude in both Survivor tribes, resulting in very different arcs for the players involved. While Drake tribe members took pride in working through their differences together, many Morgan players were concerned with instantly weeding out those that they considered “weak”. This mentality ended up devastating the tribe, as the team began running out of food and water. They had no wins, and this was the catalyst for the first quitter of the series. Osten Taylor quit on day 19, insulting his team and angering a pitiless Jeff Probst.
The cast was a real highlight of the season. This was fan favorite Rupert Boneham’s first season, and it’s easy to see why he was so beloved. In one of the strangest Survivor rewards, the Drake team was given a sewing machine and fabric to make new clothes, and Rupert chose the free form of a skirt. It was also the first season of two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine, and while this is a perfect example of her complete lack of physical prowess, she is in peak form when it comes to her social game. The season also introduces viewers to the notoriously annoying Johnny Fairplay, who acted like a drunk, foreshadowing the era of the “non-celebrity celebrity” personality.
The season also had one of the most ill-fated surprise twists. The Outcast twist resulted in the return of some of the most dreaded players. Former Drake bully Burton Roberts and Morgan scout leader Lillian Morris returned to the game with a vengeance and toppled some of the greatest players with their insidious gameplay. Survivor has many seasons worth watching, but the strong narrative arc and cast-driven episodes made season 7 a true gem.
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