Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Survivor: Cagayan. Scroll at your own risk.
Survivor has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to its 46 seasons — we all remember the unfortunate, spine-tingling season that was Survivor: Island of the Idols, right? — but if I had to show a friend their first season of the beloved competition series, it would undoubtedly be the masterpiece that is Survivor: Cagayan.
Survivor: Cagayan, also known as Survivor: Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty, is the 28th season of the hit competition show. With a theme and cast that are nothing short of spectacular, as well as an exciting ending with a satisfying winner, it is truly unmatched. Taking the cake as the best Survivor season of all time, keep scrolling for all of the reasons why Survivor: Cagayan reigns supreme, coming from a Survivor superfan who has seen each and every season.
The theme
For starters, the theme of “Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty” is arguably the best one that the show has ever seen — with the exception of “Blood vs Water,” perhaps — bringing together a cast of first-time players who rely on different strengths in their day-to-day lives. With the “brains” tribe consisting of engineers and accountants, the “brawn tribe” consisting of police officers and NBA players, and the “beauty tribe” consisting of models and NFL cheerleaders, seeing these individuals interact with one another on the same beach is unlike anything we had seen on Survivor before, making for a season that was extremely engaging from start to finish. With this theme being such a success, the franchise even repeated it for Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, another season that became one of the best of all time.
The cast
With the theme of “Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty,” you can see how the cast of Survivor: Cagayan featured individuals who could not have been more different from one another, making for a unique set of characters that had our attention from the very start of the show. Aside from being a diverse bunch, Cagayan also produced some of the most iconic castaways of all time in Tony Vlachos, Woo Hwang, Kass McQuillen, Spencer Bledsoe, Tasha Fox, and Sarah Lacina, with the following all returning to play Survivor for a second or third time on seasons like Second Chance, Game Changers, and Winners at War.
The feuds
After reading those names and reminiscing on their respective Survivor journeys, it’s clear that Survivor: Cagayan had some of the biggest personalities in the history of the series, which naturally lead to a great deal of feuds throughout the show, notably between Kass McQuillen and Spencer Bledsoe and Trish Hegarty and Lindsay Ogle. With the former pair bickering all season long — with Spencer infamously uttering the words “Kass, zero chance of winning the game” after she flipped on their alliance at the merge — the latter pair had a feud that was far more significant, with Trish bullying Lindsey off of the island. Believing that she was close to resorting to physical assault against Trish, Lindsey quit the game on day 14. With the only feud in more recent years being between Katurah Topps and Bruce Perreault, Survivor simply does not seem to have drama like this nowadays!
The mistake
As if Survivor: Cagayan was not great enough all season long — filled with blindsides and backstabbing galore — Woo Hwang made arguably the worst move in Survivor history during the season 28 finale. Winning the Final Immunity Challenge, the California native had the power to singlehandedly decide who he would sit next to at the Final Tribal Council. He ultimately decided to bring Tony Vlachos to the end, choosing to bring the biggest threat over “the biggest GOAT in Survivor history,” according to Spencer. Woo’s mistake had the jaws of Survivor superfans on the floor, leaving everyone shouting “WTF?!” at their television screens back in 2014. Despite being a dumb move on Woo’s part, we could not imagine a better plot twist to conclude Survivor: Cagayan!
The jury
With Tony being deemed a villain and Woo being deemed a hero, the police officer ultimately emerged victorious, all thanks to the lack of a bitter jury. On seasons like Survivor: Ghost Island, the jury has rewarded the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize to the castaway who played the most noble game, seemingly punishing those who backstabbed, lied, and cheated their way to the end. Despite hurting individuals like Sarah Lacina, Trish Hegarty, and LJ McKanas along the way, the jury put their pain aside, respected the game, and voted for who was most deserving of the win. This resulted in a satisfying ending to Survivor: Cagayan, as Tony Vlachos walked away with the million-dollar check.
The winner
Last but certainly not least, the winner of Survivor: Cagayan is arguably the best Survivor winner of all time! Winning both Cagayan and Winners at War, Tony played the game with ferocity, backstabbing his closest allies and lying to their faces in an attempt to climb to the top and be crowned the ultimate champion. Constructing “spy shacks” and “spy bunkers” to eavesdrop on his fellow castaways — as well as swearing on relatives, both alive and dead, to gain the trust of his tribe mates — nobody has ever played the game as hard as Tony did. His seamless ability to manipulate his tribe mates is something that will always be a part of the Survivor history books, with more modern-day castaways — notably Dee Valladares, Kaleb Gebrewold, and Sifu Alsup from Survivor 45 and Jem Hussain-Adams from Survivor 46 — hoping to emulate his game years later. How legendary is that?
To stream Survivor: Cagayan, as well as the show’s other 45 seasons, head on over to Paramount Plus. But beware — the other seasons are nowhere near as spectacular as season 28.