Why Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains Is One Of The Best Seasons Ever

Now that it has been more than two decades since Jeff Probst hosted the first episode of Survivor, the show has aired many seasons of varying quality. After all, some Survivor seasons are considered better because they feature the show’s best players or memorable moments, like the first player to be medically evacuated.

That longevity has also allowed the reality TV show to garner fans who are way past the point where they are figuring out which seasons to watch first. One of the topics that passionate Survivor fans like to debate the most is which season is the best ever. With that in mind, it is fascinating to look at what makes Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains the best season ever.

Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains Is The Best Season Ever Because It Was Entertaining Throughout

Throughout Survivor’s history, there have been many great seasons with boring parts. One perfect example of that is the show’s first season, Survivor: Borneo.

While Survivor: Borneo is considered to be a great season, the truth is that it can be very boring. The reason for that is when the alliance led by Richard Hatch took complete control of the season, there was no suspense left as they just took out one enemy after another.

Most seasons of Survivor have boring episodes when there isn’t anything going on to grab the viewers’ attention. On the other hand, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains managed to remain fascinating throughout the season, which is a staggering feat.

During the season’s first episode, things start off to an incredible start with the first challenge really playing into the theme.

What are the best Survivor seasons ever, according to Screen Rant?

During a brutal challenge, Rupert Boneham and Stephenie LaGrossa both suffered injuries at the villain tribe’s hands. On top of that, Jessica “Sugar” Kiper had her body get exposed due to a villain’s win-at-any-cost tactics.

If that wasn’t enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seat, the first episode of the season is fascinating for another reason.

While almost all the players know each other, nobody really knew much about Russell Hantz. Seeing how the show’s most legendary players starting to understand how dastardly Russell is makes for compelling TV.

As the early part of the season continued, fans arguably got to see the greatest feud in Survivor history. After all, “Boston” Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz went to war over who would get to control the villains’ tribe.

Not only was it interesting to see two players with huge personalities battle one another, their feud was more important than that. After all, it was clear that the leader who prevailed was likely to wield great power from that point on.

In a truly stunning twist, the outcome of Russell and Rob’s Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ battle came down to a truly foolish moment. After all, Tyson switched his vote and he pretty much voted himself out. Since Tyson was Rob’s ally, that changed the outcome of the season.

In most Survivor seasons, the end of an epic feud would result in several boring episodes. During Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, however, so many more interesting things took place.

For example, J.T. Thomas gave Russell his immunity idol in an act that has often been labeled the stupidest move in Survivor history. As amazing as that moment is, J.T. arguably doesn’t deserve the flack he has gotten. After all, if J.T.’s gamble worked out, he would have been heralded as a genius. On top of that, J.T. explained why he gave Russell the idol to TV Guide in April 2010 and his comments make it clear that he knew he was taking a risk.

“I really tried to get the idol and the target off my back and also, take a chance on someone else. I really had no idea who Russell was, not a clue, so I thought I’d reach out and see if that play could get me further in the game.”

Since J.T.’s gamble backfired, he doomed the Heroes tribe. At that point, it seemed certain the season would go downhill as one alliance decimated the other. However, a wildly entertaining turn of events happened instead.

Thankfully, Sandra Diaz-Twine is one of the strongest willed Survivor players in the show’s history and she gave fans something very compelling to watch. After all, it it was truly hilarious to see Sandra openly state that she was against Russell when he was acting like a tyrant. Even the season’s reunion was excellent as Rob and Russell threw more gas into their feud.

In 2023, a fan on the r/survivor subreddit asked the fans to name what the best Survivor season ever was. Considering all the aforementioned things that made Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains epic, the most-upvoted response makes a lot of sense. The top response argued that Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and Survivor: Pearl Islands were the only answers to that question that fans can agree upon.

Jeff Probst Explained What Made Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains So Great

After the finale and reunion episodes of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains aried, Jeff Probst wrote a blog about the season for Entertainment Weekly. During that article, Jeff expressed some very interesting opinions about the season.

While summarizing Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Jeff Probst wrote about the key to the season’s success. As Jeff wrote, he believed that every player during the season played as hard as they could.

As a part of the same article, Jeff thanked every Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ players for what they risked and went through.

“I tip my hat to the group of heroes and the villains for not only giving us 13 weeks of amazing television but also for everything they put at stake: reputations, family time, personal plans and careers to name a few… This was not an easy season for any of them. Every single player endured some kind of pain and/or hardship.”

Based on what Jeff wrote about the season’s players, it seemed clear that he recognized how incredible Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains was.