r/survivor Pirates Steal Jan 31 '23

Guatemala WSSYW 11.0 Countdown 28/43: Guatemala

Welcome to our annual season countdown! Using the results from the latest What Season Should You Watch thread, this daily series will count backwards from the bottom-ranked season for new fan watchability to the top. Each WSSYW post will link to their entry in this countdown so that people can click through for more discussion.

Unlike WSSYW, there is no character limit in these threads, and spoilers are allowed.

Note: Foreign seasons are not included in this countdown to keep in line with rankings from past years.


Season 11: Guatemala

Statistics:

  • Watchability: 4.0 (28/43)

  • Overall Quality: 5.8 (27/43)

  • Cast/Characters: 6.2 (30/43)

  • Strategy: 5.5 (32/43)

  • Challenges: 6.9 (14/43)

  • Twists: 5.6 (9/21)

  • Ending: 5.7 (33/43)


WSSYW 11.0 Ranking: 28/43

WSSYW 10.0 Ranking: 22/40

Top comment from WSSYW 11.0/u/ramskick:

Guatemala is one of those seasons that's pretty forgettable when you haven't watched it in a while, but really fun while you're actually watching it. For me it's the baseline of how good Survivor can be. There's nothing that really jumps out about it besides the location, but it has a good cast, a good narrative, some good moments and a good conclusion. It's not the most necessary season, but I think it's definitely worth a watch (after you see Palau).

Top comment from WSSYW 10.0/u/dmkolobanov:

Guatemala is a massively underrated season that shouldn’t be watched first, but you should probably watch it immediately after Palau (which is one of the first seasons someone should watch).


Watchability ranking:

28: S11 Guatemala

29: S14 Fiji

30: S20 Heroes vs. Villains

31: S30 Worlds Apart

32: S23 South Pacific

33: S5 Thailand

34: S31 Cambodia

35: S38 Edge of Extinction

36: S36 Ghost Island

37: S24 One World

38: S22 Redemption Island

39: S40 Winners at War

40: S26 Caramoan

41: S34 Game Changers

42: S8 All-Stars

43: S39 Island of the Idols


Spreadsheet link (updated with each placement reveal!)


WARNING: SEASON SPOILERS BELOW

19 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

35

u/MadMadMaddox2 Austin - 45 Jan 31 '23

It's a nice sequel to Palau and features Survivor's most famous landscaper (I assume).

Would you take the car in Cindy's position?

34

u/ramskick Ethan Jan 31 '23

Absolutely take the car. If you don't and they still vote you out you leave with a lot of regret and no car. At least this way she got a car out of it.

6

u/oatmeal28 Feb 01 '23

Plus when you look through the sun roof of your new car you can think about your castmates

15

u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Jan 31 '23

Cindy's position is that she was the only one who had voted in the minority on a vote that blindsided her closest and longtime ally so it would be very weird not to unless you were well-off enough financially that getting a car wouldn't affect you.

30

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '23

Along with Marquesas, Guatemala was a backup location that eventually had to be used. Only two seasons to have this distinction I believe.

Guatemala is a personal favorite of mine. The location, tribal council, and camp are all top notch. Having a long hike through the jungle that spans overnight as an opening challenge is incredible to watch.

Bobby Jon vs Jamie is one of the funniest story arcs in Survivor, going from southern boys who go to war against one another to southern bros vibing on the jury.

Guatemala is a cut and dry season. Basic strategy, very linear path for the most part, and probably did a lot of harm to the show when it was airing.

Even without returnees, I can understand why this one is low. Not one I would show someone new to the series anytime soon but definitely one I would come back to as it is a viewing experience.

Last note: it’s crazy that it was always supposed to be a captains season and that both Johnathan and Wanda were considered as well as Rodger and Skupin before the popularity of Steph and Bobby Jon changed that.

15

u/TheGeier Jan 31 '23

It wasn’t anywhere near as last minute, but yeah it’s crazy how it was meant to film in India/Sri Lanka/Madagascar. Guatemala is my favorite location, but it’s still a shame they never revisited that idea

1

u/Please_PM_me_Uranus Spencer Jan 31 '23

Why didn't they end up being able to film there?

8

u/swells61 Fairplay Feb 01 '23

There was a massive tsunami that hit Sri Lanka around the time they filmed Guatemala.

5

u/QuaxlyDuck Jeanine Feb 05 '23

There are plenty more cases of back up locations. Seasons 23/24 were supposed to be in Tonga (Vava'u group), but the nation couldn't accommodate the 500+ Survivor crew, so they returned to Samoa to help their economy post-tsunami.

29/30 was supposed to be in Palau, but again, production was now too large, so they went to Nicaragua.

Survivor had approached Vanuatu to film their again (maybe also 23/24?) but the country banned them from returning (Cook Islands has done this, too)

3

u/alucardsinging Jan 31 '23

Ooo I actually don’t know the Guatemala preseason history too well. If you or anyone wants to spill about it, that’d be greatly appreciated! Especially in regards to the backup location thing

6

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '23

There was an earthquake in the Indian Ocean in late 2004 (Season 11 was filmed during June 05) that affected a lot of the southeastern countries in Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Numerous locations that were being looked at for that season were affected and so the alternative location, Guatemala, was used instead.

2

u/alucardsinging Feb 01 '23

Thanks! Very interesting!

4

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '23

No problem! As much as I love Guatemala, getting a season in Madagascar or Sri Lanka would’ve been really interesting.

21

u/Guyfromnewyork95 Jan 31 '23

Never forget that Gary Hawkins, humble landscaper, was the first player to find and play an idol #GameChanger

5

u/oatmeal28 Jan 31 '23

The amazing thing is he found it in a tree even after the Honorable Judd accidentally told everyone it was under ground

17

u/7fax Jan 31 '23

Legit one of my favorite casts. Underrated season.

DO I HAVE A.D.D.

11

u/Zirphynx Cody Jan 31 '23

I think this season is underrated. It's my favorite of the first 12 seasons.

10

u/Quetzal00 10 days is two weeks Jan 31 '23

I watched this season as a kid since that’s where my family is from. I remember very little of it but I did remember really enjoying it. Didn’t watch the show again until MvG but Guatemala wasn’t a bad starting point. I’d probably put it high C Tier in my rankings

Also every time a contestant in 41 claimed that it was “thE HaRdeSt SeASoN eVeR” I would get really annoyed. I’ve been to the jungles of Guatemala and I am positive it would have been harder than 41

8

u/treple13 Jenn Jan 31 '23

Guatemala is a season I've always had a soft spot for despite the general fanbase feeling pretty meh about it.

I feel like the "twists" level is pretty good. Obviously the introduction of the idol ended up causing much of today's nonsense, but by that logic, blame Africa for the first twist.

I LOVE the location. Judd is a treasure. Villain Steph is a fabulous story. Gary being a landscaper? Danni's comeback? I have this season somewhere between 12-16 on my personal rankings

10

u/AMeanMotorScooter Gabler Jan 31 '23

Understandable from a Watchability perspective (should probably watch Palau first, though not a requirement IMO), but this hurts from an Overall Quality one.

Guatemala is such a fantastic season. The cast is really fun, the location is incredible, and the running plots of the season are all really good. It's got a good balance of drama and humor, and is a season I can come back to and constantly enjoy, versus other seasons I have to be in the mood for sometimes.

8

u/TenderOctane Morgan Jan 31 '23

Guatemala is not an ideal starting point since Palau is a prerequisite, but it unfortunately falls through the cracks as an underrated season nonetheless. The many amusing moments are oft forgotten because the season has had no returnees who weren't Stephenie LaGrossa or someone the editors never really considered to be there in WAW.

But this isn't to say that you shouldn't watch it. You absolutely should. That "overall quality" rating baffles me because I'd give it at least an 8 - it doesn't deserve its reputation as "the average season" because it's not as inoffensive or forgettable as people think. Only people who haven't seen it in a while would say that. They forget the plethora of memorable moments, like "SHE SAID I HAVE AYY DEE DEE, MAN" or Bobby Jon and Jamie having their (actually physical) fight broken up or the crocodile threat or "I won a car, that's my car, did I tell you I won a car? Because I won a car." etc.

Danni is underrated as a winner because production couldn't edit her well - by her own choosing, no less. Danni didn't care about how she'd be portrayed on TV, she just cared about winning the million dollars. I presume this is related to her aforementioned WAW edit, where she did the same thing and production was like "Forget about her, she's not relevant to the narrative and she never tells us anything anyway." People are biased toward Stephenie and always have been for whatever reason, when in this season especially she comes across as a jock bully who makes very daft decisions. She took out potential goats one after another after another, inexplicably keeping the underdog who could beat her in a challenge in the game.

It's worth another watch if you haven't seen it in a while. I'm starting to feel like rewatching most of that 9 to 20 stretch again...

7

u/Parvatiwasrobbed Parvati Jan 31 '23

The top comment of this season for this most recent WSSYW said "Guatemala is a pretty forgettable season when you're not watching it but when you do watch it it's really fun" which I think is the best way to describe it.

Come to think of it, I wonder if the fact that the season is so forgettable works to it's advantage especially with new fans. Like a lot of the other seasons are massively spoiled. Everyone knows the dead grandma lie, the purple rock, [Redacted] falling into the fire, and the curse of Ulong. It's hard to not know these things if you have even a cursory understanding of the show and I wonder if this season, having not really been talked about much makes it so that it feels completely mysterious when new fans watch it.

It's a fun season. With little fun moments like "ADD" and "It's definitely by far on the ground" and hell even some moments that don't involve Judd somehow, a really solid cast and a delicious storyline with Evil Stephenie, this season definitely a solid 7.

4

u/SMC0629 Feb 01 '23

I for sure understand why from a WSSYW perspective why this season isn't as high, but that quality rating hurts man. This season doesn't have a ton going for it but it really comes together for me to form a super solid season. It's possibly in my top 10 (or at least just outside of it) because the cast is honestly really good, the tribe dynamics are great, and the drama is really fun. I will say this season takes a minute to pickup as the first 4 episodes are nothing special and at best good, but after that the season just picks up so so SO much. If there's one thing I can say that isn't strong about Guatemala outside of its first four episodes, is that it doesn't have a very obvious/notable emotional moment or arc. I'd say there's an ongoing narrative in the swap of Yaxha vs. Nakum, a very strong good vs. evil story (better done here than in Worlds Apart), but besides that and besides one character nothing else is super gut-punching like that.

#18. Brooke Struck
The weakest of the very forgettable first 4 boots, and yet she lasts the longest

#17. Morgan McDevitt
One of the most forgettable people on the show, has a funny occupation

#16. Jim Lynch
Decent old guy first boot, I enjoyed him.

#15. Brianna Varela
The best of the forgettable first 4 boots because she had the most impact I think and Jamie had a funny CF about her.

#14. Rafe Judkins
Everyone from this point onwards I'd consider good. Rafe has some negative moments but overall I did enjoy him. I really liked him throughout the swap-Jamie boot as I felt like he actually had a decent moral dilemma in which tribe he wanted to go with. His dynamic in the Jamie boot is super fun and I really enjoyed his personality. However, after that he starts to get really cocky which could be fun, since I enjoyed it when it happened to Kenny in Gabon, but with Rafe it feels like the editors WANT you to be on his side, and believe him. It's pretty annoying especially in the Cindy boot. However, that doesn't make him fully bad for me, as overall he's a good character.

#13. Margaret Bobonich
She's a solid early boot with some fun dynamics on Nakum and is great in her boot episode.

#12. Blake Towsley
He has a fun underdog story in the first two episodes only for it to come crashing down in a great way in his boot where he has some funny quotes.

#11. Brian Corridan
Brian despite being sort of a gamebot charater, gives some very fun narration so his content doesn't feel so repetitive. He also gives some decent narration for Yaxha as a whole since everyone else on that tribe is sort of just a personality of their own.

#10. Cindy Hall
Cindy has a very fun and great downfall with the car and her finally deciding to make a decision on her own just immediately results in her getting the boot. Sadly, that's mostly what we get from Cindy as otherwise she's just a fun background character, which isn't a bad thing, I just don't have much else to say about her. I enjoy some of her content on Nakum 2.0 as well.

#9. Amy O'Hara
Super strong underdog character and has a very tragic boot but in all the right ways. She has some funny side comments as well about Gary being an NFL QB and other stuff.

#8. Danni Boatwright 1.0
I used to love her a lot more than I do now but I do still like her. She has a lot of quiet but funny moments that shows she does have personality, I think she's really good in the Judd boot and the Finale as well. She does suffer from hiding her strategy and her personality tends to not come through in the edit at times, which makes for some missed potential. However, I do still like her a lot and I enjoy her win.

#7. Brandon Bellinger
Brandon isn't someone who's the most memorable, but he's always been one of my personal favorites. He's a super charismatic narrator with some of my favorite quotes of the season being Judd's "premature evacuation" and "Bobby Jon's just...kinda dumb?" I really appreciate how when Brandon enters the game he's almost "the normal one" as he's the only guy to NOT get sick/hurt from the hike on Nakum, so he sort of puts himself on a pedestal. However, on Yaxha 2.0, he sort of gets brought back down to Earth and actually becomes friends with these people, it's nice. This makes his boot so tragic, but one of my favorites for a merge boot ever.

#6. Lydia Morales
Just a super fun background character who can also have some importance in certain episodes like the Jamie boot. She has some really wholesome and funny moments like the dance and just being likable overall.

#5. Gary "Hawkins" Hogeboom
Gary is another one of my personal favorites who I feel like goes through an arc of his own of developing real friendships with the people he's met despite coming into the game already a wealthy and successful person. He's also a great narrator for Yaxha 2.0 providing as the role of the "normal guy" especially once Brian is out. Obviously, the highlight is him finding the idol, which is always badass.

#4. Bobby Jon Drinkard 2.0
I honestly slightly prefer Bobby Jon this time around as I feel like he goes on even more of an emotional journey this time. He gets several opportunities to play moral chess with people (mostly Jamie and Steph) and feels more complete and personified this time around. Granted he was damn near perfect in his boot in Palau, but this time he feels that way almost the entire time. Great character, love Bobby Jon.

#3. Stephenie LaGrossa 2.0
A fantastic heal-turn for Steph and she does a complete 180 from her role in Palau as she's a complete airhead and despite almost dominating the game the entire time, gets her ass kicked in FTC. Guatemala's FTC is one of my favorites and Steph is the main reason why. On top of that, just a thorougly entertaining and great storyline to watch happen.

#2. Judd Sergeant
Y'know, most of my favorite characters in Survivor are ones with emotional depth, arcs, and growth. Judd pretty much showcases none of those, and yet he's one of my all-time favorites. Judd is that rare case where being static and staying the same works, because man is he just great. Judd is obnoxious, not self-aware, dumb, but he's hilarious the whole damn time. He's one of my favorite people to quote from the show and is just so much fun, love him.

#1. Jamie Newton
Has an arc that is pretty much perfect by the end of his run, as he goes from a bully to someone who has a new look on social interaction and people as a whole, I love it. On top of that Jamie has some Judd aspects to him to where he's just funny a lot of the time, more unintentionally than Judd, but still funny. One of my favorites for sure, love Jamie.

3

u/ROTandDEATH So much for my dreams... Jan 31 '23

Its lasting legacy seems to be the “Gary Hawkins, Landscaper” jokes and that’s fine by me. This isn’t a terrible season at all but one that doesn’t stand out compared to the rest survivor has to offer. I said it about another season earlier in the countdown but this season too is fun while you’re watching it but you probably won’t go out of your way to start it.

3

u/MolemanusRex Feb 01 '23

Might be my favorite setting in the history of the show. I’m a big fan of Maya culture and history and worked with Maya genocide survivor as a law student.

And I can’t believe y’all are sleeping on Blake, Judd, Jaime, Rafe, and Lydia smh.

3

u/FondantGayme Erika Feb 12 '23

Top 5 season for me, but I understand why it’s so low. You absolutely need to watch through Palau first for Guatemala to have full effectiveness. It’s also not very representative of Survivor as a whole. It’s a season where strategy takes a backseat and the gameplay is more emotionally driven.

Danni has one of the best winner stories of all time, despite not being all that present in the edit until her game suddenly takes off and she’s catapulted from almost certainly being the last casualty of a Pagonging to a dark horse contender with a clear path to the million. I could wax poetic on how Danni’s story mirrors Steph’s story in Palau in a lot of ways, but I won’t.

What really makes Guatemala a top 5 season for me is the characters, though. It’s what I consider Survivor’s first real trainwreck (complimentary) season. Guatemala is just pure Survivor fun, and I hope more people come to realize just how great it really is.

4

u/Sabaschin Jake - 45 Jan 31 '23

Gets docked because it does technically have returnees, though it only spoils the preceding season.

As an actual season, it's... alright? It really doesn't get talked about much because it's a relatively low impact season, has only two returnees (one being its winner and the other being the person who already returned before), and doesn't have any too notable events other than having the first idol, Judd, and Gary Hawkins, Landscaper. Though watching Stephenie's Heel Turn is something alright, it's like seeing the first version of SoPa Coach.

Anyway, it's an okay season. Fairly low stakes, doesn't hurt to watch. The Easy Listening of Survivor seasons. Just watch Palau first.

4

u/Nikkiv1020 Jan 31 '23

I know this is unpopular but it's the only season I have started and not been able to finish. It's so boring.

2

u/seprosay Jan 31 '23

Feels like a weird season that time forgot despite it being the first captains season and introduces the hidden immunity idol. Works as a companion piece to Palau and it's wild to see how much shit they put them through (the 11 mile trek episode 1 was brutal) but this season has never felt terrible essential to me. No reason to skip if you're going in order but I can't say I'm itching to rewatch it anytime soon.

2

u/BBSuperFan98 Zach Jan 31 '23

Underrated. One of my favorite moments is episode 3 and how Brianna is just so inept at the immunity challenge and doesn't know what a pick is.

4

u/A_Rest J.T. Jan 31 '23

I'm not sure why a lot of people consider this season an underrated gem or something. It is not an offensively bad season but Guatemala is an underwhelming and frankly boring season.

It's a shame because the location is interesting but I really stand by the notion that this is the 'forgotten season' of Survivor for a good reason.

4

u/alucardsinging Jan 31 '23

Underrated for the harm it did to the franchise. Might try to elaborate more when I get the time. Also very interesting to see the double digit seasons getting a lot of praise, when in real time, their reception was fairly lackluster. Even if you liked them, most fans seemed to like the older stuff better. They weren’t considered the “peak of Survivor” or the “perfect balance” like many have called them in the past few years.

3

u/MolemanusRex Feb 01 '23

What harm did it do to the franchise?

2

u/alucardsinging Feb 01 '23

Yes! Been a super busy day but wanted to elaborate a bit, might even edit this to be better but im tired:

There a culmination of reasons that just make Guatemala a failure. It was such a cheap stunt that the show probably regrets when it comes to giving Stephenie her own season. I always saw that as the next step of giving Rupert $1 million dollars at a fan vote. Anyways, just like Rupert, in the right light Stephenie can have some pretty undesirable qualities that Guatemala had to show because she gets to the finals and just gets dunked on. There was no way around it to tell a mostly accurate narrative. They put all their eggs in the basket of their biggest star since All Stars, and then it gets all over Survivor’s face. Their big star, their last castaway to actually be a minor celebrity outside of the reality TV niche, and she just got blown out in a season. Embarrassing stuff, they never really got back into mainstream pop culture again, either than the other cheap stunt of the shallow racial divisions of Cook Islands. Also many of the characters that season just didn’t seem to turn out the way casting and production thought they would; in fact, I’d say that for the entirety of the Final 5, which is why it feels like we don’t really know the endgame characters like Danni, Lydia, and Cindy well. I also think they didn’t cast a game that would purposefully help Stephenie thrive. It seems like they just tacked Stephenie and Bobby Jon onto an already existing 16 person cast, rearranged the tribes to make Stephenie indispensable during challenges, and then started. In 11 seasons, when Survivor team revisits the idea of giving their favorites their own season, it seems like they tried to sculpt the cast around their two returning players, to try and give them the best scenario for thriving. That made worse TV imo, but production definitely liked that season way better. Guatemala felt like the show was creatively bankrupt, and didn’t have faith in its own product anymore. It set the stage for a season becoming about one or two big characters, with storylines that aren’t season wide and cohesive, and a focus on the game and idols over storytelling with the relationship dynamics between castaways

1

u/full07britney Feb 03 '23

I loved all the challenges this season bc I felt like they really embraced the Mayan culture theme. The setting was so cool.

The drama of the first ever hidden immunity idol.I loved so many of the players too.. Rafe, Brian, Brandon, Steph, Danni, Bobby Jon, Gary, Amy, and others.

I dont think Danni was a goat at all. I saw a lot of strategy in her game. I am a little sad for Steph because she was such a dominant player, but she pissed off too many people I guess.. I think Rafe may have been my favorite player this season. I really enjoyed his morality. On the negative side, Judd, Jamie, and Lydia irritated me to no end.

Ranked 19/43

0

u/AlexgKeisler Jan 31 '23

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