It was definitely an up and down season, all things considered. It had moments of total greatness, but also moments of being very average. In this respect, it reminds me of Cook Islands. When at its highs, the show has almost never been higher. But at its lows, the show has almost never been lower.

LOWS:
Exile Island - please, PLEASE ditch these awful concept. It's been done. It achieves nothing. It's boring. The same person got sent there every single time this season, and it added nothing to the whole concept. The hidden idol worked much better in China, Fiji and Micronesia when it was hidden AT THE CAMP, not at Exile. It's been 6 seasons and Exile Island has just sucked. The kidnapping twist in China was much more interesting and proved a great help in making that season so memorable.

Villains - I think there was a real lack of people to root for. Yes, Bob was likeable but not the most entertaining guy in the world. Susie was invisible. Sugar was so up and down. Matty was so bland. Ken was great yet edited like an asshole for half the time. Crystal was another great character, also treated like crap by the editors. Randy's nice moments all got edited out, leaving only a skeleton of an otherwise very complex personality. Corrinne was just a disgusting, vile woman who really brings the integrity of the show down a few notches. And Marcus is just a disgusting, self obsessed scumbag. It's bitter assholes like him on juries that ultimately ruin the game.

Dan being voted off - Sorry, I just loved this guy. He rocked! Wish he'd been kept instead of Susie, and made it long into the game. Just a likeable, good looking guy.

Lack of genuinely likeable, nicely edited people - I think this season, similar to Fiji, spent too much time focusing on the nasty characteristics of people. It was as if nobody had any redeeming or nice qualities about them, and that does not make for great tv (even if it's entertaining). It's like being a fly on the wall at a party full of people that hate each other... it's almost narcicisstic to watch in an entertaining way, but you don't want to be a part of it. When I think back to seasons like Outback or Pearl Islands, it was ultimately the nice people that I would come back to watch every week. We enjoy hanging out with friends, not enemies. It's this focus on the negative that has ruined a lot of good seasons, like Guatemala and All Stars. Although Micronesia was a great season, it had this air of darkness as well.. it's just cold to edit the show and not show the positives more often. The best moments of Gabon were definitely Sugar scattering her dad's ashes, Kenny stuck in the middle of the river on the boat, Matty's proposal, Bob reading the family letter, and Randy discussing that his dog was the only person he ever loved. It's really touching moments like this which go a long, long way to creating memorable characters. I challenge you to find anything as touching about any of the 'fans' from Micronesia, bar Krazy Kathy's struggle to survive and Eric and the ice cream serving lifestyle.

Final Immunity Challenge - Sorry, but this is, as Dal said, the worst final IC they've ever had. What a disaster. I utterly hated watching this challenge. No tension, no chance of it being a tight race, and really what the hell does a card stacking challenge have to do with Survivor, fire, water, the themes of the show, or Gabon? Nothing... it's so left of field. Pretty much every other final IC beats this, even Micronesia's (which also sucked and had nothing to do with the show, but was at least endurance based).

Onions - Don't care what you say, and I don't have much to say about them, but these 4 (well maybe not Jackquie coz she left so early) are just disgusting human beings. Marcus is a loser, Corrinne is a vile scumbag, Charlie is just a peer pressured follower. Seriously, SERIOUSLY despise these people more than anyone I've ever seen on Survivor before... Marcus ESPECIALLY. Every word that comes out of his mouth just sounds so self-appointed and self-appreciating, like the whole world owes him. Like Survivor owed him a win, because he "deserved" it the most just because Marcus is..Marcus. You only need to see their treatment of Crystal at Ponderosa to learn why they are such awful people. HATE! HATE HATE! Anyway, they left early, good.

Hidden II - Please, PLEASE ditch this concept, or at least shake it up Probst! We've had the damn thing since Guatemala and we've exhausted basically everything it can do (except someone giving it away, and in turn being booted because of that person using it -- but this will probably never happen after Micronesia). Sugar just held onto the damn thing till the end and even then it had zero bearing on that Tribal Council.

18 castaways - Please, just go back to 16... PLEASE. I know Micronesia scared you with all the evacuations, but please... 16 worked flawlessly in China and I thought you said you'd stick with that number for a while!

HIGHS
Sugar - Ultimately, she got the good edit because she was responsible for pretty much every blindside and every unexpected boot. I might not like the fact that my favourites (Kenny, Crystal, Randy) were booted because of her, but I still respect that she played the hardest and the best, though ironically, the worst. She can't have been playing to win because she was a horrible sport overall. You aren't meant to treat jurors like crap when they decide who wins in the end. Anyway, she was good to watch, and I agree she deserved the $100k more than already-a-millionairre Bob. I wondered earlier in the week whether or not the winner was allowed to win the extra cash, seeing as they already won the game. They should be excluded or something.

Blindsides, Marcus's boot - Marcus being booted is the happiest moment all season, loved it! And there were some good surprise boots along the way. Good stuff. The fake hidden idols had more bearing on things than the HII itself, which is surely an indication that the HII has run its course.

Jury thoughts while Final 3 walk to TC - They haven't done this for years, great to see it come back even if only for a few jurors. I absolutely loved this part of the finale in the early seasons, where the finalists walk to TC to the narration of the jurors who give their thoughts on how they played the game. It really plays up the importance of the jurors and gives some insight into their deliberation -- much moreso than just one question at TC and, if we're lucky, seeing who they vote for and why.

HIGH DEFINITION - Easily one of the best decisions they've made technically, watching this season in HD was an absolute blast. Kudos to the crew for making it a reality and making it work. It's almost painful watching old seasons now, because of how low the quality is by comparison. The great side-effect of being in HD is it looks like they want to stick with vast, epic locations to really show off the crispness and detail of the camerawork. Gabon and next Tocantins are fresh locations for the show, and it's great to see them staying away from repetitive islands!

Bob winning - It could have been far worse... I agree Susie was a victim of editing, but she was also an annoying idiot. Of the 3 I liked Bob most, and overall he made enough smart moves to earn victory. The fake idols were indeed genius and I think he genuinely earned his place as the oldest winner in Survivor history. Well done Bob! Not my favourite, but a good guy nonetheless.

Bring on Tocantins!!!