Overrated
S2: Kimmi boot. It's not bad; it's just that the finger thing is the most overplayed moment ever. And Colby's pep talk is too cheesy for my tastes.
S6: Christy boot. As I understand it, all the spoilers pointed towards Heidi leaving this episode, so it took everyone by surprise when Christy left. It's not a bad episode and it is pretty satisfying actually but I think it gets a little too much credit because it caught people off guard.
S7: Premiere. I know--sacrilege. Again, I like this episode and the Panamanian village is great, but I think I just love the concept of this episode more than the episode itself. It's absolutely one of the best premieres but still.
S8: Jerri boot. It's critical to the storyline, but the swap is unnecessary and I've never found it to be all that interesting an episode...and this is coming from someone who actually does enjoy ASS.
S9: Leann boot. The last 15 minutes? Absolutely amazing. Everything before that is a typical bland family visit episode.
S11: Premiere. The hike is cool in principle. But the overuse of Stephenie among other factors always make it difficult for me to get into this premiere.
S13: Brad boot. The mutiny episode. It's better than what came before it, but I still don't think this or the episode that followed were really the kick in the ass they're made out to be. The first two post-merge episodes, sure, but this one isn't really that amazing.
S15: Sherea boot. I love China; other than the finale there weren't any dud episodes to me but at the same time there weren't any that especially stood out as strong standalone episodes aside from the James boot. This entry is more to cover the spread of late pre-merge/early merge episodes of China that weren't really anything special for the most part but tend to get rated higher because of the overall season's popularity.
S16: Yau-man boot. I hate this episode. Don't really know what else to say.
Underrated
S2: Nick boot. Everyone says that this season dies when Jerri is booted but honestly, I think this episode is even better than the two that precede it. We have the first auction ever as well as Jeff coming to camp for the rice trade. Sure, the boot is ultimately predictable and inconsequential but that doesn't dictate the greatness of an episode.
S3: Clarence boot. You never see anyone talk about this but I think it's one of the best merge episodes ever. From the great immunity challenge to "I've never broken the honor of a handshake" to the mystery vote against Lex, it's one of Africa's most action-packed episodes.
S3: Frank boot. It's not a great episode per se but Frank's pro-NRA rant is a great forgotten moment that you never see on this show anymore.
S5: Jake boot. I think this one gets written off because it's one of the most predictable boots of all time. But Helen's husband is by far one of the greatest family visitors ever and the twist on the gross food challenge was pretty fun.
S9: Lisa boot. Vanuatu's pre-merge is lacking in a lot of ways, but this is a great episode. Rory is a dead man walking but things are looking up when Eliza and Leann suck majorly in the reward and immunity challenges respectively. Then Lisa makes a comment out of nowhere that Ami takes the wrong way and suddenly girl power takes a break for a TC.
S10: Caryn boot. The Gregg boot gets credit, but this episode that follows is nearly as intense. Caryn's rant at TC alone made this episode great.
S11: Blake boot. One of my all-time favorite episodes, and nobody ever mentions it. It's filled with awkward humor, plus "Bait Blake," Brandon's insane rope-chopping, Jamie's "Who's smilin' now?" and of course Bobby Jon's immortal "gay" reward challenge celebration.
S12: F4 TBC episode. I absolutely love this episode. By far the best episode of the season. The reward is kind of lame, but the reward challenge and its aftermath made for quite possibly my favorite challenge moment of all time. Nice note to end it on as well.
S18: Finale. The season as a whole was ho-hum but I honestly think this was the best finale since Palau. I loved how JT/Stephen turned the final TC into a debate and that for once there was actually a personal dilemma (that ended up being a moot point with who won the final challenge, but still, it's reassuring to have players who still show emotions even on day 38).
S2: Kimmi boot. It's not bad; it's just that the finger thing is the most overplayed moment ever. And Colby's pep talk is too cheesy for my tastes.
S6: Christy boot. As I understand it, all the spoilers pointed towards Heidi leaving this episode, so it took everyone by surprise when Christy left. It's not a bad episode and it is pretty satisfying actually but I think it gets a little too much credit because it caught people off guard.
S7: Premiere. I know--sacrilege. Again, I like this episode and the Panamanian village is great, but I think I just love the concept of this episode more than the episode itself. It's absolutely one of the best premieres but still.
S8: Jerri boot. It's critical to the storyline, but the swap is unnecessary and I've never found it to be all that interesting an episode...and this is coming from someone who actually does enjoy ASS.
S9: Leann boot. The last 15 minutes? Absolutely amazing. Everything before that is a typical bland family visit episode.
S11: Premiere. The hike is cool in principle. But the overuse of Stephenie among other factors always make it difficult for me to get into this premiere.
S13: Brad boot. The mutiny episode. It's better than what came before it, but I still don't think this or the episode that followed were really the kick in the ass they're made out to be. The first two post-merge episodes, sure, but this one isn't really that amazing.
S15: Sherea boot. I love China; other than the finale there weren't any dud episodes to me but at the same time there weren't any that especially stood out as strong standalone episodes aside from the James boot. This entry is more to cover the spread of late pre-merge/early merge episodes of China that weren't really anything special for the most part but tend to get rated higher because of the overall season's popularity.
S16: Yau-man boot. I hate this episode. Don't really know what else to say.
Underrated
S2: Nick boot. Everyone says that this season dies when Jerri is booted but honestly, I think this episode is even better than the two that precede it. We have the first auction ever as well as Jeff coming to camp for the rice trade. Sure, the boot is ultimately predictable and inconsequential but that doesn't dictate the greatness of an episode.
S3: Clarence boot. You never see anyone talk about this but I think it's one of the best merge episodes ever. From the great immunity challenge to "I've never broken the honor of a handshake" to the mystery vote against Lex, it's one of Africa's most action-packed episodes.
S3: Frank boot. It's not a great episode per se but Frank's pro-NRA rant is a great forgotten moment that you never see on this show anymore.
S5: Jake boot. I think this one gets written off because it's one of the most predictable boots of all time. But Helen's husband is by far one of the greatest family visitors ever and the twist on the gross food challenge was pretty fun.
S9: Lisa boot. Vanuatu's pre-merge is lacking in a lot of ways, but this is a great episode. Rory is a dead man walking but things are looking up when Eliza and Leann suck majorly in the reward and immunity challenges respectively. Then Lisa makes a comment out of nowhere that Ami takes the wrong way and suddenly girl power takes a break for a TC.
S10: Caryn boot. The Gregg boot gets credit, but this episode that follows is nearly as intense. Caryn's rant at TC alone made this episode great.
S11: Blake boot. One of my all-time favorite episodes, and nobody ever mentions it. It's filled with awkward humor, plus "Bait Blake," Brandon's insane rope-chopping, Jamie's "Who's smilin' now?" and of course Bobby Jon's immortal "gay" reward challenge celebration.
S12: F4 TBC episode. I absolutely love this episode. By far the best episode of the season. The reward is kind of lame, but the reward challenge and its aftermath made for quite possibly my favorite challenge moment of all time. Nice note to end it on as well.
S18: Finale. The season as a whole was ho-hum but I honestly think this was the best finale since Palau. I loved how JT/Stephen turned the final TC into a debate and that for once there was actually a personal dilemma (that ended up being a moot point with who won the final challenge, but still, it's reassuring to have players who still show emotions even on day 38).
<3).
Then we had the best and most underrated FTC of all time, imo. Vanuatu as a whole is really underrated, but the finale in particular deserves much more credit
than it gets.
