Survivor: Ghost Island is the 36th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Ghost Island was filmed in the summer of 2017 and premiered on February 28, 2018, on CBS with a two-hour episode. The season concluded on May 23, 2018. This season was the fifth to be filmed in Fiji, surpassing Nicaragua, the Philippines and Samoa for the highest number of Survivor seasons filmed in a single country.
 For the first time since Survivor: Borneo, the jury's votes were read at Final Tribal Council. This season also marks the first time in Survivor history in which two players were tied for having the most jury votes at the Final Tribal Council. Domenick Abbate and Wendell Holland each received five votes from the jury, while Laurel Johnson received none. In order to break the tie, Johnson joined the jury and used her deciding vote to award the title of Sole Survivor to Holland.
 This season introduced Ghost Island, a secluded location similar to Exile Island, where castaways were banished for short periods. The island was decorated with mementos and props from previous seasons of Survivor, including torch snuffers and immunity idols.
 With few exceptions, castaways were exiled to Ghost Island after being chosen by the winners of the reward challenge. The challenge winners were required to unanimously choose a losing castaway; if they were unable to do so, the losing castaways would draw colored rocks to determine who would be exiled. On Ghost Island, exiled castaways were instructed to smash the next in a series of urns, some of which would allow the castaway to compete in a game of chance for an advantage in the game. The advantages were taken from previous seasons of Survivor, all of which were misplayed in their original seasons. Exiled castaways were given the opportunity to acquire these advantages under the premise of learning from past castaways' mistakes.
 The game of chance would require the castaway to wager their vote at their next Tribal Council in order to play. In initial games, castaways were presented with two bamboo shoots, of which one contained an advantage while the other would cost them their vote; for each lost or unplayed game, subsequent games would add another shoot with an advantage, increasing subsequent castaways' odds at winning. 
 Extending the theme of using misplayed advantages from previous seasons, the hidden immunity idols this season were misplayed items from previous seasons.
 Wendell Holland returned to compete on Survivor: Winners at War.
 Outside of Survivor, Domenick Abbate competed on the first season of the CBS crossover reality competition, The Challenge: USA 1. Sebastian Noel competed on the second season of the show.
 The 20 castaways were divided into two tribes: Malolo and Naviti. Naviti fared better in challenges but was divided by a conflict between Domenick and Chris. Through two tribe shuffles, Naviti held the majority on every tribe; some, such as Kellyn, held strong to eliminate original Malolos, while others, like Domenick and his closest ally Wendell, worked to consolidate power at the merge, forming an alliance with original Malolos Donathan and Laurel.
 At the merge, Domenick led the tribe in eliminating Chris before the majority began picking off the remaining original Malolos. However, they began to turn on the female Naviti alliance members, sending Chelsea and Kellyn home when the two led a charge to turn on Domenick and Wendell. Both Domenick and Wendell had hidden immunity idols; Donathan later turned against them to try and flush their idols, but he was unable to rally enough votes against them and was eliminated.
 The final four were Domenick, Laurel, Wendell and outsider Angela. Domenick won the final immunity challenge and turned on Wendell as the biggest remaining threat. He decided to bring Laurel to the end of the game, leaving Angela to face Wendell in the fire-making challenge to determine the third finalist, which Wendell won. At the final Tribal Council, the jury debated between Domenick's more aggressive strategic game and Wendell's more relaxed social game, and the ten jurors tied the vote, with five votes each on Domenick and Wendell. Laurel, as the third-place finalist with zero votes, cast the tie-breaking vote for Wendell, crowning him the Sole Survivor. 
 Host Jeff Probst explained the Ghost Island premise to the 20 new castaways upon their arrival, saying that they had a chance to reverse the curse of bad Survivor decisions if they were to visit Ghost Island. Jeff instructed each tribe to choose a leader: Malolo selected Brendan, while Chris volunteered for Naviti. Jeff also told the castaways they would only start with a machete, pot, a fishing kit, and a smaller supply of rice. 
 For Malolo and Naviti, respectively, Michael and Sebastian were selected to run the course, while Laurel and Desiree were selected for the puzzle. Chris pulled the lever on Desiree, preserving Naviti's fishing kit, but giving the larger reward to Malolo. As the Malolo tribe set up their shelter and got to know each other, Jacob openly stated his intention to search for a hidden immunity idol, causing his tribemates to distrust him. He also poured some of the tribe's rice in his dirty sock to see if a clue was hidden in the jar, though there was not. Meanwhile, at the Naviti camp, a power struggle started between Chris and Domenick, who questioned Chris's decision to forfeit the opening challenge.
 Naviti won the challenge, and also received a flint reward, as Malolo already had flint after winning the first reward challenge. For winning the immunity challenge, Naviti had to send one person from Malolo to Ghost Island, where they would be immune from the vote; Naviti sent Jacob after he declared Malolo was the best tribe in Survivor history. On Ghost Island, Jacob had to break an urn to play a game for an advantage; if he lost, he would have to forfeit his vote at the next Tribal Council. He subsequently won a game of chance which gave him Sierra's legacy advantage from Game Changers. He had to will it to someone from Naviti, and he chose Morgan. He also made a fake idol. At Malolo, the tribe had to come up with a new plan, as Jacob was their intended target. Gonzalez rallied votes against Donathan for being the tribe's weakest link, but at Tribal Council, her paranoia got the better of her as she whispered to her tribemates, asking who they were targeting that night. Although everyone told her they were targeting Donathan, it was revealed that they had lied to her, and Gonzalez was unanimously blindsided, becoming the first person voted out.
 At Naviti, Domenick searched for a hidden immunity idol in the middle of the night, which he eventually found; it was revealed to be Andrea's idol from Caramoan. The next morning, he attempted to bury the hatchet with Chris, but the tension still lingered between the two. Domenick told Chris he found an idol moments after telling him the opposite, which caused Chris to distrust him. At Malolo, Jacob kept the legacy advantage information to himself and told his tribemates he found an idol on Ghost Island, but that he had left the paper behind, making Brendan suspicious.
 Naviti easily won after James could not even dive a foot in the water. Donathan panicked before eventually diving down and releasing the buoys for Malolo. Naviti sent Donathan to Ghost Island, and the urn he smashed was a dud. At Malolo, Stephanie considered working with Jacob to blindside Michael, but Jacob spilled the beans about the legacy advantage to Stephanie. At Tribal Council, Libby and Michael voted against James in case Jacob did indeed have a real idol, but ultimately, the tribe stuck to the original plan, sending Jacob out of the game.
 The morning after Jacob's elimination, Jeff announced a tribe swap. The new Malolo tribe consisted of Bradley, Brendan, Chelsea, Desiree, Jenna, Kellyn, Michael, Sebastian, and Stephanie. The new Naviti tribe consisted of Angela, Chris, Domenick, Donathan, James, Laurel, Libby, Morgan, and Wendell. At the new Naviti tribe, Chris tried to rally votes against Domenick, but his attitude set Angela and Libby off. Morgan was suspicious of Chris, and she and Libby aligned. At the new Malolo tribe, Bradley's complaining over Malolo's shelter got on some people's nerves, while Michael and Brendan found one of James's idols from China.
 Malolo won the challenge; after they couldn't decide who from Naviti to send to Ghost Island, the Naviti members drew rocks to determine who would go. Chris drew the odd-colored rock, foiling Domenick's plan to blindside him. On Ghost Island, the urn Chris smashed was empty, and he opened up about his mother's struggle with multiple sclerosis. At Naviti, Angela wanted to stay strong with her old tribe members and vote out Libby, but Wendell saw Angela as Chris's "right-hand man", and started to rally votes against her. Meanwhile, Domenick showed his fake idol to the former Malolo members to build trust with them, but James didn't believe him and, seeing an opportunity to control the vote as Naviti was set to turn on Angela, pitched an idea to the other former Malolo members to vote out Morgan, which Libby objected to. However, at Tribal Council, Libby reluctantly sided with the majority, sending a shocked Morgan out of the game. Before her exit, Morgan willed the legacy advantage to Domenick.
 While attempting to regroup after Morgan's blindside, Domenick told Wendell he found a real idol. The next morning, he found the legacy advantage willed to him by Morgan.
 Before the challenge, Jeff revealed that someone would visit Ghost Island and return before the immunity challenge, meaning they would also be vulnerable if their tribe were to visit Tribal Council. Naviti won the challenge and immediately chose to have Malolo draw rocks; Kellyn was sent to Ghost Island immediately after she explained that being separated was her worst Survivor fear. Although the urn she smashed allowed her to play the game of chance, she decided not to risk losing her vote. At Naviti, a confused and angry Chris learned from Angela about Domenick's alliance's betrayal; they planned on aligning with the former Malolo members, but Donathan talked to Wendell about working together and Laurel talked to Domenick, who revealed his idol to her.
 Although Malolo had a huge lead through the chest-carrying stage, Naviti pulled off a massive comeback and edged out Malolo during the ball-tossing stage to win immunity, largely thanks to Chris's efforts. Stephanie was put off by Bradley's arrogant attitude and was even more offended when Bradley flat-out told her there was no hope for her alliance. The Naviti majority wanted to weaken the other alliance and Chelsea proposed voting out Michael or Brendan; the Naviti alliance proceeded to debate on which of the two to vote out. Michael revealed his idol to Stephanie and Jenna, which gave the alliance hope. At Tribal Council, Brendan declared Sebastian and Chelsea to be on the bottom of an alliance led by Bradley, and Michael encouraged them to flip after he pulled out his idol, falsely calling it a double immunity idol in an attempt to throw the opposing alliance off their game. Before the votes were read, Michael played his idol for Stephanie, but the Naviti majority voted against Brendan instead, sending him out of the game.
 Michael apologized to the Naviti alliance if they felt offended by his gameplay, and he was upset with himself about making the wrong decision over whom to play the idol for.
 Chris led Naviti to an easy victory. The tribe instantly decided to go to rocks to determine who from Malolo would go to Ghost Island. Stephanie was sent to Ghost Island; her urn was empty. At Naviti, Chris and Donathan bonded over having to take care of their families. 
 Naviti won immunity yet again. The Naviti majority debated on who to vote out; they decided that Jenna was an easy, safe vote, but Michael was the biggest threat. Jenna flirted with Sebastian to save herself, while Michael pled his case to Bradley, saying they needed him for the challenges. Desiree searched Stephanie's bag for an advantage and didn't find one. At Tribal Council, each of the original Malolo members pled their case, and Stephanie was unanimously voted out.
 On Day 15, Jeff announced another tribe swap. The new Malolo tribe consisted of Angela, Desiree, James, Kellyn, and Michael. The new Naviti tribe consisted of Bradley, Chelsea, Domenick, Donathan, and Libby. A third tribe, Yanuya, consisted of Chris, Jenna, Laurel, Sebastian, and Wendell. On the newly formed Yanuya tribe, Chris's ego rubbed his new tribemates, especially Laurel, the wrong way. On the new Malolo tribe, Angela was still angry from her old tribemates' betrayal; she and James proceeded to inform their new tribemates about the cracks in the old Naviti tribe. Meanwhile, James was wary of Michael, as Michael had voted against him at Malolo's second Tribal Council. On the new Naviti tribe, Domenick immediately didn't trust Libby and voiced his concerns to Bradley.
 Wendell forgot one of Yanuya's bags, but he made up for the deficit, leading his tribe from last to first place, and Naviti placed second. Desiree was upset with herself over her poor leadership in the challenge, but Kellyn suggested to her and Angela that they vote out James, who later tried to bring Angela to his side. After a talk with Angela, Kellyn was skeptical of Angela's loyalty, but at Tribal Council, Angela stayed loyal and Michael joined the former Naviti members in blindsiding James out of the game.
 At Malolo, knowing he was the sole outsider, Michael searched for a hidden immunity idol. He managed to find Ozzy's fake idol from Micronesia, now a real idol.
 Malolo lost yet another challenge. For placing first, Naviti had the power to send someone from either Yanuya or Malolo to Ghost Island; they unanimously decided to send Kellyn, since she had been there before. On Ghost Island, Kellyn was again given a game of chance to play. She was to pick from three urns instead of two; two held advantages, while one would cost her vote at the next Tribal Council. She won the vote stealer from Game Changers that Michaela failed to find, now downgraded to only an extra vote. At Naviti, Bradley's condescending attitude towards Donathan and Domenick rubbed them the wrong way. At Yanuya, Wendell took advantage of an opportunity to look for an idol while his tribemates were asleep. He spotted a unique tree and discovered a map to a hidden immunity idol at its base, which he then found. The idol was revealed to be the immunity necklace that Erik gave to Natalie in Micronesia and getting voted out. At Malolo, the tribe burned their flag's banner under Desiree's lead to reverse the curse of their losing streak.
 Yanuya placed first and Malolo finally ended their losing streak, sending Naviti to Tribal Council. Bradley targeted Libby, but Chelsea talked to Libby about voting out Bradley. She and Domenick were later torn between voting out Libby or Bradley, but ultimately, they decided to unanimously vote Bradley out.
 On Day 20, the three tribes merged on Naviti's beach. Although the Naviti members initially planned on picking off the Malolo members, Chris and Domenick were still at odds; Wendell tried to play moderator, to no avail. Jenna and Libby considered whether to side with Chris or Domenick. Chris found a note randomly placed in his buff, which led him to find a clue in tree mail, saying the idol was on Ghost Island; he would travel there late that night while everyone else was asleep. He found J.T.'s Game Changers idol in plain sight, but it was only good at the next Tribal Council. However, a game of chance allowed him to extend the life of the idol for up to 5 extra Tribal Councils; there were 10 chests to choose from. He extended the idol once, but lost his vote at the next Tribal Council.
 Kellyn outlasted Libby to win immunity. Back at camp, Chris gathered everyone except Domenick and Wendell in an attempt to dictate a split vote between  those two in case Domenick played his idol. While they were alone, Wendell told Domenick about his idol. Donathan immediately told them about Chris's plan to split the votes, while Desiree gathered the Naviti women to discuss a blindside of Libby, since everyone might be voting for either Chris, Domenick, or Wendell. At Tribal Council, Domenick openly wore his fake idol, then played the Legacy Advantage on himself, while Chris decided not to play his idol. Desiree and Angela voted against Libby, but everyone else voted against Chris, making him the first member of the jury.
 Libby was concerned as to why she received votes again, while Wendell told Laurel about his idol, making her wary of his power in the game.
 The team of Angela, Chelsea, Donathan, Laurel, Libby, and Wendell won reward. They immediately had the others draw rocks for Ghost Island, with Jenna getting exiled; her urn was empty. While on reward, Libby asked why she received votes, and Angela said the others were wary of her bond with Michael. Back at camp, Michael talked to Angela about blindsiding Wendell. However, after Michael told her she was the only person left out of the loop on the last vote, Angela wanted to "stir the pot" and lied to her old Naviti tribemates about Michael saying that Kellyn and Chelsea didn't trust Angela, planning to target him. 
 Angela defeated Michael in the final round to win immunity. Angela's allies tried to sway Donathan to their side with an idea to split the vote between Michael and Libby. Michael pitched to the other former Malolo members to vote out Wendell, while Domenick assured Libby she was safe. Wanting to make a move and even the playing field, Donathan told Libby of Naviti's plan to split the vote between her and Michael, making Libby unsure of whom to trust. At Tribal Council, the Malolo plan fell through as they joined the original Navitis in splitting the vote against Libby and Michael. Michael played his idol, negating seven votes, sending Libby to the jury with four votes.
 The morning after Libby's elimination, Desiree plotted with the old Malolo members to bring in Chelsea and Angela to overthrow the Naviti majority because she felt like she was on the bottom, but Laurel was skeptical. 
 Since Donathan was not picked, he had no shot at reward but was ineligible for Ghost Island. The team of Chelsea, Jenna, Kellyn, Michael, and Sebastian won the challenge; Angela got sent to Ghost Island via rock draw. While on reward, Michael told Chelsea, Kellyn, and Sebastian he was willing to work with them as an extra number, but Kellyn wanted to stay strong with Naviti and pick off the Malolo members. On Ghost Island, Angela played the game of chance but lost her vote after choosing the wrong chest. At camp, Laurel told Domenick about Desiree potentially turning on them, and Domenick told Kellyn, who was shocked. Michael started searching for an idol, and Donathan joined him, eventually finding Scot's idol from Kaôh Rōng. It was powerless unless Tai's matching idol from the same season, which was hidden under the shelter, completed the idol. After a while, Donathan found the second half of the idol but was forced to tell the other old Malolo members about it as several tribemates shuffled in and out of camp. 
 Chelsea won immunity. Kellyn confronted Desiree and Chelsea about them wanting to turn on her, prompting Desiree to chew out Laurel in front of everyone else. Desiree adamantly tried to convince Kellyn she was loyal, while Domenick suggested a strong guy's alliance with Michael, to Kellyn's chagrin. At Tribal Council, Desiree and Laurel reignited their argument, but while Chelsea joined Desiree in voting against Michael, the rest of the tribe sent Desiree to the jury.
 Domenick expressed his gratitude toward Laurel for saving him, Wendell, and Kellyn, but Kellyn still wanted to pick off the old Malolo members. Meanwhile, Chelsea felt she was in danger since she had been blindsided by the previous vote. Domenick also considered turning against Wendell before looking for an idol. He found the fake idol Jay played in Millennials vs. Gen X, which still had no power, but Domenick had the opportunity to use it to trick the other players with it. Before the challenge, Jeff announced a random draw of two "tribes" for that day only, each of which would go to Tribal Council, meaning two people would be eliminated that night and Ghost Island was not in play.
 Orange consisted of Domenick, Kellyn, Laurel, Michael, and Wendell, while Purple consisted of Angela, Chelsea, Donathan, Jenna, and Sebastian. Chelsea won immunity for Purple, but immediately dropped out before Domenick outlasted Wendell for the other immunity necklace and the right for Orange to visit Tribal Council last.
 Back at camp, Michael asked to borrow Donathan's idol, but Donathan immediately refused. To save himself, Michael told Kellyn he had an idol and would definitely play it. Kellyn bought Michael's ploy and told Domenick, who didn't believe it. She then told Chelsea and Wendell, and planned on using her extra vote to vote against Laurel twice, but Wendell considered turning on Kellyn to save Laurel. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Chelsea, and Angela planned on voting against Jenna, but they told her they would vote against Donathan. A paranoid Jenna tried to trick Donathan into playing his idol for her instead of himself at Purple's Tribal Council, while Donathan targeted Sebastian.
 At Purple's Tribal Council, Donathan played his idol on himself, negating Jenna's vote against him, and the Naviti members sent Jenna to the jury. At Orange's Tribal Council, Kellyn used her extra vote, creating a 2-2 tie between Laurel and Michael; on the revote, Michael was unanimously sent to the jury.
 Back at camp, Kellyn revealed to the others that she used her extra vote against Laurel, after being pressed by Domenick about there being six votes at a five-person Tribal Council. At the reward challenge, the castaways were reunited with their loved ones: Wendell's father Wendell I, Kellyn's brother Klay, Donathan's aunt Patty, Angela's daughter Paige, Chelsea's sister Sydney, Laurel's brother Frank, Sebastian's sister Grace, and Domenick's wife Kristin.
 Sebastian won reward and chose to share it with Domenick, Wendell, Donathan and their loved ones. Sebastian also had to send one of the other four to Ghost Island where an advantage will be available off the bat, unless he or one of the other reward participants volunteers to give up their reward. Wendell volunteered, and he received Malcolm's final immunity challenge advantage from Philippines. On reward, Domenick tried to align with Donathan and Sebastian, but Donathan was wary. At camp, Kellyn was bitter about not getting chosen for reward or for the advantage on Ghost Island; she and Angela plotted a girls' alliance out of revenge. Laurel weighed the pros and cons of turning on Domenick and Wendell.
 Domenick won immunity. He and Wendell planned on bringing in Laurel to blindside Chelsea for being a physical threat, while the women wanted to bring in Donathan to blindside Wendell, who Chelsea felt was the biggest threat in the game. Donathan and Laurel privately weighed their options; Donathan was antsy to make a move, but Laurel wanted to stay true to her alliance with Domenick and Wendell. At Tribal Council, Donathan revealed there were cracks in the Naviti alliance, putting his tribemates on edge. In the end, Donathan and Laurel voted against Chelsea, sending her to the jury.
 Donathan approached Kellyn with a plan to turn against Domenick and Wendell. 
 Domenick and Wendell won reward; they chose Laurel to join them and sent Sebastian to Ghost Island. There was a 3 in 4 chance of getting an advantage, and Sebastian won Kellyn's misplayed extra vote that came back into play. While on reward, Laurel was secretly ready to turn on Domenick and Wendell. Back at camp, Donathan told Wendell he would cast his jury vote for Domenick over him, in hopes that they would turn on each other, but they saw through the plan. 
 Wendell finished the puzzle first, but Laurel called Jeff's name first; by that rule, Laurel won immunity. She wanted to stick with Domenick and Wendell out of gratitude, and the three of them targeted Kellyn. However, a paranoid Donathan asked Domenick and Wendell if they were going to blindside him, making them reconsider their plans. Donathan then caught Domenick rummaging through his bag and giving Wendell something, prompting him to go back to Kellyn. Domenick, Wendell, Sebastian, and Angela debated on whether to vote out Donathan or Kellyn at the hammock. At Tribal Council, Donathan's paranoia took over, and an argument ensued between him and Wendell, as Domenick urged everyone else to stick to the "hammock plan." The vote was initially tied between Donathan and Kellyn, but Kellyn was sent to the jury on the revote.
 The final 6 returned to camp, where Sebastian secretly plotted on making a move against Domenick and Wendell, who in turn targeted him for his likeability. 
 Wendell won immunity and chose to share reward with Sebastian and Angela. This upset Laurel, who voiced her anger to Domenick. Sebastian told Donathan and Angela he would use his extra vote to blindside Domenick, but Angela told Domenick, who considered playing his idol. Meanwhile, Donathan told Laurel about Sebastian's plan. At Tribal Council, Domenick outed Sebastian's extra vote and revealed his two idols, saying both were real when, in reality, one is fake. Wendell then pulled out his idol and offered to work with Donathan, who refused. Domenick presented the fake idol to Jeff before the votes were cast and chose not to play his real idol, and he was successful in fooling his tribemates. Sebastian didn't use his extra vote and was sent to the jury. 
 Wendell won immunity again. Donathan told Domenick he'd take him to the end after getting asked, while Wendell considered giving his idol to Angela, Donathan, or Laurel, but he and Domenick realized Laurel was their biggest threat in immunity challenges. At Tribal Council, Domenick played his idol on himself, while Wendell played his idol for Laurel, negating one vote against her. Ultimately, Donathan was unanimously sent to the jury.
 Everyone dropped their stack at least once, but Domenick managed to win his third immunity challenge, as well as the right to choose who to take to the end with him. The final 4 ventured to Ghost Island, where Laurel tried to convince Domenick that she wouldn't beat Wendell in the fire-making challenge. Angela tried to convince Domenick that Laurel was a bigger threat in the Final Tribal Council. A note told Domenick to choose one of three voting urns to be used at the Final Tribal Council, all of which were cursed due to a contestant taking the wrong person to the end; the urns were from The Australian Outback, Game Changers, and Cagayan. He chose the Cagayan urn. He also privately considered giving his immunity necklace to Angela and taking on Wendell himself in the fire-making challenge. However, he chose to keep immunity and brought Laurel to the end; Wendell won the fire-making challenge, making Angela the 10th member of the jury.
 During the Final Tribal Council discussion, Laurel was largely ignored by the jury, who saw her as riding Domenick and Wendell's coattails when she could've made a move to blindside them. Meanwhile, Domenick was reprimanded for his actions at the Tribal Council where Sebastian was voted out. Much of the jury tried to figure out whether Domenick or Wendell were primarily responsible for controlling their alliance's moves. The jury went to vote, and Jeff surprised everyone by saying he would read the votes right then at the Final Tribal Council. For the first time in Survivor history, the vote was tied; Domenick and Wendell each had five votes. Jeff confirmed that Laurel would cast the winning vote as the 11th and final jury member.
  
 Survivor: Ghost Island was met with a mixed to negative reception by fans and critics. Though the gameplay of Wendell and Domenick, as well as the pre-merge portion of the season, were praised, the incoherence and predictability of the edit after the merge was its most criticized aspect. Many castaways who made it far in the game were poorly portrayed, with the viewers being left in the dark about several of their strategies due to the edit's constant focus on a specific group of players, who also happened to be the final three. Austin Smith of fan site "Inside Survivor" gave the season a mixed review, saying the season "delivered a stellar pre-merge full of exciting moves and memorable characters. It gave us one of the best merge episodes of all time. It sagged under the weight of predictable boots and frustrating intransigence through the later votes, but it was still punctuated by exciting new twists like the split Tribal at Final Ten. And it gave us one of the most unexpected finales of all time." Andy Dehnart of Reality Blurred criticized the season's post-merge episodes and the finale, saying "The finale ended up like the majority of the post-merge: grand promises, no action, rinse, repeat, zzzz." People Magazine blogger Stephen Fishbach, who played in Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Cambodia, praised the dominant gameplay of Domenick Abbate and winner Wendell Holland, but also stated that their gameplay made for "boring television." Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly ranked this season 19th praising the ending but believing that the Ghost Island concept was underdeveloped. In 2020, Survivor fan site "Purple Rock Podcast" ranked this season 30th saying that "while it is interesting to watch [Survivor's first finale tie vote] play out, it can't lift this season out of the lower tiers". Later that same year, Inside Survivor ranked this season 32nd out of 40 saying that "it has a strong premiere, an excellent merge episode, and an entertaining finale with a gloriously dramatic conclusion. But a season can not stand on three episodes alone." In 2021, Rob Has a Podcast ranked Ghost Island 32nd during their Survivor All-Time Top 40 Rankings podcast.