Total Drama: Enchanted Realm

***Total Drama: Enchanted Realm*** is the fifth season of *Vix's Total Drama (Era 3).*

The season ended with Julian defeating Harley in the final jury vote, by a 7-2 margin.

It has produced six returning players (Harley, Julian, Lora, Rabbit, Seo-yeon and Zinfandel) for subsequent seasons.

## Development

Early into the previous season, applications for season 5 opened, announcing that it would cater towards new roleplayers more, with newbies and few-time alumni having priority. About thirty applications were sent in, with eighteen of them going on to compete in the season.

## Twists/Changes

* **Returning Player:** This season is the first to feature a previous contestant, bringing in Izanami from Total Drama: Camp Kickoff.
* **Team Composition:** The 18 players were divided into 3 teams of 6.
* **Idol Cage:** In the middle of the challenge area was a cage that contained a bag that held the season's Immunity Idol. Each player was given a sheet with a letter, and the letters spelled out a phrase that needed to be said in order for the cage to be unlocked.
* **Team Swap:** The remaining fourteen players were redivided into 2 teams of 7.
* **Merge Composition:** The merge occurred when there were eleven players remaining.
* **Double Instant Eliminations:** At both the final ten and the final four, the player who did the poorest in the challenge was automatically eliminated. In addition, a regular vote occurred right after.
* **Jury Finale:** The final two contestants will face a jury of nine, who will ultimately decide the winner of the entire season.

## Season Summary

The 18 new contestants, one being Izanami, a returnee from Kickoff, entered the magic house. After an assessment to test their skills in different challenges, they were split into three teams of six based on the results. The pre-swap phase saw the formation of the Winners Alliance of Claude, Kurai and Seo-yeon, who took the majority of Visus Cinerem following the blindside of Izanami. Perennial Bloom was originally a more united group, initially wanting to work together to receive the caged idol, but ceremonies proved that they were more split. Twist of Fate was an actual united group, working together for the joint ceremony even after a rock draw.

The teams swapped into two by Day 8, and the new Visus Cinerem was met with an unlucky streak, attending the ceremony after Anastasius took the infamous greed offer. After her ouster was caused next round, Cathy's absence led them to a third yet simpler ceremony. The team's closeness to decimation eventually lifted up to the merge phase.

Day 11 marked the first day of the eleven-person merge, and the first merge elimination was met with failed plans and a second rock draw. The next rounds marked the sudden downfall of the Winners Alliance, with Kurai being automatically eliminated and Claude being blindsided. Despite narrowly surviving against Marina, Seo-yeon's luck ran out when her former friend, Rabbit, flipped on her. This marked the takeover of the alliance between Julian, Rabbit and Zinfandel, leading to their steamroll to the final four. However, outsider Harley would win the final immunity challenge, leading to Rabbit's elimination and her decision to take Julian to the end over Zinfandel.

At the final jury vote, Julian's overall grip of the game and his position within the power structures were commended, while Harley's multiple challenge wins and her ability to completely avoid getting votes were also celebrated. In the end, the jury applauded Julian's overall game, crowning him the winner of Enchanted Realm by a 7-2 jury vote.

## Trivia

* This is the shortest season run of Era 3, with 22 days.
* This season is tied with *Curtain Call* for the smallest Era 3 cast, with 18.
* This season features the most tie votes, with 5.
	+ This season also features the most deadlocked votes, with 2.
* This is the first season to have all of the final four be from the same original team.
	+ Within all eras, it's the second, following All Stars (Era 2).
* Enchanted Realm is the first, and so far only, season in Era 3 to have zero quits.