'Survivor' - greatest theme-based seasons as of now

6. Survivor: Blood vs. Water (Season 27 - 2013)

It was the weirdest tease in Survivor history. Usually, at the end of a season, the viewers will get a two-minute or so sneak peak of the upcoming season. The tease would feature the location, the central theme if necessary and, as of recent, introduce a few of the players. However, at the end of season 26, Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites, the show known for its twists gave one to the viewing audience.

Instead of giving every loyal fan what they expected to see near the end of the reunion show, Survivor's twist was to only show us about seven seconds of a tease. Jeff's lead-in prompt was, instead of showing us where Survivor was going, we were about to get a tease as to what the show was doing for season 27. About half-way through the show, the audience was shown what appeared to be a drop of red food coloring in some water. After this mysterious snippet played, the point was for viewers to tweet in what they thought it meant.

After America had some time to process what was shown and think about the concept Survivor was trying to convey, the viewers were shown the clip again, this time with the season logo at the end, which read Survivor: Blood vs Water.

Then, the anticipation began. What did Blood vs. Water mean? Who was playing the game? Is there really going to be bloodshed throughout the season?

Finally, come September, the concept in its entirety was revealed. Ten pairs of castaways, one pair member being a former player and the other being a loved one of theirs, would enter the game together. Little did they know, that they would be separated from each other on day one and compete on different tribes.

Now, this is an interesting theme. Loved ones playing against each other in a game where only one can win. So, why is this number six on the list and not higher? Well, it just came down to other themes beating Blood vs. Water out.

There were some great elements implemented this season. First, the ten pairs were dropped at ten different locations and were able to spend one night with each other. It was known as day zero, and the time together was technically not part of the game itself. This meant, for the first time since season two, Survivor: The Australian Outback, a season would last longer than 39 days.

In addition, Redemption Island returned with a unique twist. If your loved one is voted out, you can switch places with them, meaning the person on Redemption Island would now be a member of your tribe and back in the game, while you, all of a sudden, have to fight to get yourself back in the game. This introduced a whole new level of strategy because players might get voted out as a way to possibly get their loved ones to switch places with them at Redemption Island with them and put their own game in jeopardy.

This was the best use of Redemption Island, and although it once again eliminated the core element of Survivor, the way it was integrated within the Blood vs. Water theme was superb.

Some of the choices for returning players were questionable, but overall, there was a good mix of old school and new school players, which is hard to come by in seasons of today that feature returning castaways. In addition, this season provided one of the show's most memorable moments, which was Ciera voting out her mom, Laura, who first played on Survivor: Samoa. This was a moment that fully captured the essence of the Blood vs. Water theme. Ciera knew that her mom was both a physical and social threat to win the game, and she devised a plan to vote her out. This one moment alone puts the theme in high regards.

Of all the themes, conceptually, it was one of Survivor's strongest because it posed a looming question that was highlighted throughout the season, what is more important, protecting my loved one or protecting myself?