After three partners seasons involving minor tweaks to the format, Stranded in Portugal saw a complete overhauling while adding different elements from the television series. The 22nd season mixed the original partners twist with blood vs. water by allowing the second chance contestants to enter the game with a friend of their choosing. Much to the castaways’ surprise, they weren’t partnered with the friend they entered the game with. Instead, their friendships would remain a secret and they were randomly assigned a public partner. The last partnerships standing in the game would receive two Immunity Talismans. The cast of characters was one of the most eclectic to date.

The stage was set for another classic Stranded season. Pairing up some of Stranded’s most quirky returnees who failed the first time around with brand new friends, everyone was determined to make their mark on the series. A large part of the entertainment from the season was seeing the second chance players reinvent themselves to become huge characters and all-stars in their own rights. It featured players like Coby, Becky and Skinny Ryan who haven’t played the game in years itching for their chance to return. Mixing veteran returnees with new contestants fresh out of Namibia, who went out early, saw an early divide on the returning player tribe.  Cochran began the game by playing both sides of the fence aligning with both new second chancers and old. He also had alliances with his friend Vytas and secret partner Katie. It wasn’t until the early challenge forced his hand that the players in the game began to realize Cochran was all over the place. When he switched, he just so happened to end up on a tribe with his friend Vytas.Unfortunately, Bracari went down as one of the worst tribes in Stranded history. Cochran’s reputation as a rat just grew and grew as he continually flipped on his alliance members and even wanted to vote out his own friend Vytas. Marissa slipped through the cracks on early Bracari to be one of the last contestants remaining on the tribe along with Cochran and Vytas, seeing Kim P, Peter, and John all going home pre-merge.

On Tapoli a feud between Hayden and Rachel that had been brewing since day 1 finally came to a head when Rachel gleefully voted out her rival and the sassy underdog Hayden met his premature end. When the merge came around it wasn’t without controversy. Katie, who up until this point had been a sentimental favorite to win, was quickly ejected from the game after a conversation with Caryn hinted at her real identity. The merge continued to deliver with several blindsides and even more character development. With Coby going home after calling everyone out only to win immunity the next round and survive another elimination becoming a big threat. Rachel and Ralph going back to back. Marissa becoming a threat and quickly leaving, followed by Semhar. It eventually came down to Vytas, Cochran, Ibrehem and Shawn left remaining.

When Cochran finally completed his goal of eliminating his friend Vytas at the final four, it came back to bite him with the jury decided that was the dumbest decision of the game. Ibrehem’s relationships and social prowess warranted him the win. The unique aspect of the season came from each character offering something different and equally compelling to the cast. From Vytas who was an in-your-face confrontational bulldozer, to the quieter strategists in Semhar and Becky, to the sassy new players like Marissa and Rachel, whose personalities out-shined the vets. While the returning players like Caryn, Coby and Ralph gave memorable all-star performances, some of the new players gave them a run for their money eclipsing their story. From sweethearts like John to strategic underdogs like Katie, the season was chocked full of grade-A characters.With one of the most bitter juries in the games history, every character making a huge impact and delivering some major controversy and intrigue, Stranded in Portugal managed to made its mark on the series after 22 seasons.