Season 17
The young cast didn’t universally excel in the challenges, but they always made great TV.
On the whole, I’m much higher on Season 17 than the fanbase seemed at the time. True, the incredibly young cast sometimes felt a bit unprepared for the challenges — and the challenges themselves ranged from truly interesting to bizarre. (Interpretive dance monologues, anyone?) But this cast made for terrific TV, and the story team did a great job of building the narrative of the season. We finally once again got story arcs instead of one-off bits of drama, like Lexi Love’s one-sided rivalry with Suzie Toot and the destruction of Jewels Sparkles’ friendship with Arrietty. And that’s not even mentioning the Kori King and Lydia B Kollins showmance! Perhaps the most interesting character of the season actually won the whole thing, as Onya Nurve got on her sisters’, well, nerves — then won them back over. The finale’s a real disappointment, but almost everything up to that point really works for me.