After my first post here in the last few days I am already keen on starting Survivor US and skipping this season bec, even tho I absolutely love David, JLP is no longer the host anymore.. first of all, I just wanna say thankyou to those who said that I have to give Redemption a shot! Coz I was proven wrong, I really ended up loving this season and the winner! And David, tho it's evident that he has a huge role to fill, he really did a great job! And this season made me cry a lot😭 Starting from the Harry elimination, oh God that made me really emotional and just pure sad. He will always be my one of my most favorite Survivor castaway ever. (He's my 20th before but after watching this, he just easily became my top 5 most fav ever) And I am really hoping this will not be his last time! Also Simon, he just further solidified why I love and adore him. There are plenty of times I was so annoyed on his decisions all throughout his journey but that didn't stop me on adoring him coz I see through him, I know there is genuinely that warm and kind human being being hidden in a beautiful & huge body. (From being my top 12 most fav, he is now my 7th most fav). Also Mark, who I have a love and hate relationship on his last appearance most of esp in this season, he started as one of my favs in Titans vs Rebels, then in the middle eps I started to hate his actions, then starting in Redemption I started back on adoring him again then hating at the same time! But he really stepped up his game this time around despite I hated him more in this, and in the end when he did supported and helped Caleb in his FTC, he just gained a massive respect from me. I know for sure some are annoyed on what he did but me personally, that opened a different positive perspective regarding Mark. It touched me!! And lastly Brooke, she was far from my favorites esp (but I don't dislike her) on her first season.. but in this, she left me really admiring her perseverance and how she handled all her journey. Redemption really left me a really positive note in terms of the Returnees!
Now I'll be talking about the final 3 immunity challenge, runner up Jackson and the winner Caleb who turned out to be my most favorite AU Survivor winner ever!
That final 3, I really bawled my eyes out watching them!!! So far on par on watching Kristie winning 2016, and Harry being cut short as before the FTC. It really was one of the best for me!
Loz, I know she is somewhat very divisive on this sub for being the ultimate goat, but she really earned my respect and I don't see anything wrong about being a goat. I loved her journey, she really stood up on her stance on loyalty, she owned it. And her unexpected friendship with Caleb is really one of the most beautiful bonds I've ever seen in Survivor coz I know it was genuine!
Jackson, he started as one of my favs but he kinda lost me on the Ben elimination coz for me personally it was a not a ideal move and him bragging about him, and him starting to be that flashy player who just mocked his fellow underdogs (most esp Caleb) really rubbed me in the wrong way, I was really that close on being burnt out on him.. then came the final immunity challenge, That was an eye opener in me in my perspective of him. That's when I realized, he is a person like me who at times really feel not so secured and wanting to prove something, I really ugly cried when he just pushed his body to the limits coz he really wanna have that final immunity and he's just so locked in on thinking he will not be in the final 2 if Caleb won that final challenge, I felt really sorry on me just being annoyed at him in the previous episodes before the final 3. He is really a worthy runner up. And I am so proud of him coz I see his IG and he is now close on achieving his dream as a wrestler, I am so happy for him!
And then my chaotic but really a genuinely beautiful soul Caleb. This is the first time I loved a contestant all throughout his journey, on the first eps seeing his journey, I'll admit I was questioning his "chaos side" but as his journey progresses, I really saw that he was really that chaotic, BUT CHAOTIC GOOD. I loved his personality, most esp when he admitted that he had a hard time all his life trusting someone even himself, then he finally found someone to trust in this game on Loz, he really made me cry many times on watching his beautiful journey! 🥹🥹 (Jordie will always be my top 1 and he is close top 2, but in his case. I really loved him all throughout, Jordie's journey for me is there are times I felt furious on some of his decisions)
I've read here that he is quite polarizing as a winner, and that doesn't affect me. Coz it really is valid. I respect all of your preferences, He is really not the best winner in terms of the flashy plays, strategic sense. And he flopped on the middle of post merge.. but what makes him a worthy #1 winner for me? Is his DRIVE, and PURE SOUL. He is really consistent on his chaos switch, but I didn't even saw him not at once mocking his fellow castaways, in fact, even tho he is one of the most underestimated.. underlooked, he still really focused on his social game, fostering his relationships even some are really loud on eliminating him. Even Mark, who was the biggest strategist/villain this season who ended up adoring him, Sally, Loz, Blanche all loved him (these are some of the underlooked contestants) and they admitted they see a really trustworthy, and pure kindness in him even tho he is super chaotic. He had his highs and lowest of lows but that didn't stopped him on showing kindness and humility, most esp when he was being verbally attacked by Jackson. He didn't let it affect his oneself. He played loud when he needed to but he also really backed it up on being a silent killer/strategist, most of the silent moves he did, his observing manner, him being at the bottom premerge it was all worth it coz he found his groove on the post merge, He became a sheep in his journey but he really turned it on when it mattered the most. He won the comeback slot when it mattered, he successfully manipulated Mark and eliminated him when it was the time, he won the fire making challenge when it was really crucial (in fact he was the fastest in fire making!), he really stood his stance on the rocks situation, he won the final immunity, the most important one and he made one of the biggest shocking decisions when he chose Jackson instead of Loz. Coz he really loved/respected Loz and he can't stomach thinking he will go against his most trusted ally in the FTC, and he respected Jackson and he really know that Jackson wanted to be at the final 2! My most favorite move of him was when one of the villains Faith, the one who really underlooked him, in her final ep saying to Caleb to not write her name and he signal and responded in such a satisfying and savage way! Even the way he writes had left a mark on me, him writing his fellow castaway on his vote, he is not afraid of them knowing his signature writing and drawing 😂 also his LAUGH is so memorable! ps: he also delivered some of the most thought out/meaningful lines throughout like: "The truth comes out of that urn, not the mouth", "If you can manipulate a jury, you win the game" and the one that really made a mark on me.. "A million things run through your head when you sit there, u just gotta be sure because being indecisive is worse than being wrong sometimes" He also genuinely helped, Tez and Jackson when they were also struggling, he was not afraid to give them insightful advices . He is a man of integrity for me.
When he won, I cried and cried and cried because of pure bliss and happiness! We can argue that his FTC is underwhelming, and we can also argue Blanche, Loz and Mark really pushed him to win but you know what? THAT IS A TESTAMENT OF CALEB'S AMAZING SOCIAL GAMEPLAY AND HIS PURE HEART. He may be divisive as a winner now but I am positive that soon many will be warm to his winning journey! ♥️ he is flawed, but that is one of the main reasons you will appreciate him!
Here is my top 8 most favorite players this season:
Caleb- Harry- Brooke- Simon- Ben- Richard- Tez- Mark
Here is who I think played the best in Redemption:
Brooke- Keeley- Mark
-Simon- Lottie
-Harry- Caleb- Faith- Jackson- Aisha
-Ben- Richard- Loz
-Paula- Cat- Don
-Johnson- Cameron- Sally- Blanche- Eliza- Tez- Daniel- Lyndl
I'm sorry if this post is a long read😭😂 I wanna have a friendly discussion with you guys! You can freely drop your opinions and preferences here too! 💕