Redemption Island

[Bobby Boucher]

So RI is back and I'm really looking forward to it as I reckon it's a great twist.
What do you folk think about it ?

Debate is welcome and encouraged

[The Ghost]

I'm willing to give it another shot, given the extra strategy involved with it this time. Given the season's theme, I'm open minded to it being a bit different to other seasons.

[Bobby Boucher]

I just think that in a game like Survivor where luck is massive factor something like RI levels the playing field a bit and gives people who got robbed a chance to have their fate in their hands. Look at Silas in Africa, robbed of a deserved merge spot by a swap. His tribe threw a challenge to get him out and through no fault of his own, he's done- RI keeps people alive.
It also places more importance on challenges as sometimes now challenge strength is really overlooked as one of the three aspects of the game. You need strong people in the game if you want to beat the RI returnee and if you are a challenge beast and get voted out, you're a chance of re-entering things. Which makes things really exciting- as well as the do or die nature of duels

[Halford]

His tribe threw a challenge to get him out and through no fault of his own

The fault was completely his own - he got cocky, alienated Frank and Teresa and sealed his fate.

The challenges are necessarily small in scale (throwing bags of sand onto barrels, table mazes, stand still here) and it robs the power of the vote out. In each of the past two seasons the RI returnee has been voted out again the second they don't have immunity - it's a failure of a twist.

Added to that, having the person be eliminated halfway through the episode instead of at the end takes away a lot of the finality - no more "Wow, they really did vote Russell off!" without the "Shit I hope he doesn't come back" surfacing through.


The family swap thing this season could be interesting if used well, but I don't like the concept of RI one iota.

[Broken]

I'm over returning players at the moment, in addition knowing Redemption Island is back has my anticipation levels at an all time low

[Bobby Boucher]

oh man, balut - I'm feeling the opposite way. The mix of returnees and loved ones, the dynamic of RI and player exchanges has me at an all time high level of anticipation ! plus the modification of an all stranger cast makes me really think that this season will be excellent. competing with and against your loved one as your real life ally becomes your ingame enemy explores an interesting area of human nature which is ultimately what survivor is about. family members are no longer just names, now they are contestants in their own right - you can swear on your child's name that someone is safe while your child plots to eliminate you. plus the second chance of RI means that say if Vytas is blindsided by Aras he can win his way back to either reunite or get revenge on his brother.
premerge there's conflicting interests too. so if Laura's on RI Rupert might want to send Monica to RI as someone Laura can beat as opposed to sending Aras who would beat her. also the player exchange means that Rupert might think for his own best interests and send Monica to RI in the hope that Brad would swap in for her - thereby weakening the loved ones tribe.

so many strategic things become possible now with this great combo of twists. I'd feel that with the double elimination on day 1 that it would be pretty unfair without RI. also it's a 1% chance of happening, but how cool would it be to see Tina as a two time first voted out only to power back into the game and win twice !!!!!!!!