Redemption Island Duo

**Highest Ranked**: Ryder (15/20)

The Redemption Island Duo was an alliance from Survivor: Redemption Island and Survivor: Blood vs. Water.

After being sent to Redemption Island early in the pre-merge of *Survivor: Redemption Island*, the two castaways reunited upon their return to the game. Despite having a constant target and uphill battle to the end, the pair were able to make it to Day 38 together before being forced to turn on each other.

The pair then returned for *Survivor: Blood vs. Water* and decided to align with their former nemesis, Mandy. This alliance didn't last for too long however, because of Mandy's reputation as a former winner and the Duo returning from Redemption Island. Neither former returnees could repeat their success from *Survivor: Redemption Island* and were quickly voted out during the pre-merge.

Despite their short-lived second iteration, the complex dynamic between Bethany, Ryder and Mandy is often regarded as one of the most interesting and unique multi-season arcs in *Survivor* history.

## History

### The First Loss

After the purple Zapatera tribe was formed on Day 1 of Survivor: Redemption Island, Bethany, Jett and Ryder became a trio because their relatives (Lana, Charlie and Adelaide respectively) all competed in the previous season. Despite this friendship, the trio were unable to garner any support from the other members of the tribe. There instead was a huge target on their backs because of their connection to *Survivor*. At the Day 3 Double Tribal Council, the trio voted for Dave but they didn't have the numbers and Ryder was sent to Redemption Island.

### Zapatera Outsiders

Hoping to avoid the same fate as Ryder, Bethany and Jett innocently aligned with Mandy and her all women's alliance. After Zapatera lost the first two immunity challenges, the pair voted with the majority in sending Scott and John to Redemption Island. Bethany and Jett felt confident about their relationships amongst Zapatera. However, Bethany overheard Mandy having a conversation with the other women of their alliance about potentially blindsiding Jett. Bethany was angry that she was being manipulated by Mandy and told Jett about the plan to get rid of him, and the pair scrambled to find other tribe members and potentially overthrow Mandy's alliance. This was unsuccessful however and Bethany was blindsided instead by the women at tribal council.

### Redemption Island Returns

Amongst the chaos on the Zapatera tribe, Ryder was at a disadvantage being the first inhabitant of Redemption Island. After defeating Clara and Scott in two separate duels, he was disappointed to see Bethany voted out from Zapatera and enter Redemption Island. The duo hoped both of them would be able to return, plotted potential plans to take revenge on Mandy's Womens Alliance and gained information from other castaways who joined them on Redemption Island. The pair survived the following three duels, defeating and officially eliminating John, Danny and Dave. Bethany won re-entry into the main game at the same duel Dave was eliminated, leaving Ryder to compete against more eliminated castaways in future duels.

As Bethany predicted, her return to the Zapatera tribe caused some tension between her and the rest of the tribe which previously voted her out. However, there was never any real threat of Bethany returning to Redemption Island because Zapatera won the following three immunity challenges they had together. At the final Redemption Island duel before the merge, Ryder won and was rewarded with re-entry into the main game on the Murlonio tribe.

### On Murlonio

Bethany and Ryder had huge targets on their backs when the tribes merged, and were forced to align with Zapatera outsiders Isobel and Jett. Knowing that the rest of the tribe were fiercely loyal to other alliances, they focused on forming social bonds with the hope of exploiting such friendships in the future. For the moment, this alliance of four were in the minority of the merged tribe at the first two tribal councils because Mandy convinced her alliance and the Ometepe tribe to send Isobel and Jett to Redemption Island. Though it appeared that they would be targeted next, the pair were given a lucky break when the Ometepe Alliance strategised with them. The alliance told Bethany and Ryder that they would be willing to turn on Mandy's women, and so they joined forces to blindside Cindy.

Their social connections were paying off because Jeremiah was willing to work with them to vote for Mandy. However, they were unaware that the Ometepe Alliance had since reunited with Mandy and Jeremiah was sent to Redemption Island at the next vote. At the Final Eight, there was an even split amongst original Ometepe and Zapatera tribe members. Both Bethany and Ryder felt they couldn't trust anyone left on the tribe, but took their chances with Mandy and Summer because Summer persuaded them. This caused a 4-4 tie between Bethany and Katniss at tribal council. At the revote, Virgil and William felt more threatened by Katniss because of her connection to Peeta and they flipped to save Bethany. Now in a somewhat comfortable position, Bethany and Ryder joined the rest of the tribe in unanimously voting out Katniss' second in command Peeta.

### The End

Bethany and Ryder were under the impression at the Final Six that they would be voting with Mandy and Summer to get rid of William. However, Bethany was blindsided and sent to Redemption Island once again because Mandy and Summer were wary of her approaching the end game. Ryder, with no other options, continued to work with Mandy and Summer at the next tribal council to eliminate William. At the final Redemption Island duel of the season, Bethany defeated Katniss and William to return back into the game for the second time. Not wanting to waste the opportunity given to her, Bethany didn't trust anyone left and hoped to win the final two individual immunity challenges to reach the end. After winning the Final Five immunity challenge, she voted with the rest of the original Zapatera members to get rid of Virgil. Despite his bond to Bethany, Ryder knew he couldn't win against her and so voted with Mandy and Summer for Bethany when she couldn't win the final individual immunity challenge. For not making big moves or controlling the game after returning from Redemption Island however, Ryder was awarded the title of Second Runner-Up at the Final Tribal Council.

### Blood vs. Water

Both Bethany and Ryder then returned for *Survivor: Blood vs. Water* and were originally placed on the yellow Galang tribe along with their former arch nemesis, Mandy. Following their first season, Bethany and Ryder became close friends outside of the game and agreed to look after each other this time around as well. They also agreed to work with Mandy, whom the duo had made amends with after *Survivor: Redemption Island* aired. On Day 1, both Galang and the rival Tadhana tribe had to vote out a member of their tribe as part of the First Impressions Twist. The trio knew about the reputation of *The Australian Outback* veterans and were most concerned about Karleigh on their tribe as a result, and they voted for her on Day 1. However, another group was forming against Mandy because she was the only former winner on the tribe. Ryder then decided to work with them to eliminate Mandy rather than force a tie between her and Karleigh because he felt Mandy would still be voted out and he would continually be in a powerless position. Another twist was then unleashed into the game, and Mandy's elimination was not permanent because she was sent to Redemption Island.

Despite Bethany's hesitations with Ryder following his flip, Mandy's elimination made the duo more desirable as allies. They soon formed a majority alliance of five on this tribe of nine along with Cody and Domenic from *Panama* and outsider Fawn. After two immunity challenge wins, Galang lost again on Day 8 and the Redemption Island Duo voted with this majority in order to eliminate Kayla. When the tribe lost for the second time in a row, the alliance agreed to vote for Karleigh. This appeared to be a fairly straightforward decision, though Bethany and Ryder were suspicious when Charlie (who was not in their core alliance) was aware of the votes going against Karleigh. At tribal council, the Duo voted for Karleigh but the majority of the tribe blindsided Bethany and she was sent to Redemption Island. On Day 12, Bethany competed against Alistair and Mandy for a spot back in the game but failed and was officially eliminated. A tribe switch then occurred, which left Ryder in the minority and he shortly followed his closest ally.

## Trivia

* Every official member of both iterations of this alliance has returned from Redemption Island.
* Ryder has been the highest ranking member of both iterations of this alliance.