Caleb Reynolds Retrospective

A look back at the previous game of Caleb Reynolds, one of the returning castaways on the upcoming Survivor: Game Changers.

Age: 29
Hometown: Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Previous Season: Survivor: Kaôh Rōng
Previous Placing: 15/18 (medevac)
Days Lasted: 9
Correctly Voted for Boot: N/A
Votes Received: N/A
Individual Immunity Challenge Wins: N/A
Most Memorable Moment: Passing out post-reward challenge and being evacuated from the game.

What happened in his previous season: Caleb’s time was short-lived on Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, he only lasted nine days before being medically evacuated from the game. As a member of the Beauty (Gondol) tribe, Caleb came into the game with a reputation from his time on Big Brother but soon overcame those preconceptions, bonding with his tribe and working hard around camp. Caleb was a strong challenge competitor, and the Beauty tribe never attended a single tribal council, which means that Caleb is the only contestant on Season 34 to have never taken part in a tribal council vote.

Because Caleb never had to vote somebody out, it meant we didn’t get a great insight into his strategy or alliances. We knew he had a special bond with Tai Trang, the two of them would cuddle for warmth at night and shared in the “stolen kiss” moment. We also saw Anna Khait pulling Caleb into a potential alliance with herself, Julia Sokolowski and Michele Fitzgerald. So it seemed like Caleb had options but that he wasn’t necessarily in control.

His game came to an end on Day 9, when after competing in a reward challenge in 120-degree heat, Caleb collapsed after the challenge due to dehydration, exhaustion and heat stroke. He required urgent medical assistance and the Survivor crew and medical team rushed onto set to help him in one of the scariest scenes in the show’s history. Caleb was in and out of consciousness and Dr. Joe, Survivor’s resident medical expert, deemed him too unfit to continue and in need of proper hospital care. A helicopter arrived and evacuated Caleb from the game as his emotional tribe mates looked on.

Heading into Survivor: Game Changers, Caleb has the reputation of someone who is loyal and willing to put his own health and well-being on the line for the team. Those things, on paper, should bode well but his lack of strategic experience could be detrimental to him among a group of veteran Survivor strategists.

Biggest Strength: His challenge ability.

Biggest Weakness: Untested at tribal council.

Caleb is one of twenty returning castaways who will compete on Survivor: Game Changers which premieres March 8 on CBS. Stay tuned to Inside Survivor for more cast retrospectives and other pre-season content.


Written by

Martin Holmes

Martin is a freelance writer from England. He’s represented by Berlin Associates for comedy writing and writes about TV and entertainment, currently for TV Insider and Vulture, previously Digital Spy, ET Canada, and Yahoo. A finalist for the Shortlist Sitcom Search in 2012 for “Siblings,” Martin received his BA in English with Creative Writing from The University of Hull. Martin is the owner and editor-in-chief of Insider Survivor.


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