Welcome back to Inside Survivor’s 50 For 50, a semi-regular feature highlighting 50 former castaways who we think should be considered for a spot on Survivor 50. In a snake draft, the Inside Survivor team selected ten players each, with the only rule being they couldn’t have played more than twice.
PROFILE
Name: Katurah Topps
Age: 36
Season: Survivor 45, 2023
Finish: 4th Place
HIGHLIGHTS
Katurah began her game on the Belo tribe, a group of six that stood out for their colorful personalities and frequent clashes, made all the more hilarious because they never lost an immunity challenge. Katurah’s early presence in the game was marked by her hilarious confessionals and feud with Bruce Perrault. Most importantly, she was a strong advocate for the women on Belo to align and stick together in the event they lost an immunity challenge. Despite Katurah and Kendra McQuarrie being committed to this alliance, they were wary of whether or not Kellie Nalbandian would choose them over her other ally, Brando Meyer.
For better or for worse, they would not get a chance to test out this theory. A tribe swap may have kept Katurah on Belo, but her status remained the same. Despite clear outsider Kaleb Gebrewold being the sole non-Belo member swapped into the tribe, it seemed that Katurah’s tribemates would never fully give her a chance. Belo’s immunity wins would keep her safe until mergatory, where her drawing the lone gray rock and correctly selecting the winning team kept her safe once again.
Katurah’s strained relationship with her original tribemates allowed her to navigate the game much more smoothly in the merge phase. In particular, her bonds with Dee Valladares and Julie Alley would see her through the blindsides of Kellie, Bruce, Emily Flippen, and Drew Basile. Despite players like Jake O’Kane trying to sway her back to their good graces, Katurah stuck to her guns and continued to prioritize her game above all others.
Katurah’s intuition and self-preservation served her well throughout the game, but unfortunately, some good things must come to an end. A misstep at the final five would see Julie being voted out over her initial target of Dee. Dee would go on to win immunity at the final four, taking her closest ally in Austin Li Coon with her to the final three, and Katurah would lose final four fire-making against Jake.
WHY SHE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
As a fan who has had the pleasure of getting to know Katurah both on and off the screen, I simply can not say enough nice things about her both as a player and as a person. Her enthusiastic energy lit up every scene she was in, and her confessionals constantly kept me laughing throughout Survivor 45. Even when she was down, Katurah was never out, and she consistently fought for her place in the game even when she shouldn’t have had to. When other players did not give her a seat at the table, Katurah made space for herself. Her ability to navigate the game even when things looked hopeless is one of the most admirable qualities I look for in potential returning players.
We had not had a player like Katurah prior to her time on 45, and we will not have another one like her afterwards. Her backstory regarding her upbringing captured the hearts of many, but it’s her work as a Civil Rights Lawyer and her determination to make the world better for herself and others that is the most inspiring. Katurah did not just talk the talk; she walked the walk as well, never diminishing her value for others.
Even if viewers did not always agree with Katurah’s moves, there was no doubt that her decisions were based on what would be best for her moving forward. We should be elevating that type of player in this new era. Her game may not have been perfect, but Katurah proved just how far she could go with the cards stacked against her. She deserves a chance to return with no feuds to drag her down, an opportunity to play the game on a clean slate. She is entertaining, determined, intelligent, and an unprecedented character within the Survivor canon. Katurah is the perfect representation to bring back for Survivor 50.
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She is funny and I loved her testomonials about Bruce