Note: Everything in here is pure speculation and opinion.
Well, this is my first post of this blog, and I have to say, I'm pretty excited, albeit for weird reasons. Anyway, the finale of Survivor: South Pacific tonight and last week...I mean Wednesday, we saw Brandon, the nephew of the dreaded Russell Hantz, do something stupid. Not unlike his uncle. Anyway, his "bold" move was giving away Immunity to his bff Albert. Albert unsurprisingly kept it though he did say "If I thought Brandon was in trouble, I'd give it to him." As "skeezy" as some people may deem Albert, he's not stupid. He realized that had he given Immunity back to Brandon, he'd be on Ozzy...I mean Redemption Island instead of Lil' Hantz.
Here's how I'm thinking tonight will go...
Tonight, we'll probably begin with the season-long recap, eating up ten minutes or so of the finale, most of which shall be centered on Cochran, Ozzy, and Benjamin/Coach/Dragonslayer. Hopefully, by the grace of God and by Tim Tebow winning, we'll get a full intro but I wouldn't hold my breath for it. From what I saw in the preview, the Redemption Island duel was the final Immunity Challenge back in the Cook Islands (Season 13, Ozzy's first season). Oddly enough, Ozzy won this challenge back in the Cooks. I'll be bold and say he'll do it again sending Russ- I mean, Brandon, to the jury to be with the Savaiians, Cochran, and Edna. So at this point, we're down to the Final 5...part two. I have to say though, out of everyone left, I'm actively rooting for Sophie and Rick. Sophie because she seems pretty cool and because my fourteen year old little sister can't stop talking about "OH MY GOSH! SOPHIE IS SO EPIC! I LOVE HER!" My aunt and I are also on the Sophie train, but not to the extent my little sister is. As for my liking of Rick? Admittedly, it's because he also seems pretty cool too (despite what the edit has been showing us...which is nothing).
Anywho, where was I? Oh right, the final five...part two. Ozzy is the new dragon that Coach must slay in order to advance to the finals. I can see Ozzy winning this Immunity Challenge making camp life really awkward for the former Upolus named Rick. I mean, let's get real here. Coach, Sophie, and Albert were the core three of that alliance since day one. Do we really think that'll change now? No. That's about as likely as Russell Hantz winning in a jury vote of former Heroes and Galu. It's just not going to happen...unfortunately (the core 3 fracturing that is. I'm totally fine with Russell never winning)
Final Four time! Hoping for the Sophie to just destroy everyone like the fierce warrior princess that she is. That'd mean that the lord of Redemption Island will be finally snuffed...once and for all. Meaning he beat Burton, Matt, and Andrea in the "Most voted out" column, having his torch snuffed three times a season. And while that's happening, my little sister will be cackling with delight saying something along the lines of "SOPHIE OWNED YOU! HAHAHA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEATING DAWN...AND COCHRAN!" Admittedly, my sister, aunt, and I were all fond of Cochran and Dawn and admittedly, I bawled watching their buffs burn. But yeah, back on-topic. Ozzy once again falls JUST short of the million. Do I feel bad for him? A little.
Yay! Final 3 time. Dragonslayer/Sophie: Warrior Princess, and...Albert. I mean...that kinda sums up how I think the jury will react to them. They'll think Coach is still just Coach and being a returning player, doesn't deserve to win. They'll hopefully see Sophie as the shining star that she is. As for Albert? Well, Shambo said it best. He's "feckless". Not to say I dislike the guy, because I don't, but I think the jury will see him as ineffectual, second fiddle to Coach Benjamin and Sophie.
Meaning...my pick to win? SOPHIE!
Yay! Reunion time! Jeff will read the votes, declaring Sophie the rightful winner/queen of Survivor: South Pacific. I will say though. If it couldn't be Cochran, Edna, or Dawn, I'm like...stoked if it's Sophie. As for the actual reunion, methinks Cochran will get loads of airtime (YES!). Hopefully, Dawn will get her own segment along with Edna and Sophie, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm gonna guess we get a poem from Semhar, a song from Whitney taking us out to commercial much like Chase in Season 21. Also, we get an update on Keithney probably. Then, we get Jeff talking about how next season will be epic (Hopefully no Redemption Island or returnees that aren't Dawn, Cochran, Sophie, Edna, or from Seasons 1-11).
But yeah. Overall, this season was decent. Far better than last season to say the least where the likable people were Andrea (so robbed), and the Zapaterans. Here were my top five castaways of the season in no particular order (though if you didn't guess by now...)
Cochran- Surprise? No. I mean, Cochran will undoubtedly go down as one of my favorite male castaways ever. He's up there with Stephen from Tocantins, Rob from Amazon, and of course, the loved Ethan from Africa and All-Stars.
Dawn- What can I say? She's a sweetheart and her exit was DEVASTATING! I always have a soft spot for three archetypes each season. The Nerd, the Superfan, and the Mom. She reminds me a lot of Holly and she apparently was supposed to be on Nicaragua but was in fact, cut for Holly! Mind-blowing.
Edna- From the first episode, I found her adorable! I mean, how can you not like her? She's a sweetheart too! From that first episode where she helped Coach get his things, to her last stand to lobby the tribe to boot Hantz, she smiled through it all.
Sophie- Ok. Where to begin with Sophie? Pre-season, I didn't know what to think of her honestly as I was quite conflicted. I didn't know whether I'd love her or...not-so-much. My little sister, Olivia, on the other hand was loving her from the very beginning. We were watching the TV Guide special before this season aired and when Sophie came on she said, "I really like that girl! She reminds me of me!" And as the season progressed, I was astonished at how correct that statement was. Literally, if Olivia played the game, she'd get the Sophie edit.
Whitney- WHAT? Whitney? Eyup. In my pre-season top four and even though she and Cochran weren't bff's in the game, her character post-merge was fabulous enough for me to put her in the top five.
Well, if y'all have any thoughts, feel free to let me know...looking at the time now, it's 7:49 pm. Only 45 minutes to go! Thanks everyone and I'll be posting more as the year goes on!
Stephen
