“Loyalties Will Be Broken”
…just like they’ve been broken every single season since Sue called Kelly a snake.
We begin the final episode of "Survivor: South Pacific," and I still don’t know whom I’m rooting for. Y’all know I love Rick, but, realistically, I don’t think he has a chance of making it to the final two. If Coach wins, I can accept it, but I’m still not going to actively root for him. Sophie, maybe?
OK, I admit I wrote that bit before the episode began, but now it has, and I’m wondering why Anderson Cooper is talking about coral reefs on my TV right now -- is this part of the finale? Did something get pushed back because of football or something? (Yes, yes it did.)
And … it’s now 8:34, and we’re finally getting under way with the finale! And we start out with … a recap of everything that’s happened so far this season. Which I won’t be recapping; if you want to know what happened, go back and read my other recaps. One thing though -- the editors made sure to highlight Coach’s promise to Ozzy to go to the final three with him. We’ll see what happens with that -- it reminds me of an old theater saying: If you introduce a gun in the first act, it had better go off by the third.
At Redpemtion Island, Brandon arrives and talks about being stabbed in the back. No, Brandon, you were stabbed in the front. And you shouldn’t refer to Coach (or Albert, or whoever) as your best friend because: a) you’ve only known him for a month; b) up until about five minutes ago, you were in competition with him for $1 million. He. Is. Not. Your. Best. Friend.
Back at Te Tuna, Coach and Sophie get mad at Albert for not giving back the Immunity Idol. But really, what did they expect him to do? He knew that if he gave it back, he was gone. I probably would have done the same thing. If they want to blame someone, blame Brandon. Albert didn’t ask him to give up immunity, he just didn’t say no. Because he’s playing for a million freakin’ dollars.
Redemption Island duel time! Ozzy has to win this. There is no way that Brandon will take him out after this long of a run. The challenge this time is straightforward -- a simple endurance challenge to hold on to a pole the longest. They start out at what looks like about 10 feet up in the air. I’d be up there for about 30 seconds. Wow, this looks incredibly difficult. They both manage to hold on for almost an hour; Ozzy ekes out the victory. I almost feel as if I have to root for Ozzy based on his challenge performances alone.
And back at Te Tuna, it’s a little awkward as Ozzy rejoins the tribe. Ozzy listens to Coach promise to take him to the final three but doesn’t believe him. I think, at this point, Ozzy has no plans to ally himself with anyone, and his plan is to just keep winning immunity.
Oohh, Coach calls it “his game to lose.” I am still waiting for hubris to come and bite him in the butt. And as learned as Coach is about Greek philosophy, he knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Immuity Challenge time! They have to build a house of cards while holding on to a balance board? This is like the Mad Libs of challenges. I’d be screwed because I’m left-handed. I call discrimination! This challenge is biased in favor of right-handed people.
Sophie is asking Albert to drop his stack and come help her pick up pieces. Why would he do that? Oh, to get Ozzy out. Jeff puts the kibosh on that; no one is allowed to help anyone else. As you would expect from having to build a house of cards one-handed, this challenge is taking quite a while. Ozzy wins immunity as everyone else’s house of cards crumble. Significant, no?
Back at camp, Ozzy is gleeful about winning the challenge and the predicament the former Upolu tribe members find themselves in. Unfortunately for me, talk has turned to Rick being voted out for being too likeable. Ozzy is pushing for Sophie to go home, and it looks as if he might be winning Rick over. I can see Ozzy’s point of view - he’s angling to try to get his challenge competition sent home.
Rick pegs Coach - he’s really good at skirting the truth.
Ozzy spills the beans about Coach promising to take him to the end. When confronted about it by Albert, Coach does exactly what Rick describes and gets around giving a straight answer.
Tribal Council time. Since it’s the last night he can use it, Coach is using the Immunity Idol to guarantee he gets to the final four. Rick makes the argument that he’s not a threat, immunity-wise. Ozzy spills the beans some more, Coach tries to dissemble, and Sophie is personally offended that Ozzy didn’t want to be her best friend. And Jeff calls her on it, which is awesome. Wow, these people need to get away from each other.
