South Pacific: Episode 14

And then there were five!

    
     Considering how Ozzy almost got beat by Cochran last week, it is entirely possible for him to actually not win a Redemption Island duel.  However, Edna is not the one person who I would think would beat him.  Through-out the entire duel, the Upolu members were trying to give Edna tips on how to solve the puzzle that she was working on, but in the end, the Savaii member prevailed and sent Edna home for good!  At this point in the game, Ozzy only has one more person to defeat in order to get a final chance at becoming the sole survivor!

     I really wish that Albert would have been on the Savaii tribe.  He is the only person from the Upolu tribe who is willing to take risks, make strategic moves and actually play the damn game!  The only part of his game that I did not like was that he was wanting to go to the end with Coach and Rick, as opposed to Rick and Brandon or Coach and Brandon.  I simply do not understand why people don't see the genius idea of taking Brandon to the end....but that's the Upolu tribe for you.  Anyway, Sophie came up with a decent idea of getting rid of Brandon because he would put up a good fight against Ozzy at Redemption.  However, I think Albert would put up an equally tough fight as Brandon - - plus Brandon would not have a single chance at winning a million dollars if he was brought to the end.  But whatevs - - the self-proclaimed "smartest person on paper" really is not that smart at playing this game, in my opinion.

     Everyone has noticed Albert's scrambling as of late.  He is wanting to get rid of Sophie because she has been a physical competitor and hasn't ruffled too many feathers.  Honestly, I do think taking Sophie to the end is a stupid idea.  On the other end of the spectrum, Rick, Coach, and Sophie want to get rid of Brandon or Albert. 

     The tribe got thrown a curveball when Brandon won the immunity challenge.  Although it wasn't how they wanted things to go, their vote was an easy one.  Albert would be the next person to go.  However, tribal council was actually very interesting.  Brandon said that he had a conversation with God about how he needed to give his immunity idol to Albert.  He felt secure enough in his game that Sophie would be going home that night.  Coach even told him that HE would pray about it and see what God would want him to do.  Right before the vote, Brandon seemed worried that he was actually in danger - - and he was.  In a huge talk about loyality, honor, respect, integrity, blah blah blah, the bogus bullshit lies that the fab five have been preaching the entire season finally surfaced.  Jeff gave Albert the opportunity to give the idol back to Brandon, but Albert refused - - of course he did.  To Albert, the only smart member of the entire Upolu tribe, this game is about doing whatever necessary in order to win the game.  Brandon was the next person sent to Redemption after one of the dumbest moves ever made in the game of Survivor. 

     I think getting rid of Brandon was yet again one of the stupidest moves that could have been made.  What's the point?!  The Upolu members are NOT fooling anyway.  The tribe has this cult-like, better-than-thou mentality that everyone sees right through.  Brandon has played the game very messy.  He has gotten into arguments with several people and has had numerous meltdowns.  In order to win this game, you have to constantly be thinking about your own end game...who do you want to go to the end with you so you can have the best chance at winning.  I definitely think that Rick is a completely worthless, mute piece of shit.  He does NOT deserve to win whatsoever.  Take him!  Brandon should have been taken to the end as well.   In my opinion, Brandon is like Russell in the sense that he is very vocal.  He means what he says and says what he means.  He has taken so much heat throughout the season because of this, and it would have been a perfect reason to keep him around for the final three.  He has rubbed everyone the wrong way, and I don't think he would have a chance in hell at winning a million dollars.  I seriously hope that next season is much different.  What makes the show interesting is when people make big moves.  I hate watching a season where everyone is playing it safe.  It is sooo unbearably boring.  The past two seasons have been like this.  No more returning players for a while, please!!

     The Sprint Player of the Season is chosen by the fans and is awarded $100,000 at the reunion show.  I texted my ten votes for Cochran.  As much as I CANNOT stand him whatsoever, he was the only person in the season willing to make a big move.  Yes, I called it from the very beginning.  His big move was stupid and pointless.  However, it was so big that it single-handedly determined the rest of the game.  I do not expect him to win - - I think Ozzy will, but Cochran definitely deserves it.

     The season finale is Sunday!  I expect the final three to be Rick, Sophie, and Coach, but at this point in the game anything can happen.  I would love to see Ozzy return from Redemption and sneak his way into the final three.  I don't expect it to happen, but we shall see! 

    I also wanted to give a shout-out to Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth for becoming the first two members of the 2011 class of the Survivor Hall of Fame.  Although I do not think that Ozzy is deserving, Cirie definitely is.  Congrats guys.  I look forward to joining you someday!  Haha.

    In addition, Gordon Holmes gave me a shout-out in his Survivor blog, which I'm very excited about considering he is a big deal in the online Survivor community.  I'm slowly creeping my way into the Survivor universe.  People will start remembering my name.  2012 is going to be MY Survivor year in one form or another. . . mark my words!  Click here for Gordon's article

See you Sunday at the finale!!

Twitter:  the_timgilmore

South Pacific: Episode 13

*I apologize that this is so late, but I am going to post both recaps today, to prepare everyone for the season finale!!*

     The episode started out with the Redemption Island duel between Ozzy and Cochran.  Once again I find it ridiculous that both Edna and Cochran are surprised that they are being targeted now, but enough about that.  Cochran surprisingly gave Ozzy a run for his money.  I was literally cringing when I thought Cochran was going to finally send Ozzy home - - how ironic would that have been.  Unfortunately for John, this was not the case.  Ozzy was once again the victor and remained the King of Redemption.  Cochran gave his last interview about how he was a changed man, then was sent on his way. 

     This episode was the loved one's visit.  After winning the Island duel, Ozzy was able to choose three people who would be able to spend the day with their loved ones.  I am fairly confident in the fact that people have been feeding Ozzy with a lot of information as they go through Redemption due to the simple fact that he chose three of the assumed ring-leaders of the tribe:  Coach, Brandon, and Albert.  It was fairly obvious that Ozzy's intent was to get in with the three men, Coach inparticular.  You could definitely tell that Brandon's dad and Russell are brothers.  Brandon's dad tried to bully Coach into making sure that he takes Brandon to the final three.  This alone would have made me not want to do it. 

     It became painstakingly clear that Edna was the next to go.  In the reward/immunity challenge, Edna was quickly targeted so she had absolutely no chance of winning immunity.  Brandon was very vocal about the fact that it was Edna's time to go.  Edna was just flabbergasted that she was the next to go.  She mentioned on several occasions about how everyone was playing with "honor and integrity" yet Brandon has had so many meltdowns throughout the season that clearly honor and integrity got tossed out the window a long time ago.  She made a final plea at tribal council, but it did not pan out in her favor.  Edna was the first member of the post-merge Upolu tribe to be sent to Redemption Island.

     Now that it's down to the final five, I would hope that the game would start getting interesting, but I honestly do not expect it to.  The Upolu tribe have played it save throughout the entire season - - safe = boring.  It may be the smartest thing for their individual games, but it does not make for good television.  I'm seriously hoping something starts changing very soon!

One final note - - I thought it was hilarious when Edna refused to pray with the rest of the crew.  This was the first time someone from the Upolu tribe was upfront and honest about the whole cult situation the entire season!  She wasn't part of the main alliance, so why bullshit everyone and try to fit in? 

Until next time...

Twitter:  the_timgilmore

South Pacific: Episode 12

     Episode 11 was a mid-season recap show, which is why it was skipped.

     The Redemption Island challenge ended how I knew that it would.  Ozzy, Whitney, and Dawn competed in a plate-balancing mission.  Ozzy was the victor, but he was not added back to the game yet.

     One thing that I have observed is how observant Sophie is.  On more than one occasion, she has just sat back and watched how different players interact with each other.  Observance is definitely a key aspect in playing this game, and that is why I like her. 

     I think it is funny that Cochran feels like the Upolu tribe owes him something.  Cochran made the stupid decision to jump ship and be a traitor to the other Savaii members.  There was no reason for the Upolu members to turn on each other and keep Cochran around after they were finished wiping out the other tribe one-by-one. 

     Albert has been ruffling feathers due to his lack of helping around camp.  He made a snide remark expressing "To me this game is about doing well in challenges, creating a great strategy and playing a strong social game. So those are what I’m focused on. I leave the housework to Martha Stewart.”  Clearly Albert is completely unaware that part of the social game is putting in the required work around camp.  It doesn't matter if you think it's not necessary or if you think conserving your energy for challenges is a wiser decision - - it is all about your tribemates perception of what you're doing.  In the end, laziness is not rewarded a million bucks, which is something Albert needs to keep in mind. 

     Edna and Cochran finally caught on to the fact that they are sixth and seventh in their tribe.  I'm not sure why people are completely oblivious to the fact that not everyone is going to make it to the finals.  At some point people have to start thinking for themselves and make some big moves, otherwise someone else is choosing when you are going to leave the game.  Cochran and Edna decided that they were going to try to rally the troops - - Albert and Sophie - - in order to get rid of Rick.

     Cochran knew that he was desperate, so he came up with a white lie about how his birthday was in a couple days (even though it was actually 6 months prior).  I thought this was an awesome idea, and it is totally something that I will probably use in the future if I feel as if I am in trouble.  He was hoping that this would give him some sympathy votes and people wouldn't try to get rid of him yet.

     Albert ended up winning the reward challenge and the immunity challenge.  He was given a full-body massage, as well as a hot shower.  He was able to choose one person to go with him, which he ultimately chose Coach.  I thought this was an awesome idea seeing as in how Coach is the man in charge.  Albert wanted to bring one more person with him, but Jeff wouldn't let him, so he decided to give up his own spot and gave it to Cochran.  I seriously thought this was one of the best moves of the season.  Not only did he get rid of any sort of guilt that the tribe might feel by getting rid of Cochran, but he also probably won Cochran's vote on the jury.  In addition, it got Coach away from the rest of the tribe.  This would have been an opportune time for everyone to figure out where everyone else stood.  If Sophie and Albert wanted to make a big move, it would have been a good time to talk about getting rid of Coach.  The one thing about this tribe that I hate is how predictable and boring it is.  It's just like Boston Rob's Ometepe tribe last season.  Make some big moves or else Coach is going to win the million dollars and the title of "Sole-Survivor."

     Another thing that I want to mention is that Sophie was in the final round of the challenge.  If people are thinking about getting rid of her before the final three, they should use the times that she doesn't win immunity to get rid of her - - - just a thought.

     Ultimately, Edna and Cochran were the only two people to vote for Rick and tribal council.  The rest of the tribe voted for Cochran.  I thought this was the right decision for the rest of the tribe.  There really is no need to keep Cochran around.  I also predict that Edna will go next week.  I'm interested to see how dirty things will get once there are only five people left.  Also, I want Ozzy to rejoin the game.  I know that he will take out Cochran without any sort of problem.  When he does join the game, I would love for him to win a couple immunity challenges so things will get mixed up a little bit.  If someone doesn't make a big move soon, everyone is basically writing Coach the million dollar check already.

     One final note - - I found out that the first round of phone calls go out in January and the second go out in February.  The @CBS website says that if you don't hear anything about the casting call auditions by February 29th then your "torch has been snuffed."  Keep your fingers crossed, guys!  Thanks for the support.

Until next time. . .

Twitter:  the_timgilmore