THE GOOD: Sophie started this game as no one. I have not recognized her during the pilot. She was only given little airtime before the merge in which she created a moment of her own when she joined Albert and Coach in an alliance based on loyalty. Overall, she’s the season’s covert strategist and her under-the-radar strategic game help her move further without being recognized as a threat that even Coach failed to see it.
THE BAD: It was a bad moment for Albert to receive no votes. It made me ask myself why no one wanted him to win. Suddenly I got the answers. If I am to compare Albert’s game to playing tennis, he was playing clean the first few episodes until he started to commit a lot of errors and not recovered since. His strategic game was too aggressive and he failed to maneuver it in the right direction.
Albert was the season’s Mr. Lucky Man. His alliance still helped him get in the final three even if it looked like he’s checking out the episode before the finale. He was still given a chance to face a jury and all he needed to do was to try convincing them why he deserved to win. Unluckily, errors start to pile up all over again and he immediately found himself in a painful position by not answering a question that only required a yes or no.
WHO STAND OUT?: I like how Coach reacted after Cochran praised him. “I came into this game wanting to do all the right things – and when you try to please everybody, you end up doing all the wrong things. … Each day I just wanted to justify my actions…in the end it became one big convoluted mess.” It’s the only moment in which I felt the sincerity and the honesty in him.
Though, at the start of the Tribal Council, I just wondered why Coach did not drop the “integrity, loyalty and honesty” the moment he had his opening statements. Experience should have told him that the jury won’t take it as genuine response.
I also appreciated Edna for being an open-minded juror. She understood how this entire game was played even if it’s her first time. Instead of hating the three people sitting in front of her, she chose to shed some light and helped her other jurors accept the reality that the Final Three played a better game than them.
THE UNLUCKIEST: Ozzy was a step closer to winning a million should he win that last individual final immunity. History could have happened as he would have named as the first sole survivor who was voted out twice.
EPISODE RATING: This was a good finale and a season worth-watching (8 of 10 stars!). It’s not a forgettable season even if it featured two returners (which is unfair) and a “Redemption Island.” Every episode stood on its own, each challenge was fun and though there were times the series of events were clearly predictable, there’s still something explosive to watch out for.
Personally, SURVIVOR SOUTH PACIFIC is the best season to date after Heroes vs. Villains. It could have been more special if there were only two people sitting in front of the nine jurors or the final votes could have been 3 – 3 – 3 or 4 – 4 – 1.
Photos courtesy of: CBS, TV by the Numbers
I AM SURVIVORDEAN 
I thought Sophie did deserve to win. She played a strong game across the board. However, I felt like Coach was more in control in everyone’s destiny. I think the reason he didn’t win was because he didn’t just own up to everything he did. Everyone thought Albert was very sneaky and probably obnoxious. Albert really didn’t do much the entire game. He never made the big move he talked about.
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Pretty good, though I think it was improper of Jeff to kinda force Russell to charge on to Brandon.
I’m still celebrating Ozzy’s defeat, and I’m glad that this time, unlike in Micronesia, he accepted it like a man… Still way overrated in my opinion. He may be a challenge dominator, but his overall gameplay completely sucks.
I’m also glad it was between Coach and Sophie in the end, because they were both very well deserving.
I wasn’t surprised at all that Albert ended with zero votes, because there was no way he was gonna win, since he was way to uncautious… He could’ve at least received Brandon’s vote had he not blown the yes or no issue.
I remember in Cook-Islands, Candice asked Yul the same kind of question, and had he not answered it the way he did, he would’ve lost her vote.
I’m hoping there’s no more Redemption Island ever… I still remember how much damage it has done to season 22, and to the 1st and 4th Israeli seasons.
As for the “One World” twist, which took a small part in Thailand and Palau as well (and in the 3rd Israeli season), I think it’s a very interesting one. A really good idea in my opinion…
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@MikeCif Albert is the seventh finalist who has not received a vote from the jury. If you are going to compare his game with what Natalie did the previous season, you can probably say Albert deserved even a single vote than Natalie. He’s a strategic player even without a clear direction unlike Natalie who just ride other coat-tails. Natalie was my personal bet and her only highest-high in the competition was when she outlasted Mike during the first Individual Immunity Challenge. Without that moment, she would be remembered as a blank white sheet without a dot of stain.
@OriKohav Don’t worry, there are no returners and Redemption Island next season. I just read it on Wikipedia.
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Totally agree Dean. Albert’s game was much better then what Natalie this time and I was a little surprised to see he didn’t get a single vote. However, I feel like Albert must have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way on a personal level. And with him going against Sophie and Coach I can see why he didn’t get votes.
The next season is something that looks really interesting to me to. Going to be interesting how it impacts the way people play the game.
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[…] South Pacific is three times better than Redemption Island. Although Ozzy and Coach in the final four against Albert and Sophie, the season never ended in a downward slope. All credit to Sophie. If not for her, the jury would have given the title to either Ozzy or Coach. Sophie clearly outplayed Ozzy in that final immunity challenge and she was also successful for using Coach as a tool to win the title. […]
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