South Pacific: Ep 14

This ended up being a record-setting season - Moon set a new all-time high with 195 points! A monster score, wiping out Doug/Bri's 150-something victory that used to hold the spot. Granted, with some hefty rule changes, it's not too surprising the record was broken, but Moon really blew it right out of the water.


The Standings: 

Team Top 3: Moon - 195 pts
1. Ozzy (73 pts)
2. Sophie (89 pts) 
3. Jim (33 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 112 pts
1. Albert (52 pts)
2. Rick (27 pts) 
3. Dawn (33 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 107 pts 
1. Cochran (26 pts)
2. Elyse (12 pts)
3. Coach (69 pts)

Team ICRWYNISTB: Dachui - 62 pts
1. Keith (27 pts)
2. Brandon (27 pts)
3. Stacey (8 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 55 pts
1. Mikayla (13 pts)
2. Christine (18 pts)
3. Edna (24 pts)

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 42 pts
1. Papa Bear (7 pts) 
2. Whitney (33 pts)
3. Semhar (2 pts)

Thoughts on the Season:

In a season that started chock-full of blind-sides and betrayals, I thought the latter half of the season was a bit of a let-down. That being said, I was convinced that Coach had a lock on the victory... up until Tribal Council that is! Sophie represented herself at final tribal better than almost anyone else I've seen. Earl & JT are probably in that "elite verbal crushers" category also. 

Ultimately, I do think that this was Coach's season to lose, and lose it he did! He ended up getting 3 votes - from Edna, Cochran, and Rick. I was pretty surprised that Ozzy & Whitney, two "Sophie is a brat" haters, both voted for Sophie! Sophie won votes from all Savaii members (except Cochran) and Brandon (which I like to think is a result of her revealing how Coach conned him with the hidden immunity idol). He really had no idea how to win over a jury, even with Edna's help! I thought Edna was a real treat at the final tribal, I loved her speech. I hope that more jury members tell off the jury in the future!  

I enjoyed many of the characters from this season - it was nice to have Coach & Ozzy back, even though I generally didn't like either of them. I also liked Cochran, and there are some of us who think he'll make a second appearance as a veteran on the show! Mostly this season had competent players, but even those who weren't - cough cough, Brandon - were very entertaining. While no one topped Philip for pure entertainment, that's a pretty high standard to reach.

I found Brandon's story at the reunion show unsurprising. Based on what we know about the other Hantz's (Evil Russ & Papa Hantz) these are people who would be extremely pleased with the reputation that Evil Russ made for the family. These are also people who are probably mortified by Brandon's attitude & mental non-toughness. 

Final thought: PLLEEEAASE do NOT have a Hantz v. Hantz season!

Thoughts on Next Season:

Next season is Survivor: One World, and is the 24th season in the series. It also appears to be filming in Samoa AGAIN which is a bummer. It airs in February, so start getting excited!

Overall I think having the two tribes living together from the start is not super exciting. There will be no mystery left, and far less excitement when reaching the merge. However, there are some things that interest me. I'm curious to see how much of an influence one tribe will have on the other's votes in a pre-merged situation. It also seems like cross-tribal alliances could (and SHOULD) develop that could result in some fascinating politicking. If they do it "right," throwing challenges could become much more common, and being with the "in" crowd could become even more vital for survival. Only time will tell though... happily, that time is just a short 2 months away!

I hope that next season focuses a little less on religion! First Matty, then Brandon/Coach, all of whom have pretty poor theology... it just gets draining after a while. Maybe next season the contestants can have a different obsession. Cooking, maybe? A group that creates their own 18-hole golf course? I'd even take a different religion - how cool would a Pagan Redemption Island be?

Unfortunately, by the time the next season starts, Mr. Moon will be across the pond & living in ETHIOPIA!! So we'll have to figure that pool out early to try & fit him in.

Rule Changes?

-  I like awarding points by vote received for final tribal, but I think that a bottom-line 25 points is too high for those making the finals. I suggest dropping this down to 15-20 points instead.

- Bag came up with a great idea for Redemption Island - instead of getting 3 points per RI victory, we should have "bounties" on the players instead. This would only change things in a 3+ player RI battle. Theoretically, if 1 player knocks out 2 players in a 3-way RI battle, that player would win 6 points. If there's a 3-way battle & only 1 player gets knocked out, the other 2 would split his/her bounty & collect 1.5 points each.

-  With so many individual immunity challenges also being indiv reward challenges, I think we need to adjust these numbers. Winning 10 points for 1 challenge seems too high to me. 

- Moon doesn't like the -5 points for NOT playing your immunity idol on the last day you can play it. Being someone who recently reaped the "benefits" of this rule, I disagree. I think jackasses like Coach should be punished for that sort of cockiness. (I also think this is a good indicator of why Coach didn't win...)