TV: Survivor South Pacific (ep. 8)

Week eight of the new season of Survivor was titled "Double Agent". Last week Ozzy and Savaii put a plan in place to upset the game. Ozzy gave Cochran his hidden immunity idol and had his tribe send him to Redemption Island. The idea was he would go and beat Christine, leaving the tribes equal at the upcoming merge. They would say Cochran betrayed them, allowing him to infilitrate Upolu as a double agent. Did that plan play out?

Let's take a look at the details of the episode.


In the always unpredictable build-long-pole-get-keys type of challenge, Ozzy was risking quite a bit. This was an even challenge that Christine could have won. Pressure and weeks on Redemption took their toll on her though, allowing Ozzy to calmly do what he needed to do despite setbacks (like dropping one of his keys in the sand). The problem was, before the duel, Ozzy over-dramatized the events leading him to arrive at Redemption, leaving no doubt to Upolu that something was up.

But step one worked. Ozzy beat Christine.

Step two happened - the merge came and the tribes were now one. Six and six.

Time for Cochran to infilitrate. The thing is, Cochran has not been happy with how his tribe has been treating him. So, the infilitration wasn't so much an act - thus believable. He really wanted to make a change up for his game. It appeared that Dawn could understand that and she was possibly willing to go with him on a flip to better both of their games.

In the Immunity Challenge, it was a double-win situation. One guy and one gal would be safe. The challenge looked simple but proved to be a good one. In the end, Dawn and Ozzy won immunity necklaces.

The former Savaii six had a plan - vote for one person (Rick) and convince the Upolu six that they were voting for Whitney. Ozzy would give Whitney the immunity idol after the vote, making her safe and sending Rick home. Cochran told Sophie the plan though, insuring that Upolu did not vote for Whitney. They instead targetted another.

At tribal, it was obvious that Upolu did not believe anything Savaii was saying. Ozzy's ego got the better of him and he revealed he still had a hidden immunity idol. He cannot keep his mouth shut about that thing.

Voting happened. Ozzy protected Whitney with the hidden idol as planned. The votes were read - a split of six for Rick and six for Keith. Jeff called for a revote with votes only going for one of the two guys. Savaii expected it to be a tie-vote of 5 to 5 and forcing the Purple Rock scenario.

Cochran, however, had a change of heart and flipped it right there. Keith was sent packing to Redemption, the former Savaii are pissed at Cochran and, surprisingly, Brandon offered Cochran protection.

Clearly this was a big Survivor move, one of the top 10 moves ever I would say. Next week should have plenty of fallout. This has turned into a great season so far.