South Pacific Episode 10: Stupid, stupid people

Jim and Whitney have both figured out Coach, and reckon he's gonna take Cochran or Edna to the end. Whitney speaks 100% truth - Coach is running the show, and will win the game unless removed. "I don't understand how smart people can be so stupid" she says.

Cochran, the karate kid

Cochran joins in with Coach's dragon-chi. He thinks sucking up to the leader will help his game. Coach confides in Cochran the fact that he's worried Albert might be thinking of making a move. For some reason Cochran is worried about this even though it can only benefit him.


So, onto the Redemption Island challenge. Their task is to keep their poles from falling. Jim can't stop laughing during the explanation. During the duel, Rick and Brandon openly cheer for Jim. Jim smiles at this. Funny, Brandon was cheering against him last episode. Probst asks who's cheering for Keith and Whitney (of course) says she is. Nobody is cheering for Ozzy. Haha.

The three boys bond after the duel

Jim drops out of the challenge first, and then Keith, becoming the first two members of the jury. Ozzy claims to be in the best place he can be. He's away from all the strategy (which he was never any good at anyway) and can just focus on kicking everyone's ass. Obviously it's an intimidation tactic, but nobody's going to vote for somebody who's being a dick. Jim throws his buff in the fire, after Probst confirms there is no secret double Redemption Island like he was hoping. Keith follows.

Ozzy thinks he's found paradise. His fishing has never been better. He has a long and very cocky confessional about how everyone who comes there is gonna have a tough challenge ahead. Then he climbs on top of a coconut tree and a helicopter shot zooms out. What the Hell? OK, clearly this guy is coming back into the game. Everyone else can just give up now. I like how they then cut back to camp at Rick and Coach checking the net and finding no fish.

Cochran says something smart for the first time in the game and claims that if he can help Dawn and Whitney get further they might vote for him. Probably not, but they might. He's considering flipping back if the possibility arrives. Maybe he just wants to betray everybody. Nevertheless, Dawn has a slim lifeline.

You're still my number one

The immunity challenge involves carrying a bowl of rice on your head and walking along a plank to empty it into another jar. Dawn takes an early lead. Brandon and Sophie are next. Everyone else quickly falls out of it. I think this challenge was designed to make people look as silly as possible. Sophie takes a gamble and fills her bowl up to the brim. It pays off, Sophie wins immunity!

Dawn isn't giving up. She's hoping the twist that Probst promised is something good. Cochran is guessing that it's a double elimination and worries that if a Savaii wins the second immunity, he's going to go next. Whitney then gives a great confessional calling out the useless players. "Rick isn't even playing Survivor" she says. Poor guy, he's getting one of the most embarrassing edits of all time.

Albert is a chess master

Albert is considering getting Edna out. He's figured out that he can only win if he gets every Savaii jury vote, and doesn't feel too bad about backstabbing Edna, as he wasn't going to get her vote anyway. Also it appears everyone dislikes her. "She brings nothing to the table" says Albert, "this isn't outorganize, outclean, outgather". Sophie is now in the swingvote position. As a side note Albert's chess set was pretty impressive. Showing him beating Cochran could turn out to be symbolic.

"Anyone who goes against the family is dead" says Coach sounding very Godfather-esque. (Picture Coach as Michael and Albert as Fredo). A few of the Coachlings have noticed Albert talking with Whitney and Dawn and Coach decides the best method of keeping his control is fear. Like Boston Rob once said, fear keeps people loyal.

At tribal council, Coach denies he is the leader. Whitney scoffs at this and states she always sees people running to Coach with information. Time to vote, and Whitney is hoping that 4 Edna votes come up. But unfortunately, only two do, and the rest are for Dawn who heads to Redemption Island. Probst then announces that they'll get right in to another challenge, and another double elimination will occur. "Dammit" says Whitney.

Whitney in defeat, still smiling

The challenge is a survival trivia quiz...it's a little lame, but I guess they're limited as to what can take place at tribal council. Albert, Edna and Rick fall out on question one. Whitney, Sophie and Coach are soon the only ones left in and then Whitney and Sophie. Interesting...it's always fun when the underdog stays in contention. Sophie gets the clam question right and wins immunity. Crisis averted for Cochran.

So predictably, Whitney joins Ozzy and Dawn on Redemption Island for a fish supper and the rest of the tribe go back to camp. I thought Albert's move made sense, so what went wrong? Talk is cheap, actions speak louder.

STAR OF THE WEEK: WHITNEY DUNCAN

Could've given it to Ozzy or Albert (maybe next week), but I'll give it to Whitney, for being the speaker of truth or giving it a good go in the challenge and for smiling all the time. Notice how many of the recent awards are the people leaving the game? That's never a good sign.

South Pacific Episode 9: The Pagonging Begins

Ozzy brings Cochran aside to speak with him and calmly tells him he screwed him over (doesn't stop Brandon sticking his nose in though). Jim and Whitney are much harsher, Jim telling Cochran to never talk to him again and Whitney expressing her disgust, also pointing out that she saved him so many times before. Cochran seems pretty calm throughout, believing their reaction to be understandable. "He just lost me 6 weeks of my life" says Whitney. That's a pretty grim assessment isn't it? Obviously she wanted to win, but a life-changing experience on a tropical Island is a pretty good consolation prize.

Coach relishes being the king of Te Tuna

Then they cut straight to the challenge as there's a lot to get through this episode. The castaways have to throw coconuts into a hole and then get juice from the coconuts to fill a tube on the other side of an obstacle course. Dawn lands a coconut first. Whitney and Jim are next followed by Sophie. Ozzy is frustrated because he knows he's going out.

Jim emerges victorious

Sophie and Jim contest the second part of the challenge. Jim fills his almost to the brim, giving Sophie a chance, but she throws up halfway through, allowing Jim to win it. It's a funny moment, first when Jim starts celebrating before he's even done it, and then when after getting the necklace he takes a drink of the juice. Hasn't he had enough?

Ozzy has a talk with Coach and tells him he's not ready to go. Jim starts thinking his only move left is to give his necklace up to Ozzy and make a rousing speech to try and get them to vote out Cochran. What? That's a terrible plan.

At tribal council, Jim tells the others that by voting out Cochran they can send a message about loyalty and integrity, words that ring true to Coach's ears. Coach proposes a different theory. "The message that would send is that if you stand up for yourself, you get screwed". Ozzy says he's gonna beat everyone on Redemption Island. Jim keeps his necklace, wisely. And the tribe vote Ozzy out, who is still cocky. Whatever Ozzy wrote on his vote for Cochran was unairable.

Ozzy checks out the reef on Redemption Island, and catches his biggest fish ever. Him and Keith will be eating well tonight. Ozzy seems to like it on Redemption Island.

I won't lie, I found this part kinda sexy

The next challenge is a balance one. Jeff gives them the option to sit out of the challenge and eat, which all of Upolu plus Cochran take. Jim, Dawn and Whitney are left to balance their ball, whilst standing on a board. Brandon celebrates Jim dropping out of the challenge. Dawn declares she is staying in the challenge to let them eat. Brandon buys her attempts to suck up. Whitney wins immunity and Albert comments on how he doesn't like that Dawn is now integrating herself into the dominant alliance.

Cochran walks around camp with Rick's hat and Coach's jacket, much to everyone's amusement. What's with these people wearing eachother's clothes so much? Brandon is wearing Cochran's shirt and Whitney is wearing Elyse's bikini. "Cochran is playing the greatest 3rd place game in Survivor history" says Jim. He might be right!

The dream team: Oh, what could have been

Jim starts scrambling. His proposal to Sophie and Albert is to vote out Edna as he feels they're the ones on the outs of the alliance. Albert has a different plan: get rid of Dawn. She's more likeable and quite a challenge threat herself. Coach compares Jim to a rhino and Dawn to a snake. Harsh comparison although I feel Dawn did come off fake this episode for the first time ever. I don't blame her though, butt-kissing is smart right now and I think she does have a decent shot of integrating herself in the group.

Lay off them, Brandon!

At tribal council, Brandon snaps at Dawn for saying she didn't like the Upolu tribe eating claiming she seemed alright with it at the time. Whitney cries because she feels villainised. Anyway, the predictable boot occurs, and everyone seems more than happy to send Jim on his way.


"I hate to say I told you so..." says Ozzy, likely referring to how he wanted Cochran out from the start. "I thought we were going to be the final three?" Jim says. Oh, how times change.

STAR OF THE WEEK: JIM RICE

There's always some great players that just simply lose the numbers game. This season that was Jim. Jim is a great player that got a bad hand and could've run the game if Savaii had made it through that first vote. I like how he stood by his tribemates as he went down fighting, no matter how big a target it made him.

South Pacific Episode 8: Rock Steady

Cochran loves that he's got a reprieve, but Keith belittles him for not stepping up, and letting Ozzy fight his battle for him. Cochran is ready to play the villain and test his acting abilities as the double agent. "I've already been pretending to like these people for 18 days" he says. Which was pretty funny. His Scarface impression was less so.

Ozzy living dangerously

Ozzy lays it on really thick when he gets to Redemption Island. Straight away, Albert doesn't buy it. Ozzy's acting and his "my tribe is a mess" claims are just too good to be true. Regardless, the duel is a quick one. The task is to retrieve keys using a long pole, like they did last year. Christine never really gets a strong enough stick to get off the ground. Ozzy, after dropping the first one, makes quick time and wins his way back into the game, sending Christine packing. All those duels were for nothing then, huh?

Coach correctly susses out a lie

Coach confronts Cochran about his story, telling him he knows he's full of shit, but still extends a tentative olive branch for him to join their tribe, by telling him he can relate to him. It's masterful manipulation from Coach. It results in Cochran spilling the beans. It's hard to tell if he's still acting when he's claiming about wanting to jump ship.

Cochran and Dawn have a frank conversation about their position within their own tribe, which they both know is not great, and discuss the possibility of taking control of their own destinies and flipping... particularly as they know that if they don't flip, it's time to draw rocks. It's all a bit too much for Dawn to handle, and she breaks down again.

Another Dawn breakdown

At the immunity challenge, Dawn's face lights up when she sees there are going to be two necklaces given out, one for a man and one for a woman - and that's because she knows she can beat any of the women out here. The challenge involves holding a coconut on a string. Edna and Cochran are the first out, obviously. Whitney and Sophie drop out next, meaning Dawn wins immunity. Joining her will be either Brandon, Albert or Ozzy. Ozzy edges out Brandon to win immunity. Guess he's still got it!

We can't lose - unless weasel boy screws it up!

Savaii now have a huge advantage in the rock drawing. Jim predicts that Whitney will be the one receiving the votes, because they'll want Keith and Jim to be available for the rock draw. The sour look on Whitney's face when Jim says "no-one would expect Whitney to have the idol...no offence" is hilarious. Ozzy tries to get assurance from Cochran he won't flip, who gives an ambiguous answer and makes Jim nervous.

Cochran, being the snake that he is, blabs the plan to Sophie. Sophie doesn't give up anything in return, as she can't trust Cochran yet. She feels confident he's with them though. One thing's for sure and that's Dawn is staying put. She tries to talk Cochran out of it, who is considering the idea more and more, as he really doesn't like the idea of leaving his game up to chance.

Oh Cochran, what have ye done?

At tribal council, Jim is totally confident no-one from his tribe will flip, as it makes no sense. Sophie reveals that she was "offended" that Savaii thought they would fall for the story they made up. So Ozzy tells the truth and admits he wasn't blindsided and he has the idol. The tribes vote. Ozzy plays his idol on Whitney. He got it wrong, Upolu voted for Keith. Savaii vote for Rick (who is amusingly confused by it), and the vote ties 6-6. When they come back from the re-vote, will it still be a tie? Nope! Cochran stabs Keith in the back, and he goes to Redemption Island. "I swapped" Cochran whispers quietly. No shit. "I can explain" he says. Great, can't wait to hear it. Jim calls him a coward, and Brandon responds by telling him not to talk to him that way, and takes Cochran under his wing on the way back.

Keith goes to Redemption Island with no doubt in his mind about who it was that betrayed him. It seems Cochran has now doomed himself and his entire tribe. Guess Cochran did get to play the villain after all. Just what is it about Survivor fans that makes them so bad at the game?

STAR OF THE WEEK: BRANDON HANTZ

Brandon didn't do much this episode, but I did like what we did see of him. He sounded like the Godfather when he offered to protect Cochran. Dare I say, he was actually likeable in this episode. He certainly called out Jim correctly, and his new friendship with Cochran could prove very valuable.

South Pacific Episode 7: The Sacrifice

Three tribal councils, and three meltdowns for Brandon. Rick expresses to Coach his concerns that Brandon could be a liability if he has another blow-up after the merge. Come on, if they were going to get rid of Brandon, they would've done it by now. He's going to get taken to the end, because he can't win.

If Mikayla's so good at challenges, why isn't she acing this?

The duel involves constructing a bridge out of planks, and then using the planks in a puzzle. It's pretty close between the two girls, but Christine finishes her bridge first. Mikayla thinks she has the puzzle first, but she's wrong. Christine gets it, sends Mikayla home in tears, and can't quite believe it.

Ozzy tells Cochran he has a plan to ask his tribe to vote him out if they lose the next challenge, so that he can beat Christine in a duel. This ignores the fact that Christine would probably flip anyway. Cochran approves of the plan, which is no surprise - the kid probably can't believe his luck!

That old familiar sight

Coach does some martial arts on the beach and says a prayer. The tribe is split so he needs the idol to bring them back together again. Sophie points out the hypocrisy in praying for an idol he knows he already has. Just how far is Coach willing to bend the truth and still claim to be an honorable man? Anyway, Sophie and Coach retrieve the tree mail about the challenge, which says the best pair will win. (Best pair? That would be Semhar's, right?) On their way back, they let it be known they have the idol. Brandon says he loves having God on their tribe, and I don't think he means Coach.

Ozzy tantrums are becoming a recurring thing

I liked the matching war paint in the challenge, especially Brandon getting a painted-on bra to match Edna's. The challenge is a tough one, which involves navigating a rope course blindfolded. Rick is the caller and yet still barely speaks. Edna gives a decent account of herself in the challenge despite banging her head. It remains a close one all the way through, until Cochran screws up the ropes, getting Ozzy frustrated. Albert and Sophie match up the masks to give Upolu a victory and another prayer session. Ozzy flips out and kicks a wall. Whoa.

Upolu go to the cinema for a night at the movies. Is being forced to watch an Adam Sandler movie the worst "reward" ever? I said the same thing about "Gulliver's Travels" in Nicaragua. If anything, it should've been the losing tribe that had to watch it. At any rate, it seemed like a fun bonding experience, even though it proved Coach should never be a film critic.

Upolu at the movies!

Ozzy gives Cochran a lot of heat for the challenge, who claims he feels awful. A few of them get it into their heads that Cochran should be the one to go to Redemption Island in order to literally redeem himself. Cochran says he doesn't really feel the need to be the hero, as he doesn't want to go.

Luckily, Ozzy does want to be the hero, and tells the rest of the tribe to vote him out following a dream he had. Yes, really. Keith and Jim have reservations, particularly as if the assumption that a merge is soon is wrong, they're stuck on a tribe that has Dawn as their 3rd guy and Cochran as their 4th guy.

Cochran's idea of staying strong: not crying when you screw up

Probst runs scenarios through with Ozzy at tribal, possibly trying to make him understand how this could end up with him looking very stupid. The move is based on a lot of assumptions, probably good ones, but I would never assume anything on Survivor. Hell, if I were the producers I'd probably delay the merge just to teach them a lesson. Ozzy leaves his idol with Cochran of all people, and departs to Redemption Island enthusiastically. Man, Cochran is the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.

Is Ozzy's plan going to work? It's certainly risky, and will have to rely on better acting ability than he displayed in his last scene with Christine.

STAR OF THE WEEK: OZZY LUSTH

I'm not really an Ozzy fan, but I enjoyed him in this episode. I don't think his plan is a good idea. I think it's a pointless risk, and he's doing it for attention and to make good television. But, I kinda have to thank him for it, because it's a bold, noble move that makes things more interesting.

South Pacific Episode 6: Ozzy On The Outs

So what was the aftermath of the Elyse blindside? Ozzy whines like a little bitch, of course. He refers to himself as a free agent and, in a heated moment, tells everyone he has the idol. So then he basically admits he doesn't care when he gets voted out and is hoping to just run the table at Redemption Island. The next morning, the tribe discuss what a child Ozzy is being, whilst he continues his same strategy of providing. Sorry, but catching fish doesn't get you a million!

Idol hunting is in your DNA

Brandon finds an idol clue and goes on an idol hunt with Coach and Albert, who awkwardly watch him scramble, knowing his efforts are futile. Coach points out the similarities between Brandon and Russell in how they walk, and Russell even appears on screen. Well, they found a way to get him into this season somehow!

Hot shot: should you bet on black?

At the duel, Christine is very emotional. You can tell Redemption Island is breaking her down. It's a game of shuffleboard and Christine misses her first shot completely. She's gonna have to get her head back in the game if she wants to stay. Rick offers some words of encouragement from the sidelines and Christine's response is to flip him off. In the end, Elyse blows it when she accidentally knocks off one of her own pucks and is unable to recover. Christine wins her 4th duel. The parallels with Matt Elrod are piling up. It feels weird seeing Elyse go home so soon. I bet she thought she was just going to ride coattails to the end.

Upolu now realise Christine will flip on them in an instant and begin hoping for her to lose. Edna brings Coach a coconut, causing him to proclaim his love for her, and reassure her that she's not the next one going home.

Edna working that social game

The next day, Ozzy has calmed down and realises he probably shouldn't have told everyone about the idol. Oh well. He apologizes for being a jerk, and Jim says he still wants to keep Ozzy around because not only does he win challenges pre-merge, he's a bigger target than him post-merge.

Strategic mastermind, challenge star - what CAN'T he do?

The challenge is an unusual wheelbarrow/slingshot combination. Edna sits out again. Upolu race into a huge lead when Ozzy runs the wheelbarrow into a post. On the shooting portion, Albert becomes Upolu's top shot, with Coach and Mikayla struggling. Coach asks Mikayla to sit out, because her one-handed strategy isn't working, but she refuses. Savaii come from behind with Jim as their top shot, for a win that re-unifies the tribe. At the reward, by a waterfall, Ozzy proclaims he wants to see these six go to the top.

Rick considers actually doing something for once

Albert is pushing for Edna to go, as a physical liability. Brandon's target is Mikayla but apparently only because he gave his word. He actually - stop the press - prefers her to Edna now. Coach doesn't want to lose Edna, and Albert rightly suspects it's because Edna is loyal first and foremost to him. Rick finds himself the swing vote, which is interesting, given he's been easily the most irrelevant person in the game up to this point.

Coach and Albert make their arguments at tribal council. "Loyalty can be faked...strength can't" says Albert, once again one of the best speakers. Brandon opens his big mouth again saying he doesn't think there's any other option but to vote out Mikayla. Edna and Mikayla take pot shots at eachother with their votes, but it's Edna who wins out. Good! I was off the Mikayla train as soon as she turned into a whiny, deluded, entitled snob.

So, did Rick make the right choice? What does the future hold for the Upolu alliances now that a division has emerged? And will Edna be able to keep up in the most crucial challenge yet, next week? Gonna have to wait and see!

STAR OF THE WEEK: EDNA MA

Seriously, she's just awesome! Yes, she follows Coach around like a lap dog, but it has a strategical purpose, and you have to play the hand you're dealt. She may be outside the 5 at the moment, but a few more coconut hunts and massages and she'll be Coach's main ally before you know it.

South Pacific Episode 5: Breaking Benjamin

Reunited with her pal, Stacey is cracking one-liners and threatening to stir the pot at the duel. Oh, I'll miss this girl if she leaves. Coach sends Albert and Mikayla to the duel expecting them to come back with good news. He'd be wrong.

Dawn is shocked that her fellow weight-lifter was voted out. Whitney is not. Stacey tells them that Benjamin and Albert are running the show. She refuses to call him "Coach". The duel involves dropping balls in chutes and catching them again like in the final three challenge of Tocantins. Christine is more calculated and nervous, whereas Stacey is reckless and no-nonsense. Albert isn't impressed, but Stacey looks to be doing well at first, whereas Christine almost drops twice. They get up to three balls and it is Stacey who drops first. Oh well, at least she did some damage on her way out.

Albert (finally getting a confessional!) says he's pissed that his attempts to stay UTR have been ruined and he knows Coach is going to be pissed too. Coach claims he would be mad if anyone called him Benjamin to his face, and now he's worried he'll be Savaii's first target after the merge.

Pretty girl sitting pretty

Elyse admits she's riding the coattails of her hammock buddy Ozzy. Cochran is hard at work collecting firewood, like the little engine that could. Ozzy asks Cochran how his name is spelled and Cochran tells him that he won't have to spell his name anytime soon. When the duel observers come back with the news, Ozzy makes a comment that Jim doesn't like about how Coach should get rid of Albert before the merge. This makes him wary that Ozzy might come after him, and is all the ammo he needs to get Keith on his side.

Albert's failed idol hunt

Albert finds an idol clue, telling him it's by the ocean and in a tree. Thinking he needs a little help, Albert tells Sophie and Coach about it and they all look. Coach prays for an idol and he gets it! Why didn't Albert just keep looking on his own? They're not that hard to find.

Cochran goes for his first fishing trip with Ozzy. He comments on how Ozzy is not the hero you see on TV, he's actually kind of lazy and kind of a jerk.

Mouth-to-mouth: Keith & Dawn get to know eachother

The tribes come in and look at the pigs set up for the challenge. Jim and Rick have big reactions. The challenge is to bite off as much as they can and put it in the bucket. Keith and Dawn share a kiss and so do Coach and Edna. Mikayla picks up a scrap Rick left on the floor. Man, this challenge is gross but awesome. Jim takes a huge piece at the end, but is it enough? Coach does a drumroll on Sophie's back. Jeff does the weigh-in and Upolu win by 2 ounces. Another close call between two of the most evenly-matched tribes in Survivor history. They get to keep the meat too which Brandon cooks.

Cochran makes a herpes joke which goes down like a lead balloon. When Jim proposes his plan, Keith is scared about betraying Ozzy who was his first alliance. He discusses with Whitney what they should do, seeing as they're the swing votes. They still want Ozzy in their alliance but they don't want Elyse around. Maybe Jim jumped the gun when he told Cochran he's 100% not going home.

Keith and Whitney debate what to do

Elyse and Ozzy go to tribal thinking it's a done deal that Cochran is going and everyone's on board. Oh boy. The tribe assess the damage from the last challenge - nearly everyone has scraped a tooth or dislocated their jaw. Cochran gets shat on at tribal

Blindside imminent

council some more with Elyse even suggesting he'll enjoy it on Redemption Island. Ozzy votes for "COCH-TRAIN", not his first douchey vote. As the votes are read, there are a lot of surprised faces. First Elyse and Ozzy, when her name comes up and then Dawn when she picks up votes. Turns out Keith and Whitney chickened out and sat on the fence. Lame! Who's going to trust them now?

But let's not complain too much - the game changed up, Ozzy got his just desserts, the least interesting alliance is broken, and Christine finally has a challenge on Redemption Island.

STAR OF THE WEEK: BENJAMIN "COACH" WADE

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Benj...err, Coach's day went from very bad to very good when he found the hidden immunity idol. His tribe is in the driver's seat and he can taste the victory! But seriously, his mom calls him Coach?

South Pacific Episode 4: Load Off Your Mind

Ozzy and Elyse are swinging in the hammock, whilst Jim gets jealous. He senses that the two of them are close, so proposes to Cochran that they get rid of Elyse...which is good news to the nerd. Is Jim really turning on his own alliance so quickly? Wow.

Brandon apologizes to Mikayla, and then blabs to Edna about the majority alliance. What an awful player. Not content with sinking himself, he's also sinking his allies too.

Keith gets to grips with Whitney

Bathing suits arrive in treemail and Dawn feels out of place among all the hot bikini babes. She says she has to prove she's not the weakest. Jim leaves for the duel with his new partner-in-crime Cochran, which is a relief to mellow Ozzy, bored of all his strategy talk. This rubs Dawn up the wrong way for some reason, as she's convinced Ozzy is only pretending not to be strategic. Does she not remember his first two seasons?

At the duel, Brandon apologises to Christine and Papa Bear tells Upolu he's switching to them if he gets back in. The challenge is to toss beanbags onto barrels. Christine gets off to a flying start with 4 great shots from the off. Papa Bear eventually catches up and it comes down to the last bag. Christine gets it, and Papa Bear departs amicably, happy that he has lived his dream of playing the game.

"See you in the big apple" says Christine

Edna walks all over Coach

With Brandon's news fresh on her mind, and knowing she has no physical game, Edna begins overcompensating in the social game. It achieves the exact opposite of the intended effect, as Mikayla appears to like her less for asking so many questions, and Stacey mocks her annoying laugh. It was funny to see, but Edna is still endearing to me.

Cochran talks to Dawn, and gets her on board with the plan to vote for Elyse. Maybe now he's finally going to prove his worth as a strategist. The superfan has played a surprisingly poor game so far.

Crazy face!

The challenge involves holding weight on your shoulders. Two men and one woman each. Savaii choose Keith, Jim and Dawn. Upolu choose Albert, Brandon and Stacey. Keith is the first to drop. Surprisingly, Albert goes next. Looks like he just lost his footing. That has dealt a huge blow to Upolu's chances, having him out so early. Jim and Brandon manage to beat the weight record set by Rupert, J.T. and Brendan before dropping out.

It comes down to the two ladies. Stacey and Dawn, with Stacey balancing the pole on her butt. Savaii shout at Dawn to dig deep, and she wins the challenge for them when Stacey drops it. She is crowned the hero by her tribe.

Stacey is aware that despite her effort in the challenge, it still might be her going home. "It could be me, it could not be me. I could be blindsided, that's what a blindside is." Actually, that's not what a blindside is. A blindside is when you don't see it coming.

Edna is uncomfortable, as she fears the tribe may be looking for the weakest link. Stacey decides to stir things up by telling Brandon that Mikayla, Sophie and Albert have a secret alliance. He runs and tells Coach, who snaps at him for believing somebody "on death row".

Rick contributes nothing

In a clear attempt at shit-stirring, Jeff makes everyone at tribal council say what is the most annoying thing about another person. Rick says that Albert snores. He admits it's a lame answer, but at least they gave him a line. Edna says that Stacey doesn't open up, a claim she denies. Mikayla says that Brandon being Russell's nephew is annoying. Brandon cries as he tries to defend his honour. What a sissy.

Stacey is voted out, and refuses Coach's attempt at a hug, saying "it's not real". She seems confident she'll be back though, and heads to Redemption Island where she'll have to beat her buddy Christine. "I knew it!" yells Christine when Stacey tell her Coach is running the show. A little slow on the upkeep, aren't we?

STAR OF THE WEEK: DAWN MEEHAN

Set out to prove she isn't the weakest, and boy did she do that. I will admit that I cried when I saw her reaction to winning the challenge. She's gunning for Ozzy too, so let's see where that goes.