Survivor South Pacific November 2/11

This Survivor update is brought to you by (and is fuelled by) Rolos candies and Sangre de Toros wine. Ozzie has just made a huge play by deliberately being voted off, assuming that he will beat Christine in the duel and return to his tribe, thereby keeping their numbers intact. Now as much as I love looking at Ozzie I don't want this to happen because a) that would mean my Christine goes home B) Ozzie has had his shot, its time for other people and 3) I don't like his cockiness in assuming he can beat my Christine. Cochran, though, is extremely happy because he has been involved in the biggest play in Survivor history, and has survived another Tribal Council. The plan is for Cochran to serve as a double agent after the merge. He is to infiltrate the Upolu camp after the merge to retrieve key information about alliances and votes. This is a role that Cochran feels he has been born to play. "After all", he tells us, "I have spent 18 days pretending to like these people. I should get an academy award". Meanwhile Ozzie is introducing himself to Christine at Redemption Island. He tells her the fabricated story that "the little weasel" Cochran unexpectedly pulled out the immunity idol at Tribal Council, resulting in Ozzie's departure. Ozzie is confident that Christine has bought his story. So confident in fact that he repeats it, and embellishes it, the next day at the duel. All members of both tribes are there to observe the duel. Ozzie tells them how angry he is at Cochran who lost the challenge for them, then used his idol to get Ozzie out. He plans on going back to his tribe for revenge, he tells them. Eventually they get around to the the actual duel which involves attaching pieces of stick together with rope to make a long pole. With this long pole, Ozzie and Christine must retrieve three keys on rings. These keys unlock three locks (qu'elle surprise). The first to get the locks undone and get through their door win the duel and get to return to the game. Sadly, from my perspective, Ozzie wins this one and Christine along with myself and Rick is finally going home after spending almost the whole game on Redemption Island. As expected, the duel also signals the merge. Old smelly buffs are exchanged for shiny new ones and the tribe returns to camp for a feast. Niceties are exchanged but it isn't long before the game is back on. Coach talks to Cochran who dutifully plays his double agent role. Interestingly Coach and Co. seems to have seen through the whole clever Ozzie scheme. Coach tells Cochran that his tribe suspects they are being played, and that they aren't buying the story. He goes on to tell Cochran that he knows what its like to be more intelligent and to be ostracized by the group. Cochran listens intently. Minutes later Cochran is spilling all the beans to the Upolu tribe and generally getting tight with them. He does return the idol to Ozzie though, as promised at Tribal Council. Cochran tells us that he may be a mastermind, but he isn't an evil mastermind. He does feel that, for the first time, he is in control of his own destiny and the shape of the game. On Day 21 Dawn and Cochran go for a walk for tree mail. Dawn tells Cochran that she doesn't like the way he has been treated by Savaii. She breaks down crying, telling him that she wishes she had stuck up for him. She seems ready to flip to the other side alongside Cochran. At the Immunity Challenge contestants are asked to stand on a narrow log while balancing a coconut across two ropes. At the end of each round the length of the ropes are lengthened to make the challenge more difficult. The last man and the last woman will each get immunity. Cochran and Edna are out first. Dawn holds on to win immunity amongst the women and our old pal Ozzie wins from the men.So two former Savaiirians have immunity. The tribes are even at six each. Any tie will be broken by drawing rocks. Cochran goes to Upolu and tells that that Savaii intends to vote for Rick. Dawn, wrestling with her ethical demons, desides that it is wrong to flip, leaving Cochran alone to decide the way the vote will go. At Tribal Council Upolu tells Savaii that they aren't buying what Savaii is selling. They say that Ozzie's "production" at the Redemption Island duel was "over the top". When the votes are cast there is, indeed, a tie between Rick and Keith. Everyone is asked to cast a second vote. This time Keith receives one more vote and is sent to Redemption Island. Cochran immediately turns to his tribe and says "I swapped. I'll explain.". But a couple of his tribe mates call him a coward, causing Brandon to to ask them not to talk to Cochran like that. As they leave Tribal Council, Brandon tells Cochran to stay close to him. It kind of looks like Cochran's die is cast whether he likes it or not. Will Cochran mend fences with his tribe? Will Brandon learn to shut his mouth at Tribal Council? Will Ozzie drop by to have dinner with me? Stay tuned for the answers to these and other questions. Until then, Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka Christine done like dinner Markoski)