Survivor South Pacific Mini-Recap: "The Coach And Cochran Show"

With this week's episode being the annual Thanksgiving Clip Show, I wasn't planning on any sort of recap. As a matter of fact, I didn't even watch the episode until Thursday night. After being inundated with texts and messages saying I should be doing a recap, and after seeing the episode, I decided to throw together a few of My Random Thoughts:

- How was Cochran being respectful (and PETA-friendly) to the fish as he was ripping its guts out? And what did he mean that he wasn't putting his fingers where the fish wouldn't want them? If given the choice, I'm pretty sure the fish doesn't want your fingers IN THE HOLE YOU JUST CUT IN ITS ABDOMEN.

- Brandon talked with Coach about his goal to play the game honourably (Canadian spelling, even though it's American Thanksgiving) and then we heard a sound bite of him telling us "Nobody would have guessed that Russell Hantz's nephew would do something like that."

But here's the thing...if you listen closely, you can hear that the "Russell Hantz's nephew" is spliced into the sound bite. I'm serious...go back and watch that scene again. It's painfully obvious. Did they just take a recording of him saying that, and work it in wherever it's necessary to remind us that Brandon is his nephew...you know, just in case you forgot.

- Cochran getting advice from Papa Bear on how to pick up women at a bar was painful to watch. From the creepy hand motions, to the suspect fashion suggestions (tight shirt to show off Cochran's 'muscles'?), to the stalker-ish "you're really pretty", it was fraught with disaster, Cochran's social awkwardness notwithstanding.

- Coach had a hissy fit about Mikayla taking too much sugar for her coffee, which reminded me of Saggy Drawers Phillip from last season ranting about crispy rice. He decided that the best solution for his ire was to taunt a weak-stomached Mikayla by barbecuing pork fat on a stick and fake gagging in front of her. It seemed to work, and as much as I was a fan of Mikayla, I thought that scene was pretty funny.

- Cochran looked like a boy with a schoolyard crush as he pushed Elyse in the hammock, but the story he told was embarrassing and disgusting. You're seriously going to tell a story about crapping your pants when you were five years old...and in such detail? Well, at least it gave us the line "She got to my butt and, of course, it's jackpot."

- Whitney and Keith in the Lover's Bungalow...with Cochran alluding to what may happen 9 months later? I'm sure Whitney's (ex?) husband was not pleased watching that scene.

- The scene with Ozzy and Cochran killing a rooster was inconsequential, and while you may think it was shown to indicate more of Ozzy's behaviour towards Cochran, I think the message was in the closing comment of this scene from Cochran, where he talked about his strength being able to worm his way into each alliance once the Merge happened and the game became an individual game. Mission accomplished so far.

- Coach wears a toe ring. My girlfriend spotted it in the episode, and the PVR back-up confirmed it. Just wanted to make sure you know that.

- Coach talked to Cochran and compared everyone to Greek figures of myth. I thought it was apt that he compared Cochran to Hercules, because Coach was indeed "riding the bull" with this ridiculous speech.

- We heard that "the weak will become the strong, and the strong will become the weak," which was indeed the case after Cochran flipped, and started the Savaii Domino Chain of Keith, Ozzy, Jim, Dawn, and Whitney being eliminated.

- I say this as a big fan of Sophie, but after weeks and weeks, I finally realized who she reminds me of:

- Brandon lost a chicken by not holding it tight enough, which made me think that since it was a female chicken, and he's a married man, he couldn't be anywhere near it. Why did the whole tribe watch and say nothing as he decided to just kill the other chicken anyways?

And did Rick really suggest that the best way to deal with the chicken was to either A) grab it by the neck and swing it around, or B) bite it? Maybe it's better if you don't talk Rick...you know, like you have for the entire season.

- Jim didn't say a word until the end of the episode, and even then, it was only to laugh at Brandon for losing the chicken and praying. Yep, Jim is a giant douchebag.

- Based on the editing of this recap show, I'm thinking that Coach and Cochran make it to the end, because it was certainly heavily weighted towards those two. I hope I'm wrong...not because I don't want them to make it, but because I'm getting sick of the blatant editing that gives the whole show/season away.

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