I just rewatched Survivor: South Pacific for the first time in several years. It's always been a season I enjoy more than most Survivor fans and rewatching it was no different. It's a thoroughly solid season. Solid is a good word, not amazing, but definitely not weak like a lot of fans think it is. One looming question is left to be asked when one finishes watching South Pacific. Who should have won? The general consensus among many Survivor fans is that runner-up Coach Wade who defeated Albert Destrade but was defeated by Sophie Clarke in a 6-3-0 vote, should have won. This is my second article defending an under-the-radar winner. When I defended Michele Fitzgerald of Kaoh Rong I described that I very rarely question a jury decision as they were out there with the finalists, I was not, even though I may *think* (from my couch), that I would have voted for one of the other finalists. This is true in South Pacific. Being honest, I was slightly more impressed by Coach's game, but based on the 6-3-0 vote of a seemingly non-bitter jury, I believe the right player won. Why?
#1 Subtle gameplay is powerful, and the South Pacific jury respected it
The reason I would have voted for Coach is because I love bold, gutsy, flashy gameplay. Seeing Coach form the "Family" of five on Day 1 that went all the way together, and seeing him convince Cochran to flip at the merge (when it wasn't his best move), made my Survivor super fan self go nuts in an awesome way. That doesn't mean it's any better gameplay then Sophie taking out Brandon Hantz at the F5 version 1 and deflecting the target off herself, or giving Coach and Albert advice on attacking each other at the FTC. Coach's moves were flashier so I liked them more, but they weren't necessarily better, than Sophie's moves. The South Pacific jury simply respected Sophie's subtle moves, as they should have.
#2 Sophie's moves were end-game heavy, Coach weakened near the end
Like Michele and Aubry in Kaoh Rong, respectively, Sophie's game got stronger at the end where Coach's game started to weaken at the end. Both Sophie and Coach had pros and cons to their games, but Sophie's cons (just "floating") happened early, Coach's flaws (promising Final 3 to too many people, losing his social graces) happened late. In addition, Sophie's best moves were all in the second half of the post-merge whereas Coach's best moves came pre-merge and at the merge. Even though both players had great moves and weak spots, Coach's flaws and Sophie's bright spots were fresher in the jurors' minds.
#3 Sophie was a challenge beast
Sophie won three individual immunity challenges in South Pacific, Coach didn't win a single one. People can talk "social game and strategy game" all day long, and I agree that it's the most important part of the game, but the physical game is that third component and it does add to the resume. Add in the fact that Sophie beat Ozzy in the Final Immunity challenge and neither she nor Coach would have had a chance to win the game if she hadn't won that challenge, it helped her resume significantly. Especially when you had folks like Keith, Dawn, and Ozzy on the jury that were challenge beasts themselves and respect physical performances.
#4 An amazing final tribal performance
Some people say Survivor ends on Day 38 when you vote out the last player, but sorry folks, it doesn't. Survivor does not end until the last vote has been cast at the FTC. Sophie kept playing the game until that last minute, Coach did not. Sophie simply put had an amazing FTC performance and took every opportunity to capitalize on the moment, all the way to the very end of the FTC when Coach admitted he wasn't the best strategist and Sophie jumped in saying "that's because he had me to do his strategizing for him". BOOM.
To Recap: Both Sophie and Coach played good games in Survivor: South Pacific, each with their serious flaws. They both made several big moves, Sophie's subtler than Coach's, but Sophie had the challenge wins on her resume too. Most Survivor fans, myself included, love seeing BIG moves, so wish Coach had won for his BIG moves, but Sophie's were equally impressive, albeit quieter. As is the case in many seasons where the runner up and winner play fairly equally impressive games, it comes down to whose gameplay the jury respects more, and they liked Sophie's style. Sophie is a deserving winner of Survivor: South Pacific.
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