I wanted to feel bad for Brandon, but the very first thing with Mikayla where he blamed her because he was to horny to control himself immediately discredited him to me.

Sophie seems like she was in a weird situation. She either had to go along with coach or lose the game. I don’t really hold anything against her, she was playing the game she was delt.

Sophie dropping the bomb of how finding the idol actually went down in front of everyone at FTC, has the exact same energy as the scene in Mean Girls where Janis reveals all the ways they were messing with Regina in front of the whole school. And let me tell you, I am living for it!

I feel for Sophie. She even said that she had an icky feeling when Coach was asking god for help to find the idol when it was in his pocket. I don’t blame her for going along because she wouldn’t stay long if she didn’t.

You are right. This is NOT how Christians are taught to behave, however, these types of Christians are very common.

It's very fitting that you put Matthew 7:15 at the end considering it says "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves". That was a great intentional thing to do

It's honestly scary how good Coach played this season. It's a shame that he doesn't just own up to it as pure strategy and continues his ruse. He controlled every single vote, flipped Cochran at the merge, and literally never got a vote against him the entire season. For a returnee player to pull that off is stupid impressive. Say whatever you want about him but his game was seriously fantastic this season, he just didn't have enough self awareness.

2:33 This isn’t Survivor related, but Hitler’s nephew had actually immigrated to the United States and joined the army in WWII and specifically asked for the European theatre. And he told people who he was ALL THE TIME. Edit: Also I love how Brandon has “Russel Hantz nephew” in the place of his career, because it implies that being related to Russel Hantz is a full-time job.

top 2 moments of the season: 1. stacy's benjamin rant 2. sophie exposing coach at FTC for how they ACTUALLY found the idol

Sophie is the one I have sympathy for. She clearly was uncomfortable about all this but going against it would've sunk her game so she had to weather the storm as it were. Coach was rather sick this season and the only silver lining to it all is that he ends up losing and looking like a rather pathetic loser by the end of it as consequence.

While I do think most of what Coach did was Cult-y, his strategy beyond that is impeccable. To convince Cochrane to flip by saying literally exactly how Cochrane feels and is, and then letting Cochrane decide the next 2 to go and then following through, that's intense.

when i saw Coach ACTUALLY draw a line in the sand…..he’s the greatest casting decision ever

Coach using religion the way he did in SoPa was gross. Even the way Brandon used religion against Mikayla was gross. Coach staging the discovery of an idol and praying to find one that was in his pocket was by far the worst fake use of religion. I could sympathize with Sophie since she had to play along to win and she didn't seem religious, so I'm guess even genuine use of religion (like group prayer) probably made her uncomfortable. And Sophie wasn't the one leading prayers, she just wasn't calling him out except during confessions.

Saying “you’re a temporary player” right away is one of the worst survivor first impression I’ve seen so far.

Mario Lanza's analysis of The Family has been really interesting for me to read and consider. He suggested that the reason Coach leaned so heavily on religion was mostly to help keep a leash on Brandon, who, in addition to being a devout Christian like you say, was also by far the alliance's biggest wild card. He also was young and impressionable, and looking for a role model other than his uncle to help him understand how to play the game -- and there was Coach, who'd been talking since Tocantins about wanting to play an honest, trustworthy game. I still don't know how much of Coach and Brandon's bonding over their shared faith was real and how much was manipulation (either by Coach or by the Survivor editors), but I think that's absolutely why Coach was playing it up. Still gross, but more aimed toward one person rather than the tribe/alliance as a whole.

Honestly Coach being mad at Christine for the "Temporary Players" line is totally justified. Openly discounting someone in the game like that is incredibly rude (and also a terrible game move (especially against a returning player who has some pull by default), like honestly it's small but it puts so much of a target on your back for no gain that I can conceive).

Yeah this was definitely an icky season to watch and it left me rooting for no one by the end. Also I feel so bad for the way Mikayla was treated simply for how she looked.

I wonder what would happen if Mikayla and Whitney had switched starting tribes. 1- Mikayla wouldn’t have been gone after by Brandon for nearly no reason at all. 2- Whitney wouldn’t have been on the same tribe as her future husband. 3- I find it ironic that Mikayla was called the “temptress” and “seductress” for just being good looking, whereas Whitney was on the other tribe literally cheating on her boyfriend on national television.

What sucks about this season for me is how it effected Brandon's mindset. He felt like he was made a fool of so the 2nd time he went on, he felt like he had to lean into the Hantz side of him. Also things aren't always so black and white. Through interviews after the fact, he said that he talked to production about pouring out the food and was given the go ahead. He did do it to stir up trouble as he knew he would be going home next. The boot with no challenge doesn't feel right knowing he got permission to do it.

Brandon's attitude towards Mikayla was so gross and uncomfortable. He treated her like she was some conniving evil seductress who was a threat to his marriage just for daring to exist while being attractive 💀

Crazy to think Brandon could have won the season had he not pulled of that dumb move and made it to the end against anyone but Ozzy. Audience saw him as a crazy kid who was a loose canon but according to the savaii jury members he was a total gentleman.

Okay, now Sophie was severely underrated in this season. Her observations were on point. Ozzy's plan to take out Christine was also bad. Since Christine was actually burned by her old tribe, he could have recruited her as a possible number. But no, he wanted to be Outstanding Ozzy so he made a strategic blunder by sending himself to Redemption. Jim and Whitney could have treated Cochran better.

I'm not religious, and who believes what religion isn't important to me, but I felt really bad for Brandon this season. He tried so hard to be a better person, restore his family name, and "do the right thing", only to get completely taken advantage of. When the Reunion comes, the same family he was trying to stand up for...attacks him for his effort and intentions on national television.

It's crazy to think that despite Brandon's erratic outbursts at points here, he was actually one of the biggest jury threats in the game and according to Sophie, could have easily beat a lot of them if he made the FTC.

We are completely blanking that Coach starts to call himself "Zeus" in reference to his alliance Edit: Cochran even goes on confessional saying "I think Zeus ate his kids"

Stacy's redemption speech is so iconic and, honestly, the entire thing makes perfect sense. The delivery is fcking hilarious.. but I get exactly what she was saying lmao

As much as I wanted to see the Dragonslayer once more, seeing Coach become a cult leader and run the game through fear was an awesome heel turn from such a legend.

A terrifying thing for me is someone screaming "On Your knees!" to me while I'm blindfolded. That would make me feel like I'm about to get executed.

Coach may be the closest real life embodiment of Michael Scott I’ve ever seen, he just has so many similar mannerisms. As for the season, it’s a tough one in my mind because in general I think people in survivor take themselves out of normal society to play a game, and as such shouldn’t be judged too harshly on their real life values by how they play the game or what strategies they choose to employ. This season really challenges that belief though because while I think the use of religion/family is brilliant I also see that to some that is taking gameplay a step too close to the real world and it feels morally questionable for sure.

I appreciate the disclaimer at the beginning. i love when you put the verses at the end. Keep doing what you're doing!

Honestly Cochroan and Edna were the once who allowed this to happen. If Cochroan waits with his flip and plays both sides more he can be in a way better positon. Edna on the other hand could have easily flipped as well, but she just waits around for too long and just gets voted out 6th, which she literally knew would happen...

this is easily the most fever dreamish survivor season

I really appreciate the disclaimer about faiths vs cults you put in the beginning. So many good people from many different religions are all too often maligned because of fringe elements.

A cult leader in the making. He even has a signature ponytail.

I’ve seen nearly every season of Survivor and this one was BY FAR the wildest and most shamelessly entertaining of any other. It was honestly hard to believe it was all real at times. 😂

This may be the least fun version of Coach, but it is also easily the most competent and socially impressive he has ever been at the actual game. I understand why the use of religion makes his methods uncomfortable for a lot of people, but if you can look past that superfluous crap, and judge his game by its own merits; make an alliance of five, take that alliance all the way to the end, make strong social bonds with the outliers (Edna and Cochran) so they feel safe and don't flip when it's in their best interest, find an idol, never even need to play it, and in control of literally Every Single Vote, that is impressive.

I have always loved SoPa because of how interesting it is. I have have some part religious trauma so watching Coach use these tactics really hit me hard and watching Sophie shit on all her alliance memebers via confessionals and then eventually beat them felt so good. Everything with bradon and Michaela was so uncomfortable and I can't believe they let him play a second time

Creepy cult stuff aside, Coach's successful flip of Cochran was brilliant.

This season gets a lot flack, but I find it wildly fascinating and entertaining. It’s like a dark comedy by the Coen Brothers from start to finish.

I am glad Sophie won, I dont fault her for being quite literally stuck with coach. Plus, anything that keeps a check out of his hands is a win in my book.

This had the makings of a good season. There were a lot of strong players in South Pacific and there were a lot of compelling characters. If they had voted Coach off instead of Christine, nobody would have exploited Brandon’s faith to that extent and no cult would have developed. Christine, Stacey, Albert, Michaela, Sophie, and Rick would probably make the merge. And the post-merge game would still end up being everyone trying to beat Ozzy in challenges so that they could get rid of him. It’d either be the Ozzy wins by sheer force of his skill in challenges or whoever eventually vanquishes him (maybe Albert, Sophie, Christine, Rick???) wins with beating Ozzy on their resume. Cochran and Dawn would have had room to play because the other team wouldn’t be held together by Brandon and Coach’s religious fanaticism.

Dawn nodding during Stacy's speech is gold

Using religion as a strategy is risky, but Coach used it to outwit, which is part of the game. It’s all a matter of whether one hates the player or the game or both.

For anyone wondering I did a quick google search and one of the practices of pharaohs was related to their hatred of flies. They despised them to the point where they’d force their slaves to lather themselves with honey. This also attracted bees and other bugs towards the unfortunate souls forces to live this way.

I always called this alliance "The Church of Coach and Latter-Day Survivors".

In South Pacific, Coach fully earned the "Villain" title that he had already been given. Too bad he didn't embrace it, he would've won.

Really good job with the disclaimer

Such a weird season of survivor. I'm still so glad Sophie got the money and titel at the end, because she seemed like the only sane person. And I highly identify with her and her problems with people, because I was exactly the same when I was her playing age. I think we are the same age.

I hated this season. Every single tribal was predictable, and Coach’s whole mantra of honor and honesty is completely negated when he lied to ozzy, saying he would take him to the end. To add on to that, ozzy winning would’ve been the only redeemable ending to this season

This is very clearly an incredibly personal video, despite fitting in with your normal style. I remember you replying way back to my comment about how I found Ozzy's win at the final four to not be disappointing, and I definitely did not feel the full extent of how the whole alliance is complicated for you. I don't think I feel that personally. While I think the alliance is not inspiring or especially pleasant to watch, I do feel more a distance from the methods of manipulation. Though I also see how Sophie's win could seem similar to Tommy's almost, as someone who kept playing the game while others in their alliance crossed moral lines. It's not my perspective, and I don't think you present Coach's actions as something to that extent of immorality, but nonetheless, I see why it leaves a sour taste.

I think regardless of someone being religious or not everyone knows that what happened in this season went to far, I felt awkward about it, my Christian friends felt awkward about it.

The only reason Coach didn't win is because he didn't admit to the Jury and himself that he was a manipulative cult leader and that got him to LITERALLY control and influence his entire tribe from start to finish. Thought he was creepy but his power was interesting none the less. Tony manipulated everyone like a Mafia boss and owned up to it and people respected him and now he's regarded as one of the greatest winners. Watching Sophie disagree with Coach and not even try to take him out was upsetting. The best survivor winners are those that took risks and made big moves. She won the million dollars so who cares what I think but regardless it was disappointing in my opinion. I hope to go on the show one day and I couldn't give 2 F's for the million. My goal would be to play hard and entertain. My motivation would be to stay another day so I can entertain the viewers another day. Psychologist should honestly study this season of survivor. This show is a social experiment and this season gives people an inside look of how easily one person can manipulate and use people. Even if they don't hop on board or agree, others complacency (Sophie), allowed it to continue. This will never happen again on this show because now everyone who plays...ACTUALLY PLAYS. They see someone like Coach influencing and they would get numbers wake people up and blindside that person. Rant over. lol

If there was a "core 3" among the 6, or maybe even 4, I would think that actually maybe it won't totally backfire telling edna, maybe she'll appreciate that he informed her and remember that later.. but your really gonna sit this girl down and tell her SHE alone is left out if the entire alliance? A "core 5" out of 6 people?! 🤦‍♀️ it's not only incredibly stupid, but it's also just plain mean.

"I don't want to be compared to Hitler" anyway look at this big ass Lil Hantz tattoo I have with letters resembling the SS logo

Fantastic video & analysis. Sometimes you need an actual person of faith in order to really deeply cut through someone else using faith for their own BS. Happy that person could be you, from a fellow religiously inclined person :-)

i feel this alliance is statistically the best. not my favorite in terms of strategy in taking down their opposition but the alliance was made on day 3 and ended up being the final 5.

I love Ozzy calling out Coach while having pigtails.

I was in awww 😲 just watched this again a few weeks ago The kool aid was being drunketh hard

When are we getting Coach's Survivor Story Video? I mean, you did say there were lots of instances of manipulation that happened with him, and I'm curious to see what his stats are in terms of strategy and character.

Nice video! I am watching Survivor too and I get disgusted by this kind of behavior and ideas in name of Christianity. Very nice put and described.

did coach have NO perception of his jury management ????

Just as survivor itself is a microcosm of the real world, so is this season with regards to using beliefs to control people. Not all branches of all faiths do this but all faiths do have a branch or two that does. 😢 way to go Sophie though. She’s awesome

Reminds me so much of Paul in BB19! A returning player who got a bunch of newbies to basically form a cult and pick off everyone on the outside. One person, Josh, realized what was happening about halfway through the game and used his goodbye messages (a video shown to the evicted player after they leave the game, like if survivors were shown what their tribemates said when they voted) to explain that Paul was in on their evictions, while Paul lied in every message. Josh ended up winning the final competition and chose to take Paul to the end. Most of the jury didn’t like Josh (he antagonized a lot of them, sometimes at Paul’s goading) and didn’t respect his game, but he continued to be honest and explain moves he made. Meanwhile Paul refused to own up to any manipulations or betrayals, and ended up losing 5-4. The cherry on top was that Paul had also lost BB18 by a 5-4 vote, and was even wearing the exact same clothes both times!

I honestly really enjoyed Coach this season, I do think Brandon was a major creep this season but I am a big fan of Coach. Coach played a great game this season and I would love to see him come back

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to describe Coach's alliance as a "cult," as I think that's a bit strong. I will say, though, that seeing the way Albert and Coach used religion to manipulate Brandon, culminating with voting him out after he gave up his necklace, is one of the more disturbing things I've seen on Survivor. That's one of the two or three dirtiest blindsides ever, maybe the single dirtiest. As we saw on Caramoan, Brandon was a troubled person, so using religion to manipulate him was really gross.

I have to give him kudos for how he handled Cochran, though. He played Cochran like a fiddle, but in a game way, not a religious way, so props for that performance.

I LOVE SURVIVOR AND ALL YOUR VIDEOS

What's scary is there are plenty of people like coach in real life.

Besides them manipulating Christianity to "fit their needs" which is beyond despicable, it just felt like everyone on that tribe was on a major power trip and that's sad. I get playing the game and strategy and that's what makes Survivor awesome but they took that to a different level and made it utter cringe. I do feel for Brandon, he got thrown into the fire and it was not right that he was treated the way he was. I genuinely hope he learned from it and gained more wisdom and discernment, but it could have also turned him off his faith for good which also would be a shame. Overall, a great case study in cult-like behavior and manipulation!

I have to side with Mario Lanza in his South Pacific write-up on The Funny 115. I think Coach wasn't huge on the religion angle at first, and kind of defaulted to it when he realized it was one of the only ways to keep Brandon from losing it. I also think that if Redemption weren't a factor, he probably would have tried to take Cochran and Edna to the end. Coach is 100% honest when he says late game that he's not really in control. "The Family" was, and he ended up just as much a victim as Savaii.

This really was a great case study in what happens when you organize religion

The Christian angle is the thing I dislike the most when used in the game. Always feels fake and as a way to excuse or forgive their behavior. I was raised Christian and I’m never shocked by men behaving poorly, apologizing, and then turning around and doing it all over again.

A generally accepted theory is that Coach wins if he simply "owns" his behaviour. To me, this casts a dark shadow on the thought process of any jury from this season onward, and may be the origin of the "owning your game" mentality which lead to winners like Tony and Natalie, and losing finalists like Woo and Mike (S42).

I think I watched you more than I have watched actual survivor.

13:25 ew.. when Coach like forces Sophie and everyone to kneel down and start praying 😧 tf?

I dont feel bad for Sophie I think she was portraid well this season. It seems she just always went with the best option.

Listening to this explanation of coaches gameplay reminds me of Russells seasons, he plays with no morals and psychologically torments all of his players but he also maximize his chances of making the finals and minimize his chances of actually winning it. It’s like 10/10 survivor gameplay but 0/10 humanity

The greatest part of this that wasn't listed was the night before cochran trying to sit with people and discuss who should win and he realised he was the only one who actually cared the rest kind of hated them equally Albert was def sleazy Coach shouldn't be invited back not because of his choices but failing to own the. Sophie was the lesser of the evils but she went along with it.... against anyone else she would lose and deserve it

Coach as the wackiest and most entertaining survivor ever did the most in character thing by starting an actual cult

Honestly it breaks my heart a little every time I watch/think about this season.. I feel bad for Brandon. Idk this might be an unpopular opinion after his second season, but I still just feel bad for him. I feel pretty certain that Brandon was consumed by guilt over something (I don't like to speculate the specifics there bc, frankly, it's none of my business) and he went a bit overboard with the religious stuff bc he was probably confused and didn't know what else to do. I have never been super religious, but I know a LOT about feeling immensely guilty long-term about something, and I see it in Brandon.

Coach was funny with his stories in his first two outings.

I had dream that I was on "Survivor: South Pacific" and the dream was: Coach, Rick, Brandon, Sophie, and me. Brandon had the immunity necklace around his neck and at TC Brandon gave his immunity necklace to me and I had a hidden immunity idol in my jacket pocket. As I stood up Coach tried to stop me by saying "Don't do it, it is God's will." I tuned him out and gave my hidden immunity idol to Jeff and I said "I liked to play this for Brandon."

The way Coach ran the alliance reminded me of Manson and it makes me very uncomfy

I love a good Stacy monologue. Boop!

Dude I swear that whole randonautica theory that our consciousness somehow like pick up on each other is real.. I have thought about this weird alliance several times over last 2 weeks (like seriously 5-6 separate times, maybe more) and, ofc, the main word I associate with them is "cult". I guess the second part isn't that crazy lol but it's just weird that I randomly have been thinking about this while this video was being made (I am a frequent watcher of this channel). Idk it's just kinda like when you think about a movie you haven't watched or heard about in 15 years and then suddenly it's on tv the next day. Its just weird.

"I don't think Hitler's nephew was running around saying 'Hey, I'm Hitler's Nephew!'" I mean actually he was until he realized that he was making his uncle look bad and ran to the US.

"On your knees" 😂 😂 He's so good at manipulation.

Thanks for holding a mirror up to the hypocrisy.

Another thing is that Brandon probably wins the game if he doesn't give up his necklace. This jury did not like any of the three finalists, and Brandon was the second biggest jury threat in the late game, after Ozzy. So if he's sitting there next to Coach and Sophie, he wins.

i will never not be heartbroken over the ozzy robbery from this season

This season was crazy💀

South Pacific is basically Survivor if the players bought into Coach's delusions

"Hey, I'm Hitler's Nephew." -Hitler's Nephew

Poor Rick. Edited out of the show and now the thumbnail

The most uncomfortable season of Survivor… until 39 came along.

Top 5 season. It had everything!

I wouldn't even wanna be in the same room as Brandon, he just gives off creepy vibes. Same goes for Coach but cranked up to 11

You know, having integrity is also owning your game at Final Tribal Council. #Tellthetruthtowin

I enjoyed this season thoroughly the first time, but the second go I gave it was extra hard to swallow as I started closely analyzing the use of religion and people's beliefs Coach does all throughout the season. As great as his gameplay is, it's extremely uncomfortable to see how he uses what people believe in to manipulate them.

Idols have been an integral part of Survivor for 32 seasons now, so I don't understand people who still get SO mad at anyone looking for an idol? At this point, it's stupid to NOT at least TRY!