Coach & Ozzy Return For South Pacific



Photo credit: Monty Brinton/CBS


The two returning players for this season have officially been revealed.

The first is Benjamin Wade or as he's more widely known, Coach, who made his first appearance on Tocantins where he made the jury. He returned a few seasons later as a villain in Heroes vs. Villains again making the jury.

The other is Ozzy Lusth who we first saw on Cook Islands where he was a couple of votes short of winning the million. He returned for Fans vs. Favorites where he was infamously blindsided with an immunity idol in his possession.

So what are their chances? After Boston Rob won in emphatic fashion last season, the newbies would be idiots not to get rid of Coach and Ozzy early on. Unlike Rob, however, neither player has show they have a strong strategic or social game which is apparently the reason for this odd pairing. “What they share together is their social games suck,” Probst says, “Coach? He blew it in Heroes vs. Villains. He blew it seven different ways. And Ozzy got voted out with an idol in his hand! If that doesn’t speak to how bad you are in the social part of this game. So we looked at it and said here are two guys that do have a redemption story. Yes, you’ve played. Yes, you’re popular, but you don’t know what you’re doing in this game.”

If anyone's more at risk than the other it's Ozzy. Everyone knows that he's the undisputed Survivor challenge champion (and surely part fish) so it'd be a no-brainer to cut him as close to the merge as possible. If enough of the tribe saw him during Micronesia they'd vote him out based on him generally being an arrogant douche bag. The Redemption Island twist can be Ozzy's saviour though. I can see him being becoming a permanent resident like Matt was last season.

Coach on the other hand is a little more safe. It all depends on whose in his tribe but as long as he doesn't go overboard with his stories and manages to keep the "Dragon Slayer" at bay, he could find himself lasting the distance.

Overall, I think they're odd choices despite Probst trying his best to explain the reasoning behind it which I personally don't buy. A lot of people have played Survivor and a lot have had terrible or even non-existent social and strategic games. To be honest, I don't really think that will change this season. From what they've both shown in the past they just don't have it in them to employ a successful strategy to put themselves in a position to win.

 I'm glad Coach is coming back because he is a polarizing figure and his Dragon Slayer persona is highly entertaining to watch. I'm sure you'll be able to tell that Ozzy isn't one of my favourites. So as far as their chances go, I don't think either of them will win, especially after Rob won last season... unless of course these newbies are as clueless and idiotic as the Ometepe tribe in which case, congratulations Coach or Ozzy!

Check out the video below where Coach and Ozzy discuss their strategies heading into the game. If you don't want anything spoiled though, steer clear because it contains snippets of the first episode.

Until next time.