Survivor: South Pacific

Casting

Alina Wilson from Nicaragua states that she was asked back to this season, but did not make the final cast. Michael Skupin from The Australian Outback declined the offer to return due to his mother passing away; he later returned for Survivor: Philippines. After agreeing to compete on The Amazing Race, Jenna Morasca, winner of The Amazon, and her boyfriend Ethan Zohn, winner of Africa, were asked to return in this season but they turned down because they didn't want to compete against each other for a second time, after having done so in Survivor: All-Stars. Jeff Varner, also from The Australian Outback, states that he was asked to return and accepted, but was later cut; he later returned for Survivor: Cambodia and again for Survivor: Game Changers. Shane Powers from Exile Island was considered to be on this season, but claims he was cut and replaced by Ozzy Lusth. Aras Baskauskas from Exile Island declined the offer to return, he later return to Survivor: Blood vs Water

Contestants

This season features 16 players new to Survivor, as well as two returning players: Ozzy Lusth from Cook Islands and Micronesia, and Benjamin "Coach" Wade from Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains. Among the new players were Brandon Hantz, nephew of three-time Survivor contestant Russell Hantz, and country singer Whitney Duncan, a finalist on the fifth season of Nashville Star.

Future appearances

Brandon Hantz, John Cochran and Dawn Meehan returned for Survivor: Caramoan. Hantz finished in 15th place, Meehan tied for runner-up, and Cochran won the season. Whitney Duncan and Keith Tollefson have since married; while engaged, they competed as a team for The Amazing Race 25, placing 8th. Jim Rice and Mikayla Wingle were included on the public poll to choose the cast of Survivor: Cambodia, but neither was chosen to compete. Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth returned for a fourth time on Survivor: Game Changers.

Season summary

Sixteen new castaways, previously divided into two tribes, Savaii and Upolu, were joined by returning contestants, Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth and Benjamin "Coach" Wade, with Ozzy joining Savaii and Coach joining Upolu by random draw. Redemption Island was again in play: voted out players would be sent to Redemption Island and participate in duels, with the winner remaining there until either the next duel or until two specific points where players were brought back into the game.

Both tribes rallied under the leadership of Ozzy and Coach. Ozzy's style was somewhat more aggressive, establishing a rift between the majority of his alliance and others, specifically the weaker Cochran. Coach, having reflected on his past performances on Survivor, had a more open style, which most of the group readily followed, including Brandon, who later revealed himself to be the nephew of former Survivor castaway Russell Hantz, and had feared revealing this to draw his tribe's ire. Both Ozzy and Coach found their tribes' respective Hidden Immunity Idols.

The two tribes fared equally at challenges and retained similar numbers, and as they approached the perceived merge, Ozzy offered a plan to volunteer to be voted to go to Redemption Island, where he would likely win the challenge over Christine, a former Upolu member, assuring that the tribes would be equal at six members each when merged. This plan went as expected, and the newly merged tribe named themselves Te Tuna. However, Ozzy's former rash behavior to Cochran was seen as an opportunity by the former Upolu members, and they were able to turn Cochran to their side on the first vote after the merge, voting out former Savaii member Keith. The Upolu members and Cochran would continue to dominate at Tribal Council, sending the remaining Savaii members to Redemption Island, starting with Ozzy, who dominated at Redemption Island subsequently.

With no other Savaii members remaining, Cochran was voted out next, followed by Upolu outsider Edna. In the subsequent challenge, Brandon won immunity but offered it to his closest ally Albert, who was the intended target of the vote. Brandon was voted out and defeated by Ozzy the next day at the final Redemption duel. Ozzy returned to the game and won the subsequent challenge; at Tribal Council, Sophie broke down into tears but affirmed her commitment to the game, and Rick was voted off. In the final immunity challenge between Coach, Ozzy, Sophie, and Albert, Sophie was narrowly able to defeat Ozzy; she and her former Upolu members voted off Ozzy for the third and final time. Coach, Albert, and Sophie faced the final Tribal Council, where Coach was criticized for manipulating his tribe while simultaneously preaching the importance of honor and Albert was considered to have given his former tribe members false hope. The jury awarded Sophie the title of Sole Survivor over Coach and Albert in a 6–3–0 vote, respectively.

In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.

Reception

Though not as much as its predecessor, Survivor: South Pacific was generally panned by the time it ended, with the primary criticisms being the choices of the two returning players, and the return of the Redemption Island twist. Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly criticized the season's "same twist of two returning players, Redemption Island, the predictable vote-offs, and no real water challenges," but reserved some praise for several of the cast members, including Cochran and Brandon. In 2014, Joe Reid of The Wire ranked it as the 5th-worst season, criticizing both of the returning players as continuing "their already tedious tendencies towards self-aggrandizement and shoddy strategy." In 2015, it was ranked as the 3rd-worst season by fan site "The Purple Rock Podcast," only ahead of Survivor: Gabon and Survivor: Nicaragua, saying that "there were so many unlikable people that you almost forget about the enjoyable ones." It also criticized the two returning players as "terrible choices, and the Redemption Island gimmick was every bit as much of a failure here as it was the first time it was used." Another prominent fan site, "Survivor Oz", ranked it as the 6th-worst season in its first annual poll ranking all seasons of the series in 2012, and thus originally considered it to be the best post-Heroes vs. Villains season at the time; however, in both 2013 and 2014, South Pacific dropped on the list and was consistently ranked as the second-worst season, only ahead of its predecessor, Survivor: Redemption Island. It was also ranked as the 6th-worst season of the series in 2015, on former Survivor contestant and reality TV podcast host Rob Cesternino's website.