'Survivor: South Pacific' votes off Edna Ma, ousts John Cochran

Survivor: South Pacific's merged Te Tuna tribe voted Edna Ma out of their tribe during Wednesday night's broadcast of the twelfth episode of the CBS reality series' 23rd edition.


"I was very disappointed to see Coach write down my name. His constant fear of looking like he betrayed the tribe has made me feel betrayed by him," Edna, a 35-year-old anesthesiologist from Los Angeles, CA, said upon arriving at Redemption Island.

In addition, previously voted off castaway John Cochran lost the season's ninth Redemption Island duel to Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, a former Survivor: Cook Islands and Survivor: Micronesia -- Fans vs. Favorites castaway, and was permanently ousted from the game. However, he will become the fifth member of Survivor: South Pacific's jury.

"Even though I didn't win, I was going up against probably one of the most confident challenge dominators to ever play this game. To come so close is a dream fulfillment for me, a wish fulfillment. I love Survivor. I mean, I hope it comes through. I love, I breathe Survivor," Cochran, a 24-year-old Harvard Law School student from Washington, DC, told Survivor host Jeff Probst when he noted how close Cochran had come to winning the duel.

"To be here, to be facing you, to hear you say, 'Come on in guys' before a challenge, I think, 'I'm one of the guys! He's talking about me!' It's one surreal moment after another and I'm talking to kind of prevent myself from getting teary-eyed and stuff, because this has been by far the most incredible moment of my life."


"Really?" Jeff asked in surprise. "Where are the tears coming from?"

"It's coming from a realization that I'm not the person I necessarily thought I was. I can be a person who is pleased with himself and the decisions that he makes and the things he pursues," Cochran said.

"I gotta tell you Cochran, because you risked, because you weren't the most likely guy to be on this show and you found your way out here and you were ridiculed and people picked on you and you didn't back down -- in fact, you made one of the biggest moves still in this game, you better be a new guy, because I think a part of you died out here and a new part was reborn," Jeff explained.

As the game's newest Tribal Council victim, Edna will now take Cochran's place on Redemption Island, where she will battle Ozzy, a 30-year-old currently residing in Venice, CA, in the game's next duel and attempt to eventually earn a chance to rejoin the game's other remaining castaways and resume competing for Survivor: South Pacific's million dollar prize.

Survivor: South Pacific's twelfth broadcast began on Night 30 on Redemption Island with Cochran arriving and being greeted by Ozzy. Ozzy asked Cochran if he had learned his lesson since he got eliminated after previously betraying his former Savaii tribe to join the former Upolu alliance.


Cochran admitted he "got screwed" and was "humiliated" because he thought Upolu was going to remain loyal to him and keep him around because he had basically saved their tribe.

"The big move I made at the merge in jumping over to Upolu, in retrospect, may not have been the best move. I absolutely feel like Upolu used me. The fact that they did absolutely nothing to show any sort of gratitude apart from lip service is insulting to me," Cochran said.

Cochran told Ozzy he drank Coach's Kool-Aid, meaning he had lost his independence and strategic game because he had decided to just blindly follow the Upolu alliance in the hopes they'd repay the debt owed to him. Ozzy then asked Cochran whether he'd choose himself or Coach in the Final Three if that's what it came down to.

Cochran wasn't ready to reveal his vote, so he changed the subject and jokingly argued that he could still defeat Ozzy in the upcoming duel. Ozzy said if Cochran was to "demolish" him in the duel, he'd vote for him in the end. While Ozzy suggested it was a possibility that Cochran could win the duel, he admitted in a confessional that he didn't mean what he had said.

"He doesn't stand a chance," Ozzy noted bluntly.


On Day 31, the Te Tuna tribe -- which consisted of Edna; Sophie Clarke, a 22-year-old medical student from Willsboro, NY; Albert Destrade, a 26-year-old "baseball/dating coach" from Plantation, FL; Brandon Hantz, a 19-year-old oil tanker crewman from Katy, TX; Rick Nelson, a 51-year-old rancher from Aurora, UT; and former Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains castaway "Coach" Benjamin Wade, a 39-year-old currently residing in Susanville, CA -- was beginning to fall apart.

Edna said she felt like she was the next person to go because Brandon had made it clear during the previous Tribal Council session that she wasn't a part of the Upolu tribe's five-member alliance.

"You sit next to these people and they tell you what you want -- that you're included in the tribe and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and they're preaching honesty and integrity. I feel like Cochran has. I feel duped. Coach, how can he say he's not the leader? He's been the one who's been preaching it day in and day out that this is reality. This is real life for these individuals, and to treat me like a second-class citizen, is that true life?" Edna said.

She told Coach she couldn't believe she volunteered to come on the show just to be deceived by everyone. Coach told her they were always six people strong in their alliance, but once they had to whittle it down to five, it became an individual game. Coach confirmed he had always thought they were a united tribe, but it got to the point where decisions had to be made.

Edna told Coach it bothered her that Brandon, a "high-school dropout," dictated to her and controlled the "direction of her destiny" in the game. While Edna and Coach were having their conversation, Brandon came yelling with the rest of the pack behind him that they had received Tree Mail.


The remaining castaways then received videos from home, and they all got emotional over seeing their loved ones offer messages of motivation and support.

Later on, Jeff met with Ozzy, Cochran and the whole Te Tuna tribe for the game's ninth duel. Prior to explaining the rules, Jeff announced there would be a twist to the duel, but everyone would have to wait to hear the news.

For the duel, Ozzy and Cochran were required to use grappling hooks to retrieve three bags. Each bag contained a ball, and once they gathered all three bags, they had to use one ball to solve a table maze. The first person to finish the maze would stay alive in the game and remain on Redemption Island, while the person to lose the challenge would be eliminated from Survivor: South Pacific.

The castaways then squared off in the duel and Ozzy grabbed all three bags before Cochran could even gather his second bag. Ozzy took a commanding lead on Cochran, but his ball fell through the maze multiple times, allowing Cochran to catch up. The duel then got extremely close because both castaways had made mistakes that forced them to start the maze over again. However, Ozzy ended up winning the duel by a hair.

After the duel, the Te Tuna castaways were reunited with their loved ones, the people they had just received video messages from. Jeff then revealed that Ozzy had a big decision to make. Ozzy was given the opportunity to choose one person to spend some time his or her loved one. It was a strategic decision that could have given Ozzy a little power if he was able to get back into the game.


Ozzy chose Albert and then learned he could choose another person, so he picked Coach. Jeff then told Ozzy he could select one more person to spend time with his or her family member or spouse, and as a result, Ozzy chose Brandon. Everyone then departed the duel grounds and Ozzy, Albert, Coach, Brandon, and the three men's loved ones headed off to Redemption Island, where they would be hanging out together.

Albert got to spend time with his mom, Coach with his brother and Brandon with his father. A thankful Coach then approached Ozzy and gave him his word as a "Christian man" that he wanted to and would take him to the end with one other person.

"You'll notice in this game, I'll say, 'Hey, it'll be great to take you to the Final Three.' When I say, 'As a Christian man,' I promise you that this is what I'm going to do. That's an irrevocable promise. I want to take Ozzy to the end. Two noble warriors fighting it out to see who the sole Survivor is," Coach said.

Brandon told his father he no longer really cared about winning the million dollars and that he was playing the game for Christ with honor and integrity. His Dad was upset with how Brandon was failing to do his "job" in the game although he was proud that his son was being loyal.

Brandon's father attempted to get him back on track, giving his son the motivation to fight for the money, make it to the Final Three by making some big moves and then win it the "Hantz way."

Afterward, Brandon's Dad spoke to Coach about the final five and who he thought he was going to take with him to the end. Coach made it clear he was going to have a big decision to make, but he didn't reveal any names. Coach said he felt like he was being "bullied" by Brandon's father.


"Brandon Hantz's father -- a chip off the old block. They're all from the same cloth. His Dad comes out here and basically tries to bully me to make sure that his son makes it all the way to the end and wins a million dollars. It's all about manipulation and control and the Hantz family are the Kings of it. But I'm not going to have anyone bribing me or hand-cuffing me into a Final Three alliance with Brandon," Coach explained.

"The kid's a loose cannon and Brandon's a ticking time bomb. So, guess what? That tick-tock is not the time bomb. That's your clock. You're about ready to be expired on this island."

On Day 32, the Te Tuna tribe met with Jeff again, who then explained the rules to what would be their seventh Individual Immunity Challenge. Jeff told the castaways they would be required to keep themselves moving across a giant puzzle board by taking turns to flip over one puzzle piece at a time and then stepping onto it. Once a piece was turned over, they could never step back onto it.

The last person standing would win individual immunity and be safe at the next Tribal Council session. The challenge came down to Edna and Coach, but Coach ended up winning. 

"Brandon is so truthful that he sticks his freakin' smelly foot in his mouth and gets in trouble, but I'm not going to let this bring me down. If [Edna] wants to put me as her little bad guy today, I'll be the bad guy. Hopefully my tribe stays strong, and as long as we do, I got more game to play and I'm going to enjoy that breakfast on Day 39," Brandon said.

After the Individual Immunity Challenge, Sophie said it was rude for Brandon to call out Edna for not being part of the tribe's top alliance and Rick agreed. Brandon ended up apologizing to Edna, but she basically said it was over and done with -- not really accepting his apology. Edna felt Brandon was being insincere, and the tribe took notice that Edna was unforgiving.


"It's like beating your wife and then apologizing or buying her a diamond necklace. 'I bought her a diamond necklace. I apologized. That's it.' In his mind, it's like, 'Okay I apologized, so let's move onto the next insult," Edna said.

Edna then told her tribe that Brandon's actions were inconsistent with their tribe's motto of remaining honorable and loyal while playing with integrity. She said juxtaposing those qualities and how she has performed in the game with Brandon's behavior didn't match up and they needed to realize Brandon didn't deserve his position in the game.

Edna told her fellow castaways that if they chose to keep Brandon around, they'd be giving him "a hall pass to act irrationally around camp and emotionally destructive."

"Edna provocatively put something on the table -- 'Vote out Brandon tonight, keep me and the four of us will take ownership of this game.' Systematically, she just laid it all out for us. If there's any argument for us to send somebody else home tonight, she put Brandon -- she served him up slow-pitch softball style, a big fat pitch that we could knock out of the park. On a day when we thought Edna was definitely going to go home, that's not the case anymore," Coach explained.

Edna then asked Coach to give it to her straight, and he told her that Edna deserved to stay in the game over Brandon, but his tribe didn't want to vote out Brandon out because there was a possibility he could go to Redemption Island, win and then come back.

Edna wanted to know whether Coach would play his hidden Immunity Idol for her, but he replied no. He told her he wasn't even going to use the Idol because everyone else in the game would no longer trust him. Coach said if he played the Idol, he would certainly be the next person to go, while if he gave the Idol to Edna, they would "vote his ass off 100% percent."


Coach admired Edna's attempts to stay in the game, but she still wasn't satisfied with what she had heard. She then asked Albert and Sophie to help her out and gave a good argument. Edna told them Coach was onboard to vote Brandon out and she needed the two of them. She said she would "eat a piece of Coach's sh-t" to prove he was in on the plan.

"Edna can kind of feel the heat bearing down on her, but Edna makes a really good point. Edna said straight up, 'I'm not a threat. I'm not going to win the game. I'm not going to be very competitive in challenges -- just save my neck now and I can guarantee you guys a place in the final four. At this stage in the game, on Day 32 in Survivor, any time you can have a guaranteed place that deep in the game, it's something that's pretty appealing. If I can do that, there's a chance that Brandon might have a big surprise tonight," Albert said.

That night, Survivor: South Pacific's castaways arrived for their sixth Tribal Council as a merged Te Tuna tribe.

Edna told Jeff her thoughts about how Brandon had strayed from everything the Upolu tribe stood for through his actions -- that he had deviated from being honest and having integrity. She reminded her tribe about how Brandon had lied back at the first Tribal Council session, insisting Stacey Powell and Christine Shields Markoski were ready to vote out Mikayla Wingle when that situation never took place.

Brandon wasn't worried about Edna's comments, as he was confident about his position in the game with his alliance. He told everyone that Edna had misconstrued things and was planting seeds in the minds of others, but Edna defended herself and verified she was not making anything up.

Sophie and Albert then both admitted they were in a very difficult stage of the game because they only had former Upolu members left to choose amongst.


Jeff then revealed the votes and Edna voted for Brandon, while all the other castaways voted to send Edna to Redemption Island. Edna's torch was extinguished and she left the premises.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski