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Can you please call me Van Nest? You always call your favorite Survivor Analysts by their last name, so can I be Van Nest? Thanks!

Hello, good people. This is Van Nest reporting for Survivor: South Pacific. The first episode of the 23rd season of Survivor did not disappoint. The extra 30 minutes in the running time allowed us to get a glimpse into some of the personalities we'll be rooting for (or rooting against) for the next 13 weeks. We already knew a lot about Coach and Ozzy, so we got to spend a lot of time with John "Please call me" Cochran and Brandon "Don't call me Russell" Hantz. The former is a self proclaimed Survivor nerd whose weak challenge performance and weaker Tribal Council performance almost made him the first person voted off the island. The latter is trying his best to escape the shadow of his villainous uncle Russell. And what better way to do that than to lie about who you are while you stalk the pretty girls? We got to meet others, but let's be real; none of them merit mention before the new episode begins.

Previews for tonight suggest that after his brush with Survivor death, Cochran has turned over a new leaf and is determined to be the hardest worker around camp. But will that stop his tribe from going to Tribal Council a second time in a row? And if they go back, will he be able to escape the wrath of Ozzy? Also, the Hantz secret is really weighing on Brandon and it appears he's ready to break after a whopping four days in the game. And of all people to confide in, it seems that Coach will be the person to mentor the young Hantz in the ways of Dragon Slaying. Whatever happens, it's sure to be a doozy of an episode, so without further ado, let's get to it.

The episode begins the way the last episode ends...with Semhar arriving at Redemption Island. After crying some more about how those mean ol' Survivor players just sent her away, she recites some poetry and we leave Redemption for the friendly confines of Savaii beach.

As they get back to camp, Cochran thanks everyone for keeping him around. He tells us that he had a horrible Tribal Council and that he really has to change if he wants to stay around. Ozzy tells us they decided to keep him around in hopes that he can change. If not, he could be next to go. We then join Keith and Ozzy as they plan strategy. They've decided that if they get Jim, the three of them could run the show. Keith tells us that despite his alliance with Ozzy, he still feels like he needs to keep a close eye on him.

We come back from break for our first look at Upolu and Coach and Edna are chatting. Coach thanks her for having his back from the beginning. He tells us that he feels he's in a good place in the tribe and even though she's not in his alliance, he likes Edna and wants to keep her close. Talk comes to the immunity idol and whether or not anyone has found it. Edna suggests that maybe someone did because no one is looking any more. She tells us that as one of the weaker players, she needs to hook up with someone who can help her. Someone like Coach. Coach confirms with us that he does feel the need to protect her if at all possible.

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