Best Survivor Winners No. 27: Sophie Clarke (Survivor South Pacific)
I remember being sour for the first time watching Survivor South Pacific. It wasn’t about Sophie Clarke as the winner over recognizable players like Coach and Ozzy, but how bad the Redemption Island + returning player captain system fundamentally broke the foundations of the season.
It meant that everyone bent to the wills of these players all the way to the merge, with the editors resorting to using Sophie more as the narrator for the season.
Sophie didn’t have a strong grip on the game, but she did put herself in a position to go far in “The Family” alliance and foresaw the players’ strengths and weaknesses that could arise down the line.
She always offered her perspective to the audience, giving context to a season that was the Coach and Ozzy show.
While she did make a misstep or two in the long stretch, her final tribal council performance is one of champions, and she did win two individual immunity challenges on the same day to make Survivor history.
Three challenges, incredible social maneuverability and being able to sway Coach? That’s incredible.