CBS's Road to Survivor 50 continues tonight, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2026, with the climactic finale of Survivor: South Pacific.
The episode features third-time players Benjamin "Coach" Wade and Ozzy Lusth, before they return for their fourth and fifth chances—respectively—to once again seek out the title of Sole Survivor in Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.
For the two weeks leading up to the anniversary season's premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 25, CBS is airing iconic episodes throughout the show's history, highlighting a few of the players returning for the upcoming milestone season from across the different eras of the game's evolution. And tonight, they're revisiting the 23rd season, which invited back two former fan-favorites—both for different reasons—and the episode that finally saw them battle it out for their shot at Final Tribal Council.
Ozzy and Coach go head-to-head in the finale of Survivor: South Pacific
A season built on Coach's unique social charm vs. Ozzy's innate survival instinct finally brings the two to a head in "Loyalties Will Be Broken."
To set up the season so far, both of our past players were brought into a brand new season and randomly placed on separate tribes, essentially placed to insert themselves as leaders for the newcomers, which they both immediately did; Coach, by preaching honor, integrity, and loyalty to his tribe ensuring they'd listen to him as he promised to take them to the end, and Ozzy, by creating a divide between strength and weakness in his tribe, becoming a provider for the majority to protect them as their leader.
With Redemption Island in play, there was an added level of strategy in who was being voted out, which Ozzy masterminded. With both tribes fairly close in numbers right before the expected time of the merge, he "sacrificed" himself after his tribe lost immunity to beat the rival tribe's Redemption champion and ensure his alliance had the numbers going into the merge. What he didn't expect was his previous social outcasting of future Survivor: Caramoan winner John Cochrane to turn on him with a resulting flip by the superfan. This led to a chain of Ozzy's allies going back to Redemption, until Ozzy himself was voted out to the challenge arena once more.
Now, we see if Ozzy will once again earn his way back into the game, and if he does, how he could possibly navigate a path from the Final Five to Final Tribal Council as the clear outsider among a group of players eagerly following Coach's guidance.
Coach has spent the entire game making promises on his integrity and on higher powers that he will go to the end with multiple different people, including Ozzy. It's kept him safe this long, but will the jury of his fallen allies be in favor or opposed of him sitting at Final Tribal Council, should he make it?
If either Coach or Ozzy doesn't take home the win in South Pacific, will one of them claim the $1 million in Survivor 50?
One of the most heart-pounding finales of the early eras fans had the joy of watching live is excitedly back in its original format for the first time since it first aired 15 years ago (the last time Coach played), and it's not one you're going to want to miss!
Watch Ozzy and Coach in the finale of Survivor: South Pacific on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 12.