A "Wham" episode is an episode of a TV show where something absolutely shocking and jaw-dropping happens.  For "Survivor: South Pacific," the "Wham" episode has arrived.

CBS

We start off with Ozzy arriving at Redemption Island, preparing to tell Christine his story as part of his master plan.  He tells her that Cochran used the idol at the last Tribal Council to save himself and send Ozzy packing.  Christine seemed to buy it, since she believed Cochran's knowledge of 'Survivor' history would make him a top strategist.  Ozzy's plan seems to be going according to schedule, but back at Savaii, Cochran reveals in a confessional that he has no intentions of returning the idol Ozzy gave to him should he return to the game.  As we will soon see, Cochran is going to light a bomb that will blow this game apart.

At the Redemption Duel, all the tribe members attend, and Jeff Probst confirms that Ozzy's assumption is correct.  The winner of this Duel will return to the game, and the two tribes will merge. Before the Duel, Ozzy lays it on thick about how Cochran is a snake and should not be trusted in an attempt to trick Upolu.  Coach, however, doesn't buy it for a second, and neither do Albert and Rick.  Strike one for Oz. 

In this Duel, Ozzy and Christine will stand behind a locked gate and must tie together long sticks to create a pole.  They will then use the pole to grab three keys that are hooked at varying distances.  The first person to grab all three keys and unlock their gate will return to the game.  Unfortunately, this game isn't even close.  Ozzy shows once again why he is a challenge juggernaut, collecting all of his keys easily before Christine could even get one.  Ozzy returns to the game, and after two weeks on Redemption Island, Christine is forced to say goodbye.

And now, it is merge time, with six Upolu members and six Savaii members.  The players drop their buffs and receive new yellow ones.  Jeff also reminds them that though Ozzy has returned to the game, Redemption Island will still remain a part of the game, and before the game is over, one more player will return after being voted out.  The new merged tribe now enjoys their sumptuous feast, and despite his earlier plans, Cochran decides to stick to his word and give the idol back to Ozzy.  After some discussion, they name themselves the Te Tuna Tribe, which is based off of the Polynesian myth of how the coconut tree was created.  Man, now I want a footlong from Subway.

But once formalities are out of the way, both tribes work to swing the 6-to-6 deadlock in their favor.  Cochran tries to work his "double agent" schtick on Coach, but the Dragon Slayer doesn't buy it for a second and counters it by striking fear in the fanboy's heart in a way only he can.  He tells Cochran that the Upolu alliance is rock solid and will not budge.  He also tells him that he knows how Savaii has made him feel ostracized since day 1 and tells him that if he continues to follow them he will still be at the bottom of the food chain and will not be in a position to make it to the end.  So he gives Cochran a chance to backstab the Savaii tribe and join the Upolus instead.

Upon hearing this offer, Cochran folds like a cheap suit and reveals everything to Coach, including Ozzy's plan and the fact that he holds the idol.  When asked who Upolu should target, Cochran suggests Keith, since he is the biggest physical threat on Savaii after Ozzy.  Cochran suddenly feels very cocky about his spot in the game, and thinks that he could go far if he goes with Upolu.  Personally, I think he's just going to find himself in the same position with Upolu as he was with Savaii.  If he does join them and helps them pick off the other Savaii members, he is going to have to do some serious Final Four negotiations with the Upolu players to break up their alliance.

The only thing keeping Cochran from changing his allegiance is Dawn, who was also an outcast on Savaii for not being young and gorgeous.  He tries to convince her to follow him in his plan to join Upolu, since it is their opportunity for both of them to control their own destiny in the game.  Dawn may be considering that offer, since she feels very attached to Cochran and doesn't want to see him go.  

At the first individual Immunity Challenge, Probst announces that there will be TWO immunity necklaces handed out, one for each gender.  In this challenge, the twelve players must stand on a small perch and hold a coconut in a rope sling.  At regular intervals, the rope sling will be lengthened, making the coconut harder to balance.  If a person drops the coconut or falls off the perch, he or she is out.  Last man and woman standing win immunity.

The match starts, and Edna and Cochran are out early.  Shocker.  The sling is lengthened, and Whitney falls shortly afterward.  Finally, towards the end of the second round, Sophie falls, and Dawn wins immunity!  Wow!  The oldest woman in the game is proving herself well!

Now on to the men.  The sling is lengthened more and more, and Coach, Rick, Jim, and Keith are eliminated.  In the final round, the sling reaches its maximum length of two feet, leaving Albert, Brandon, and Ozzy to contend in an endurance battle.  And of course, it's Ozzy that wins the necklace.  Ozzy could just ride all the way to the end if he keeps winning challenges.  He is just unstoppable right now.

…or is he?

Back at camp, both tribes are preparing for a potential deadlock.  After debating between targeting Albert, Sophie, and Rick, Savaii decides to go after Rick at Tribal. They also consider what may happen in the event of a tie.  The rules of Survivor state that if there is a tie before the Final Four, all the players that are not part of the tie will re-vote, with the tied players as the only possible options.  If there is still a tie after that, the two tied players are granted immunity, along with anyone that has received individual immunity or has played the hidden idol.  The remaining players must pull a rock out of a bag, and the player that pulls the purple rock will be voted out.

With this in mind, Savaii hatches a plan.  Ozzy will play the hidden idol for Whitney, since she will not be targeted by Upolu.  They will then stick together and force a tie.  This way, when they pull rocks, Ozzy and Dawn will be safe with their immunity necklaces, Whitney will be immune with the idol, and the Savaii player that Upolu targets will be immune too.  Upolu, on the other hand will only have the targeted player immune, which means that five Upolu members and two Savaii members will have to pull rocks.  This plan will require a lot of luck, but so did Ozzy's suicide plan, and unlike that plan, the odds would be in their favor that an Upolu member will pull a purple rock and be voted out.

At Tribal Council, the plan is put into motion.  Ozzy plays the idol for Whitney making her immune.  Coach decides to hold on to his idol. Jeff reads the votes, and sure enough, it is a 6-6 Tie.  Savaii has targeted Rick, and based on Cochran's advice, Upolu has targeted Keith.  Everyone except Keith and Rick vote again.  Jeff opens the jar…

First vote…Keith.

Second vote…Keith.

Keith.

Keith.

Keith.  There are now five votes for him.

Next vote: Rick.

Rick. 

Rick. 

Rick.  It's now 5-4.  Jeff opens the last vote…

…and it reads Keith.  Cochran has officially flipped to Upolu's side.

The entire Savaii tribe is shocked, except for Keith, who just smirks as he heads off to Redemption Island.  Jim hisses at Cochran, calling him a coward, and amazingly enough, Brandon comes to his defense.  "Don't talk to him that way," he said.  "That's what you get for treating him like that in the first place."  As Te Tuna leaves Tribal Council, Brandon comes to Cochran and says, "Stay close to me."  Wow, Lil Hantz just did the most awesome thing he's done in the game thus far.  

On the next episode, Savaii rips into Cochran, and Jim hatches a plan to get revenge.  I hope it doesn't work.  Cochran just pulled off the biggest move in the game.  He got Ozzy to play his idol for absolutely nothing, and now Ozzy's alliance is woefully outnumbered.  As mentioned earlier, it could come down to the Upolu Six and Cochran, and I don't think that Albert and Sophie want to take Coach all the way to the end, so they could arrange a deal with Cochran to go all the way to the end.  There are so many possibilities, and Cochran may have just set off a chain reaction of chaos.

Reach writer Jeremy Fuster here