Interesting thoughts, as always, OFG! When you notice things....I notice!

Sophie did have an interesting role this season. In fact I came away thinking that she really is playing along with Coach all the way. It appears to me that she wants to go to the end with Coach. To me, while Sophie and Albert seem tied together, I think that Sophie will not be disappointed to see Albert get cut at some point.

She is being edited as the voice of reason, OR, as Coach's loyal minion. For some reason it appears to me that Sophie doesn't see Edna as the problem that Albert does, in other words if Edna ends up sitting in the finals with Sophie, she's not concerned about that, whereas Albert seems bent on taking Edna out, because if she is there, he fears Coach will win.

I got the impression that the editing wanted us to see Sophie as the swing vote that would determine the outcome at TC regarding who to boot. I didn't see it that way. What spoke more to me, was Coach THREATENING them all. That is what spoke louder to me. So, I saw that it wasn't Sophie's call, it was still Coach's.

While Sophie seems like a reasonable person who keeps her wit, I don't really see that she has much of a story this season other than narrator. And, if she were to end up the winner, I think I would be disappointed in that we didn't see her more. Sure, she's been at the right place at the right time, and knows when to keep her mouth shut. And, let's face it, she saved the Upolu's last night by winning that last IC....I was so hoping that Whitney could pull it off, but it was not to be.

In response to your question about her in episode 1, here is what I wrote about her one confessional:

Sophie confessional...she thinks she has a great alliance right now, she's in good shape, she thinks they are all sincere, but Brandon, she's a little more worried about...she has a gut feeling that he's hiding something...

Sophie we are shown has a good gut, and we should trust it and possibly her, because they are validating her opinion. We, the audience is shown that she is an intuitive and perceptive person, 2 qualities that are good on Survivor.

As I continue to see, she has confessionals that validate to us, the viewers, what is going on out there. We see that she sees it as we see it. Is that the story of a winner? Maybe? You know, she could pull a trick like Hatch. If she were to be in the final TC, she could "jump off" and feel confident that either of the victors would choose her to go to the finals, because she is not a big move maker, she's a "girl", and she's not one of the "alphas". Hmmmmm, gives me a little pause there. If something happens along these lines than, yes, you could be right about the winners story....maybe while Survivor appreciates big moves, you can still win without them. (Of course pulling a Hatch and jumping off may indeed be considered a big Survivor move in and of itself!

Albert is shown to not have any real powers, and he's been shown to NOT be able to make the big moves. But, I think that Albert seems to be playing to win, and I respect that, despite his inadequacies, in contrast to Cochran who can't make big moves and who is playing "not to lose". Albert won't be the winner, imo.

As Whitney said, Rick is just there....there is nothing that they have even bothered to develop with him. Talk about the dog that wouldn't bark! Perhaps he is playing to just "not lose" as Cochran seems to be as well. And, one could say the same about Edna. Edna, let's talk about her, she must have lost her mind out there. As an Anesthesiologist she would have known the answer to the dehydration and daily water requirement question over every one there, yet she got it wrong??? Her hydration and nutrition status must be in severe jeopardy for her to miss that question! She clearly is playing "not to lose". I think the only nod she has gotten this season is as Coach's tool. But, now with Cochran there, she has competition for that job. When Coach is ready to cut either of them loose, he will, and that will be the end of both Cochran and Edna.