Jeff Probst on episode 11 of 'Survivor: Redemption Island'
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Each week, Survivor host Jeff Probst answers a few questions about the most recent episode of Redemption Island.
A few weeks back in my recap I wrote how on a double elimination what you guys should do is have a regular challenge and Tribal Council and then surprise them on the spot with another Tribal Council-set immunity challenge and vote right then and there. Admit it, you invented a time machine after reading that to go back and do that for this episode, didn’t you? Seriously, though, how perfect was the timing on your double eliminations in that it allowed you to speed through some pretty obvious vote-offs (Mike and David, and then Ralph and Steve) in half the time?
That was what we refer to on the island as “Survivor Luck.” We’ve been lucky going back to season one when Richard Hatch won and became the greatest and most notorious spokesperson we could ever hope to have. It’s amazing how many times it happens on location that things just work out. Not always, but often.
As a viewer, are you more impressed by Rob’s dominance at keeping his former tribe members completely under his rule, or disappointed by the inability of any of those Ometepe people to even consider mounting any sort of challenge to him whatsoever?
Oh without question, I’m more impressed with Rob’s ability to keep his alliance under his thumb. It’s a monumental task and it’s about to get really tough because now his own alliance becomes the enemy. It’s yet to be seen if his alliance will mount an attack against him. Up until now it wasn’t in their best interest. The alliance of six was masterful in how they stayed together. I doubt that will happen again for a long time.
If someone that has spent time at Redemption Island after the merge does make it to the final three, would they have an unfair advantage with the jury members that had also been to R.I., in that they had time to bond with them after being voted out and unite against a common enemy — meaning the people still in the game that helped vote them out and then made it all the way to the end? We’ve seen adversaries in the game become friends later after being voted out at Ponderosa. Couldn’t the same thing happen here?
Absolutely. I’d say if you make it back from being sent to R.I., and then make it to the final, that feat alone is probably worthy of a win! But generally speaking it’s no different than having all of your alliance get voted out and put on the jury, but you end up making it to the end and so you get their vote. There isn’t anything about this game that is fair or unfair because the rules are made up by the participants. They decide who to keep and who to get rid of and they decide who wins. Bitter juries, undeserving winners… hey that’s why we always say it’s a microcosm of life!
Okay, we’re finally done with the systematic destruction of the Zapatera tribe and now get to the good stuff — watching Ometepe eat its own. Tease us up for next week!
You just gave my tease. Now it will get interesting and the blindsides will begin because everybody thinks they’re safe. It’s crazy but it’s true. Not one of them thinks they are in trouble.
For more from Jeff on last night’s episode, check out jeffprobst.com. To read Dalton’s recap, click right here. To watch an exclusive deleted scene from last night’s episode (as well as a pre-game interview with the freshly ousted Julie) simply click on the video player below. And for more Survivor scoop, follow Dalton on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.