Jeff Probst on episode 13 of 'Survivor: Redemption Island'

[/caption]

Each week, Survivor host Jeff Probst answers a few questions about the most recent episode of Redemption Island.

To me, the most telling exchange of the entire season was Natalie telling Rob, “I’m scared,” and then him responding, “Don’t be scared. All you have to do is do what I say.” How many alarms would be set off in your head if someone said that to you in this game?

I didn’t even pick up on that moment. Great observation. I think you have to step back and really appreciate the situation. Rob is older and has played this game four times. Natalie is the youngest to ever play and she is learning as she goes. She has attached herself to Rob and as a result I think he is the one person out there she feels she can trust. Rob on the other hand is using her to help him get to the end. It’s a win-win. Natalie couldn’t do it on her own. She doesn’t have enough game experience or life experience. I can’t imagine myself on a show like this when I was only 19. I would have been a disaster. I’ve been very impressed with Natalie. I’m very impressed with Rob. Sorry, what was the question?

It’s a pretty long walk to get to the Murlonio beach, so just how hot was that pizza by the time it got to Ashley and Natalie? And this is pretty stupid but I’ve always wondered how you manage to keep things like burgers warm that have to sit out for a while before being given out at food auctions or situations like when Steve and Phillip opted out of the challenge to eat. Or is the food just cold but they’re so hungry they don’t even care?

We take great care to make sure their food rewards taste as they should. Typically we show them the reward when explaining the challenge and then serve them fresh food for their reward. In other words we have two sets of food. In the case of the burgers, we keep them in warmers until just before the challenge starts, so they were plenty hot and quite tasty. We always put ourselves in their shoes and try to make it as good as we can for them. Rewards are so far and few between it’s important that they pay off.

I was a huge Francesca fan and was bummed to see her go first. As we head into the finale, as a producer who is the one player you would have liked to have seen make it further in the game this season.

Uh, is this a trick question? Russell. No question. Nobody close. He’s polarizing. For the record, I too liked Francesca quite a bit. It was a major bummer to lose her so early.

Eight people are still vying for the million dollars as we head into Sunday night. Time for a double tease! Tease us up for both the finale and the reunion show.

Here’s the deal…for the first time in a long time, we head into a season finale with a lot of possible winners. This so rarely happens, I find it very exciting. Lots of people to root for…or against. It all depends who makes it to the final Tribal Council. Matt could win. Andrea could win. Ashley could win. Rob could win. Grant could win. Natalie — not sure if she could pull it off. Phillip is a wild card — depends how he would handle final Tribal. If he pulls off a mask and this was all a put-on, he could win. And if Mike makes it back into the game and to the final, he may be the favorite because he has a lot of friends on the jury. It’s one of the most unpredictable situations I can remember having this late in the show.

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 Ralph) simply click on the video player below. And for more Survivor scoop, follow Dalton on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.