No one can deny that the eighth episode of Survivor 46 undoubtedly belonged to Quintavius “Q” Burdette. From his Q-skirt, proposing to play hide-and-seek, his stubbornness to stick to ‘the six alliance,’ wanting to risk immunity for rice, to his now infamous intent of wanting to quit at tribal council, Q kept everyone on their toes.
With one player receiving so much focus, it begs the question, how does the Survivor editing team balance who gets the airtime? That’s some host and executive producer Jeff Probst addressed on the most recent episode of the On Fire podcast.
“The reason Q is being featured so much is he is driving the story. If you go, look at the facts of this episode, who was in charge? Q. You hear it in the interview, ‘I’m the Mob moss,'” Probst said. “Whether he is the mob boss and is in control has yet to be seen. But from a story standpoint, there’s no denying Q is driving, driving, driving.”
“So, I always say to players who get frustrated (due to the edit), look, be more interesting,” he continued. “I’m not saying blow your game up. But Q is incredibly entertaining and undeniable that he is a force out there.”
Probst also shared his thoughts on Q’s controversial move and whether he believed Q genuinely wanted to quit.
“I think his need for control is so much that his talk about wanting to leave the game is not a quit like we are used to, but rather this unique sense of loyalty,” the Emmy-winner explained.
When his On Fire co-host, Survivor 45 winner Dee Valladares, said she was shocked to see Probst not angered by Q’s admission of wanting to quit, the long-time host said, “I didn’t see it as a quit, and maybe that’s my naivete because I never got the sense Q wanted out of the game.”
Who knows whether Q meant his words or if it was another ploy to gain further control of the game. Only time will tell if Q will get the ultimate W or if he will get his “wish” at the next possible opportunity.
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