The On Fire podcast is back for Survivor 48, with Survivor host Jeff Probst, producer Jeff Wolfe, and Survivor 47 winner Rachel LaMont. In the latest episode, the trio talks about the tribe swap, Vula’s surprising loss, Rachel’s thoughts regarding searching other people’s bags, and Probst’s reveal of whether an extra vote can be used in a deadlocked vote. Plus, Probst hints at Thomas’ comeback and answers some fan questions.
Probst starts the episode by reminiscing about the first ever tribe switch in Survivor history, back in Survivor: Africa, and says he particularly remembers the devastated expressions of Lex van den Berghe and Silas Gaither. Probst also comments that production didn’t know how this twist would play out back then, but it was also a great way to display a strategic new layer and break expectations and assumptions of the game itself. As for the Survivor 48 tribe switch, Probst reiterates the importance of the twist by saying, “Power, security, and control are illusions. Survivor belongs to those who can adapt the fastest.”
Afterwards, the immunity challenge is brought up, particularly the overconfidence the new Vula tribe showed at the beginning of the challenge, only to end up losing. Rachel expresses she went through the same thing, as she lost every time she thought she had the win in the bag. Rachel also calls this scenario the ‘Survivor confidence’ as she says, “When you get confident on Survivor, there’s a complacency that sets in, and the Survivor gods humble you. They have a sick sense of humour.”
In addition, Probst voices that ‘Survivor confidence’ can also help or hinder players at tribal council. To Probst’s point, overconfident players often get blindsided, while more cautious players can potentially manoeuvre their way out of trouble. Rachel also divulges that players only have 90 seconds to two minutes to strategise before a challenge begins.
Later, Rachel gives her opinion about Shauhin searching Kyle’s bag. Rachel recognises why people get upset about someone checking another person’s bag, as in real life, it’s a massive invasion of privacy. However, in Survivor, people manipulate and lie daily, so to draw the line in searching a bag is like giving up an opportunity for more information and, therefore, the power to change the game. She also admonishes Shauhin for not doing a more thorough search, as that could’ve kept his alliance with Joe and Thomas intact.
Probst also clarifies what happens in a scenario with a vote deadlock and whether an extra vote can be used to nullify a draw. Probst explains, “Extra votes extend through a tie, so if you vote once and there’s a tie, and you have an extra vote, we revote, and you still get that extra vote. But once we’re deadlocked, meaning we have tied twice, the voting is over, that’s it.”
He continues, “So, that person doesn’t have any additional sway because they have two votes; their sway was when they were voting. Now, we’re down to the discussion part, and it has to result in a unanimous decision on who to send home. Otherwise, the tied players are safe, and everyone else who doesn’t have immunity must draw rocks.”
Finally, Probst remarks that Thomas was a huge loss for the season and cheekily hints about whether Thomas might make a potential return: “Maybe a second-time player? Who knows.” As for answering some fan questions, Probst is asked whether he holds his breath when he’s near players, to which Probst says the thought of doing that doesn’t even enter his mind, even though players smell like a mix between a campfire and an old gym locker which hasn’t been opened in months.
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I would love to see the eliminated contestants before the merger in the All-Stars, but I wish there was a season featuring only the contestants who got eliminated before the merger. If there are so many valuable contestants, they could hold a special event just for them. It feels a bit disappointing to mix them with those who made it close to the finals.