Anyone who has watched even a single season of the hit CBS reality TV series Survivor understands the basic concept of how tribal council works. The tribe sits together, and Jeff Probst attempts to stir the pot by asking a few choice questions. The goal is to get the group talking before they vote on who to expel from the tribe.
Warning: Spoilers ahead from this week’s episode of Survivor.
Typically, tribal council gets 10 to 15 minutes of screen time — and they don’t hold too much conversation before they vote. During this week’s episode, however, fans watched a tribal council unfold in a way it had never done so before. Even Probst himself, during the episode, admitted it was one of the “single craziest tribals” he had ever had the pleasure of hosting.
He also acknowledged that he felt like more of a bystander than a host, as he didn’t ask many questions before the castaways took over the conversation — leaving Jeff to sit and watch with the other members of the jury.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly , Probst admits that he has watched the tribal council session from this week’s episode a few different times, and he manages to catch something new every time.
As those who have seen the episode know, there were so many conversations going on — as people got up, scrambled, and gathered in groups — that it was very hard to keep up with everything that was unfolding.
When asked who he thought was responsible for Julia Carter getting voted off, Jeff explained that it was a really hard question to answer.
“It’s like watching a social car crash in slow motion,” Probst said, explaining what watching the tribal council felt like to him.
He added: “You see every step as it unfolds, but you can’t really pinpoint which moment was the one that sealed the deal.”
The chaotic tribal council turned into a “live tribal” after Aurora mistakenly gave out too much information — allowing Rick Devens to seize an opportunity to suggest the Lesu Tribe work together. Probst, however, believes it was Julie who ultimately decided to put the final nail in Julia’s coffin.
After feeling completely betrayed, she was happy to leave the Kama tribe and work with the Lesu tribe. Jeff believes they might’ve returned the favor by allowing her to choose who they voted out.
This intense episode of Survivor: Edge of Extinction is currently available via the CBS streaming app. New episodes of Survivor air every Wednesday night, only on CBS.
