Jeff Probst weighs in on controversial ‘Survivor 51’ tribal council decision

The original Savu majority of the new Savu tribe seemed to have it in the proverbial bag when they entered Tribal Council on this week’s episode of Survivor 51. And then, the unthinkable happened.

Thanks to Toka’s former ally Maggie Nestor showing up and giving Lewis Kelly and Danny Kilby an extra vote, the duo was suddenly able to force a surprise tie at Tribal Council, with four votes each over Lewis and Linnea Capobianco. This put Linnea’s allies Eric Macksoud, Sharonda Cox, Cristian Chavez on their heels, and after Kilby stood firm on his plan to go to the rocks – with one of the four rock shooters going home instead – Eric, Sharonda and Cristian capitulated and agreed to send their ally Linnea packing rather than risk their own place in the game.

In the latest edition of his weekly social media post Field Notes, host and showrunner Jeff Probst called the decision “historic.”

“This is a great example of what playing to win looks like,” Probst wrote in the Instagram post. “Kilby and Lewis made a big move that certainly could have backfired… but if you play not to lose, you’re doomed. You have to play to win. Sometimes that means a big, risky, risky move. That’s what it was tonight.”

Of course, Kilby had already committed to going to the rocks when he decided to return to camp, which gave him and Lewis the element of surprise in their opposition. They also had nothing to lose, already being in the minority against the rock-solid (light pun intended) Savu quartet.

“Any time you’re really ready to go on the rocks, you have a huge advantage,” notes Probst. “Kilby’s willingness to draw stones has put all the burden on Eric, Sharonda and Cristian. Would they really want to risk the idea of ​​one of them drawing the wrong stone to save Linnea?”

No, no, they wouldn’t. But as I noted extensively in my recap, while it was definitely a bad look for the trio, it wasn’t necessarily a bad decision.

Indeed, not only would the Savu camp remain in the majority whatever happened during the draw, but had if they went towards the rocks, there was still a 75 percent chance that one of the Savus would return home anyway, because they picked up three of the four rocks. So why risk immediate elimination following a vote that won’t change the situation, with a 75% chance that you lose an alliance partner? anyway when can we guarantee our own safety and still return to the camp as a majority? Anyway, just a thought.

Still, a huge disappointment for Linnea, who saw her alliance partners fold right in front of her face.

“Given the shock of what happened, I thought Linnea handled the situation very well,” Probst wrote. “It’s always very difficult to accept being rejected, but if you can find some kind of silver lining, in this case, being part of history, it certainly softens the blow… a little.”

Of course, Linnea’s ouster means the number of women voted to start the season now reaches six, with the only man out, Rob Antonson, leaving the game.

“Six heterosexual women voted against it,” Probst writes. “Still no men voted against this season. I note this only as a reminder that there are so many factors that go into tribal dynamics and any vote in Tribal that sometimes things that seem shocking from the outside – how could they vote against another woman? – don’t at all reflect what’s actually happening in the game.”

A game in which Linnea unfortunately no longer participates.

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