Jeff Probst Cites “Instant Karma” for Survivor: Game Changers Episode 10

Somehow, the reward challenge of Survivor: Game Changers’ tenth episode ended up more interesting than immunity, and Jeff Probst noticed.

Warning: this discusses events from the April 26 episode of Survivor: Game Changers. 

Neither challenge of the tenth episode of Survivor: Game Changers was really close in terms of who won and lost. Even so, host Jeff Probst told Entertainment Weekly quite a bit when it came to two key events during that reward challenge.

First up in terms of the game, Sarah picked up the secret advantage that was right there for Michaela to find. Per Probst:

"“Incredible gameplay for sure and some might also say ‘instant karma.’  The woman who went out to support a fellow human was rewarded. The woman who sat on the bench and complained lost out.”"

The editors seemed to have quite a bit of fun cutting to Michaela lounging on the bench and then following those up with shots of the clearly-labeled “secret advantage.” Probst’s answer does tie it all back into karma, but “incredible gameplay” also sums it up.

Beyond just snagging the advantage herself, Sarah appeared to completely get away with picking it up and hiding it in her shoe. Probst expressed surprise to EW on that, saying he “was riveted watching it play out.” The boat carrying the losing players was indeed right there. Still, she pulled it off.

Speaking of “the woman who went out to support a fellow human,” Probst really loved Cirie’s finishing the course. (Viewers last night may have picked up on that.) Sarah went out first to help Cirie.  Here’s the take he gave EW about his offering to stay until Cirie finished the obstacle course in the water.

"“The easy move was for me to declare the winners of the challenge and call in our safety divers to help Cirie out of the water. But Survivor isn’t about what’s easy. Survivor is about pushing the boundaries and this was simply too strong of an opportunity to let slip past.”"

That is all true. However, Survivor is also a show. He didn’t deny that. In fact, he went on to praise the sound team for capturing everything Cirie and Sarah said. This is not to say that Probst necessarily manufactured the moment. He did, however, capitalize on something he saw. It added an emotional note to the episode, after all. It can’t just be a show all about cutthroat gameplay. Some fans of Survivor do enjoy those moments. Others don’t.

Finally, Probst suggested that the idea of loyalty would again play a role in next week’s episode. Color us not really surprised at all, since it has come up repeatedly lately, with regards to Zeke in particular. Probst didn’t name any names, but we’re just saying.

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What did you think of the reward challenge and all its twists and turns in “A Line Drawn in Concrete”?