After 46 and a half seasons, Survivor is still running into firsts. Well, on Survivor 47 episode 6, Jeff Probst gave up his seat at tribal council and allowed a player to take his place. And, that player was Rome Cooney, the best narrator of Survivor 47 so far.
At tribal council, Jeff asked about the amulet advantage, which was held by Andy Rueda, Caroline Vidmar, and Teeny Chirichillo. The players felt that the amulets were actually a disadvantage and a target-worthy item to hold. Rome shared his thoughts on the amulets, but before that happened, Jeff allowed Rome to take his spot at tribal council, which was a huge deal to Rome. He got emotional after sitting in the host's place because, as Rome explained, hosting is his career and hosting a show like Survivor is his dream.
On the new episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst, Jeff was asked by cohost Jay Wolff why he traded places with Rome during tribal council.
"It's not that complicated, really," Jeff explained. "It's the same thing that prompts me for every question I ask, or whether I say yes or no to a negotiation, and that's simply being in the moment and responding to what's in front of you."
Well, I feel like it made for one of the best moments of the season so far from a sentimental perspective, especially with the backdrop of the audience knowing that there was a very good chance Rome was going home within minutes after this exchange.
"There is a lot of improv in Survivor," Jeff continued. "And, this was one of those moments where I kinda started to see it playing out in real time, and I knew the only answer was, 'yes, and you should come over here' and host.' Plus, I know Rome is a broadcaster, and we had this delicious topic to talk about, an advantage that none of them liked."
So, how did Jeff feel that Rome performed in his brief hosting stint?
"Rome delivered," Jeff added. "He knocked it out of the park, because he had a point of view, and he had confidence, and he made his case efficiently and with just enough pop to make it entertaining."
Rome was voted out almost immediately after this exchange. Almost every player on the soon-to-be tribe voted for Rome, except for Sol Yi, Rome's nemesis in the game, and Sue Smey. They voted for Andy just in case Rome had something up his sleeve, which has huge implications for Survivor 47 episode 7 and beyond.
Jeff shared his notes from his meetings with Rome during casting and in Jeff's notes, he mentioned having Rome call a challenge if Rome was one of the players sitting out. At the time, Jeff says he doesn't remember writing it, but there was something about Rome's aura that Jeff knew would work on TV, and it definitely did!
It's definitely going to be an interesting game without Rome. There's not another player left in the game who brings the energy to every part of the game that Rome was bringing. Obviously, it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but now that he's gone I can't help but wonder who the rest of the tribe is going to get annoyed of. Because you know it's going to happen!
Stay tuned for more news about Survivor 47!