[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Survivor Season 47 Episode 6.]
Ahead of Survivor Season 47’s premiere, TV Insider asked Jeff Probst if anyone from this season would be getting an invitation to come back for Survivor 50, the next returning players season. “That’s a really good question,” he replied. “And the answer is yes.” With a major player eliminated in Season 47 Episode 6 on Wednesday, October 23, we now have a gut feeling about who that potential returning player could be.
The sixth episode of Season 47 featured the merging of the three tribes, but like past seasons in the new era, the castaways were not guaranteed a spot on the merged tribe; they had to fight for their spots instead. The episode featured a new twist, which was that only one player would be safe from elimination and guaranteed a spot in the merged tribe.
Last season and in ones before it, the group was split into two teams for the immunity challenge, and the winning team was safe from elimination and got a feast. This time, the winning team did earn a meal, but it wasn’t the official merge meal. That team of six then competed against each other for individual immunity that would protect them when everyone went to tribal council. Genevieve found the advantage that placed her with the winning team, thus securing her a meal, but it was Kyle who won the first individual immunity and became the first official member of the merged tribe.
Flash forward to tribal council — the largest one in show history, with 13 players involved — and the biggest personality of this season, Rome, was eliminated with a large majority vote. This came after Rome made himself the finisher in the challenge and didn’t perform well. The season has definitely lost one of its main draws with this vote. He ruffled more than one person’s feathers in the cast with his unapologetic opinions about who he did and didn’t want to work with, but he made for great viewer entertainment.
With much of this episode told from Rome’s point of view, it’s clear that he caught the attention of Survivor‘s producers. Other than possibly Andy, there’s no bigger standout personality from this season so far. And even though Andy has been memorable for some negative reasons, he hasn’t been an agent of chaos like Rome. And Probst and his team like agents of chaos, like Q Burdette from Season 46, whom Probst previously told TV Insider is definitely on their list for Season 50 invitations. We think that Rome will be on this list as well.
Here’s what Probst hinted about the Survivor 47 cast member that could be asked to come back.
“As we were playing 47, all of the producers were going, ‘Hmmm, it could be an interesting choice for 50,’” Probst told TV Insider, referencing a noteworthy player who was left unnamed.
“It’s still evolving, and we’re not there yet, but I just want fans to know that we take it as seriously as they do,” Probst continued. “And the way we’re approaching it is from joy. Those seem like they’re conflicting, but they’re really harmonious to me. I seriously want Survivor 50 to be joyful. Those words seem in conflict, but they’re not, and I think 50 is going to be really fun. But first we’ve got to get through 47, 48, and 49.”
On the latest episode of the On Fire podcast, Probst dropped even more hints that Rome is the player he was talking about in our interview when explaining why the producers told Episode 6 from Rome’s point of view — and why Probst let Rome sit in his seat at tribal council.
“If you go back and watch this entire episode again, what you’ll notice is that the entire episode is really told through Rome’s point of view. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Every turning point is essentially seen through Rome’s eyes. And it’s something we’ve talked about this season and in other seasons that we want to continue to find ways to take the audience deeper inside the mind of a player or deeper inside the strategy of a moment or deeper inside the anatomy of a blindside,” Probst explained on On Fire. “This one really lined up because we had a great narrator in Rome. He’s fun to watch, he’s fun to listen to, he’s full of ideas, he’s constantly turning the game and he’s always very forthcoming. So having it be a Rome episode, knowing that Rome was going to get blindsided, made it really appealing and the shift in perspective didn’t come until the end of tribal council. Now the audience is ahead of Rome and they realize Rome, you got it all wrong, you’re not in charge, actually, you’re going home.”
Rome is the first player in Survivor history to sit in Probst’s seat at tribal council. The moment drew shocked reactions out of the other cast members and no doubt viewers as well. Probst said on On Fire that his decision to let Rome take his seat was completely improvised and just felt right for that moment. While in the host’s chair, Rome explained why the amulet advantage doesn’t work. Probst said he “knocked it out of the park” and revealed that his early casting notes about Rome said to “have Rome call a challenge if he sits out or if he falls out early.”
“I know Rome’s a broadcaster and we had this delicious topic ready to talk about an advantage that none of them liked, so this was going to be really interesting,” Probst explained. “It really felt right. I got to say, Rome delivered. 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. And the interesting thing about Survivor is those same qualities, that point of view and that confidence which are essential to play Survivor, are often the same qualities that can get you voted out, which is what happened when we say goodbye to Rome, a much larger than life personality and a ton of fun to have out there.”
How could you hear that and not think that Rome is being invited back for Survivor 50? Probst talks about Rome as if he’s not only a potential returning player, but someone who could host the show! Do you want to see him return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, below, and check out the full episode of On Fire, embedded below.
Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS