Jeff Probst Says ‘Brilliant’ Move Could Change ‘Survivor’ Forever

Changes continue for Survivor after 47 seasons, and a recent one may just be a permanent one. This week’s episode saw contestant Rachel coming up with a strategic move for a Shot in the Dark that could change the game moving forward as Rachel received a secret scroll with a hidden immunity idol sewn into the corner of the tarp at camp. She managed to grab the idol in broad daylight without a single player catching on.

With the idol now in hand, Rachel used her Shot in the Dark and didn’t vote. The 1-in-6 chance at immunity did not help her, but it did lead to a tie and revote between Sam and Sierra, as Sam didn’t vote either in the tribal council. With the remaining players voting between the two, Sierra wound up with the most votes, becoming the first member of the jury. Rachel’s way of using Shot in the Dark will change Survivor forever, as Probst said on his On Fire podcast via TV Insider.

“She could have played her idol after” the Shot in the Dark didn’t protect her, “and that was exactly her plan,” Probst shared. “She used the Shot in the Dark in a really inventive way. She used it as a lure. She played it, and then she didn’t even care if she was safe or not. She was watching the other faces to see if they cared that she played it because that was her indicator. If they react in a big way, then I know I’m the vote, and if I’m not safe with the scroll, I’ll be safe with my idol. Instead, she didn’t see any reactions. So very cleverly, much like when she got the idol out of the tarp, she just let her game play quiet and trusted. She wasn’t the vote.”

The different game plays and strategy is why the creators throw in advantages every once in a while and don’t get involved after. “We talk about this a lot,” Probst said. “We put advantages into the game with one idea, and then we wait for the players to teach us how they should be used. That was a brilliant use of the Shot in the Dark.”

That might be one of the best things about Survivor. Each season, a player or players come along and come up with a pretty genius strategy that no one has thought about before, and it definitely changes things. Rachel played a strategic game, and there’s no telling what other plans she has up her sleeves. New episodes of Survivor air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.