Jeff Probst Talks Survivor Immunity Idol Chase And Legality Of #NinjaStealthMode
Last night, Survivor: Cagayan saw one of the most intense immunity idol hunts in the history of the show, and host Jeff Probst spoke with Entertainment Weekly to clarify a few things about the “Mad Treasure Hunt” that ensued in last night’s episode.
At the reward challenge, Jeff Probst outlines a Survivor getaway at the Outback Shameless Promo Steakhouse (admittedly way better than the Doritos or Mountain Dew ones), which contestants Jeremiah, Spencer, Morgan, LJ, and Jefra win. Spencer nearly misses a clue to the immunity idol hidden in his napkin. He’d been leaving it there thinking only food and just by chance remembered how filthy his fingers were before arriving.
What happened next undoubtedly had some Survivor fans scratching their heads. Spencer returned to camp and headed out to read the clue, then proceeded to remove his shoes and pants, leaving the clue casually tucked between his pants legs on the ground. Woo, who is no stranger to Survivor and immunity idol antics, undoubtedly having watched in past seasons of Survivor, activated his #NinjaStealthMode and followed Spencer. Spencer tries to act casual, walking away from his abandoned pants as if he’s just going for a walk. Woo picks up his pants, yelling, “You left your pants here, dude!”
Of course, the clue falls out, and in true Survivor fashion Woo picks it up and bolts. But can Survivor contestants take immunity clues from another contestant’s belongings? According to Jeff Probst, technically yes. “You may go through people’s personal items if they are silly enough to leave them unattended. It’s not that we encourage it so much as there just isn’t any way to stop it,” said Probst. “I think Woo was just playing around trying to annoy Spencer and had no idea there was a clue tucked inside those pants.”
Eventually, he took it back to his alliance and a full on hunt for the idol proceeded. “That is probably the craziest idol hunt we’ve ever had,” said Jeff. “Every single person looking for the idol and shouting out information to each other and keeping tabs on each other. It was clearly a crazy situation.” Eventually, Spencer found the idol right under Chaos Kass’ nose.
Had Spencer not found the clue, Jeff said the Survivor crew wasn’t worried. “Yes, there are times they don’t find the clue. It’s rare but it happens,” said Probst. “We don’t worry too much about it because the idols almost always end up being found and even when they aren’t found, players are so good at pretending they have one or making a fake one that they are always an element in the game.”
In the Survivor promo for next week’s episode, it looks like things are getting crazier as paranoia in the camp heats up and causes a split between Tony and Woo.
