‘Survivor’ Jeff Probst Admits There’s An Advantage He ‘Got Wrong’

survivor super idol tai kaoh rong
Nick Davis

Survivor has had dozens, if not hundreds, of different kinds of advantages over the decades. Some have been major successes that fans love and have stuck with the game until this day. Some have been horrible disasters that were quickly left behind and are better off dead. Host of the show, Jeff Probst recently gave acknowledgment to one of his biggest advantage mistakes. More so, it’s a mistake he didn’t make just once, it came into play twice.

The One Jeff Probst Got Wrong

Jeff addressed the multiple fails of this advantage on his new podcast On Fire with Jeff Probst. The first official Survivor podcast is an opportunity for the host to connect with fans and explain more about the decision-making process behind much of the game. In the most recent episode, he takes ownership of the multiple bad tries at implementing the Super Idol.

jeff probst super idol survivor kaoh rong
Jeff with the Super Idol in Season 32, ‘Survivor: Kaoh Rong’

“You already learned this lesson, dude,” Jeff said when talking about implementing the Super Idol a second time after its initial panning. “We just talked about it. It doesn’t work. It’s too much power. So even though it was a fun moment and [Tony Vlachos] used it and went on to win the game, I would look back and go, that’s another one that I got wrong.”

The Luvu tribe of 'Survivor' Season 41, Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment 2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Luvu tribe of ‘Survivor’ Season 41, Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment 2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Super Idol initially came into play in the early seasons of the game, Seasons 12 and 13. Back then, the Hidden Immunity Idol was still a relatively new concept, and the Super Idol was merely an experimental rule change. That rule change allowed the idol to be played after the votes were read. This means all of the exciting and dangerous guesswork was taken out of playing the idol. The idol simply became a safety net for the holder that could be used whenever tribal wasn’t going their way. Obviously, fans were not happy about this, and the idol was back to normal in Season 14.

Other Survivor Mistakes

The Super Idol made a return for Seasons 28, 32, and 35, however. Each time with various rule additions to try and add balance like needing two people to play it or only being able to play it at the first tribal. Fans were never happy with it, though, and the Super Idol hasn’t made a return. However, the Super Idol is far from the only Survivor advantage blunder from throughout the years.

survivor 44 soka tribe
The Soka tribe on ‘Survivor’ 44

This new era of the show has brought its own controversial decisions with it. Of all the new advantages between Seasons 41-44, there is one that undoubtedly stands above the rest as the most controversial. The Hourglass advantage, possibly the most controversial Survivor advantage of all time. Many players from Seasons 41 and 42 are still complaining over the implementation of this advantage. We haven’t gotten a formal Jeff apology for this one, yet. But it may be coming at some point in the future.

New episodes of Survivor Season 44 are premiering every Wednesday. Additionally, new episodes of the podcast On Fire with Jeff Probst premiere at the same time.

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