Survivor is built on a sense of uncertainty. Typically, the editors will set up multiple story lines in each episode that ultimately coalesce by the time the contestants reach Tribal Council into two or three potentialities. This week, however, all that went out the window and was replaced with the question “How many times can the contestants, editors, and producers make fun of this one guy in a 38-minute span?†The answer, it turned out, was quite a lot. Consider Rome overthrown.
Look, the now-beleaguered contestant in question, Rome Cooney, has been a nuisance throughout the season — an overconfident blowhard that does things like follow his fellow Red Tribe contestant Sol Yi around and refuse to give him a moment alone, then threatening him and calling it an “ultimatum.†He’s cocky, he’s mean-spirited, and he takes pleasure in causing other contestants pain. It’s the perfect setup for a downfall. Still, we didn’t think it would happen like this.
Throughout this masterpiece of an episode, almost everything Rome says is immediately undercut by the edit. The first thing of note he does is brag about how, after a long conversation with his latest target, Blue Tribe’s Kyle, he has all the information to throw Kyle under the bus. That claim is immediately buried by Sol telling other contestants, “This is what Rome does.†Kyle wants Rome out and gets everybody onboard with it. Normally, since it’s so early in the episode, the entire tribe agreeing to get one person out would be a misdirect. Not here.
The real dirty work, though, begins right before the contestants head off to Tribal. Rome goes to all the other contestants, telling them they’re voting off Sol, and they all lie to his face. “Ay, that’s great, Rome,†Sam says to camera. “You keep throwing Sol’s name around.†Then it cuts back to Rome calling himself a Survivor god. “I’m gonna be feasting on Sol’s bones tonight,†he claims. “I gotta big ol’ smile on my face because it feels like everything’s gonna be rolling my way.â€
At Tribal Council, when Rome starts monologuing yet again, Jeff Probst joins in and tells him to come switch seats and be the “host†of Survivor. He does it, then tells Probst, “I love hosting, I love commentating, and you literally have my dream job.†During voting, five separate contestants are shown writing the guy’s name down. “I like you, but your game was really bad,†Andy says in German. All sense of anticipation is lost, but we still get another cocky Rome moment: He is so confident that the vote will be on Sol that he decides to “shake things up a little†and not vote for him. Finally, Probst reads the votes, and it just feels like mercy. “That hurts,†Rome says when he’s eliminated. But this show doesn’t want you to feel bad for him. So long, Rome. You made for a fun pre-merge.