Through four weeks, Survivor 46 has shown fans one of the worst starts for a tribe in the history of the series. Yanu has been both as bad and as unlucky as a tribe can be out of the gate, with their only reprieve coming when a player on a rival tribe was medically pulled from the game. At the center of Yanu’s troubles has been contestant Bhanu Gopal, a lovely person who came to Survivor with seemingly no idea how to play the game. This week, Bhanu’s Survivor journey came to an end, with a surprising Tribal Council that feature a single vote. WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of Survivor! Continue reading at your own risk…
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Bhanu spent the first four episodes of Survivor 46 making bad decision after bad decision, putting himself at the bottom of his tribe in the process. After telling his tribe mates that he spilled some tea about their relationships to rival players while on his journey, his fate was sealed. All three of his fellow told him to his face they were voting for him at Tribal Council (following their fourth consecutive immunity challenge loss). The hidden immunity idol at his camp had already been found, leaving his searches fruitless. To top it all off, Bhanu lost his vote, preventing him from using his Shot in the Dark.
There was quite literally no way for Bhanu to escape the chopping block at Tribal, a point that was made clear by all three of his Yanu tribe mades in front of Jeff Probst. Viewers may have been surprised to then see Probst skip the actual vote altogether, since there was no debate. Instead, the host and showrunner let Bhanu share the story of his journey out of poverty before snuffing his torch.
On the latest episode of the On Fire With Jeff Probst podcast, the Survivor host explained his decision to forego the vote and let Bhanu leave on his own terms.
“It’s rare to have a Tribal like this where everyone knows what is going to happen,” Probst said. “You don’t have any mystery, you don’t have any uncertainty, and it offers us an opportunity to do something different.”
“In this case, what it allowed us to do was let Bhanu finish his story on his terms,” he continued. “And I love how he handled it because he remained true to himself. He was authentic. It was heartfelt. His tribe mates were very accepting and simultaneously, no doubt grateful he was leaving. But it allowed Bhanu to bring some level of agency in the closure to his experience. The is it. We’re going to snuff your torch and your game is over.”
What did you think of Bhanu’s exit on Survivor? Let us know in the comments!
