Survivor 46 sent home Bhanu Gopal during the fourth episode.
But host Jeff Probst did things a bit differently at Tribal Council.
The Yanu Tribe was very up-front with Jeff about targeting Bhanu.
After Bhanu revealed that he had no vote, Jeff elaborated that he couldn’t use his Shot in the Dark without a vote to sacrifice.
Tiffany, Kenzie, and Q noted they were writing down Bhanu’s name. It was a plan in place following his revelation that he had told the other tribes too much about the trio.
Bhanu then spoke about his background and how he had come from poverty before living out his dream of playing Survivor.
Jeff Probst snuffs Bhanu’s torch and gives him a hug
Rather than have a Tribal Council vote, Jeff asked Bhanu to bring his torch up when he was ready. He also hugged Bhanu to bring his time on Survivor to a close.
It wasn’t a typical exit for a Survivor castaway, especially since anything can happen during a vote. But with how one-sided things had become, Jeff was comfortable taking a different approach to this Tribal Council.
“It’s very rare to have a Tribal like this where everyone knows what is going to happen. You don’t have any mystery. You don’t have any uncertainty. And it offers us an opportunity to do something different,” Jeff stated during a new episode of his On Fire podcast (Jeff Don’t Lie).
“In this case… what it allowed us to do was let Bhanu finish his story on his terms. And I love how he handled it because he remained true to himself,” Jeff elaborated. “He was authentic. It was heartfelt. His tribemates were very accepting, and simultaneously, no doubt grateful he was leaving.”
It’s good to shake things up during the reality competition show, especially since the storyline had made it obvious that Bhanu was going home next.
Bhanu had an impact on Survivor viewers: Was it good or bad?
During his exit interviews, Bhanu said his tribe had a “lack of empathy” this season. It was a bold statement to make after getting to re-watch what had taken place in Fiji.
Bhanu also addressed begging for his Survivor life from Tiff and shared some thoughts about why he did it.
Meanwhile, many Survivor fans have called this season a soap opera due to the crying that has consumed some episodes. With Bahnu gone, will there be a shift in tone? We will soon find out.
Jess Chong called Survivor “torture” after her final episode aired, giving an interesting perspective of her time with the Yanu Tribe and Bhanu.
Previous episodes of Survivor are available for streaming on Paramount+.
Survivor 46 airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.