Following his elimination from season 49 of “Survivor,” castaway Jason Treul has revealed that he regrets not trying out a long-shot strategy that might have saved him and allowed him to continue in the show for longer.
Jason Treul Wished He Had Made Secret Request
Speaking in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Treul spoke about his time on the show and some of the things that he might have done differently. Like Matt Williams the previous week, Treul admits that the tribe swap made it incredibly difficult for him to remain in the game as he was thrust into a new team with members who were already in a strong alliance. “I was screwed by the tribe swap,” he says.
“I was a little less screwed than Matt because he screwed himself a little more than me. I think that in the grand scheme of things, ‘Survivor’ is a game of luck. It was luck that I even got on the show, and it’s luck that got me off the show. And I think that if I used a little bit more luck with my Shot in the Dark, then maybe I’d still be on the show. So I think that cosmically, who knows what would’ve happened.”
However, when asked about any regrets and the possibility of having his former teammates from the original Hina tribe help him, Treul explains that he could have asked them to throw the challenge. This would have given him some protection and provided an opportunity to eliminate Savannah or Sage at a later time.
“Once you get voted out, you run through the matrix,” admits Treul. “What could I have changed? And I think that throwing the challenge is something that obviously is in Kele’s hands.”
Of course, there’s no guarantee that his old tribe members, now on the Kele tribe, would have been inclined to help out in that way, but Treul knows it is something that he could have at least inquired about.
“I could have gone over to my Hina folks inside of the cage and whispered to them, ‘’Hey, can you just start missing these shots? We are all in on Rizo with the rock and he is not really making the second basket for us.’”
Jeff Probst Believes ‘Survivor’ is Faster and More Aggressive
GettyThe potential strategy call that Treul could have made is an unconventional one but something that is more likely in the modern era of “Survivor.” Host and show runner Jeff Probst has recently spoken out about how he believes the more recent seasons of the reality television hit are played at a faster pace with more aggressive tactics. Speaking on his “On Fire with Jeff Probst” podcast, he revealed to former winner Jeremy Collins how he believes the show has changed.
“Let’s just remember seasons before 41 did not have things like a Beware Advantage or a Journey or the Shot in the Dark,” explains Probst.
“So all of that changes the nature of the game. And that’s what’s going to be interesting about 50 is somebody like Jeremy or Colby who have played many times, but they played at a slower pace. Not an easier or more difficult game, but a different pace because of the game design.”
