My time in Fiji, on set for the preseason and first few days of Survivor: Island of the Idols, was met with surprises. I got to speak with what’s being touted as one of the show’s most diverse casts, twenty people all with a story to tell. I found out about the secret lying on Island of the Idols in the form of Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, and even traveled there to see them in action. And the surprises didn’t stop in the season’s first Tribal Council, with poker player Ronnie Bardah getting blindsided by the majority of his Lairo tribe.

It was a shock for both Ronnie and the rest of us, who observed Tribal from a viewing tent located in proximity to the visually breathtaking set. Elizabeth Beisel was the first to visit the mysterious Island of the Idols, and Chelsea Walker, Dean Kowalski, and Vince Moua had self-destructed on the puzzle in the first challenge. But the entirety of the near-90 minute sitdown with host Jeff Probst was focused on one person: Elaine Stott. The factory worker was apparently being targeted early for her likability making her a jury threat down the line, and she was reduced to tears as she pleaded with the rest of her tribe to keep the dream alive. Ronnie was far from the spotlight, with only a few questions thrown his way. We were stunned to see, then, that everyone but Aaron Meredith had voted him out, showcasing how powerful the poker faces were of this season’s cast.

Shortly after Ronnie and Lairo went their separate ways into the jungle, I sat down with Probst to talk through the events of Tribal Council, along with his thoughts on this season’s unconventional marooning, the first trip to Island of the Idols, the “Jimmy Fallon Secret Viewing Booth,” and more.

What the heck just happened at Tribal?

It’s a good question. I think we just saw a group that seems like they really have bonded. Ronnie had a comment where he said, “Spending two days non-stop is like three or four months with a typical friend.” I think that’s what you saw. There was so much emotion, with people being afraid they’ll be voted out. Yet, in the end, what won out? The game, and a devastating blindside.

This is the most emotional first Tribal Council I can remember. There were tears everywhere!

I don’t remember many first Tribals where anybody cried. Elaine was clearly unnerved, which tells me back at camp, she had a reason to believe she was in trouble. Vince seemed like he was in trouble. Ronnie didn’t seem like he thought he was in any trouble.

There was a comment he made that you focused on. I think they just got a crash course in really watching what they say at Tribal.

Tribal’s tough. You have to say something, and the smart players use Tribal like bumper pool or a pinball machine. You bounce that ball where you want it to go, onto someone else. The players who aren’t as savvy don’t know what to do with it. We don’t have any of those. We have a great group of players this season.

I was so floored by the result watching it. I’d say at least 80% of Tribal discussion was focused around Elaine, with a bit of Vince thrown in. What was your perception of what was going on?

At first, I thought Elaine might be overreacting. The more it went on, and the more people were talking, I thought, “Maybe she is really in trouble.” She was so emotional, and a couple of people said, “Yeah, we like her. But hey man, it’s a game.” I always listen to everything but believe very little. Because I know they’re playing the game. They’re never going to tell you it’s you. You can’t do that anymore, because players will get out of their seats, walk across the floor, and say, “I have another plan.” So you’re never safe.

It was pretty shocking to see Karishma be so upfront about voting out Elaine for her likability. I can’t think of another time where that was a voting reason so early on in the season.

It’s forward-thinking and rough. If you’re Elaine, and this is your dream, and you’re voted out because you’re too likable on Day 3. But it’s the same thing with Ronnie. I’ve gotten to know Ronnie through the casting process. He’s this beautiful guy. A deep-thinking emotional guy. He’s going to be devastated by this. I’m sure it will be hard for him to separate that it’s not him personally; it’s the game. For him to say, “I was in the wrong group. I picked the wrong alliance.” That’s usually what it is. But it still hurts.

Is there a typical mood in a first Tribal Council, especially with new players?

For me, it’s an emotional feeling of “Where are we heading?” I’d say where we’re heading is that we’re only on Day 3, but my gut is telling me is that we have a great group of players. I’m so pumped and so sad for all the ones who are going to be voted out. There are no easy votes, and there’s nobody where you go, “I don’t even know why they’re on the show.” Everybody wants to be here. They worked to get here. I think it could be a good season.

In your discussions with the players, everyone seemed fixated on you not being there for the marooning. Were you surprised by that reaction?

There’s so little information, and I’m the guy who has all of it. Usually, you think, “Okay, the guy who hosts will be there, and he’ll tell us A, B, and C.” Even if it’s as little as, “You have two minutes to get as much stuff off this boat,” at least that means it’s starting. What I learned from this experiment was when somebody isn’t there to say, “Go,” people wonder if it’s begun. Even though it’s clearly begun! You’re sleeping in the jungle! At the challenge, it felt like they were finally settled. It’s like your favorite TV show. You need to hear those opening cues of music; then you can say, “Oh, it’s back on!”

It’s like a day and a half cold open to SNL. And then you come out and say, “Live from New York!”

Maybe that’s the analogy. Maybe we just need to hear, “We’re on.” But it’s really cool because it threw them off a little. The thing is with the next group, it probably won’t. They’ll have seen this and thought, “Okay, sometimes Jeff’s not there. So don’t be weirded out; that’s the way the show goes.”

On the note of the challenge, that has to be one of the biggest blowouts on a puzzle I’ve seen in a while.

I don’t know what happened. The basic premise is that after this arduous obstacle course, you get up there and there’s a pretty complicated series of puzzle hut. What they didn’t know was that the pieces basically outlined Tribal Council. One tribe was working together just fine. But Lairo couldn’t figure it out. Dean said at the end, “Well, you had some dummy pieces in there.” There are no dummy pieces in there; it goes together one way. I’ve never seen anything like it. They were almost at square one when the challenge was over.

On the other side, you have Jack being the MVP of his tribe, throwing guys twice his size up that ramp.

For a guy that looks like he weighs about 105 pounds, he’s clearly got his strength figured out. He was pulling up guys like Jamal.

The first Tribal Council of the season serves as a way to set the tone. What do you think is going to inform?

Typically, first Tribals can be a little flat. Sometimes there’s an easy vote. In Edge of Extinction, everybody basically said to Reem, “We’re not going to lie. It’s you.”

This was the exact opposite of Reem!

This was a late-season type of Tribal. This was heavy-duty gameplay. I think what it says to everybody there is, “It’s on.” Even if I was part of the blindside tonight, Ronnie thought he was part of it too. So it could be me tomorrow. That’s why I think this group is a great group of players. They showed it tonight. There were true, deep, rich emotions. Then a punch in a face.

I feel great about this first episode. There are so many things happening with the marooning where I’m not there, these two giant icons in Rob and Sandra with their big heads, teaching lessons, testing. Then you have a blindside at Tribal. That’s a lot.

You said before the season that this is a group of storytellers, and we saw it firsthand tonight. Vince said something along the lines of, “Everybody has a story.” It seems like they’re all ready to tell it.

I’m really curious to see how it goes.

What are your thoughts on what happened to Elizabeth on Island of the Idols? Was this what you wanted when you came up with the idea for the twist?

That would seem like what we would want. And I guess you’re right; you want to get the full-tilt boogie. But really what we wanted was to have Rob and Sandra be clear in saying, “We’re going to teach you something,” then be equally clear in saying, “How well do you think you’ve learned it?” And tempt them with an advantage. So even if Elizabeth had said no, we still would have a great story.

But the fact she said yes and then lost does allow Rob and Sandra to say, “Here’s why the game is complicated. Why did you say yes to us? You should never take us on!” But they cajoled or charmed her; they were doing what they needed to do to get her to take the test. In the end, they said, “Imagine that was me trying to persuade you to vote or an alliance to get you to join their side. That’s what happens. You have to have a gut.”

From what I heard it seems Elizabeth was not forthcoming about what Island of the Idols was to the rest of her tribe. Do you think she can keep that lie up?

I don’t know. Personally, I hope nobody finds out. That would make me very happy. But that’s very tough. The whole secret-keeping for us, keeping this a secret before we started, was a giant thing. The fact that we got all the players out here and nobody said anything in any media. We’re in the game now, and someone told a lie and didn’t admit it. Next episode, somebody else will be going. Hopefully, we can keep it going. It would be great to be late in the game and still have a few people who don’t know Rob and Sandra are out there.

Speaking of our mentors, what prompted the decision to have them watch Tribal Council?

The idea to bring them into Tribal Council actually came from an idea that Jimmy Fallon had about two or three years ago. He said, “You should have a secret viewing booth where somebody can listen to Tribal, but not have anyone know they’re there.” We couldn’t figure out how to make it work, but we knew it was a super cool idea. Then when we had this idea, and it started gaining momentum, we said, “That’s what we do. We also let them watch, but nobody knows they’re there.”

It’s the Jimmy Fallon Secret Viewing Booth. What’s interesting is that it has to be secret. It has to be hidden in plain sight so no one can tell that’s a viewing booth. It just looks like another hut. They have to be able to see through it. So Dax Pointon, who designed Tribal, started this entire build with 70 fires and 20 huts from a tiny 6×6 room. Everything else had to be oriented around that angle. It’s really interesting that the smallest part of Tribal, a tiny room for two people, indicated what everything else had to be.