‘Survivor’ Host Jeff Probst Explained Why Dean Kowalski Flipped on ‘Ultimate Wild Card’ Noura Salman
Fearing Noura “Nouramal” Salman would tank his game, Dean Kowalski threw her under the bus first in Tribal Council, sending everyone into a whispering frenzy.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, host Jeff Probst explained why he thinks the basketball player flipped on “the ultimate wild card,” Salman.
The outsiders on ‘Survivor: Island of the Idols’ formed an alliance
On Survivor: Island of the Idols Episode 12, Tommy Sheehan and Janet Carbin won a feast with their loved ones. They selected alliance members Dan Spilo and Lauren Beck to join them, leaving Noura Salman with the “outsiders,” Dean Kowalski, Elaine Stott, and Karishma Patel.
Believing she stood at the bottom of her alliance, Salman quickly pledged her allegiance to the “outsiders” and offered to take out Beck. However, the nanny won immunity, so the target switched to her right-hand man, Sheehan.
Even though it seemed simple, Salman became confused as she thought Patel would go home instead of Sheehan. Kowalski attempted to calm Salman down and explained the plan several times, but he became worried about her as he thought she would ruin everything.
Dean Kowalski flipped on Noura Salman at Tribal Council
At Tribal Council, before host Jeff Probst could ask two questions, Kowalski leaned over to Sheehan and told him that Patel, Stott, and Salman are writing his name down.
Therefore, the teacher whispered to Spilo, asking him to ask Salman if she was flipping on their alliance. Realizing Kowalski threw her under the bus to save himself, the entrepreneur announced the original plan to everyone and informed them that Stott had a hidden immunity idol.
The revelations threw Tribal Council into a spiral as everyone began whispering to each other, trying to figure out who would go home that night. Ultimately, the majority saved Salman and Kowalski but decided to send Patel, or the cat with nine lives, to Jury.
‘Survivor’ host Jeff Probst explained why Dean Kowalski flipped
When Kowalski saved Sheehan, social media erupted in anger and confusion. Kowalski’s move to warn Sheehan to gain his trust confused the majority of viewers as they believe the fourth-grade teacher will win the game.
Additionally, they thought Kowalski would have had a better chance of making it to the Final Tribal Council with the “outsider” alliance as opposed to being at the bottom of Sheehan and Beck’s alliance. Other viewers were upset at Kowalski for sending home their “queen,” Patel.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, host Jeff Probst weighed in on the basketball player’s decision. He said he doesn’t know why Kowalski flipped but thinks relying on Salman might have been “an issue.”
Probst also thinks the entrepreneur “complicates the game because she plays day to day in such a carefree manner” and wasn’t focused on winning initially.
However, Probst thinks that could have given her an advantage because “fear isn’t a driving force” behind anything she says or does. Additionally, the host called Salman “the ultimate wild card” and noted she “adds a very fun layer to the season.”
Watch Survivor: Island of the Idols Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
