Jeff Probst clarifies Survivor Tribal Council bag rule

Both members of Survivor 44's ultimate showmance couple — Frannie Marin and Matt Blankinship — made pretty massive mistakes on this week's episode.

Frannie had a chance to win immunity for both of them once she was the last person standing from her group in the challenge. Had she then intentionally dropped her ball, she would have had immunity for herself and guaranteed immunity for the other group, which included Matt. Instead, Frannie kept competing and outlasted the entire other team, meaning Matt was left vulnerable.

Matt's mistake occurred before the challenge even began, when he decided not to bring his bag with him to the contest. When Matt and the losing team were sent to a separate beach after the challenge and then straight to Tribal Council, that left him without his Shot in the Dark, which would have given him a one in six chance of being safe.

Robert Voets/CBS Matt Blankinship on 'Survivor 44'

Matt hoped that Frannie — who was back the Va Va merge tribe breach — would bring his bag for him to Tribal Council, but when she said she hadn't, that was the end of that. And the end of Matt's game, as he was voted out of the tribe.

But what if Frannie had brought Matt's bag to Tribal Council? Would she have even been allowed to give it to him?  Due to the unique rules of this week's episode, Frannie and the orange team all had immunity, but they were not allowed to vote at Tribal Council. Not only that, but outside of Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt playing a Control a Vote advantage, they were not even allowed to speak. The group sat in the jury box and essentially acted as spectators, not participants.

So again, if the winners were not allowed to interact with the losers verbally, could Frannie have interacted physically with Matt (not in that way, sickos!) by giving him his bag? We went to host and showrunner Jeff Probst for answers.

Robert Voets/CBS Jeff Porbst on 'Survivor 44'

"In this situation, because of the specifics of the twist, Frannie would not have been allowed to give Matt his bag," Probst tells EW. "One of the keys to this idea was that the winning group would have no say in who was voted out from the losing group. So that means that nobody from the winning team can play an idol for you, or play an extra vote against your opponent, or, in this case, bring your bag with your Shot in the Dark and give it to you."

So it seems Matt indeed would have been out of luck — and time — even if Frannie had brought all of his earthly island possessions with her.

Oh, and in case you were wondering just how many keys producers hid to that Control a Vote birdcage that Heidi eventually opened, we asked Probst that as well. "There were 15 keys scattered in the jungle," reveals the host. "I thought it was a really fun idea that was fair for everyone, rewarded those who hustled, but still had an element of chance. I think it's safe to say you will see something like that again in a future season." Future contestants, take note.

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