This article contains spoilers for the Oct. 9 episode of Survivor
There’s no question that Rome Cooney of Survivor 47 fame is a gamer through and through. But, it’s also true that he’s rubbed several fans the wrong way, and Reddit’s letting him have it after his latest blindside.
I’ll quickly recap what happened in episode 3 with Lavo, the red tribe, and then I’ll bring in some fiery quotes from Survivor fans.
Rome, whose real name is Jerome, helped eliminate Aysha Welch during the group’s first Tribal Council in episode 3. By wielding the power of a one-and-done immunity idol and a steal-a-vote-advantage, he beckoned Kishan Patel and Teeny Chirichillo onto his side with Genvieve Mushaluk. Aysha was the third castaway sent to Ponderosa and her ride-or-die ally, Sol Yi, was left on life support.
Most of Lavo’s storyline during the last episode focused on the toxic rivalry between Sol and Rome, with the latter flaunting his power position and stalking Sol’s every move. But, after the red team dropped their second immunity challenge in a row, things got dicey for the 30-year-old. Although Rome and Sol had their guns aimed at each other, Kishan devised a plan to finally silence Rome, someone who was clearly playing hard and fast — equal parts as a mastermind and as a loose cannon. Kishan looped in Sol, Teeny, and Genevieve.
Since Rome only had his steal-a-vote, it seemed like the writing was on the wall. But, Genevieve determined that her game would be better off if Rome was around instead of Kishan, especially because he had floated her name as a decoy target earlier. So, they told Sol the plan and blindsided Kishan and Teeny. Rome stole Kishan’s vote and Sol went along with the two. Because Teeny had lost her vote during the episode’s Journey, Kishan was a sitting duck. Now he’s gone, and that means Rome continues to expand his empire.
Although I’ve enjoyed the diabolical and bombastic chaos he’s brought to our screens, others are sick of it. From threatening Sol — or what Rome would call giving an “ultimatum” — to the cuts of him unapologetically praising himself, people are ready for Rome to burn.
The reaction
Survivor Redditors gave their two cents in the comment section of a post after the episode aired on CBS. “I’m honestly surprised Sol hasn’t punched him yet after following him around,” one user wrote, while another chimed in: “I absolutely detest Rome’s personality and playing. ENTIRELY too full of himself.”
“Agreed,” someone wrote. “It’s not even the entertaining kind of arrogance, it’s just pure ego and condescension.” Another Redditor hit us with a true knee-slapper: “It’s time for him to Rome away.”
Armchair quarterbacks also analyzed his game, and one gave their take on Rome’s chance of lasting deep into the game.
The interesting thing is anyone can tell he’s not gonna last long at all the way he’s playing. Guy got power drunk with his steal a vote. Now it’s gone. Teeny & Sol should definitely be going after him, Genevieve is just using him as a shield. If he happens to make it to merge, he’s gonna have 10+ people who hate him instead of 2. Terrible strategy. Hope he enjoyed having a little power super early in the game. He’ll be going home soon.
Regardless, Rome still stands. And it’s not like we haven’t seen wildly eccentric competitors win the game — shout out to the two-time king, Tony Vlachos. But, it does seem like Rome is trending toward an all-time demise, and that’ll be a good day for his detractors.
