Rob Antonson was soaring high through his first few days in Fiji. As soon as the 21 contestants of Survivor 51 hit the beach, he made a connection with fellow Rhode Island native Eric Macksoud, and further secured his position through finding a hidden immunity idol, which, if played correctly, would prevent him from being voted out of the game.
But as the days went on, the skies became less and less clear for JetRob. Rhode Island wasn’t enough to keep Rob and Eric together, as the rest of the Savu tribe found the latter “annoying” and Rob attempted to accuse him of searching for a hidden immunity idol.
However, the real storm cloud in the sky was Rob himself. Like lightning, he struck against fellow contestant Linnea Capobianco after the Savu tribe lost their first immunity challenge, but by the time the thunder followed, it was his tears that took the helm as the 40 year old airline gate agent began to cry about missing his wife and kids. His kids, who were the reason that he was playing Survivor at all. In his pre-show press, Rob stated that he was competing on the show to prove to his kids that he could, as his six-year-old didn’t believe in him.
Alas, maybe that kid is wise beyond their years, as their father began to forge a plan. During tribal council, he pulled Eric aside, told him that all the votes were against him, and to play his Shot-in-the-Dark. If it didn’t land, Rob planned to play his hidden immunity idol on his fellow Rhode Islander, voiding what Rob perceived to be a unanimous vote and having his own vote be the only one that counted.
Who was he planning to vote for? Himself.
In a practically unprecedented move of the game, Rob Antonson wrote his own name down at tribal council, where the producers stopped him and said, “You can’t write your own name.” Notably, the only time where a contestant could vote for themself was during Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, where Dr. Christian Hubicki was forced to vote for himself as a punishment for not completing a puzzle on time while on a “journey.” However, in Rob’s case, he was forced to vote for another contestant, and voted for Eric.
Beyond being oblivious to the rules of the game, what Rob didn’t know is that his plan wouldn’t have worked anyways, as there was a motion already in place to vote out Ana Sani, who was eliminated from the game in a 6-4 vote.
No longer was Rob ‘flying high.’ As the tribe returned from camp on night 5, he complained to the cameras about only getting four hours of sleep since the game started, and revealed that he didn’t know that he couldn’t put his own name down. “But I didn’t want to just quit,” he said. “I feel like just quitting is just ruining the game. If you’re going out for a medical reason, that’s totally different.”
He then continues his confessional, stating that he “stepped on something in the ocean yesterday morning” and now has “extreme pain” in his foot. The next morning, he’s found on the beach by Eric, who brings him back to camp, where he continues to spread the gospel of his foot pain, saying, “I think I have an infection up to my knee.” The host and executive producer, Jeff Probst, along with Dr. Barry, come to the Savu camp and pull Rob aside. After a thorough investigation, Dr. Barry tells Rob that he can’t find anything specific, but he does have a tiny cut that “has the possibility” of getting infected, to which Rob replies that he doesn’t want to risk his health.
So the trio returns to camp, where Probst announces that they aren’t pulling Rob from the game, as medical has not determined anything to be wrong, but some players do leave because they are worried. “I gotta go,” Rob whimpers, and that’s the last thing he says on Survivor 51.
Throughout this segment, the rest of the contestants call his bluff, from him not disclosing the injury earlier to noting the convenience of his timing (right after the vote doesn’t go his way) to fellow contestant Ori Jean-Charles describing him as taking the “easy way out” and the aforementioned Linnea saying “I just feel sorry for him.”
So, after a dishonorable exit, JetRob returned to Logan, where he continues to work as an Airline Gate Agent and maintains in his exit press that he did not quit Survivor 51, calling his exit a medevac despite the fact that he was not evacuated by medical. Meanwhile, Brady Booker (of the Toka Tribe) cut a large chunk of his thumb off, Kristin Flickinger (of the Savu tribe) broke her foot, and both begged and fought to remain in the game. The competition continues to see who will win the million dollar prize, and New England has one less horse in the race.