Knowledge is Power Advantage

Knowledge is Power Advantage
Survivor Gameplay
Description	An advantage that allows its user to steal another player's advantage or idol
Appearances	Survivor 41 Survivor 42 Survivor 43 Survivor 48 Survivor 49

Knowledge is Power is an advantage introduced in Survivor 41 that allows its user to steal another player's advantage or Hidden Immunity Idol.

Overview

Before the votes are cast at Tribal Council, the Knowledge is Power advantage allows its user to ask one player one of two questions: whether they have a Hidden Immunity Idol, or whether they have an advantage. That player is compelled to answer truthfully and, if they happen to indeed be in possession of an idol or advantage, surrender the requested object to the user. If the user has asked the target for an advantage, and the target is in possession of multiple advantages, the target may choose to surrender any advantage without disclosing the nature of their other advantages. If the target does not have an idol or advantage, the user receives nothing and the advantage is rendered powerless. The advantage may be played at any Tribal Council until the final six.

It is unclear how the advantage would interact with the Advantage Amulet twist, with which it appeared alongside on Survivor 42.

Strategy

Given that the Knowledge is Power advantage has appeared on seasons with idols introduced through the Beware Advantage, and information about who is in possession of each idol is somewhat public due to the idol finders having to say an activation phrase for their idol to gain power, the advantage holder may easily deduce their possible targets as long as they are aware of the mechanics of the Beware Advantage.

By taking away a target's idol before the vote, the Knowledge is Power advantage can be used to achieve the same effect as an Idol Nullifier.

With the Knowledge is Power advantage becoming a recurring fixture in the Survivor catalog of twists, contestants may bluff about its existence to coax an advantage holder to yield their advantage to them without any legitimate threat of losing it before proceeding to eliminate them in order to control the advantage. Despite not being in play since Survivor 43, the advantage's previous appearances have lingered among the castaways and heavily influenced their strategies.

Counter-Strategy

A counter-strategy may be employed by potential targets under the circumstance that they are aware of the existence of the Knowledge is Power advantage. Similar to the concept of the "safe vote" employed as a strategy against the Hidden Immunity Idol, targets may transfer their idol or advantage to an ally so as to reduce the likelihood that the advantage user makes the correct guess. However, passing one's advantage to an ally could also be to the detriment of the owner if the ally decides to either eliminate the original owner or use that advantage against the owner.

Twist History

Survivor 41

The Knowledge is Power advantage was introduced at the Day 11 summit when Shan Smith protected her vote and encouraged Liana Wallace to risk her vote. Liana was aware that her tribemate and rival Xander Hastings had ownership of the Yase Hidden Immunity Idol, and intended to take his idol from him.

At the merge, Shan unintentionally divulged that Liana had received an advantage during their summit together; Liana then revealed the identity of the Knowledge is Power advantage to Tiffany Seely. Because of the Hourglass twist, Liana, Tiffany, and Xander ended up being immune at the first individual Tribal Council; Xander thus intended to play his idol to protect Yase Alliance member Evvie Jagoda that night. However, when the alliance realized that Liana had defected from them, Evvie, Tiffany, and Xander decided that Xander would hand the idol to Tiffany, who they believed Liana was least likely to target with her advantage. The plan came to fruition at Tribal Council when Liana incorrectly played her advantage against Xander, thus wasting the advantage and allowing Xander to retrieve his idol from Tiffany after Tribal Council.

Survivor 42

On Day 15, Drea Wheeler opted to switch places with Maryanne Oketch and sit out of the Reward Challenge in her stead. Under the sit out bench was a Beware Advantage. Drea found it during the challenge and read it back at camp, learning about the existence of an advantage hidden five paces from the water well. She successfully retrieved it, coming into possession of the Knowledge is Power advantage.

On Day 21, Drea hatched a plan to blindside Mike Turner by stealing his idol using her advantage; she shared this plan with Omar Zaheer, who then conspired to defuse the advantage behind her back. Upon being warned of Drea's plan, Mike agreed to yield his idol to Omar before Tribal Council. Thus, when Drea played the advantage and asked Mike for his idol, the advantage was wasted. As a result, she was left without ammunition and voted out that night. Mike then retrieved his idol from Omar after Tribal Council.

Survivor 43

On Day 11, Geo Bustamante, Jeanine Zheng, and Jesse Lopez were sent to go on a journey, where all three decided to risk their vote for a shot at an advantage. Jeanine and Jesse lost their votes, while Geo was awarded the Knowledge is Power advantage. However, after divulging to Karla Cruz Godoy that he had the advantage, Geo was blindsided at Tribal Council later that night, taking out the Knowledge is Power advantage with him.

On Day 14, James Jones found a clue to the Knowledge is Power advantage hidden in the Gaia tribe's water well. The clue directed him to find the yet undisclosed advantage under the tribe's shelter, which he successfully retrieved. Meanwhile, the rest of the Gaia tribe correctly suspected that James was in possession of the Knowledge is Power advantage and played around this assumption. In the end, James was eliminated at the Split Tribal Council on Day 17 without ever using his advantage.

Survivor 48

On Day 20, Eva Erickson was randomly selected to go on a journey. There, she had to complete an individual challenge, failing which she would lose her vote at the next Tribal Council. After she completed the first stage of the challenge, Eva was allowed to continue the challenge to win the Knowledge is Power advantage. Being the only person in the game with a Hidden Immunity Idol, Eva completed the first stage of the challenge and opted not to play for the advantage.

Summary

Season	Location	Episode Acquired	Original Owner	Given To	Episode Used	Target	Asked For	Outcome
Survivor 41	Day 11 Journey	"The Strategist or the Loyalist"	Liana Wallace	None	"There's Gonna Be Blood"	Xander Hastings	Hidden Immunity Idol	Incorrect Guess
Survivor 42	Kula Kula camp	"You Better Be Wearing a Seatbelt"	Drea Wheeler	None	"Battle Royale"	Mike Turner	Hidden Immunity Idol	Incorrect Guess
Survivor 43	Day 11 Journey	"Stop with All the Niceness"	Geo Bustamante	None	Never used
	Gaia camp	"Bull in a China Shop"	James Jones	→ Sami Layadi → James Jones	Never used
Survivor 48	Day 20 Journey	"Coconut Etiquette"	Not taken
Survivor 49	Hina camp	"The Devil's Shoes"	Sophi Balerdi	TBA

Reception

The advantage has been met with mixed to negative reception. Former contestant Stephen Fishbach has derided the advantage as "one of the worst twists in show history" for undermining players' agency. The introduction of the advantage in the fifth episode of an already twist-heavy Survivor 41 also attracted a negative response.

While the advantage seeks to encourage its user to forge social connections to glean inside information, because of the advantage's co-existence with the Beware idols in both its appearances, this intention is defeated. By extension, the advantage has been viewed as overpowered since the public nature of the idols allows the advantage users to steal the idols without having to source for "knowledge" on who the idol holders are.

However, the advantage's outcome in 41, where the Yase Alliance outmaneuvered the advantage to hold their idol, has been commended as one of the highlights of the season. Similarly, the advantage's misplay in Survivor 42 contributed to a Tribal Council which was also well-received.

Trivia

• Geo Bustamante is the first castaway to be voted out while in possession of the Knowledge is Power advantage.
• Both times the advantage was played:
  • Multiple people had individual immunity at Tribal Council, leaving exactly five people eligible for elimination.
  • An Extra Vote was played.
  • A woman from a blue starting tribe was voted out.
  • The target made it to Final Tribal Council but did not win.
• Internationally, Myles Kuah is the first person to successfully play this advantage.
  • Kristin Alston is the first person to have a Hidden Immunity Idol stolen by this advantage.
• Internationally, Parvati Shallow is the first person to willingly discard the Knowledge is Power advantage.