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Survivor: Island of the Idols is the thirty-ninth season of Survivor.

The season saw the return of Survivor legends Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine as mentors for the cast of new players on the titular Island of the Idols. This season also saw the series' first official ejection with the removal of contestant Dan Spilo, who was at the center of controversy for his inappropriate behavior. In the end, for his smoothly executed social gameplay, Tommy Sheehan was awarded the title of Sole Survivor over Dean Kowalski and Noura Salman in a 8-2-0 vote.

Production[]

Starting with this season, Canadian citizens are eligible to apply for Survivor.[4]

The mentors, Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, were given creative control over the happenings on the Island of the Idols, from the lessons they will teach and how they will go about them. Host Jeff Probst stated that production would have built a shelter for Rob and Sandra, but the two refused and insisted to relive the Survivor experience and built their own.[5][6] Rob and Sandra also attend Tribal Council, albeit in secret. They have a special hiding place in one of the huts in the Tribal Council set where they watch the proceedings.

The contestants who were eliminated pre-jury were sequestered in Australia.[7]

Twists/Changes[]

  • Mentors: Former Survivor winners Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine returned as mentors to the castaways. Neither mentor was in contention to win the million dollar prize.
  • Tribe Division: The 20 castaways were divided into 2 tribes of 10. No unifying theme was used in dividing the tribes.
  • Island of the Idols: Every week, a selected castaway was sent to the Island of the Idols where they were taught survival skills and winning strategies by Rob and Sandra. The castaway was given an opportunity to be tested on what they learned from the mentors for a chance to win an advantage in the game. Losing the mentors' challenge also meant losing their vote the next time they visited Tribal Council. Jeff Probst described the island as a "Survivor boot camp."[8][9][10]
    • Vote Blocker: The castaways sent to Island of the Idols on Days 9 and 15 were eligible to win a Vote Blocker. Unlike its previous appearance where it had to be used at the following Tribal Council regardless if the holder would attend that Tribal Council or not, the Vote Blocker was reworked so that it could be used at any Tribal Council there were six players left.
    • Safety Without Power: The castaway sent to the Island of the Idols on Day 17 was given a chance to win an advantage that allowed them to leave Tribal Council before the vote, effectively making them immune, at the cost of not voting. This advantage was usable until there were 7 players left.
    • Advantage Option: The castaway sent to the Island of the Idols on Day 34 was given a chance to play for one three advantages of their choice: an Extra Vote, an Idol Nullifier, or a Hidden Immunity Idol which could not be played for themselves.
  • Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at each camp. In addition, temporary Hidden Immunity Idols were offered on the Island of the Idols which are only usable for two to three Tribal Councils after obtaining them.
  • Tribe Switch: On Day 12, a tribe switch occurred, spreading the 16 remaining castaways across 2 tribes of 8.
  • Merge: The merge occurred with 13 players remaining.
  • Double Elimination: The Lumuwaku tribe was briefly split into two groups (one of six and one of five) with each group attending a separate Tribal Council to vote out a member. Following the Immunity Challenge, one group remained at the Lumuwaku camp, while the other was sequestered at the old Lairo camp for the afternoon.
  • Simplified Final Four Tribal Council: Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Final Immunity Challenge chose one person to take with them to the Final Three, leaving the remaining two castaways compete in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated.
  • Final Three and Expanded Jury: Three finalists faced a 10-person jury.
  • Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak one by one, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Switched Tribe Merged Tribe
S39 ronnie t Ronnie Bardah
36, Henderson, NV
Professional Poker Player
Lairo 1st Voted Out
Day 3
7
S39 molly t Molly Byman
28, Durham, NC
Law Student
Vokai 2nd Voted Out
Day 6
7
S39 vince t Vince Moua
27, Palo Alto, CA
Admissions Counselor
Lairo 3rd Voted Out
Day 8
7
S39 chelsea t Chelsea Walker
27, Los Angeles, CA
Digital Content Creator
Lairo 4th Voted Out
Day 11
6
S39 tom t Tom Laidlaw
60, Greenwich, CT
Former NHL Player
Lairo Lairo 5th Voted Out
Day 14
6
S39 jason t Jason Linden
32, New York City, NY
Personal Injury Lawyer
Vokai Vokai 6th Voted Out
Day 16
6
S39 jack t Jack Nichting
23, Harrisonburg, VA
Graduate Student
Vokai Lairo 7th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 19
2
S39 kellee t Kellee Kim
29, Philadelphia, PA
MBA Student
Vokai Lairo Lumuwaku 8th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 22
8
S39 jamal t Jamal Shipman
33, Providence, RI
College Administrator
Vokai Lairo 9th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 24
6
S39 aaron t Aaron Meredith
36, Warwick, RI
Gym Owner
Lairo Vokai 10th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 27
5
S39 missy t Missy Byrd
24, Tacoma, WA
Air Force Veteran
Lairo Vokai 11th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 27
3
S39 elizabeth t Elizabeth Beisel
26, Saunderstown, RI
Olympic Medalist
Lairo Vokai 12th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 30
8
S39 karishma t Karishma Patel
37, Houston, TX
Personal Injury Lawyer
Lairo Lairo 13th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 32
22
S39 elaine t Elaine Stott
41, Rockholds, KY
Factory Worker
Lairo Vokai 14th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 35
8
S39 dan t Dan Spilo
48, Los Angeles, CA
Talent Manager
Vokai Vokai Ejected
Day 36
5
S39 janet t Janet Carbin
59, Palm Bay, FL
Chief Lifeguard
Vokai Lairo 15th Voted Out
9th Jury Member
Day 37
8
S39 lauren t Lauren Beck
29, Glendale, CA
Nanny
Vokai Vokai Eliminated
10th Jury Member
Day 38
1
S39 noura t Noura Salman
36, North Potomac, MD
Entrepreneur
Vokai Lairo Second
Runner-Up
6
S39 dean t Dean Kowalski
28, New York City, NY
Tech Salesman
Lairo Lairo Runner-Up 5
S39 tommy t Tommy Sheehan
26, Long Beach, NY
4th Grade Teacher
Vokai Vokai Sole Survivor 2

Season Summary[]

The twenty castaways were divided into two tribes of ten: Lairo and Vokai. Throughout the pre-merge, multiple castaways were sent to the Island of the Idols over the season and were mentored and challenged by former Survivor winners and legends Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine for a chance to earn game advantages.

Vokai was the more cohesive tribe and dominated in challenges, while Lairo was fractured by excessive politicking, with Missy being behind most of the strategies taking place and Karishma as the perennial decoy target. The tribe switch on Day 12 allowed social in-roads to be built between the tribes, with several players switching strategies and allegiances despite initial wariness. The pre-merge was generally characterized by players perceived to be threats being the primary targets, including some eliminations caused by Hidden Immunity Idol and advantages.

The merge was initially marred by controversy due to Kellee's accusations about incidents of inappropriate touching involving Dan. The other women came forward to exclaim that they also felt violated by Dan, though Missy and Elizabeth exaggerated their claims for strategy and Kellee was voted out at the subsequent Tribal Council for being seen as a large threat. Dan was later ejected from the game for a separate, but similar offense. While initially the post-switch Vokai faction worked together, that changed when a Double Elimination occurred which saw Aaron and Missy get blindsided.

Lauren and Tommy used their social relationships to eliminate the remaining members of the Lairo Women's Alliance, but when only Dean remained, he managed to make a resurgence and go on a power run by winning Immunity Challenges and finding or receiving and using various idols and advantages. The most consequential of these advantages was an Idol Nullifier which sealed Janet's elimination on Day 37. On the penultimate day, as a precautionary measure in case he failed to win the Final Immunity Challenge, Tommy convinced Noura to take him to the Final Three. Noura did win and took Tommy, leaving Dean and Lauren to compete in a fire-making challenge. Dean defeated Lauren and secured his spot in the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Noura was praised for her impressive challenge performances, but was overshadowed by her personality quirks and erratic gameplay while Dean, though lauded for his strong endgame, was seen by the jury as lacking in his body of work. In the end, it was Tommy's quiet yet strategic and social games and non-reliance on idols and advantages that won the jury over, winning him the title of Sole Survivor over Dean and Noura in an 8-2-0 vote.

Episode Air date Challenges Exiled Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewers
(in millions)
Ratings/Share
(18-49)
Reward Immunity
1 "I Vote You Out and That's It" September 25, 2019 Vokai1 Elizabeth Ronnie
(7-2)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
6.29[11] 1.3/6[11]
2 "YOLO, Let's Play!" October 2, 2019 Lairo1 Kellee Molly
(7-2-1)
2nd Voted Out
Day 6
6.57[12] 1.2/6[12]
3 "Honesty Would Be Chill" October 9, 2019 Vokai1 Vince Vince
(5-3-1)
3rd Voted Out
Day 8
6.51[13] 1.2/6[13]
4 "Plan Z" October 16, 2019 Vokai1 Noura Chelsea
(6-2)
4th Voted Out
Day 11
6.91[14] 1.4/7[14]
5 "Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You" October 23, 2019 Vokai Vokai None Tom
(5-2)
5th Voted Out
Day 14
6.82[15] 1.3/6[15]
6 "Suck It Up Buttercup" October 30, 2019 Vokai Lairo Elaine Jason
(4-3)
6th Voted Out
Day 16
6.37[16] 1.2/6[16]
7 "I Was Born at Night, but Not Last Night" November 6, 2019 Vokai2 Vokai Janet Jack
(2-0)3,4
7th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 19
6.82[17] 1.3/6[17]
8 "We Made It to the Merge!" November 13, 2019 None Aaron None Kellee
(8-5)
8th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 22
6.07[18] 1.1/6[18]
Dan, Dean,
Elaine,
Elizabeth,
Noura,
Tommy5
Aaron Jamal Jamal
(6-3-0)3
9th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 24
Missy
9 "Two for the Price of One" November 20, 2019 Noura None Aaron
(5-1)
10th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 27
6.63[19] 1.2/6[19]
Elaine1,6 Missy
(3-2)
11th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 27
(Elizabeth,
Karishma,
Missy,
Tommy)
10 "Bring On the Bacon" November 27, 2019 None Noura Lauren Elizabeth
(1-1-0;
7-0)3,4,7
12th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 30
6.48[20] 1.1/6[20]
11 "A Very Simple Plan" December 4, 2019 Janet,
Tommy
[Dan,
Lauren]
Lauren None Karishma
(5-3)4
13th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 32
6.86[21] 1.2/6[21]
12 "Just Go for It" December 11, 2019 Tommy
[Dean,
Noura]5
Dean Dean Elaine
(5-2)
14th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 35
6.82[22] 1.2/7[22]
Dan
(no vote)
Ejected
Day 36
13 "Mama, Look at Me Now" December 18, 2019 Dean1 None Janet
(4-1)8
15th Voted Out
9th Jury Member
Day 37
6.52[23] 1.2/6[23]
[Noura]
None Noura Lauren
(no vote)9
Eliminated
10th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Noura
(8-2-0)
Second
Runner-Up
Dean
(8-2-0)
Runner-Up
Tommy
(8-2-0)
Sole Survivor
14 "Reunion" 4.61[23] 0.9/5[23]
Notes:
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 Promotional pictures were released showing an unaired challenge that would have occurred during the episode. A member of the cast anonymously informed the Survivor Wiki admins about the outcome of the challenge.
^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.
^5 According to castaways in post game interviews, there was an unaired challenge.[24][25][26]
^6 At the Immunity Challenge, the eleven remaining players were divided into two teams, with one person from each team winning immunity. The last player standing overall (Elaine) won reward for their team.
^7 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote would commence.
^8 Dean used the Idol Nullifier on Janet, canceling out Janet's idol.
^9 Instead of a traditional vote, The winner of the Immunity challenge, Noura, would choose someone to take with them to the Final Three. She chose Tommy. The remaining two castaways, Dean and Lauren, would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Switched Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Voted Out S39 ronnie t
Ronnie
S39 molly t
Molly
S39 vince t
Vince
S39 chelsea t
Chelsea
S39 tom t
Tom
S39 jason t
Jason
S39 jack t
Jack
S39 kellee t
Kellee
S39 jamal t
Jamal
S39 aaron t
Aaron
S39 missy t
Missy
Tie S39 elizabeth t
Elizabeth
S39 karishma t
Karishma
S39 elaine t
Elaine
S39 dan t
Dan
S39 janet t
Janet
S39 lauren t
Lauren
S39 noura t
Noura
S39 dean t
Dean
S39 tommy t
Tommy
Vote 7-2 7-2-1 5-3-1 6-2 5-2 4-3 2-03,4 8-5 6-3-03 5-1 3-2 1-1-03,4,5 7-0 5-34 5-2 No vote6 4-17 No vote8 8-2-0
Tommy Molly Elaine Kellee Jamal Missy Karishma Elizabeth Karishma Elaine Janet Jury Vote
Dean Ronnie Karishma Karishma Karishma Jack Kellee Jamal Aaron Karishma Elizabeth Karishma Elaine Janet
Noura Molly None1 Jack Dan Jamal Aaron Karishma Elizabeth Karishma Elaine Janet
Lauren Molly Elaine Kellee Karishma Aaron Karishma Elizabeth Karishma Elaine Janet Eliminated Tommy
Janet Molly Tom Dean Dan Jamal Aaron Karishma None Noura Elaine Lauren Tommy
Dan Molly Elaine Kellee Jamal Aaron Elizabeth Elizabeth Noura Noura Ejected
Elaine Ronnie Vince Chelsea Jason Kellee Karishma Missy Karishma Elizabeth Karishma Noura Tommy
Karishma Ronnie Vince Chelsea Tom Dean Dan Janet Missy Janet Elizabeth Noura Tommy
Elizabeth None1 Vince Chelsea Jason Kellee Karishma Tommy Karishma None Dean
Missy Ronnie Vince Chelsea Jason Kellee Janet Tommy Tommy
Aaron Vince Karishma Chelsea Jason Kellee Jamal Janet Dean
Jamal Jason Tom Dean Dan None1 Tommy
Kellee Molly Tom Dean Dan Tommy
Jack Jason Tom Dean Tommy
Jason Molly None2
Tom Ronnie Karishma Chelsea Karishma
Chelsea Ronnie Vince Karishma
Vince Ronnie Tom
Molly Noura
Ronnie Vince
Notes:
^1 This castaway failed the mentors' test on the Island of the Idols, thus they were unable to cast a vote.
^2 This castaway's vote was blocked by a Vote Blocker.
^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.
^5 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote was held where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie.
^6 Dan was ejected from the game because of repeated inappropriate touching. No vote occurred for his removal and he would not be part of the jury.
^7 Dean used the Idol Nullifier on Janet, canceling out Janet's idol.
^8 Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Immunity Challenge, Noura, would take someone with them to the Final Three. She chose Tommy. The remaining two castaways, Dean and Lauren, would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the last finalist.

Trivia[]

S39 Unused Frog Buff

The unused Island of the Idols green Buff with a frog emblem.

S39 Unused Frog Symbol

A recreation of the unused frog emblem.

  • Island of the Idols is the first season to feature an East, Southeast, and South-Asian castaway with Kellee, Vince, and Karishma. They would be followed by Survivor 41.
  • Island of the Idols was tied with Micronesia, Game Changers, David vs. Goliath, and Survivor 41 for the most LGBT contestants with three: Elaine, Missy, and Vince. This record was broken by Survivor 42, which had 5 LGBT contestants.
  • Island of the Idols is the first season to not have an opening sequence.
  • The mentors wore Buffs from their winning seasons. Rob wore a Murlonio Buff from Redemption Island, while Sandra wore both Balboa and Yin Yang Buffs from Pearl Islands and Heroes vs. Villains respectively.
  • Island of the Idols is the third season, after All-Stars and Fiji, where Jeff Probst did not meet the cast on Day 1.
  • Island of the Idols is the first season since San Juan del Sur to start with two tribes and not introduce a third at a Tribe Switch.
    • Island of the Idols is the most recent season to never have three tribes at any point prior to the merge.
    • A green Buff with a frog emblem was supposed to appear at some point in the season, but the idea was shelved for unknown reasons. However, decorative flags of the same color and pattern were visibly seen at challenge sites.[27][28]
  • Island of the Idols is the first season since Gabon to have a singular juror who was eliminated before the merge.
  • Island of the Idols is tied with Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers for most Hidden Immunity Idols found in one season, with 9.
    • Including the idols acquired on the Island of the Idols, Island of the Idols holds the record for the single-greatest number of idols acquired in the same season, with 12.
  • Island of the Idols marked the first official ejection, with Dan being disqualified due to inappropriate behavior.
  • Island of the Idols is the fifth consecutive season to produce a male winner, breaking the previous record of four male winners in a row from Panama to China.

References[]

  1. https://www.truedorktimes.com/s39/calendar.htm
  2. https://www.cbs.com/recommended/news/1009303/check-out-premiere-dates-from-the-2019-cbs-fall-primetime-schedule-including-ncis-and-survivor/?ftag=EOS-05-10aca0c
  3. https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/survivor-season-39-ratings-fall-2019/
  4. https://etcanada.com/news/371354/jeff-probst-announces-canadians-are-now-eligible-to-compete-on-survivor/
  5. https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/mind-and-soul/rob-and-sandra-take-charge-on-survivor-island-of-the-idols/vp-AAHclgB
  6. https://ew.com/tv/2019/10/03/survivor-jeff-probst-island-of-the-idols-episode-2/
  7. https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2564614/the-blunt-reason-one-former-survivor-contestant-is-in-limited-communications-with-his-cast-now
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8swCzpmJ7I8
  9. https://twitter.com/survivorcbs/status/1171151287997517824
  10. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-boston-rob-sandra-diaz-twine-season-39-island-idols-explained-1210431
  11. 11.0 11.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-sept-25-2019/
  12. 12.0 12.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-2-2019/
  13. 13.0 13.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-9-2019/
  14. 14.0 14.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-16-2019/
  15. 15.0 15.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-23-2019/
  16. 16.0 16.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-oct-30-2019/
  17. 17.0 17.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-6-2019/
  18. 18.0 18.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-13-2019/
  19. 19.0 19.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-20-2019/
  20. 20.0 20.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-nov-27-2019/
  21. 21.0 21.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-december-4-2019/
  22. 22.0 22.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-dec-11-2019/
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/wednesday-final-ratings-dec-18-2019/
  24. https://youtu.be/YN8LdGumKXk?t=2049
  25. https://youtu.be/7RaXUEG2ZnY?t=4717
  26. https://youtu.be/YN8LdGumKXk?t=3288
  27. https://imgur.com/LPmOH4L
  28. https://imgur.com/HT362Ss

Survivor (U.S.) Seasons
BorneoThe Australian OutbackAfricaMarquesasThailandThe AmazonPearl IslandsAll-StarsVanuatuPalauGuatemalaPanamaCook IslandsFijiChinaMicronesiaGabonTocantinsSamoaHeroes vs. VillainsNicaraguaRedemption IslandSouth PacificOne WorldPhilippinesCaramoanBlood vs. WaterCagayanSan Juan del SurWorlds ApartCambodiaKaôh RōngMillennials vs. Gen XGame ChangersHeroes vs. Healers vs. HustlersGhost IslandDavid vs. GoliathEdge of ExtinctionIsland of the IdolsWinners at WarSurvivor 41Survivor 42Survivor 43Survivor 44Survivor 45Survivor 46
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