Survivor: Island of the Idols

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

Production

Starting with this season, Canadian citizens are eligible to apply for Survivor.^[3]

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 shelter.^[4][5] 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.

Twists/Changes

• Mentors: Two former Survivor winners, Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, would return for this season as mentors to the castaways this season. Neither mentor is in contention to win the million dollar prize. The mentors also get to attend Tribal Council in a hideaway spot near the fire pit.
• Island of the Idols: A selected castaway will be sent to the eponymous Island of the Idols where they will be taught survival skills and game strategies by Rob and Sandra. The castaway may choose to be tested on what they learned from the mentors for a chance to win an advantage in the game. However, losing the mentors' challenge will disallow them from voting the next time the player attends Tribal Council. Host Jeff Probst describes the island as a "Survivor boot camp."^[6][7][8]
• Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol is hidden at each camp. In addition, temporary Hidden Immunity Idols may be offered on the Island of the Idols which are only usable for two to three Tribal Councils after obtaining them.
• 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 the holder attends up to the final six.
• Tribe Switch: On Day 12, a Tribe Switch occurred, spreading the sixteen remaining castaways across two tribes of eight.
• Safety Without Power: The castaway sent to the Island of the Idols on Day 17 would be eligible to win an advantage that allows them to leave Tribal Council before the vote, effectively making them immune, at the cost of not voting. This advantage is usable until the final seven.
• Early Merge: The merge occurred with thirteen 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 Vokai/Lumuwaku camp while the other was sequestered at the old Lairo camp for the afternoon.

Castaways

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

Season Summary

Voting History

Survivor: Island of the Idols Voting History
Tribes		Original Tribes				Switched Tribes			Merged Tribe
Episode #:		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		9		10		11	12
Voted Off:		Ronnie	Molly	Vince	Chelsea	Tom	Jason	Jack	Kellee	Jamal	Aaron	Missy	Tie	Elizabeth	Karishma	TBD
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	5-3	TBD
►►	Dan	—	Molly	—	—	—	Elaine	—	Kellee	Jamal	Aaron	—	Elizabeth	Elizabeth	Noura
►►	Dean	Ronnie	—	Karishma	Karishma	Karishma	—	Jack	Kellee	Jamal	Aaron	—	Karishma	Elizabeth	Karishma
►►	Elaine	Ronnie	—	Vince	Chelsea	—	Jason	—	Kellee	Karishma	—	Missy	Karishma	Elizabeth	Karishma
►►	Janet	—	Molly	—	—	Tom	—	Dean	Dan	Jamal	Aaron	—	Karishma	None	Noura
►►	Lauren	—	Molly	—	—	—	Elaine	—	Kellee	Karishma	Aaron	—	Karishma	Elizabeth	Karishma
►►	Noura	—	Molly	—	—	None1	—	Jack	Dan	Jamal	Aaron	—	Karishma	Elizabeth	Karishma
►►	Tommy	—	Molly	—	—	—	Elaine	—	Kellee	Jamal	—	Missy	Karishma	Elizabeth	Karishma
►►	Karishma	Ronnie	—	Vince	Chelsea	Tom	—	Dean	Dan	Janet	—	Missy	Janet	Elizabeth	Noura
►►	Elizabeth	None1	—	Vince	Chelsea	—	Jason	—	Kellee	Karishma	—	Tommy	Karishma	None
►►	Missy	Ronnie	—	Vince	Chelsea	—	Jason	—	Kellee	Janet	—	Tommy
►►	Aaron	Vince	—	Karishma	Chelsea	—	Jason	—	Kellee	Jamal	Janet
►►	Jamal	—	Jason	—	—	Tom	—	Dean	Dan	None1
►►	Kellee	—	Molly	—	—	Tom	—	Dean	Dan
►	Jack	—	Jason	—	—	Tom	—	Dean
►	Jason	—	Molly	—	—	—	None2
►	Tom	Ronnie	—	Karishma	Chelsea	Karishma
	Chelsea	Ronnie	—	Vince	Karishma
	Vince	Ronnie	—	Tom
	Molly	—	Noura
	Ronnie	Vince
Notes: ^1 This castaway lost their right to vote for losing the mentors' test. ^2 Elaine used a Vote Blocker on Jason, preventing him from voting at Tribal Council. ^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating the votes against its user. ^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, however, no votes were cast against its user. ^5 Tribal Council resulted in a tie. Per the rules, a second vote 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.

Trivia

• With this season, Fiji sets the record for the most-used country of the American Survivor franchise, with eight seasons filmed in the country, following Survivor: Fiji, Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, Survivor: Game Changers, Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Survivor: Ghost Island, Survivor: David vs. Goliath, and Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
  • Island of the Idols marks the first time a country is used seven consecutive times.
• The mentors wear Buffs from their winning seasons. Rob Mariano wears a Murlonio Buff from Survivor: Redemption Island, while Sandra Diaz-Twine wears both Balboa and Yin Yang Buffs from Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains respectively.
• This is the first season since Survivor: San Juan del Sur to start with two tribes and not introduce a third at a Tribe Switch.
• This season is tied with Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Game Changers, and Survivor: David vs. Goliath for the most LGBT contestants with 3: Elaine Stott, Missy Byrd, and Vince Moua.

References