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 | ||||
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 27, 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 | ||
Elaine Stott 41, Rockholds, KY Factory Worker |
Lairo | Vokai | 14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 35 |
8 | ||
Dan Spilo 48, Los Angeles, CA Talent Manager |
Vokai | Vokai | Ejected Day 36 |
5 | ||
Janet Carbin 59, Palm Bay, FL Chief Lifeguard |
Vokai | Lairo | 15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 37 |
8 | ||
Lauren Beck 29, Glendale, CA Nanny |
Vokai | Vokai | Eliminated 10th Jury Member Day 38 |
1 | ||
Noura Salman 36, North Potomac, MD Entrepreneur |
Vokai | Lairo | Second Runner-Up |
6 | ||
Dean Kowalski 28, New York City, NY Tech Salesman |
Lairo | Lairo | Runner-Up | 5 | ||
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 | Ronnie |
Molly |
Vince |
Chelsea |
Tom |
Jason |
Jack |
Kellee |
Jamal |
Aaron |
Missy |
Tie | Elizabeth |
Karishma |
Elaine |
Dan |
Janet |
Lauren |
Noura |
Dean |
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 | Elizabeth | Karishma | Elaine | — | Janet | — | Jury Vote | |||
►► | Dean | Ronnie | — | Karishma | Karishma | Karishma | — | Jack | Kellee | Jamal | Aaron | — | Elizabeth | Karishma | Elaine | — | Janet | — | ||||
►► | Noura | — | Molly | — | — | None1 | — | Jack | Dan | Jamal | Aaron | — | Elizabeth | Karishma | Elaine | — | Janet | — | ||||
►► | Lauren | — | Molly | — | — | — | Elaine | — | Kellee | Karishma | Aaron | — | Elizabeth | Karishma | Elaine | — | Janet | Eliminated | Tommy | |||
►► | Janet | — | Molly | — | — | Tom | — | Dan | Jamal | Aaron | — | None | Noura | Elaine | — | Lauren | Tommy | |||||
►► | Dan | — | Molly | — | — | — | Elaine | — | Kellee | Jamal | Aaron | — | Elizabeth | Elizabeth | Noura | Noura | Ejected | |||||
►► | Elaine | Ronnie | — | Vince | Chelsea | — | Jason | — | Kellee | Karishma | — | Missy | Elizabeth | Karishma | Noura | Tommy | ||||||
►► | Karishma | Ronnie | — | Vince | Chelsea | Tom | — | Dan | — | Missy | Janet | Elizabeth | Noura | Tommy | ||||||||
►► | Elizabeth | None1 | — | Vince | Chelsea | — | Jason | — | Kellee | Karishma | — | Tommy | None | Dean | ||||||||
►► | Missy | Ronnie | — | Vince | Chelsea | — | Jason | — | Kellee | — | Tommy | Tommy | ||||||||||
►► | Aaron | Vince | — | Karishma | Chelsea | — | Jason | — | Kellee | Jamal | Janet | Dean | ||||||||||
►► | Jamal | — | Jason | — | — | Tom | — | Dan | None1 | Tommy | ||||||||||||
►► | Kellee | — | Molly | — | — | Tom | — | Dan | Tommy | |||||||||||||
► | Jack | — | Jason | — | — | Tom | — | 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[]
- 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[]
Survivor (U.S.) Seasons |
---|
Borneo • The Australian Outback • Africa • Marquesas • Thailand • The Amazon • Pearl Islands • All-Stars • Vanuatu • Palau • Guatemala • Panama • Cook Islands • Fiji • China • Micronesia • Gabon • Tocantins • Samoa • Heroes vs. Villains • Nicaragua • Redemption Island • South Pacific • One World • Philippines • Caramoan • Blood vs. Water • Cagayan • San Juan del Sur • Worlds Apart • Cambodia • Kaôh Rōng • Millennials vs. Gen X • Game Changers • Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers • Ghost Island • David vs. Goliath • Edge of Extinction • Island of the Idols • Winners at War • Survivor 41 • Survivor 42 • Survivor 43 • Survivor 44 • Survivor 45 • Survivor 46 |