Here we are Survivor Fans it’s time for another weekly post and I’m sure you have been anticipating this one! At long last we will be discussing the coveted Immunity Idols in Survivor.

Now unlike immunity challenges, immunity idols were not always in Survivor in fact an immunity idol was not introduced into the game until the 11th season. Generally speaking the immunity idol is a pocket-sized talisman that prevents the holder from being voted out from Tribal Council. Not to be confused with tribal Immunity or the individual immunity necklace, the hidden immunity idol, is difficult to find. Since its inception the hiding places vary from tribe camps, challenges, or an seasonal special location. You may be wondering how contestants find these immunity idols? Well, clues to the whereabout of the idol can be obtained at camp or given to winners of reward challenges but some survivor contestants are able to find idols without any clues at all.

But how specifically does a hidden immunity idol work? At tribal council after everybody votes before Jeff reads the votes he always says ‘If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and you’d like to play it now would be the time to do so”. That’s the trickiest part about idols is that you have to play them BEFORE the votes are read so it’s all about being able to read your competitors. If someone plays a hidden immunity idol and votes casted against them do not count and the person with the next highest number of votes is eliminated. There have been many survivors with idols who have trusted their so called “alliance” too much only to be blindsided and voted out with an idol in their pocket.

Photo: CBS

Without risk there is no reward however and as you can guess there have been some AMAZING blindsides created from people playing idols. The impact idols have on the game is an element of unknown as the difference between them and the immunity necklace is that everyone knows who has the immunity necklace but ANYONE could have an idol.

Idols have also shifted the intricate voting dynamics within the game; witness in the concept of “splitting the vote”.

What do I mean by “splitting the vote”?

Let’s say I am in an alliance of 6 and there are 2 other players (Bob and Mary) on the bottom. Now it would be easy for my alliance to pick one of those 2 people and stack all of our votes onto them, ensuring they leave. But, our alliance is concerned that Bob or Mary may have an idol which could derail the plan. If we put 6 votes onto Bob but he or Mary has an idol and decides to play it then all of the votes against Bob will not count and someone in my alliance will go home. However, if my alliance splits the vote and puts 3 votes onto Bob and 3 votes onto Mary then it doesn’t matter if an idol is played because there are still enough votes to send the other person home.

There are is a specific example I would like to highlight from a winner using an idol and that’s Natalie from Survivor: San Juan Del Sur

Survivor: San Juan Del Sur; Episode 14 “This Is My Time”

Context: Survivor San Juan Del Sur had a special theme of “Blood vs Water” where contestants played with a loved one. At the final 5, there was one couple left standing Missy and Baylor a mother-daughter duo who had been on right side of every vote and contributing heavily to the earlier voteoffs. Jaclyn was on the bottom as in the previous episode her boyfriend had just been blindsided. Keith was on an island all by himself but he won the immunity challenge so therefore he could not be voted out. Then there was Natalie who had a hidden-immunity idol which Baylor knew about. Natalie had just masterminded Jaclyn’s boyfriend’s blindside the previous episode and was excited to guarantee herself a spot in the final 4 with her idol. Missy and Baylor wanted to take Natalie with them to the final 3 but Natalie didn’t like going to the end with a loved-one pair. In a stunning turn of events Natalie conspired with Jaclyn to break up the duo and at tribal council played her idol for Jaclyn but not before double-checking that Jaclyn voted for who Natalie wanted gone of the pair. To this day it remains as one of my favourite idol plays.

Credit: Survivor Fan

Thank you so much for reading Surviving With Lucas and hopefully you now know all about how idols have dramatically shifted the trajectory of Survivor! Have an amazing week:)