Survivor: Island of the Idols

Survivor: Island of the Idols is the thirty-ninth season of .
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 . 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 .https://etcanada.com/news/371354/jeff-probst-announces-canadians-are-now-eligible-to-compete-on-survivor/
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.https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/mind-and-soul/rob-and-sandra-take-charge-on-survivor-island-of-the-idols/vp-AAHclgBhttps://ew.com/tv/2019/10/03/survivor-jeff-probst-island-of-the-idols-episode-2/ 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.https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2564614/the-blunt-reason-one-former-survivor-contestant-is-in-limited-communications-with-his-cast-now
==Twists/Changes==
* Mentors: Former 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.
* : 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."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8swCzpmJ7I8https://twitter.com/survivorcbs/status/1171151287997517824https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-boston-rob-sandra-diaz-twine-season-39-island-idols-explained-1210431
** 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	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Switched Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Ronnie Bardah36, Henderson, NVProfessional Poker Player 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Molly Byman28, Durham, NCLaw Student 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Vince Moua27, Palo Alto, CAAdmissions Counselor 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Chelsea Walker27, Los Angeles, CADigital Content Creator	 	 	 	 	6
 	Tom Laidlaw60, Greenwich, CTFormer NHL Player 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Jason Linden32, New York City, NYPersonal Injury Lawyer 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Jack Nichting23, Harrisonburg, VAGraduate Student 	 	 	 	 	2
 	Kellee Kim29, Philadelphia, PAMBA Student 	 	 	rowspan="13" 	 	8
 	Jamal Shipman33, Providence, RICollege Administrator 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Aaron Meredith36, Warwick, RIGym Owner 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Missy Byrd24, Tacoma, WAAir Force Veteran 	 	 	 	3 	
 	Elizabeth Beisel26, Saunderstown, RIOlympic Medalist 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Karishma Patel37, Houston, TXPersonal Injury Lawyer 	 	 	 	22 	
 	Elaine Stott41, Rockholds, KYFactory Worker 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Dan Spilo48, Los Angeles, CATalent Manager 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Janet Carbin59, Palm Bay, FLChief Lifeguard 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Lauren Beck29, Glendale, CANanny 	 	 	 	1 	
 	Noura Salman36, North Potomac, MDEntrepreneur 	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	6 	
 	Dean Kowalski28, New York City, NYTech Salesman 	 	 	Runner-Up 	5 	
 	Tommy Sheehan26, Long Beach, NY4th Grade Teacher 	 	 	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 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.
==Voting History==
==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 .
* Island of the Idols was tied with , , , and Survivor 41 for the most LGBT contestants with three: Elaine, Missy, and Vince. This record was broken by , 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 , while Sandra wore both Balboa and Yin Yang Buffs from and respectively.
*Island of the Idols is the third season, after and , where Jeff Probst did not meet the cast on Day 1.
* Island of the Idols is the first season since 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.https://imgur.com/LPmOH4Lhttps://imgur.com/HT362Ss
* Island of the Idols is the first season since to have a singular juror who was eliminated before the merge.
* Island of the Idols is tied with for most Hidden Immunity Idols found in one season, with 9.
**Including the idols acquired on the , 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 to .
* Island of the Idols is the last season to feature eliminated contestants did not make it to jury stage to have sequestered in Australia.
* Island of the Idols is the most recent season to have the winner reveal at the Radford Studio Center in Los Angeles.
==References==
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Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor: Island of the Idols
Category:Seasons with a reused location