Survivor: Island of the Idols

***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*.

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. 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.

## 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."
	+ **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.