Survivor: Island of the Idols

Location
 No. of Castaways
 Tribes
Vokai
 Winner

*Survivor: Island of the Idols* is the forty-third season of Huyopa 2001's Survivor. The season consisted of 20 returning castaways competing to earn the title of Sole Survivor.

There was a heavy divide this season between the Old School veterans and an alliance that contained a combination of castaways from the most recent newbie seasons. In the end, this war filtered through the jury and at the Final Tribal Council into a historic tied vote between two finalists. *Redemption Island* hero Bethany was ultimately awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 6-5-0 vote after third place finisher Leo was more connected to her than rival alliance member Sasha.

## Production

Production for a new season containing an all-star cast began following *Survivor: Australia II*, and later confirmed to be Survivor NZ: Thailand. It is understood that during this time, both Nicola and Calum from *Survivor: Australia* were contacted to compete but declined. New school players who were considered in the first iteration of the cast include:

* Chrissy, Elisabeth, Jason and Stephanie from *The Amazon*
* Dusk, Gia and Sarge from *Thailand II*
* Phoebe and Sue from *Australia*
* Anneliese from *Australia II*

Though 18 former castaways were selected for the final cast, the season was later postponed in favour of the all new cast Survivor: Mamanuca Islands. Following Survivor: David vs. Goliath, most of the original cast for *NZ: Thailand* (pictured left) was scrapped and the Thailand location was cancelled at the last minute due to a virus. Fiji was used as the replacement location and other veterans were contacted. It is understood that Bethany and Kameron were last minute additions to the final cast.

## Twists/ Changes

**Island of the Idols**: Similar to Exile Island, one castaway is sent to the Island of the Idols in the hopes of finding an advantage. Upon visiting the island, one legendary 'idol' joins the exiled castaway and they can provide them with any support needed whilst on the Island of the Idols. They are however, ineligible to win the title of Sole Survivor. Every castaway could only visit the Island of the Idols once throughout the course of the season unless all remaining players already visited. During the pre-merge, the tribes alternated sending a castaway from the opposing tribe to IOI. During the merge phase however, the winner of the individual immunity challenge chose any player remaining in the game so long as they haven't already visited the island.

Vote Blocker: The vote blocker advantage which first appeared in *Mamanuca Islands* was an advantage hidden on Island of the Idols. Unlike its previous appearance, the vote blocker did not have to be played immediately after being found but had to be used by the Final Seven.

Idol Nullifier: The idol nullifier returned again after first appearing in *David vs. Goliath*. It was hidden at the Island of the Idols and could be used to void the use of a Hidden Immunity Idol at any tribal council up until the Final Six when idols could last be played.

Final Tribal Council Tie: For the first time ever, there was a tie between two finalists at the Final Tribal Council. The third place castaway who didn't receive jury votes was forced to break the tie and vote for either finalist to win.

## Trivia

* With this season, Fiji becomes the first location to be used in three consecutive seasons.
* This is the first all returning player season since Survivor: Indonesia.
* The veterans who aid the exiled castaways on Island of the Idols marks the first time that former castaways return, but are ineligible to win the title of Sole Survivor.
* With *Island of the Idols*, Penny breaks the record for the largest gap between two appearances, with 39 seasons.
* Bethany, Ellis, Henry, Leo, Penny, Sasha and William are the only castaways this season to improve on their previous placements.
* This is one of three seasons where idols were found, but none of them removed the majority of votes. Other seasons with this feat include *Survivor: Guatemala* and *Survivor: Malaysia*.
* *Island of the Idols* is the first season where a rock draw occurred because there was a deadlocked vote between three castaways.
* This is the first season where there was a tied vote at the Final Tribal Council, and holds the record for the largest jury with eleven members.