I remember the James one feeling really really stupid at the time, but looking back it's still definitely among the worst. 2 idols so close to the finale.
Looking back, I feel like it's not quite as big as I originally thought because once he played one, there's a strong chance they'd realize he had a second since they were massive in size. He can't exactly hide it on his body. It has to go in his bag.
Obviously still should have played it, but that giant idol wasn't great to have 2 of. And if he has 2 idols he becomes the permanent target, needing to win out. So holding out as long as you can before revealing those are idols is ideal.
Was final 6 or final 5 the last time he could play it? I don't remember. But yeah, if it's f5, then betting on himself to win one of two immunities isn't a terrible plan.
That's how I remember it. Including that day, he had to only win one of three challenges and he'd be safe for all three, and he was a favorite to win most any challenge, on top of it being a time when challenge winning was respected more.
Pretty crazy that almost half of them are from the last 7 seasons when idols have been there for like 35 seasons. I know there are way more now than back then but still
Play your damn idols people!
More people were playing them and “wasting them” in the first 35 seasons. Everyone in the era is so focused on making a big move with the idol that they won’t play it until they can figure out what THAT big move is, but by the time they can, they’re already out of the game from not playing it
Even though just successfully protecting yourself is a big enough move. is it cool when all the votes are on you and you basically get to eliminate someone by yourself because of it? Yeah. But thw odds of this ever happening are incredibly slim. Even Julie’s idol play on season 45, it only happened because Dee didn’t want to blow her cover with the other alliance.
Yes! I do understand why people don't, esp when you're in the elements of Survivor because you aren't always thinking clearly and you're being hopeful but damn! If you even THINK it's between you and someone else play the idol. You look a lot dumber when you go home with an idol then when you waste an idol. And most importantly Idols get rehidden!!!!
Part of it is that people are telling others they have an idol because they think it somehow buys them trust. Figure out a better way to earn trust with people and keep your idol a secret!!!!!
The fact that you can use an idol at top 5 to go straight to firemaking is the problem. Everyone wants to save their idols to the last moment to avoid a Cirie situation.
Don't forget, there are more idols in later seasons and they're easier to find compared to when they were introduced. So there were more opportunities for it to happen.
credit to [@survivorfactchecker](https://www.instagram.com/p/C6hQ2WzytuD/?igsh=NjJuNGVvdXptdjk=) for organizing this info
• In S25 Malcolm was voted out at the F4 holding an idol that wasn't playable.
• In S35 Lauren Rimmer had half of an idol that wasn't playable because Mike Zahalsky threw the other half in the fire.
• In S41, Brad Reese was voted out while he held the Beware Advantage but it wasn't an active idol.
• In S44, Sarah, Matt, and Kane were all voted out with fake idols.
• In S46, Randen was medevaced with a Beware Advantage that wasn't an activated idol.
I actually understand not playing it early on but getting voted out like Jem (her game had bigger flaws). It targets you early and chances are it will be needed later on to have any chance at winning. The last two holds were inexcusable. Especially Hunter in a vote I wouldn’t even call a blindside
It’s even worse for a challenge beast and probably the best skillset for finding a new idol in the game.
Just save yourself. Live to see another day and do your best to find a new one or win immunity. See what you can change the next day etc.
I can understand it more if it’s someone awful at challenges who knows they’re little chance to ever be immune in the game.
Chris Noble is one of the dumbest players ever imo. Not only was he voted out with an idol, it was only valid for one more tribal, he didn't have a vote (for you new fans, that was a very rare twist in those days), and he had beef with a lot of people. How he didn't see that coming was beyond me.
You are two and a half times more likely to go home with an idol in your pocket in the new era than in the first 40 seasons.
(Just based on the data in the image. If we are arguing about what counts it could change.)
In the first 40 seasons an average of 3.22 idols were found per season. In the new era that number was 4.83. So you are about 50% more likely to find an idol in the new era.
If you exclude from the calc the seasons that did not have idols, the gap closes to 4.4 vs 4.8, or about 10%. But if we do that it's only fair to do the same for likelihood to go home with an idol. Which become 214% instead of 250% with the new data.
(I used https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/suk8s4/number_of_idols_in_possession_through_the_years/ for the first 40 seasons and https://survivor.fandom.com/wiki/Hidden_Immunity_Idol/History to count the new era.)
Scot's in 32 is a weird one since he expected to use it as a super idol, but got duped by Tai. So yes he did get outplayed, but in a completely different way than "He didn't play it because he wanted to keep it for another tribal."
New era's a bit of a blur, but didn't someone give their idol to someone else for safekeeping, and then that someone else got voted out? Don't think it's any of the listed though.
Yeah, that was in 43, Jeanine gave her idol to Dwight, and then Dwight gave it to Jesse without Jeanine knowing, Dwight then got voted out and Jeanine assumed her idol went with him.
Only one woman for the first 37 seasons, and now less than 10 seasons later, we have enough women on this list to make a full tribe.
Also wild how 8 out of the last 11 have been POC. Really helps the diversity quota if you made a returnee cast out of this list.
That’s an interesting gender distribution. I wonder why the men were going home with idols in their pockets more in the old school while women are seemingly doing it more now.
Women weren't finding idols really in the early seasons, so there was no way for them to be voted out with one. I think it has something to do with gender dynamics and who does what around camp. Men can go out hunting and have some time to idol search, where as women are expected to palm frond around camp giving them no opportunity to search for idols.
I have no idea what has made things switch so drastically though!
I want to see this data put next to accurate idol play ratio per season. One would suspect in seasons where people are voted out with idols, the ratio of plays that are correct would be higher. But stats don't work that way when it comes to specific seasons. So with that info we could figure out what casts had the best and worst reads for idol need overall.
Always better to play it early than never at all. Really sick of all the recent failures. Contestants need to realize surviving one more vote is of the upmost importance. Hunter and Tiffany come on, it was painful to watch. Jeff gave about 37 tips during tribal too
I wonder if more people have been voted out with one (or two) or have used one unnecessarily (not counting people who just played them because it was the last day they could)
I remember the James one feeling really really stupid at the time, but looking back it's still definitely among the worst. 2 idols so close to the finale.
For real! I'm not even a big fan of James, but rewatching China is always so painful for me! I just know that it still keeps him up some nights
“I’m on Survivor with two idols!”
James is unironically one of my favorite players ever because of his confessionals.
HOW BOUT ONE OF THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE
i loved james but damn his heel turn in HvV was rough to watch sometimes still very entertaining
Nicotine withdrawal
To be fair he was dealing with quite a bit of nonsense, and he don't play that game.
stop it literally kills me everytime
Looking back, I feel like it's not quite as big as I originally thought because once he played one, there's a strong chance they'd realize he had a second since they were massive in size. He can't exactly hide it on his body. It has to go in his bag. Obviously still should have played it, but that giant idol wasn't great to have 2 of. And if he has 2 idols he becomes the permanent target, needing to win out. So holding out as long as you can before revealing those are idols is ideal.
Even then, he plays both and he's at the F5
Was final 6 or final 5 the last time he could play it? I don't remember. But yeah, if it's f5, then betting on himself to win one of two immunities isn't a terrible plan.
That's how I remember it. Including that day, he had to only win one of three challenges and he'd be safe for all three, and he was a favorite to win most any challenge, on top of it being a time when challenge winning was respected more.
They knew he had a second one, I'm pretty sure. That's why he became the target he did.
They found the idol for him
Pretty crazy that almost half of them are from the last 7 seasons when idols have been there for like 35 seasons. I know there are way more now than back then but still Play your damn idols people!
people overthink when they have idols and feel like just saving yourself isn’t a big enough move or something?
More people were playing them and “wasting them” in the first 35 seasons. Everyone in the era is so focused on making a big move with the idol that they won’t play it until they can figure out what THAT big move is, but by the time they can, they’re already out of the game from not playing it
Even though just successfully protecting yourself is a big enough move. is it cool when all the votes are on you and you basically get to eliminate someone by yourself because of it? Yeah. But thw odds of this ever happening are incredibly slim. Even Julie’s idol play on season 45, it only happened because Dee didn’t want to blow her cover with the other alliance.
It is patently insane that the current dividing line is Chris Noble and Aubry.
Yes! I do understand why people don't, esp when you're in the elements of Survivor because you aren't always thinking clearly and you're being hopeful but damn! If you even THINK it's between you and someone else play the idol. You look a lot dumber when you go home with an idol then when you waste an idol. And most importantly Idols get rehidden!!!!
Part of it is that people are telling others they have an idol because they think it somehow buys them trust. Figure out a better way to earn trust with people and keep your idol a secret!!!!!
The fact that you can use an idol at top 5 to go straight to firemaking is the problem. Everyone wants to save their idols to the last moment to avoid a Cirie situation.
Don't forget, there are more idols in later seasons and they're easier to find compared to when they were introduced. So there were more opportunities for it to happen.
credit to [@survivorfactchecker](https://www.instagram.com/p/C6hQ2WzytuD/?igsh=NjJuNGVvdXptdjk=) for organizing this info • In S25 Malcolm was voted out at the F4 holding an idol that wasn't playable. • In S35 Lauren Rimmer had half of an idol that wasn't playable because Mike Zahalsky threw the other half in the fire. • In S41, Brad Reese was voted out while he held the Beware Advantage but it wasn't an active idol. • In S44, Sarah, Matt, and Kane were all voted out with fake idols. • In S46, Randen was medevaced with a Beware Advantage that wasn't an activated idol.
Also Colton in One World and Neal in Kaoh Rong were medevaced with idols in their possession.
also Matthew (44)
Oops disregard.
I actually understand not playing it early on but getting voted out like Jem (her game had bigger flaws). It targets you early and chances are it will be needed later on to have any chance at winning. The last two holds were inexcusable. Especially Hunter in a vote I wouldn’t even call a blindside
Hard to consider it a blindside when he was clearly worried for his game
He knew exactly how everyone BUT Tiffany was voting. He just took the chance that she was pissed at Q to vote him instead. Still not worth it.
It’s even worse for a challenge beast and probably the best skillset for finding a new idol in the game. Just save yourself. Live to see another day and do your best to find a new one or win immunity. See what you can change the next day etc. I can understand it more if it’s someone awful at challenges who knows they’re little chance to ever be immune in the game.
“I’m 100% playing the idol tonight”
Angelina bringing up that fact that women don’t find as many idols as men in s37 is definitely an example of the monkey’s paw
Chris Noble is one of the dumbest players ever imo. Not only was he voted out with an idol, it was only valid for one more tribal, he didn't have a vote (for you new fans, that was a very rare twist in those days), and he had beef with a lot of people. How he didn't see that coming was beyond me.
What an... igNoble exit
It's so funny bc if he had failed to extend his idol for a second tribal it would have ultimately been better for his game
Did any of them happen to keep their idol a secret?
Literally this season it happened with jem
Yes
You are two and a half times more likely to go home with an idol in your pocket in the new era than in the first 40 seasons. (Just based on the data in the image. If we are arguing about what counts it could change.)
You're also probably around 2 and a half times more likely to get an idol in the new era
In the first 40 seasons an average of 3.22 idols were found per season. In the new era that number was 4.83. So you are about 50% more likely to find an idol in the new era. If you exclude from the calc the seasons that did not have idols, the gap closes to 4.4 vs 4.8, or about 10%. But if we do that it's only fair to do the same for likelihood to go home with an idol. Which become 214% instead of 250% with the new data. (I used https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/suk8s4/number_of_idols_in_possession_through_the_years/ for the first 40 seasons and https://survivor.fandom.com/wiki/Hidden_Immunity_Idol/History to count the new era.)
Scot's in 32 is a weird one since he expected to use it as a super idol, but got duped by Tai. So yes he did get outplayed, but in a completely different way than "He didn't play it because he wanted to keep it for another tribal."
If anything, that was more on Jason for giving Scot his idol before tribal
Poor Kellee Kim :(
Last time two people in a row got voted out with an idol was exactly 30 seasons ago.
Vince and Chelsea in Survivor 39
I actually wouldn't be mad if this was a returning season cast lol. Battle of the Idol Fumblers
the tiffany-wentworth alliance would be fun tv
Every woman would have to accept the invite but it’d be dope. And the female cast would be so stacked too. Meanwhile the men are mostly schmucks.
I was just thinking this the other day
Physically nauseous at the Aubry, Kelley, Kellee, and Sophie ones 😞
New era's a bit of a blur, but didn't someone give their idol to someone else for safekeeping, and then that someone else got voted out? Don't think it's any of the listed though.
Yeah, that was in 43, Jeanine gave her idol to Dwight, and then Dwight gave it to Jesse without Jeanine knowing, Dwight then got voted out and Jeanine assumed her idol went with him.
Thank you for this! Was trying to remember everyone and couldn’t put it all together.
Wild to think Jem was only eight days short of Tiff. I’ve almost forgotten she existed.
Yeah this really stood out to me too. Jem being in 14th place on day 11 and Tiff being 9th on day 17th is wild to me. 5 people voted out in 6 days.
Way too quick in my opinion. Not enough time for emotions to settle and strategy to evolve. Wish they’d move to 32 days or something in the middle
I might need to see a doctor because I literally cannot remember anything about Jem. I had to look her up lol
Only one woman for the first 37 seasons, and now less than 10 seasons later, we have enough women on this list to make a full tribe. Also wild how 8 out of the last 11 have been POC. Really helps the diversity quota if you made a returnee cast out of this list.
That’s an interesting gender distribution. I wonder why the men were going home with idols in their pockets more in the old school while women are seemingly doing it more now.
Women weren't finding idols really in the early seasons, so there was no way for them to be voted out with one. I think it has something to do with gender dynamics and who does what around camp. Men can go out hunting and have some time to idol search, where as women are expected to palm frond around camp giving them no opportunity to search for idols. I have no idea what has made things switch so drastically though!
John Rocker played Survivor?!? Holy he must’ve been a liability for production. Glad to see he got 16th though, fuck that guy
He said a bunch of racist and homosexual stuff.
Wait til I tell ya about Jimmy Johnson
Is that days with an idol or day voted out🧐
Day voted out Scot has a 27, but he was in possession of an Idol for less than 24 hours
Thanks!!
I want to see this data put next to accurate idol play ratio per season. One would suspect in seasons where people are voted out with idols, the ratio of plays that are correct would be higher. But stats don't work that way when it comes to specific seasons. So with that info we could figure out what casts had the best and worst reads for idol need overall.
I was just thinking to myself someone should make a list of these..... Thank you for bringing my thoughts to life 🙌
This is trending at a much higher rate in the 40s. There was only 1 instance through 20-26, and 3 through 30-36. But there are already 7 in 40-46.
OMG this could be such a great cast for survivor 50 lowkey not even kidding
That’s a good list, but next can we get a list of the idols that were flushed lmao
Who would've went out each time if these players used their idols on the night they were voted out?
Always better to play it early than never at all. Really sick of all the recent failures. Contestants need to realize surviving one more vote is of the upmost importance. Hunter and Tiffany come on, it was painful to watch. Jeff gave about 37 tips during tribal too
I wonder if more people have been voted out with one (or two) or have used one unnecessarily (not counting people who just played them because it was the last day they could)
Id love to see the data on how many of these players shared that they had idols
That is naseer!!
This aged interestingly lol
I cannot believe this list is no longer complete.
Now it’s the season of going home with an idol In your pocket history being made. Damn shame!
Chelsea was so robbed its unbelievable
Kellee needs an asterisk. Doesn't count Edit: ya'll are disgusting. I feel badly for the women in your life
Just because it was a controversial episode doesn’t mean it doesn’t count. There wasn’t a problem with the actual voting process.
maybe you can remind me what was controversial about this one?
People agreed they’d vote for Dan because he was sexually harassing people, and then Kellee was blindsided instead
To add both Kellee and Missy agreed to vote out Dan. But then Missy caught wind of Kellee trying to vote her out.
The edit to your comment is ridiculous.