💎 Advantages & Idols

Elizabeth was the first castaway sent to Island of the Idols from Lairo after their first immunity loss. She met mentors Boston Rob and Sandra. Her test was a fire-making competition against Rob Mariano, which she lost. As a penalty, she lost her vote at the next tribal council. She kept this consequence secret. Since she was already in the women's alliance, her missing vote had no impact and she escaped tribal without anyone knowing she didn't vote. She did NOT receive an advantage.

Vince was summoned to Island of the Idols on Day 7. His test was to sneak into the opposing Vokai tribe's camp at night and return with a lit torch by lighting it on their fire. Since Vokai's fire was out, Vince improvised by placing coal from the fire pit into his water bottle as proof. Rob and Sandra accepted his creative solution and awarded him a temporary Hidden Immunity Idol valid for the next two tribal councils. The women's alliance blindsided Vince on Day 8 (Episode 3) specifically because they suspected he received an idol, voting him out 5-3-1 while he held the unused idol.

Noura volunteered to visit Island of the Idols on Day 9, becoming the first person to volunteer and the first offered an advantage other than a Hidden Immunity Idol. Her test: convince her Vokai tribe to let her be the caller in the upcoming immunity challenge, in exchange for a Vote Blocker. She performed poorly during practice and got caught in lies. Her tribe sat her out of the challenge anyway. Since she failed the test, she did NOT receive the Vote Blocker and instead lost her vote at the next tribal council as a penalty.

After the tribe swap to Lairo, the entire tribe hunted for the rehidden idol. Kellee was able to find it on Day 17. She held this idol into the merge but did not play it. At the merge tribal (Episode 8), believing she had the numbers to eliminate Dan Spilo, she chose not to play either of her two idols. The plan failed and Kellee was blindsided in an 8-5 vote, becoming the second player in Survivor history to exit the game holding two Hidden Immunity Idols.

Kellee found her third idol shortly before the merge tribal council on Day 22, setting the franchise record for most Hidden Immunity Idols found by a woman in a single season. Despite holding two idols (this one and the Day 17 idol), she chose not to play either, confident she had the votes to eliminate Dan. She was voted out 8-5 at the merge tribal (Episode 8), exiting with two unused idols — a devastating miscalculation.

Jamal found a Hidden Immunity Idol after Molly Byman's blindside at an early vote and used it strategically to work back into the majority after the tribe switch. However, when he visited Island of the Idols and lost his vote as a penalty, he chose to write a fake Legacy Advantage to give to Dean rather than playing his real idol. Jamal was voted out at the next tribal council (Episode 9) without playing his idol, becoming the third jury member.

Jamal and Karishma found an advantage hanging from a tree, with Jamal grabbing it first. At Island of the Idols, Rob and Sandra explained that Jamal lost his vote as a penalty for grabbing the advantage. They gave him a pencil and parchment to create any advantage he imagined. Jamal wrote a fake Legacy Advantage and gave it to Dean Kowalski to put a target on Dean's back. The deception backfired — Dean believed it was real and the fake advantage did not shift voting dynamics against Dean as intended.

Janet found her first Hidden Immunity Idol the morning after Kellee's blindside at the merge, fearing she would be the next target. She held this idol through the post-merge game. It is unclear exactly when or if this first idol was played separately from her second idol.

When the merged tribe relocated to Island of the Idols on Day 36, Tommy found a clue on his buff indicating an idol was hidden somewhere on the island. Because Tommy was color-blind, he asked Dean for assistance decoding the remaining clues. Dean decoded them and located the idol for himself rather than Tommy. Dean never needed to play this idol as he won immunity challenges on Days 35 and 37 and made it to the Final Tribal Council, where he lost to Tommy Sheehan in a 8-0-2 vote.