Season 46 of Survivor has broken the record — again — for the most players voted out with a hidden immunity idol.
In the Wednesday, May 15, episode, Quintavius “Q” Burdette found an idol after days of searching for it. However, he opted not to use it, which led him to be the fifth player to be given the ax this season while holding the coveted possession.
If played, the idol prevents a contestant from being voted off from the reality competition series during tribal council. Players have strategized when to use the idol or whether to use it on someone else.
The week before, Venus Vafa became the fourth player during the season to be voted out with the immunity idol. After Venus found the idol in the bushes, she hinted at the possession to Charlie Davis — who then told fellow contestants to target her.
“The reason I didn’t play the idol was because if I’m able to convince Charlie, great, that speaks to my social game, at least I have more to discuss rather than, ‘She played an idol in the end,’” she told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. “I wanted to be able to rely on other people as well and social connections and the fact that I wasn’t able to convince Charlie, that was something that I was, like, happy going home on.”
Venus’ exit marked the all-series record for the most players sent home with an idol they chose not to use, until Q’s departure broke that title the next week.
Since Survivor premiered in May 2000, 27 players have been voted out with idols. During this season, Venus, Q, Jem Hussain-Adams, Hunter McKnight and Tiffany Nicole Ervin have all been sent home while having an idol.
After Survivor’s 40th season, Winners at War, and a brief pause in the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic, host Jeff Probst and the production team reworked the show. Instead of the game’s previous 39 days, the players now have 26 days to accommodate a two-week quarantine period for the incoming players.
Since the change in the format, fans and former players have expressed their disappointment with the decision. But Probst assured Us Weekly that the shortened gameplay doesn’t mean it’s any less difficult for the players.
“I say that the new era is as tough if not tougher than the 39-day season for a myriad of reasons,” Probst, 62, exclusively told Us earlier this month. “But obviously if you’re a player who played 39 days you have a little bit of pride in saying, ‘I did the full season’ but you go 18 days without any food, and then let me ask you a question, let’s see how fast you respond or don’t.”
Survivor airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
