The hidden immunity idol is now a fixture of Survivor — not having them would end up being a twist in and of itself. But how could they be better?
Survivor has had some form of extra or hidden immunity idol for the bulk of its seasons at this point. It is practically an institution. As we just said above, it is not going away any time soon, because it is an easy way to inject tension in drama. Not only does it affect Tribal Councils, it also affects tribal life — we’ve seen many times that going to look for an idol or being perceived as skilled with finding them can create a target.
And drama tends to fuel ratings, and ratings keeps Survivor on the air.
But the show has also changed idol rules before, and it could easily change them again. Are there ways to make the mechanic itself better? Of course there are.
However, here’s something the show shouldn’t do: make idols more prevalent than they already are. The idea that Survivor replaces them when they are used is more than enough. This generally good system can be stymied by players holding on to them for too long, as my colleague pointed out during the previous season, of course.
Handing out idols like they’re going out of style would result in more Tribal Councils like the final six of Game Changers, where Cirie went out. It was cool once. It does not need to happen at practically every Tribal.
I’d like to see the producers remove an exploit Tai found in the system, though. He found an idol at one camp, then did the same trick at the other camp and found a second idol. Ahead of Game Changers airing, Jeff Probst said that the production team had plenty of places to hide idols. Now, there’s an argument to be made that it helps protect players. Tribal shuffles can send players right to the bottom, after all. That sort of knowledge can save them — even if they have to share it.
Next: Was Sandra sabotaged in Game Changers?
However, it also brings us back around to the idol holding problem, which removes drama and interest from the game. In short, if the producers of Survivor really have so many plans, let’s see them!
Perhaps that’ll happen in season 35. Fingers crossed, right?