Survivor season 35: Dr. Mike’s Idol play makes zero sense
There are very few reasons why Dr. Mike Zahalsky would want to use his Idol in Survivor season 35 episode 9, making it a baffling decision at best.
You’re in the minority alliance. There’s a likely one-in-three chance that you are going home at the next Tribal Council, but you have the option to make some big moves before you’re voted out of Survivor. The best way to make a splash is to use a Hidden Immunity Idol, securing the safety of somebody and trying to throw enough votes on someone in the majority to turn the tide.
What Mike did in the latest episode of Survivor season 35, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers may have been the most foolish Idol play in the history of the show. It all comes down to the factors surrounding outside of the play itself, with most of them coming down to Mike’s judgment.
Even at the Individual Immunity Challenge, the tension surrounding the majority and Cole Medders was palpable. He would shoot glances of defiance over at the elimination bench, while everyone was offering Lauren tips to best Cole. Once she won, the outburst of cheering and clapping from Ben and Devon right behind Mike should have been red flag #1 that he’s the target for elimination this week.
The second red flag was perhaps the most egregious, as Ben whispered to Mike that the target at Tribal Council would be Cole. While Mike was suspicious that he was told the target in good faith, it makes no sense based on their relationship. Just last week, Ben asked Mike to vote for Joe to keep him safe, to which Mike obliged. This was supposed to be him escaping from underneath the minority alliance, but this episode sees him take several steps back.
“I’ve got to do something to send one of these big threats home,” Mike explains, as he ponders with Joe what exactly to do. It’s clear that the Healers are divided, are preparing for death and trying to stay safe for at least one more round before the majority implodes, but Mike has to make a big move in order to try to flip things around.
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How exactly does he take what knowledge he has and try to take out a big threat? He tries to make himself a target, talking about Ben is King Arthur on the Round Table while Mike, himself, is the Statue of Liberty in America. It was borderline lunacy, as he was so telegraphed in his “vote for me! Vote for me!” message that the majority tribe just looked on in embarrassment.
Mike didn’t even galvanize his tribe using his own name; he talked about the justifiable morals of making Joe a pariah and not voting him out … as a strategy to get people to vote out Mike. All it does is make the majority double down on voting out Cole (just like Ben insisted), yet Mike still feels like he’s going to make a big move with his Idol play.
What’s truly baffling about this Idol play is the finishing touch: Mike Zahalsky voted for Cole! He was among the seven players to vote for Cole, while JP and Chrissy voted for Mike. Even if he played the Idol on Cole, the majority of the votes would go to Mike, effectively using an idol to vote himself out. How little self-awareness Mike had was doubled when even Joe voted for Cole, making Mike’s half-cocked strategy to make an ass out of himself the epitome of short-sightedness and failure.
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That said, I love Dr. Mike as a Survivor player and hope to see him escape from underneath his own wacky shenanigans.