Thanksgiving comes early for Survivor, as Island of the Idols episodes 8 and 9 will air back to back on Wednesday, November 13, in several weeks’ time.
The scheduling of Survivor is not set in stone each year, as with the ebbs and flows of network television, it’s hard to predict when and where a show will need to go to fill out a canceled program elsewhere down the line. Additionally, the storylines of each season, such as Island of the Idols, are very dynamic, with different seasons heating up at different times.
It appears as though things are about to get good at the merge, as that’s the marker for the first double-hour block of Survivor all season. As noted on the CBS Press schedule for the entire network, on Wednesday, November 13, Island of the Idols will air for two-straight hours. In comparison, it took until the tenth week of David vs. Goliath to have a two-hour block.
Traditionally, two hours straight of Survivor usually means two episodes airing back to back with minimal separation between them, indicating two eliminations. Right now, after five episodes of Island of the Idols have aired, there are 15 players left in the game, with two more episodes to air between now and then.
Barring any unforeseen quits or secret twists that break up the flow of what we know about 20-player seasons, it looks like this two-hour block will consist of the tribes merging together as well as the first two Immunity Challenges and Tribal Councils. Unlike Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, however, it looks like the Outback Steakhouse merge feast has been replaced by the (allegedly-microwave-friendly) Applebees Reward Challenge this week.
In all likeliness, it means that we’re headed for the rest of Island of the Idols with these tribes until the merge, meaning there won’t be a green, dominant swap tribe that seems to avoid Tribal Council at almost every opportunity. We also know the merge will be another gorgeous blue buff based on a massive promo spoiler that had audio included but video omitted from the episode.