Survivor Island of the Idols: Should Elaine Stott return?

Elaine Stott was so likable in Island of the Idols, she was targeted by another player for being a late-game threat on Day 3. Should she return to Survivor?

There have been plenty of “aw, shucks!” Southern Survivor character in the show’s 30s seasons, from winners like Mike Holloway and Nick Wilson to journey-edited players like Donathan Hurley and Lauren Rimmer. Few have been painted as “obvious” winner candidates quite like Elaine Stott was, as her extremely talented social charm defined her Island of the Idols run.

She could have been voted out first had Ronnie Bardah had his way, as he saw her late-game threat and decided to act on it 30 days too early. While that got him voted out immediately, Elaine leaned on her female Lairo alliance members, as they mostly had her best interests in mind as much as she did for them.

In fact, she risked her social standing after heading to the Island of the Idols in trying to grab a Block-a-Vote advantage during an Immunity Challenge after the tribe swap. As a result, a 4-4 deadlock between original Vokai and the new Lairo members on 2.0 was erased, Vokai members dwindled, and those Vokai who underestimated Elaine learned she could pull off a plan.

Elaine’s role in Island of the Idols was to give the audience a false hope to vote for an underdog win, even though the evidence was quite the contrary. She arrived at the merge sticking true to her post-swap tribe numbers even if it meant taking out old allies. At the double-elimination Tribal Council, she plotted to take out Missy due to her influence in the game despite pairing up with her as early as the first few days of the game, with the security of an immunity win fueling her drive.

No matter which group Elaine found herself in, she could make the entire group laugh. It allowed her to shift alliances and groups, including at the Final Eight, where she hoped to take the abandoned Loved Ones reward players to form a pact to vote out Tommy. It looked so good for her endgame potential that she found a Hidden Immunity Idol to protect herself. Unfortunately, Dean wanted to play for second, spilling the beans and forcing Elaine to play her idol for safety, all for naught.

Elaine made it all the way to Day 35 before finally getting voted out in the episode just before the finale, proving that a busted can of biscuits could shine bright through a sea of darkness clouding Island of the Idols. Vote here in our straw poll to let us know if she should get another shot at Survivor in the future.