Why didn't (SPOILER) play their hidden immunity idol in Survivor 46 episode 10? It appears there were two reasons

Can you believe it? Another castaway from Survivor season 46 was voted out with a hidden immunity idol in their pocket in Survivor 46 episode 10, "Run the Red Light." And, thanks to Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly, we finally have a much clearer reason why.

Tiffany Nicole Ervin was blindsided in episode 10. After barely losing the immunity challenge to Charlie Davis, Tiffany was voted out after Maria, Charlie, Ben, Liz, and Q teamed up to take her out. Now, there are only seven players left. In season 46, 11 players have been voted out.

After threatening to play her hidden immunity idol, which she found at the Yanu camp before the merge, in episode 9, Tiffany was guaranteed to play it in episode 10, right? Wrong! And, she shared why she didn't play it with EW.

Tiffany thought the tribe was targeting Q

The first and most obvious reason that Tiffany didn't play her idol was that she was convinced that everyone had grown so tired of Q that they would have to vote him out!

Here's what Tiffany told EW about why she thought Q was going home:

"Obviously, it came to bite me in the butt, but there was a lot of planning and conversations, and then coupled with the fact that everybody at camp was really fed up with Q at that point. You guys didn't get to see a lot of it, but people were so annoyed. So I'm like: Either these people are Oscar-worthy actors or they're really tired of this guy."

This is so funny because it's exactly what caught Hunter in the trap in the previous episode. Hunter also left with a hidden immunity idol in his pocket after being convinced that the tribe was going to vote out Q.

Obviously, we've seen some of Q's antics and how he is a menace, but it sounds like he was way worse than we've even seen. Man, I can't wait for the reunion!

Charlie and Tiffany had a plan to use the idol to vote out Maria

Looking back, it was a bad move for Tiffany not to have played her idol because she was convinced the tribe hated Q so much. Did they hate him $1 million worth? I guess not! But, it makes so much more sense knowing that Charlie and Tiffany had a plan of their own.

"Obviously, I took a risk. I knew what was going on. But I think one thing that people didn't see is that me and Charlie had a really good working relationship, and they didn't show a lot of it on camera, but Charlie and I had a lot of discussions about possibly using the idol later down the line to blindside Maria. And this is something that was brought to my plate. So I'm like, this is a great idea."

It's obvious to everyone at home that Maria is in a great position to win the game and has been since the beginning. She's one of the smartest, savviest players of the season. She made an excellent choice allying with Charlie, and they've basically been in the shadows, controlling the game while letting Q and others take ALL OF THE HEAT. Jeff called Q a "smokescreen," and Maria and Charlie have been using him as a shield for several votes in a row now.

Ultimately, I think Charlie made the right move by keeping Tiffany in the dark about the move to vote her out, but I have some thoughts on that I'll save for another day. Basically, it was too early for Charlie to turn on Maria, and he couldn't stop the car from "running the red light," so he had to go with it. And, that's why I think Charlie will win the game. He's playing chess and thinking so many moves down the line. Now that we know he has a plan to take out Maria, I think he's in a great spot.

And, along with that, it makes so much sense that Tiffany didn't use her idol. According to Tiffany, Charlie approached her with the plan to use the idol to take out Maria, and they had a good relationship! Of course, it makes sense that Tiffany would expect Charlie to come back to her to tell her the plan had changed. I totally understand where she was coming from now.

This game is just heating up! We'll see what's next on Survivor. Episode 11 airs on May 8, 2024, only on CBS and Paramount+.