Survivor type TV Show network CBS genre Reality Where to watch Close Streaming Options

The game of Survivor is one between a group of contestants battling for a $1 million dollar prize. But there is also a game within the game that takes place each season between players and producers, as the former try to figure out the best way to manipulate the rules to their advantage and the latter have to change up those rules to stay a few steps ahead.

We have seen this battle play out over 36 seasons, as the producers institute new twists and the contestants eventually catch up to them, necessitating further tweaks and changes. The next round in that battle begins Sept. 26, when Survivor: David vs. Goliath premieres on CBS. One of those ways that the players seem to have caught up recently involves the hidden immunity idols that were first introduced back in season 11 with Survivor: Guatemala.

During that evolution, we saw people find idols and then people make fake idols they claimed were real, thereby fooling people into thinking they were safe. But players are too savvy for that now. We saw that last season when Jacob returned from Ghost Island with what he claimed was a real immunity idol. The problem? He had no note.

All idols come with notes explaining what they are, as well as how and when they can be used. The problem is, now when someone claims to have an idol, all anyone has to do is say “Let me see the note” to gauge its authenticity. Sure, there are examples — like last season with Domenick — where a person can find one real idol and then use that note for a fake one, but unless you have that, your ability to create a believable fake idol is now severely limited unless you have the fine-print evidence that comes with it.

This led to a modest proposal I made in one of my Survivor recaps last season, which I will now reprint here for your consumption:

Survivor should get rid of the notes that come with the idols. Well, not get rid of them completely because players do need instructions on what their idol or advantage does and how and when to play it. But they should then be instructed to get rid of the note after reading it. Burn it, bury it, put it out to sea, or — easiest of all — just hand it to a producer or cameraman at the beach. Whatever. That sucker should destruct in five seconds, Mission: Impossible style. And the players in season 37 should all be told before the season begins that notes will no longer be allowed to be kept after being read.

Why is this important? Because that would create much more mass confusion and consternation when it comes to whether idols are real or fake and what powers a certain idol or advantage actually has. Right now, players are just too smart… All they have to do to confirm that an idol is real or what an idol’s actual power is is to just ask to see the note. (Sure, if you already have a note from a real idol like Dom, you can still use it for other deception, but that is the rare exception.)

But if you got rid of ALL the notes, now skeptical players could not demand to see the official paperwork and that would lead to more successful bluffing. And, from a viewer’s perspective, successful bluffing is the stuff of dreams. Just go back two weeks to see a perfect example. Brandon was immediately tipped off that Jacob’s idol was fake when Jacob failed to produce the note that came with it. What if there were no notes? Could that have changed the calculation on Malolo’s decision? Would Jacob still be in the game promoting the ‘best tribe of all time’ and looking for his shoes that — like his game — got carried off by the surf? We’ll never know, but if you want to keep contestants even more on their toes, this might be a way to do it.

So when out in Fiji recently during filming, I asked host Jeff Probst if they might take me up on my suggestion and get rid of the notes. “It’s a great question,” says Probst. “And it definitely feels like we’re getting close to a time where we should consider addressing that.”

However, Probst feels they are not quite at the point where they need to put the notes out of play. “We’re still maneuvering and navigating with the fake idols and trying to let that play out,” he says. “But I absolutely know what you’re saying, and when do we give on that and say, ‘Okay, you’ve got an out. Now notes are no longer a factor’? I think it’s coming, but one of the things I feel we do very well is we go from A to B to C to D to E like we talked about the other day. We never go from F to Q. And I feel like we’re not there yet. We’ve still got a little bit of fake idol to explore, and then we’ll say, ‘Let’s take off another bit of the reins. No notes. Now who do you believe?’ It’s coming.”

We’ll see how the savvy players navigate around this issue on David vs. Goliath, and when producers finally take that next step and force the contestants to once again adjust their gameplay accordingly.

To see Probst discuss the immunity idol notes, watch the video at the top of this post. And for more Survivor scoop, follow me on Twitter @DaltonRoss.