‘Survivor’: Can Voted out Castaways Transfer Their Idols to Another Player?
It’s safe to say that Jeanine Zheng doesn’t have the best luck in Survivor Season 43. First, her number one ally from the Baka tribe — Elie Scott — leaves during the fake merge. And then, Jeanine’s new number one ally — Dwight Moore — leaves with her immunity idol in his pocket. But do the rules state that Survivor castaways can transfer idols during Tribal Council? Or is it forbidden?
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Survivor Season 43 Episode 7, “Bull in a China Shop.”]
Dwight left with one of the idols in ‘Survivor’ Season 43 Episode 7
The final 12 Survivor Season 43 castaways competed in pairs at the Immunity Challenge in episode 7. They played the competition in stages, with teams getting eliminated at every level. By the end, only four players remained, and only one could get immunity. And Mike Gabler dug deep and pulled out the win.
Back at camp, James Jones found a Knowledge Is Power advantage under the shelter. However, everyone soon knew about it because he saw the clue for it while getting water with Owen Knight, Dwight Moore, and Sami Layadi. Plus, James told Karla Cruz Godoy, Ryan Medrano, and Cody Assenmacher about it. These players will never know how to use Knowledge Is Power effectively.
Before leaving for Tribal Council, the Survivor Season 43 castaways with advantages and immunity idols gave them to other players to throw James off. Jeanine gave her idol to Dwight. Cody gave his idol to Jesse Lopez. And Noelle Lambert gave her Steal a Vote to Owen.
Unfortunately for Jeanine and Dwight, Cody and Jesse planned a blindside for Tribal Council. And in a 7–3–2 vote, the merged tribe kicked Dwight off the island with Jeanine’s idol in his pocket.
‘Survivor’ fans debate if contestants can transfer idols during Tribal Council
Before Survivor Season 43 Episode 7 aired, Reddit fans ironically discussed whether or not castaways could transfer idols at Tribal Council. Perhaps there are a couple of clairvoyants in the fandom.
One Reddit user pondered, “Can you give an idol to someone after you’ve been voted out with it? Pretty self-explanatory, but if further explanation is needed if my ally got voted out with a normal idol in their pocket, could they covertly hand it to me as they’re leaving?”
“No, they must ‘Leave the Tribal Council Area Immediately,'” a fan answered. “Effectively, this means they are eliminated the second the last vote is read and cannot do anything. Otherwise, people would definitely hand off Idols as they were voted out.”
However, more questions arose from this answer. Someone commented, “I really wonder when the exact line is for there to be no more transfers. If you see you’re getting votes, can you transfer an advantage really quick before the last one is read? Or does it have to be before the votes are cast?”
Thankfully, we received an answer from the man leading Tribal Council himself following CBS’s airing of Survivor Season 43 Episode 7.
Jeff Probst clears the air
Entertainment Weekly spoke with Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst to clear the air about transferring idols at Tribal Council.
“Once you’re voted out, you’re out of the game, and any advantage or idols in your possession lose all their power,” Probst explained. “You must turn all unplayed idols or advantages over to us. You are not allowed to even sneak an advantage to a player so they could try to bluff with it.”
He added, “Once the reading of the votes begins, that’s it. That’s why I say, ‘If anyone has an idol or an advantage and you want to play it, now would be the time to do so.’ That’s your window. After that, you are basically handcuffed from doing anything other than hoping it’s not you.”
So even if Dwight wanted to give Jeanine her idol back after seeing his name, he couldn’t have. The Survivor rules state that all idols and advantages are frozen as soon as Probst starts reading the votes.
Survivor Season 43 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
