We all still love the hit reality show, Survivor, right? Well, as we're sneaking up on season 39 of this fierce competition, we thought we'd throw it back to some of the best moments from the show. There have definitely been some pretty chaotic Tribal Councils, and we've definitely seen some horrendous uses of the Immunity Idol and some pretty stellar ones.
We all remember those Tribal Councils that had us on our feet clapping because our favorite player just destroyed the entire vote with one idol, right? Right. Well, there's so many good moments it's hard to keep track, so here are the 10 smartest uses of the immunity idol, ranked.
Malcolm and the Three Idols (Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites, Episode 11)
Remember the 'Three Amigos' from this season? This consisted of Malcolm, Eddie, and Reynold. With these three boys clearly on the outs, things started looking hopeful when Reynold won immunity at the challenge.
Hope continued to be found when Malcolm found a second idol right before tribal. In the chaos that was tribal council, Malcolm played one idol on himself and gave the other to Eddie. Suddenly, the entire minority alliance was saved. While this wasn't the most clever of plays, it definitely took challenge and idol beasts to pull this one off. Also, it was pretty intense.
When Amanda's Honesty Saved Her Life (Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites, Episode 12)
Amanda managed to play an idol expertly without even lying to her peers. How did she do it? Well, she was definitely on the outs, but she managed to convince the majority alliance that she didn't have an idol (and this was true).
However, she found it just before tribal - which even the audience didn't know! She then brilliantly brought Jeff the idol to the dismay of every other survivor. She saved herself, and this was also the tribal that let her get back into the game by building trust with Parvati. And she didn't even have to lie.
When Tai Trang Played One For Sierra Dawn (Game Changers, Episode 4)
Early on in this incredible season, there was a curveball thrown into the mix . Two tribes went to tribal council together, but were only to vote out one player. This was definitely a live tribal, aka our favorite kind, right?
Well, there was a LOT of discussion at tribal, and JT created quite the problem by literally telling Brad (who was on the opposite tribe) that they were going to vote for Sierra. Tai, knowing this information last minute, gave his newly found idol to Sierra. Malcolm was voted out, leading to a string of that entire tribe going home.
When Malcolm Gets Reynold to Play His Idol for Him (Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites, Episode 10)
Although this wasn't a successful idol play, we're still putting it here because it's absolutely brilliant. At tribal council, Malcolm becomes unnerved as Phillip drones about the number of fans and favorites left in the game. When Jeff asks for idols, Reynold steps up to play his. BUT, Malcolm stops him. Why does he stop him? Well, he convinced Reynold that he thinks it's actually him, and he SUCCESSFULLY convinces Reynold to play the idol on Malcolm instead.
Sure, no votes were actually cast for either of these two, so why is it on this list? Well, Malcolm actually had his own idol, but still convinced Reynold to play his for him. Also, Malcolm actually voted for Reynold. LOL, right?
Kelly Wentworth & Jeremy Collins (Cambodia, Episode 14)
Once again, Kelly found herself in the minority. Spencer made this a pretty live tribal, and tried to convince Kelly that his alliance was voting for Keith, not her. However, Kelly wasn't buying it, and she played her idol for herself. Jeremy, from the majority alliance, felt threatened and in turn played his idol for himself.
In a crazy turn of events and a Survivor first, these two idols made all six votes not count. To everyone's dismay, the re-vote was a tie, to which the group had to unanimously decide who to vote home. The victim was Kimmi.
Natalie Anderson's Power Move (San Juan del Sur: Blood vs. Water, Episode 14)
This move was definitely a power play. Let's be honest, our favorite tribal moments with a hidden immunity idol are when a survivor plays the idol for someone else, and it works out in a beautiful and brilliant way.
In this episode, Natalie drew battle lines and blindsided her alliance (a mother-daughter duo), because she knew that if Jaclyn went home, she would be the next target. So, she played her idol for Jaclyn. This definitely earned this player a ton of respect, and yes, she went on to be the Sole Survivor of this season.
When Russell Plays the Idol for Parvati (Heroes vs. Villains, Episode 6)
This was undoubtedly one of our favorite seasons in Survivor history. You'll remember all of your favorite players were involved in this tribal - Boston Rob, Russell, Parvati, and Tyson. It looked like it was going to be either Russell or Parvati going home, and it didn't really matter if one of them had an idol.
Russell actually convinced Tyson to vote for Parvati instead of him, so it became a 4-2 vote for Parvati over Russell. However, Russell shook the entire tribal by playing his idol for Parvati. That meant that there were 3 votes on Tyson, only 2 on Russell, and the 4 against Parvati didn't count. This play was super risky, and it also goes down as being one of the dumbest plays, in the show's history.
Ben Driebergen's Lone Take-Down (Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Episode 12)
This was also one of our favorite seasons. Ben also did some ground work before this tribal, managing to convince the tribe to switch their focus from Joe onto Lauren. Lauren ended up giving Mike half of her idol in order to convince him to join her alliance.
However, Mike threw a curveball and threw his half of the idol into the fire. This turned into a live tribal. With everything still up in the air, Ben played his idol on himself, negating ALL of the votes except for his own. He pretty much decided that Lauren would go home, and boy she did. Also, Ben went on to win this season.
When Kelly Wentworth Broke (Another) Record (Cambodia, Episode 8)
Kelly and Malcolm both make this list twice. Right after the merge, the battle lines had been drawn. Kelly Wentworth, Ciera, and Abi were in the minority alliance. Wentworth deduced that Joe had been pulling her leg, and she was confident that all the votes were actually going to be cast against her.
She played her idol and in a record Survivor move, negated 9 votes against her. Kelly made it to the top 4 for this brilliant move, and even saved her alliance members. It's safe to say she's definitely still one of our faves.
When Parvati Played Two Idols (Heroes vs. Villains, Episode 10)
This season was jam-packed with stellar tribal councils. After the merge between two incredible tribes, the villains were down in numbers. This entire set-up by Parvati was actually pretty brilliant. She knew she was safe (because Amanda lied to her), and that it wouldn't be Russell. Thus, she stepped down from the immunity challenge to let Danielle win, and then gave TWO other villains (Jerri and Sandra) her TWO idols.
In a masterful turn of events, JT - who gave one of the villains an idol - became the third member of the jury. Also, this move made way for 4 villains to make the final. Oh Parvati, our favorite villain.