At the end of last season, Jeff Probst announced the “Open Era” of Survivor, in which any twist that had ever been used in the previous 50 seasons could be used again. So, during the off season, I thought it would be a good time to do a chronological review of every twist, advantage and disadvantage in Survivor history. This way, we’ve got an idea of what we’ll be grumbling about when producers take away the players’ ability to make their own decisions again ... and again.

After compiling all this info, I realized it was probably smarter to break this up into two parts because for the most part, the twists and Advantages in the first 34 seasons were pretty positive and didn’t inhibit the players from controlling their own fate. But starting with Survivor 35: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers, the twists and advantages (specifically the Final 4 fire challenge) started becoming more like obstacles to avoid whenever possible.

Tribe swaps

In Survivor’s first two seasons (Borneo and The Australian Outback), players stayed on the same tribe until the merge came at final 10. So, when the S3: Africa players got Treemail at final 12 asking them to send their “three best members” to a meeting, everyone was shocked to learn the three who showed up would be switching tribes. The Africa players stayed loyal to their original tribes after the swap. Ethan even convinced his swapped tribe to throw a challenge to save Lex, Big Tom and Kelly. But ever since then, those on the bottom have looked forward to a swap for a chance to join a new alliance. Swaps have been used in all but 15 of Survivor’s 50 seasons, so we’re very likely to see another one.

Two tribes, one camp

When the S5: Thailand players reached the final 10, they were all brought to one beach. Everyone assumed they’d been merged. Shii-Ann Huang was never happy with her tribemates and promptly approached Brian and Ted asking to defect. So, when Probst announced they had NOT merged yet, it was an easy decision for her tribe to vote her out when they lost Immunity. This concept was repeated at the beginning of S24: One World but was rendered meaningless when the tribes were divided by gender. The players largely maintained the men vs women theme. But since this twist hasn’t been used for so long, it has the potential to surprise a new crop of players.

Outcasts

This twist began in S7: Pearl Islands. At Final 10, the first 6 players who’d been voted out were brought back to compete against the existing tribes. If the six Outcasts beat both tribes, two of them could return to the game if voted in by the other outcasts. The Outcasts won the challenge and voted Burton and Lill back into the game. Post-game, the Outcasts admitted they voted Lill back in because they didn’t want her ruining their pre-jury vacation because she was so annoying. This twist returned in slightly different forms in Redemption/ Extinction Island seasons (S22, S23, S27, S38 and S40).

Hidden Immunity Idols

S11: Guatemala saw the introduction of the Immunity Idol. The first Idol (found by Gary Hogeboom) had to be played BEFORE everyone voted. For seasons 12 & 13 (Panama - Exile Island and Cook Islands) the Idol became overpowered and could be played AFTER the votes were read. Since then, every Idol had to be played after everyone voted but before the votes were read. The lone exception was in S28: Cagayan when one of Tony’s Idols was an overpowered Idol (temporarily renamed the “Tyler Perry Idol”).

Coincidentally, Hogeboom also created the first phony Idol (according to Rob C’s book). He hid it so well, nobody found it.

Mutiny

S13: Cook Islands divided the original four tribes by race. That lasted exactly two Tribal Councils when a swap mixed them all up at final 18. But at final 12, every player was given the option of switching tribes. Jonathan Penner followed Candace’s lead, and mutinied rejoining their original Raro tribemates, creating an 8-4 advantage ... which they promptly squandered. None of them made it to the final four.

Note: Penner covers this with Rob and Mike Bloom on a just-released RHAP offseason podcast. (The mutiny was originally offered to the Thailand cast but everyone chose to remain loyal to their original tribes, including Shii-Ann.)

Post-merge split-squad Tribal Councils

We’ve seen a lot of this lately. A large group of post-merge players are split into smaller groups and sent to separate Tribal Councils. This practice began in S14: Fiji, but only the losing team had to vote someone out. Michelle Yi became the first victim of a random rock draw that put her in a fatal position. (Ed. note: The most recent incarnation was S50's three-Tribal "Blood Moon," which Jeff Probst recently promised will be back.)

Returning Idols

Hidden Immunity Idols had been around since S11: Guatemala. Fifteen Idols had been found through S18: Tocantins, but only four of them were played. None of those four returned to the game to be found again. In fact, Probst made a point of telling the S16: Micronesia players that after Ozzy was blindsided while holding his Idol, that Idol would not return to the game. But instead, a new one would replace it.

The first time an Idol that was played returned to the game came in S19: Samoa. Both Erik and Russell played their Idols at Final 12. One of those Idols returned and was found by Russell, who played it again at Final 11. That same Idol returned again. Russell found it but didn’t play it, and arrogantly told the players he was gonna keep it as a souvenir. Since Samoa, 24 played Idols returned into circulation. Eighty-five Idols have been played but did not return into circulation. Included in those 85 are many that were played the last night the Idol was active. But also in that group are every Idol that left the game when its holder was blindsided (like Ozzy last season). Some of the Idols were never played at all (like Maryanne’s in Survivor 42).

Medallion of Power

S21: Nicaragua divided the initial tribes by age – 30 and younger vs 40 and older. The tribe that held the Medallion of Power (MOP) could use it to gain an advantage in an Immunity Challenge. Whether or not they won, the MOP would be surrendered to the other tribe which would have the option of using it at the next Immunity Challenge. The MOP proved to be fairly inconsequential and has never been used since then. It was possibly introduced to give the older tribe a chance to keep up with the physically-stronger younger tribe.

Challenge practice advantage/ disadvantages

In S29: San Juan del Sur, the late Keith Nale won a Reward Challenge that gave him the opportunity to practice for the next Immunity Challenge. It paid off for him as he won his third Immunity Challenge.

In S38: Edge of Extinction, Keith Sowell got sent to Extinction Island and found an Advantage. He could handicap another player wasting away on the Edge of Extinction in the upcoming re-entry challenge. Keith was mad at Chris Underwood for helping vote him out. His ploy worked as Rick Devens barely beat Chris to win his way back into the game at the merge. Later that season, Aubry Bracco found a practice Advantage. But despite being able to practice for the second re-entry challenge, she lost to Chris, who eventually won the entire game. The Disadvantage version returned in S40: Winners at War. Nick used it to handicap Ben, who lost Immunity to Michele. Then Nick got voted out. It returned in Tribal form in Survivor 49 (more on that later).

[Ed. note: Challenge advantages - that a contestant somehow acquires (auction buy, RC win, Ghost Island, item in camp), which give them a slight boost in a later immunity challenge - had been present since at least S11: Guatemala. They sometimes are slightly helpful (Danni Boatwright, Jaison Robinson, John Cochran), and sometimes not at all (Malcolm Freberg, Lindsay Dolashewich). These practice advantages are more comprehensive, although Wendell Holland had both an in-challenge and practice version of Malcolm's and it still didn't help.]

Extra Vote

In S30: Worlds Apart, Dan Foley became the first to receive an Extra Vote Advantage which could be used until the final 5. He tried to use it to remove Carolyn Rivera at final 6. Four players voted against the popular Carolyn, but they didn’t know she was holding an Idol. She saved herself with it and voted Dan out instead.

Many players have held an Extra Vote since S30 but the majority of them haven’t used it effectively. They’ve either used it when they didn’t need it, got voted out while still holding it, or intentionally burned it once others knew they had it. It has been rare that someone used it effectively like Cirie did to remove Emily last season.

In S35: HvHvH, a variation on the Extra Vote debuted, in which the player was allowed to not vote at one Tribal, but keep the parchment for a future Tribal: Bank A Vote. Lauren Rimmer earned the first one by giving up her vote at one Tribal Council, but she never used the extra vote. Another Lauren (Harpe) later had the same advantage in Survivor 44. After telling everyone she had it, Lauren gave it to Jaime Ruiz when she feared losing it to someone holding a Knowledge Is Power Advantage.

Steal a Vote

During a final 11 Challenge in S31: Cambodia, Stephen Fishbach outswam Spencer Bledsoe to win an Advantage that turned out to be a Vote Stealer. Stephen would be able to take someone’s vote at Tribal Council and use it to vote for anyone he wanted. He used it at final 9, stole Joey Amazing’s vote and used it to vote for Joe. He used his own vote against Abi-Maria. Unfortunately, Stephen didn’t know his ally Spencer had turned against him. Stephen got voted out 4-3-2. Several have held a Vote Stealer Advantage to mixed results. In recent seasons, Rome Cooney used one to vote out Kishan Patel in S47, Thomas Krottinger got voted out while holding one in S48, and last season, Stephenie LaGrossa stole Rick Devens’ vote and tried to remove Aubry, but got voted out 8-2 instead.

Create An Overpowered Idol

In S32: Kaoh Rong, any two Idols could be combined to form a Super Idol. Regular Idols had to be played after votes were cast but before the votes were read. But a Super (or Overpowered) Idol could be played AFTER the votes were read. Neal, Tai and Jason all found a regular Idol. Neal was medevaced at the merge and took his Idol with him, but Tai, Jason and Scot Pollard aligned together and shared the info about their Idols. Scot and Jason conspired to remove Aubry at final 8, but they didn’t know Aubry had bonded with Tai and convinced him to flip on them. Tai refused to share his Idol with Scot, who was voted out.

The two-piece Idol returned in revised form in S35: HvHvH. Lauren Rimmer found one at Final 7 and gave one half of it to Dr. Mike. He threw it in the fire at Tribal Council just before Lauren was voted out.

In S38: Edge of Extinction, Rick Devens won a challenge to return to the game at Final 15. He was given half of an Idol and was instructed to give the other half to a player who hadn’t been voted out. He gave his to David Wright, who combined the pieces and eventually used it when he didn’t need it. Later that season when Chris Underwood won his way back into the game, he gave half of his Idol to Devens, who didn’t need it because he already had a regular Idol. Devens gave his half Idol back to Chris, who saved himself with it at final 5.

Eliminate a Juror

Also in Kaoh Rong, a unique set of circumstances created a hole in the production schedule. Earlier in the season, players had their choice in what type of apparatus they could use at the end of a challenge. They chose the easier one. When Joe Del Campo was medevaced after a Final 5 Reward challenge, it threw the schedule off. If they proceeded as planned, the Final 3 would be determined on day 37 instead of day 38. So, Production used the apparatus the players passed on and inserted into day 38. The winner of this challenge would be able to remove one of the existing jurors. Michele won it and originally wanted to remove Joe since she was certain he’d vote for Aubry in the end. But then Tai talked her into removing Neal instead because Neal was more capable of convincing other jurors to vote for Aubry. Michele did as Tai asked and removed Neal.

Steal A Reward

In S33: Millennials vs. Gen X, Adam found a note at Treemail that enabled him to steal a Reward – individual or tribal – and use for himself. He promptly told Taylor about it, hoping he could regain trust after helping vote out Taylor’s partner Figgy. Taylor immediately told his other partner Jay, then exposed Adam’s Advantage at Tribal Council. In confessional, Adam realized this was more of a Disadvantage. Adam still held it at the Loved Ones Reward Challenge but tearfully claimed he didn’t have the heart to steal someone’s Loved Ones visit. Jay won the Loved Ones Reward and took Adam along as a guest. While on that Reward, Adam gave his Advantage to Jay, who eventually used it to steal a Steak Reward. But even though Jay took Adam and David along to enjoy the steak, they both helped vote him out at the next Tribal Council.

Legacy Advantage

Also in S33, Jessica Lewis found a note on day 1 that said if she was still in the game on Day 36, she’d get an Advantage. But her note didn’t specify what that Advantage would be. If she got voted out, she’d have to “will” it to another player. Jessica told Ken about it at final 16 and was eliminated in a rock draw at final 10. She gave it to Ken. The Advantage turned out to be Immunity. Ken played it at final 6 but didn’t need it.

In S34: Game Changers, Sarah Lacina got one after Sierra was voted out and used it to save herself at the final 6 Advantagegeddon that eliminated Cirie. Domenick also held one in S36: Ghost Island. He played it at final 13, but didn’t need it.

Two tribes, one Tribal Council

S34: Game Changers started with two tribes, then swapped to 3 tribes at Final 17. After the Immunity Challenge, Probst separately told the two losing tribes that they’d be attending Tribal Council with the other losing tribe where one person would be voted out. Tai ended up playing his Idol to save Sierra, and Malcolm was voted out. This twist was used again in Season 38.

Counsel from a former winner

Also in S34, Debbie was sent to Exile, which turned out to be an afternoon on a luxury yacht where she got game advice from Cochran. He offered her a choice of three Advantages: 1) A kit to make a phony Idol, 2) A Tribal Challenge advantage, or 3) An Extra Vote. She took the Extra Vote and used it to vote Ozzy out, but it wasn’t the deciding vote as he was removed 7-4-1-1. This twist was brought back in S39: Island of the Idols in the form of Sandra and Boston Rob, who counseled players sent to the titular Island. That season’s winner Tommy never made that trip.

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So, there you have it. Clearly Survivor likes twists and advantages, but Producers didn’t really start showing how much they liked them until they went into twist overdrive starting in S35. In Part 2 (next week), I’ll recap the avalanche of twists and advantages that buried player creativity since S34. Let me know if I’ve missed anything in part 1 in the comments.