The thirty-second season of Survivor recently kicked off on February 17th and the drama is as strong as ever before! Eighteen castaways must compete in a variety of challenges and vote each other off the island until the audience is left with the final three. It is at that point, voting is turned over to the public and viewers get the chance to participate in choosing the final winner. 

This season, contestants must battle each other, as well as the brutal weather conditions of Cambodia. The hidden immunity idol, first introduced in Season 11: Guatemala, is a small talisman which protects the contestant regardless of whether or not they have immunity. Throughout the years, the hidden immunity idol has gone through massive changes. Originally, the idol could be played after the votes had been read, but after complaints of it having too much power, produces insisted idols be used before players went up to place their vote. This change was criticized for nullifying the power of the idol too much, so producers changed it once again. Players now have to use the idol after votes have been cast but before they are read aloud. This rule has stayed the same ever since it was implemented, although many changes have been made as to where exactly one could find the idol, as well as the difficulty in obtaining it. Players at the top of their tribe have seen their chances of success crumble right in front of their eyes with the use of an idol. Because idols play such a huge role in the competition, players are always looking for this extra advantage.

This brings us to the shows most current season in which the audience saw two contestants retrieve an idol. Both contestants had to go through a tedious and difficult process before they could be rewarded. First, they had to find a clue, which said the idol was buried at the base of the tree only to then find out the idol was in a locked box. The player was given a tool which they have to use to push the key out of a box high up in a tree. This key would then be used to unlock the box and retrieve the idol. In Episode Three, viewers watched contestant Tai scramble to climb a tree in order to retrieve the key to the locked box containing the idol. The skin on Tai’s feet were torn off as a result and while the process does not seem too bad to the novice viewer, one must point out that never before has a person had to shed blood in order to get an idol.

So is the new way of retrieving an idol utterly ridiculous? To answer that question we must reflect on past seasons. It appears as though the difficulty of retrieving the idol varies greatly from season to season. Some idols are buried at the base of trees while others are hidden in nearly impossible to reach places. Personally, I think the idol is too hard to find and retrieve this season, but what do you think?