Survivor: Kaoh Rong -- Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty is going to have a brand new batch of first-time castaways and a brand new twist.
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The franchise's upcoming 32nd season will feature a twist when it comes to hidden Immunity Idols that's never been done before in the history of the franchise. Last season, idol clues were hidden at camp but the idols themselves could only be grabbed during an Immunity Challenge.
This time around, if a player has two hidden Immunity Idols in his or her possession, they can be combined for one ultimate power.
"This season, the hidden Immunity Idol is used like never before. The big idol twist this season is that an idol has two separate powers," host Jeff Probst told Entertainment Weekly.
"If you find an idol, it has the regular powers of a normal idol, But when put together with another idol -- two can actually fit together -- they can be used as one super idol that can be played after the votes are read."
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Probst elaborated on what this change could mean for the game.
"If an idol is used alone it plays as always -- after the votes are cast but before they are read. But if you find someone else who has an idol and you are willing to combine your idols and play them together for one move, then you can play the idol after the votes have been cast and after they have been read," he explained.
Probst said having two hidden Immunity Idols is essentially a "free pass" to safety.
"But you can obviously only use it for one person, so that means that you have to have a strong alliance because at least one of you is giving up their own personal protection to save their partner or possibly a third person," he clarified. "It has the potential to be a massive game changer, but like all big moves it requires a big risk."
The change in rules could drastically impact the strategy behind Survivor because only the castaways who find the idols will know about how their power works.
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"A fun by-product of Survivor having been played so many times is that not everybody believes everything they are being told," Probst told EW. "This could be a situation where someone shares the info with an alliance member but isn't believed because it's just too outrageous. In this sense, the history of Survivor has become its own twist."
It's still possible, however, for a player to just hold onto his or her two idols and play them separately at different Tribal Councils.
"You have the security of knowing you cannot be voted out," the host explained. "You simply play them both together and their power is unstoppable. But, it's a very rare situation for someone to have two idols."
Rare? Yes. But Survivor: Cambodia -- Second Chance winner Jeremy Collins had two idols in his possession just last season. Kelley Wentworth also found two idols, but she didn't hold onto them at the same time.
"The other scenario is you have to seek out someone else who has an idol and convince them to trust you -- another rare event -- enough to use your idols together," Probst continued.
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Survivor's next season already filmed on the island of Kaoh Rong in Cambodia and will premiere Wednesday, February 17 with a special 90-minute episode at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski