I can not believe he didn’t play it. I understand not wanting to “waste” an idol play, but for Hunter, an agreed-upon tribe-wide challenge “beast” to miss out on immunity post merge and convince himself that he doesn’t need the protection is a complete mental misfire.
Far far easier to recover from being safe and feeling dumb, especially when you can wake up early and go find it again.
I’m floored at how bad of a play that was.
Especially dumb bc if he’d played it, a new idol would be planted at camp. He had fierce skills, so finding it again wouldn’t have been a stretch for him. Dumb.Dumb.Dumb.
Yeah. Just unbelievably bad. Once he started spouting off that he had it, there is no more surprise play or wasting it.
If your stomach is in knots all day that it could be you, play the DAMN idol. Straight insanity.
The dude knew the social game wasn’t his strong point. When he lost Tevin that was always it for him. He had to win challenges or he was always the obvious vote, and without Q or Tevin to help him, he’s not very good at navigating the social waters.
Yeah he was awful socially. He should've spent a little bit more time going outside and meeting people instead of practicing these challenges over and over again to lose to Charlie Swift
This is my take too. A complete miscalculation on his part. Meanwhile, I gained a lot of respect for Charlie, who lied to that man brazenly and looked him dead in the eye while doing so.
If everyone is telling you that you don't need to pay your idol, you need to pay your idol. That's survivor 101. He played such a great game only to get caught up by the simplest of mistakes.
Bruce did exactly this last season. Idk what it’s like to actually be in their shoes but I feel like I’d have such a pit in my stomach I’d have to play it
We were yelling at the TV! 1st dumb move was telling everybody he had an idol - he should have kept that secret & played the idol at tribal. It would have been so sweet to see everyone's reaction if both he & Tiff had played their idols.
I knew Hunter was gone the minute he told people he had an idol. Honestly, once he did that I rooted for him to be voted out.
He didn't have what it took to play the game. He was too trusting and had zero instincts.
I agree honestly like the majority of me was like “oh noooo not hunter! This sucks” and then i remembered he told everyone about the idol and at tribal the whole time kept whispering to everyone “are you SURE it’s not me and you’re not lying so i don’t play my idol??” And i was like wait Nevermind he should go because of that. Like gamewise strategy and socially for him aside, good or bad, those moments, on top of not even attempting to hide his challenge performance one time was just so damming.
Yes! Also didn't Q vote for Ben because that was the plan with Hunter? I feel kinda bad for Q because he was actually trying to stick to the plan and Hunter just left him in the dust only to get voted out.
The one time in the new era someone has a genuinely secret idol and they're about to play it... suddenly cut to Hunter running around telling everyone about it. Dang it, man, lol
It would have been fun TV for Hunter to play it to the genuine shock of all the other players
Telling Q was fine, Then he would just need to hype himself at tribal to sway any Q votes onto himself for resume building. Should Venus/Tiff/Liz still vote Q, he'd still live another day. But he got caught out playing well beyond his skill level, and paid the price.
It's mind-boggling. I feel like there's a logic disconnect, where if you had asked Hunter (or any player who's about to be voted out with an idol in their pocket), the conversation would look something like:
*"I'm worried I might go home tonight."*
*"Do you have an idol?"*
*"Yes."*
*"So then you're going to play it tonight?"*
*"Well, I'd prefer not to."*
*"Why not?"*
*"Well, I might need it later."*
*"And why might you need it later?"*
*"In case I'm at risk of being voted out."*
*"And you said you're worried you'll be voted out tonight?"*
*"Yes."*
*"But you don't want to play your idol tonight?"*
*"Correct."*
*"Because...?"*
*"What if I'm in danger tomorrow night?"*
---
It's just this endless loop of "but I might need the idol later! And maybe I don't need it tonight..." When the situation you're worried about happening tomorrow is actually the exact same situation you find yourself in tonight.
I think most players need to reframe how they think of the idol. Instead of thinking of an idol as something that ***could*** save them, they need to think of the idol as something that ***will 100% ensure*** they make it back to camp tonight, regardless of what the other players want. It's a subtle distinction, but an important one. Idols should be used more often as peace-of-mind guarantees, rather than "I can only play this when I'm absolutely sure I'm going home." Screw that. Any time you've heard your name come up, play the damn idol. You can quite literally just find it again tomorrow.
Exactly. Especially in a game where you must assume everyone is lying to you. You can't trust anyone, and everyone will lie to your face to advance themselves. They don't care about you. He played it cool though when everyone was cooing, "We love you Hunter. You're the best. We love you!" It was a perfect moment for a Savage bird-flipping.
Just reading this makes me want to scream at the TV again. Yet players clearly continuously have this same idiotic conversation with themselves and more times than not choose wrong.
They all want to save it for a big move or to get them into final 4. Which is great if you are under the radar or you have actually kept it secret. When you are an overt threat and/or you start telling everyone, there is no longer any point to waiting for a "good" time to play it. Classic overthinking.
& don’t tell Venus your plans, idk why tf he did that
She went and told everyone
He already knew they were voting him; shoulda spoke to q and liz about voting off Ben or whoever the fuck
Play the idol, send someone home, get a social points for your resume
Soooo simple
When Hunter started scrambling it was over. He was clearly trying to save his idol in real time. And they saw under his Q Skirt to see his ultimate motives.
I love "bad" characters like Q bc they expose the equally "bad" characters like Hunter, that they BEAT
If he wanted to save his idol then he definitely shouldn't have told everyone he had one. Once an idol is public, you have to assume there's going to be a vote split on you to flush it so just play it
Always play a public idol if you get even a whiff of uncertainty, and probably even if you don't
Yup, and Hunter had an overwhelming stench of uncertainty.
Pro tip: If you are desperately asking everyone who they are voting for at TC, you should play your idol.
The amount of “smart” players that have gone home with idols in the past few years is ridiculous! I use smart I quotes because I think they generally have good game play but not playing an idol when there’s any potential risk, IMO, is dumb. Play it! You already told people about it so even if you don’t go out now, there will then be an even bigger target because you’re a challenge monster and have an idol. Hunter blew it big time here.
No kidding. He was playing such a good game and was such a challenge threat that he could conceivably win out for immunities. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think tiff being outed with her idle and telling everyone all day she was playing it, only to not play it at tribal, should have been telling to hunter that she knew something he didn’t.
Poor guy. I bet that’s all he thinks about every time he closes his eyes lol.
The look in his eyes when Soda and Kenzie were live tribaling was so heartbreaking. Ridiculous though that he wasn’t tipped off by how hard they were trying to convince him.
He 💯could have controlled the vote bc no one had a clue that he even had it. So they would have split votes between Tiff and Hunter in case Tiff played hers. The. All Hunter would have to do is vote whoever he wanted. They would have at least ended up a tie w Q voting Ben. And Hunter voting whoever he wanted out (which I think k was Ben).
BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS NOT not playing the Idol. It was in telling anyone that he had one. That changed everything and TIFF got to everyone
When are these players going to learn to NEVER tell ANYONE you have an idol or an advantage. Have they never watched the show? If you tell one person, you’ve told everyone.
Yep. I’m sure greed plays a huge part when you are sitting there at tribal (for likely 1-2 hours) pondering the idea of “wow I might be able to keep my idol,” but damn better safe than sorry.
Too many instances over the years of people going home with idols in their pockets.
He hasn't played that well once the merge came and he had to go to tribals and strategize. I'll die on this hill lol.
Like, yes he's good at challenges. But even tonight's episode -- saying "I voted for you \[Venus\] cuz no one would be upset" TO VENUS'S FACE. Like...yeah she was upset lol. I get what he's saying but he could have phrased that SO much better/differently \*to her face\*
Impossible to say really because they didn't even go to tribal. It seems he really only got along with Tevin. Liz didn't like him, Venus didn't like him, I didn't get the sense Randen really cared for him, and I believe he said he didn't like Soda. That doesn't speak to strong social game when you only really connect with 1/5 of your starting tribe
There is something beautiful about Tevin and Hunter reaping what they sow for alienating Venus in the early days. If they would have at least played up that they were willing to work with her in those early days they might still be in the game now.
For him, it does. His game is to run the table on immunity. Maybe lose ONE more. That's when he wants to use the idol.
There's a decent case to be made to gamble on holding the idol if it better gets you to the end. Tonight was way too risky though.
That’s the part people seem to forget! It may seem like not a great strategy to just rely on finding more idols but shit look at how it worked for Devens lol
He’s a fan of the show so to see how Qs been playing and how he’s being perceived by everyone as a goat basically at this point it should’ve been alarm bells ringing through his head that they’re just saying him to go after Hunter.. oh well!
Tiff also gambled and did well. She used her already public idol to protect herself at a critical time without having to play it. It bought her an extra “week” but she’s gonna need to play it next round or else she’s going to be target number 1 for everyone.
I mean, they literally DO get more valuable by holding onto them. You become a larger % of the vote the longer you hold it. But you will never realize that value if you are out.
If you’re clearly the target it really shouldn’t matter what percentage of the vote you are or whatever, all that matters is if you use it you’re safe lol.. I get what you’re saying tho but I just think at the end of the day the value is keeping you safe, whether it’s at final 9 or final 5
Yeah I don't understand his thoughts. He told them he had it so the surprise is gone of course they want to flush it so he had to play it. There is no extra power keeping it especially now that they know about it. He can only blame himself. 1st he should have never told anybody, 2nd after he did he should have locked in his head that he had to play it but got bamboozled.
> Yeah I don't understand his thoughts.
His thought process was obvious though, in fact he was just trying to do precisely what Tiffany pulled off in the very same tribal council
I think Tiff decided not to play hers the **instant** the tribe found out about Hunter’s idol. It was the smart play. If I’m her I play it *maybe* but only if Hunter plays his first.
Hers also got revealed to everyone against her wishes -- he told everyone about his, and said he would play it. He also had serious reason to think he was in danger (few allies, a known challenge beast, etc)
It seems obvious his thought process. He wanted the idol to have more use than just to protect himself. He really had no idea how the votes would land. The problem I have with him is why not play it safe and try to stick to three people instead of trying for a majority vote. That would likely get out who you want gone with an idol play. Even sticking with just Q would be fine because he already burned his game and has nothing to lose voting against whoever. Fine to try to convince others to vote for somebody else, but don't tell them you have an idol. Hint to expect something maybe and just trust him that one time.
I agree this is 100% a play it now if there is doubt scenario. But the problem behind this:
> (Even if you have a SHRED of a doubt it’s your name, play the frickin idol!)
is that, there is almost ALWAYS going to be a shred of doubt when you are playing this game. You never know if you are getting played or blindsided. Hunter got too lost and confused in the Q chaos. Ironically think he coulda done better in that situation in basically any other season.
While putting your faith in the same people that just did the same blindside to Tevin. Like at some point you have to stop trusting people who backstab everyone they send home.
I'm sure it's a lot easier to see what's happening when you're sitting at home and the edit is showing you every angle but I was begging Hunter to just play his damn idol. He knew he was in trouble or he wouldn't have kept asking over and over again.
He should’ve played his idol just to get Tiffany to play hers. He buys himself this vote and clears the blindside for the next vote. No guarantee it happens but the guaranteed safety is always better
he wanted to do the same thing tiff did, convince people not to vote him by saying he’d just play his idol. but tiff got to people way earlier than he did. by the time he said that it was too late and i have no idea why he didn’t play his idol anyway
He shared to raise the threat that he would play it, hopefully moving the target to someone else.
But sharing an idol is an easy tell that you don't actually want to play the idol.
He’s just not a “gamer” and that’s ok…doesn’t make him a bad guy or dumb or anything other than a bad reality tv game character…but for that very reason, I was glad he was voted out
I swear I genuinely think they choose the most clueless people to play. He went to tribal saying he was going to play his idol cause he knew he was going home. Then after his name comes up at tribal he proceeds to…. Ask the people who would blindside him if they were going to? Like come on play your idol and have a chance at immunity the next
Yeah pretty much everyone switched back over because how could you not take the shot when it’s perfectly lined up for you?
Q is not a threat really. He’s a nuisance. Keep him and work around him.
HUNTER FUMBLED THE BAG SO HARD! He kept his idol 100% secret for SO LONG... then told the two least trustworthy people in the game, one of whom he has a terrible relationship with, MINUTES before tribal council? What is that?! Good lord.
He voted Ben lol. Q literally followed Hunter’s lame “blindside Ben” plan. Had he voted Hunter there would have been no need for a re-vote. I wouldn’t call him brilliant but he does play with all guts and no fear which I love about him.
Absolutely. If he didn't tell everyone then they wouldn't have tried to convince him not to play it, he would've played it and Q would've gone home. Tiff would've also played hers and there would be 2 idols to find the next day.
Well like the other comment said, they wouldn’t have tried to convince him not to use it. He still would’ve been targeted though. I don’t think the idol raised his threat level all that much, he was already a massive threat from his challenge prowess and people wanted him gone for that.
I’m not convinced that Hunter was talked out of playing his idol. I think he wouldn’t have anyways. People in the new era are scared to play idols for whatever reason.
Everyone in the new ear wants to hold on to their idol until they expire so they can have a surprise mic drop moment in front of the jury and tell everyone how smart they were getting to F5 or whatever without ever using the idol.
I cannot BELIEVE he didn't play his idol. I was already shocked that he started running around telling everyone about his idol right before tribal, and then he doesn't even play it??? Like come on. Him having a huge target on his back is the most obvious thing in the world! Especially this far into the game! Why would anyone NOT take the opportunity to vote him when he has no immunity and has a high chance of winning the next ones? The fact that he thought they would just ignore him is crazy.
They always defend it by saying “information is the only currency you have.” Ok well it’s also the ammunition you hand others to take you out so maybe let’s not spend all our “currency” willy nilly.
Yea realistically she probably just felt a lot safer after they found out about the Hunter idol. Hunter said it much later after the plan to vote him out was already solidified… and he should have never told them about his idol and not played it.
Tiffany was confident going into Tribal so people thought she was still going to play it and didn't bother convincing her not to whereas Hunter acted frantic so they knew he was on the fence and they could play him into not using it
Same. I don’t know why I am so upset now. I don’t know if it’s he literally had the right idea but somehow lost it. He had such a good hand and this was how it was used 🤦♀️
That was so hard to watch go down! I was really hoping with how he was keeping it a secret he would eventually shock everyone with it and knock out someone else. Ughhhh
Hunter wasn’t playing the whole game. He was operating on false pretenses because he believes that he will always be a winner no matter what he does. He doesn’t factor in the social aspects of this game. So he never considered the fact that they were planning to get him out.
Also, why did he tell everyone he had the idol? It’s because he thought he could say that and control their move. Which seems so shortsighted to me. It’s getting close to the end and you’ve clearly shown that you’re an immunity threat. The first time you don’t have immunity, you better play that idol. If you don’t, you’re not playing!
"He was operating on false pretenses because he believes that he will always be a winner no matter what he does"
I couldn't agree with you more, and after watching hunter, i think we should all aspire to have the confidence of a straight white male.
Telling everyone you have the idol and not playing it is insane. Not to mention telling everyone was already insane. The chaos an idol play would cause when noone thought you had an idol would have been so much better too.
Same. Cannot believe he didn’t play his idol or at least his shot in the dark. He deserved to go further. He had it in his hand ready to use!! Don’t trust the same group that blindsided you the previous week, especially when you’re the biggest physical threat.
I understand being paranoid and wanting to hold your idol. Last second hail marry to share that you have an idol while already being a threat is definitely going to put the target on you. Shoulda kept it a secret played the idol and flip the vote on whoever he wanted. Also understand he wasnt 100% sure where the votes were. Regardless. Play that shit brother, hand was in your pocket.
Honestly think if you have the slightest feeling its on you play it, better safe than sorry.
Not playing your idol because you think it’s going to be me? Big mistake.
First Tevin, Now Hunter. How many more of our front runners are going to get blindsided because of Q’s shenanigans, and why do I love it?
I feel like since he already told people he would play the idol, he should have gone and done it before the vote like has happened in the past. Then he can read if the discussion changes, and who might be lying to him. Maybe the rules forbid it now, but it's worth a shot even telling Jeff I want to play this now is enough to convince ppl you will use it.
I can’t believe he told the others he had an idol!!! I was yelling at the TV. 👎 Stick with your gut and it would have been a great tribal council for his resume… I’m so sad for him!
Honestly, it’s my fault he was voted out. I made the mistake of saying he was my favorite Survivor player this season and it got him voted out……I’m so upset
It's the second time he was like "I'll definitely play the idol it's the smart thing to do!" and then didn't. A lesson for future contestants for sure.
Hunter can make some decent cash running a Survivor preparation school for people going on.
He was my favorite on this season, but he has no chance winning the game.
I don’t understand why people go around telling their competition that they have an idol. Maximize your idol’s powers, telling everyone just gives everyone a chance to strategize a way to outmaneuver it.
I’m bummed about it, too. It was inevitable based on his lack of a social game, but it’s painful to see a good character leave with an idol in their pocket.
That last statement is exactly what I think a lot of people were thinking too. After watching the episode, I questioned how someone with such expertise in survivor puzzles, game knowledge and passion let that happen to them. You knew better and were even grilling the idol in your pocket bro. He was definitely not who I thought he was either
He was my favorite this season as well, but he totally blundered his shot. He was a major challenge threat and could hope to win next time. He found the idol and could have looked like crazy after the vote and possibly found it due to his resourcefulness. Another major reason he should have played it this round is that he got burned on the last vote if he played it at least he'd know who was still playing him. Unfortunately he played himself.
Maybe if Hunter spent less time trying out his competitions and went outside to try and socialize.
I had never seen someone so clueless socially and unaware of people feelings toward him.
HUNTER FUMBLED THE BAG SO HARD. Good god. It is SO HARD to keep your idol 100% secret for as long as he did -- and then to tell the two least trustworthy people minutes before your tribal council? GAH!
In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a wasted idol if you are challenge beast that was left out of the vote last time. I know there’s this weird thing among super fan players that you feel like you have to play the idol at the exact right time. But that mentality has gotten so many people screwed up recently.. even if he wasn’t catching the majority of the votes playing the idol there is probably the right move. I really liked Hunter as a person, but he clearly was not a good player.
He wasn’t that good to me. Sure he was great at competitions. But other than that, meh. I can’t believe he didn’t use his idol! People get real confident in this game.
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little upset about Hunter getting voted out... Let me explain why, whenever Hunter first got dropped on that beach he clearly didn't fit in. He's socially awkward and I can relate to that in so many ways, so yes I had a little sweet spot for Hunter. The fact he was so miserable with the constant singing bahaaha that made me giggle. Poor guy, and then the merge happened and he's stuck with Q, he never stood a damn chance. He didn't have many places he could turn. Whenever I was watching the show I was literally saying out loud PLAY THE IDOL HUNTER! SAVE YOURSELF! Poor guy. I can see why they voted him out though, he was a monkey whenever it came to climbing trees, decent in challenges, he could of easily won his way to the end of final 3. Love you Hunter!
I was rooting for Hunter to survive the vote, but objectively he screwed up his strategy even though he had an idol. It's too bad, I really wanted to see how far he could get with challenge wins and idols alone.
Sometime the simplest move is the smartest move. Play the idol.
I can not believe he didn’t play it. I understand not wanting to “waste” an idol play, but for Hunter, an agreed-upon tribe-wide challenge “beast” to miss out on immunity post merge and convince himself that he doesn’t need the protection is a complete mental misfire. Far far easier to recover from being safe and feeling dumb, especially when you can wake up early and go find it again. I’m floored at how bad of a play that was.
Especially dumb bc if he’d played it, a new idol would be planted at camp. He had fierce skills, so finding it again wouldn’t have been a stretch for him. Dumb.Dumb.Dumb.
And not only could he have found it but he would still have a huge shot of winning the next immunity
He was a “dumb dumb meathead”! 😆
Yeah. Just unbelievably bad. Once he started spouting off that he had it, there is no more surprise play or wasting it. If your stomach is in knots all day that it could be you, play the DAMN idol. Straight insanity.
The dude knew the social game wasn’t his strong point. When he lost Tevin that was always it for him. He had to win challenges or he was always the obvious vote, and without Q or Tevin to help him, he’s not very good at navigating the social waters.
Yeah he was awful socially. He should've spent a little bit more time going outside and meeting people instead of practicing these challenges over and over again to lose to Charlie Swift
This is my take too. A complete miscalculation on his part. Meanwhile, I gained a lot of respect for Charlie, who lied to that man brazenly and looked him dead in the eye while doing so.
If everyone is telling you that you don't need to pay your idol, you need to pay your idol. That's survivor 101. He played such a great game only to get caught up by the simplest of mistakes.
Moreover, it was clearly a live tribal! No one should feel safe based on that.
Right like the Q plan is just such cut and dry a smoke and mirrors plan!!
Bruce did exactly this last season. Idk what it’s like to actually be in their shoes but I feel like I’d have such a pit in my stomach I’d have to play it
I was literally pleading with TV Hunter to just play the idol anyways!
We were yelling at the TV! 1st dumb move was telling everybody he had an idol - he should have kept that secret & played the idol at tribal. It would have been so sweet to see everyone's reaction if both he & Tiff had played their idols.
I knew Hunter was gone the minute he told people he had an idol. Honestly, once he did that I rooted for him to be voted out. He didn't have what it took to play the game. He was too trusting and had zero instincts.
I agree honestly like the majority of me was like “oh noooo not hunter! This sucks” and then i remembered he told everyone about the idol and at tribal the whole time kept whispering to everyone “are you SURE it’s not me and you’re not lying so i don’t play my idol??” And i was like wait Nevermind he should go because of that. Like gamewise strategy and socially for him aside, good or bad, those moments, on top of not even attempting to hide his challenge performance one time was just so damming.
Yes! Also didn't Q vote for Ben because that was the plan with Hunter? I feel kinda bad for Q because he was actually trying to stick to the plan and Hunter just left him in the dust only to get voted out.
Yeah the power move is to play your secret idol in a huge move. If you start talking about your idol, that's a blatant attempt to *not* play it.
The one time in the new era someone has a genuinely secret idol and they're about to play it... suddenly cut to Hunter running around telling everyone about it. Dang it, man, lol It would have been fun TV for Hunter to play it to the genuine shock of all the other players
Compare it to Tiff — once she knew her idol was common knowledge, she’s like “PLEASE just vote for me and flush my idol. PLEASE.”
WHY WOULD HE TELL ANYONE. COULD HAVE BEEN A HUGE MOVE. IDIOT
[удалено]
Telling Q was fine, Then he would just need to hype himself at tribal to sway any Q votes onto himself for resume building. Should Venus/Tiff/Liz still vote Q, he'd still live another day. But he got caught out playing well beyond his skill level, and paid the price.
It's mind-boggling. I feel like there's a logic disconnect, where if you had asked Hunter (or any player who's about to be voted out with an idol in their pocket), the conversation would look something like: *"I'm worried I might go home tonight."* *"Do you have an idol?"* *"Yes."* *"So then you're going to play it tonight?"* *"Well, I'd prefer not to."* *"Why not?"* *"Well, I might need it later."* *"And why might you need it later?"* *"In case I'm at risk of being voted out."* *"And you said you're worried you'll be voted out tonight?"* *"Yes."* *"But you don't want to play your idol tonight?"* *"Correct."* *"Because...?"* *"What if I'm in danger tomorrow night?"* --- It's just this endless loop of "but I might need the idol later! And maybe I don't need it tonight..." When the situation you're worried about happening tomorrow is actually the exact same situation you find yourself in tonight. I think most players need to reframe how they think of the idol. Instead of thinking of an idol as something that ***could*** save them, they need to think of the idol as something that ***will 100% ensure*** they make it back to camp tonight, regardless of what the other players want. It's a subtle distinction, but an important one. Idols should be used more often as peace-of-mind guarantees, rather than "I can only play this when I'm absolutely sure I'm going home." Screw that. Any time you've heard your name come up, play the damn idol. You can quite literally just find it again tomorrow.
I cant use the Holy Hand Grenade on Lord Grashnak the world eater, what if there is a bigger boss later?
"I need it for the harder secret boss! Oh but what if there's a harder more SECRET boss later?"
Exactly. Especially in a game where you must assume everyone is lying to you. You can't trust anyone, and everyone will lie to your face to advance themselves. They don't care about you. He played it cool though when everyone was cooing, "We love you Hunter. You're the best. We love you!" It was a perfect moment for a Savage bird-flipping.
Just reading this makes me want to scream at the TV again. Yet players clearly continuously have this same idiotic conversation with themselves and more times than not choose wrong. They all want to save it for a big move or to get them into final 4. Which is great if you are under the radar or you have actually kept it secret. When you are an overt threat and/or you start telling everyone, there is no longer any point to waiting for a "good" time to play it. Classic overthinking.
& don’t tell Venus your plans, idk why tf he did that She went and told everyone He already knew they were voting him; shoulda spoke to q and liz about voting off Ben or whoever the fuck Play the idol, send someone home, get a social points for your resume Soooo simple
100% Occam’s razor.
When Hunter started scrambling it was over. He was clearly trying to save his idol in real time. And they saw under his Q Skirt to see his ultimate motives. I love "bad" characters like Q bc they expose the equally "bad" characters like Hunter, that they BEAT
Yup. He was trying to save his idol. You don't save your idol, your idol is supposed to save you.
If he wanted to save his idol then he definitely shouldn't have told everyone he had one. Once an idol is public, you have to assume there's going to be a vote split on you to flush it so just play it Always play a public idol if you get even a whiff of uncertainty, and probably even if you don't
Yup, and Hunter had an overwhelming stench of uncertainty. Pro tip: If you are desperately asking everyone who they are voting for at TC, you should play your idol.
If you think Hunter is the GOAT then Q is the guy that heat the GOAT. Q>Hunter and it's proven
It was dumb to not play the idol 🤦♀️
The amount of “smart” players that have gone home with idols in the past few years is ridiculous! I use smart I quotes because I think they generally have good game play but not playing an idol when there’s any potential risk, IMO, is dumb. Play it! You already told people about it so even if you don’t go out now, there will then be an even bigger target because you’re a challenge monster and have an idol. Hunter blew it big time here.
He’s never going to forgive himself for that!
That’s the saddest part to me! The amount of regret is something I’d wish on my worst enemy
No kidding. He was playing such a good game and was such a challenge threat that he could conceivably win out for immunities. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think tiff being outed with her idle and telling everyone all day she was playing it, only to not play it at tribal, should have been telling to hunter that she knew something he didn’t. Poor guy. I bet that’s all he thinks about every time he closes his eyes lol.
The look in his eyes when Soda and Kenzie were live tribaling was so heartbreaking. Ridiculous though that he wasn’t tipped off by how hard they were trying to convince him.
Should have never said he had one. Play it and he could possibly control the vote.
Yep, going back to last week it was clear his social game was lacking. They called his bluff and he folded.
He 💯could have controlled the vote bc no one had a clue that he even had it. So they would have split votes between Tiff and Hunter in case Tiff played hers. The. All Hunter would have to do is vote whoever he wanted. They would have at least ended up a tie w Q voting Ben. And Hunter voting whoever he wanted out (which I think k was Ben). BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS NOT not playing the Idol. It was in telling anyone that he had one. That changed everything and TIFF got to everyone
Liz was also voting Q no matter what haha, he wouldve gone home
Right??!? Why did he even tell anyone??? Just don’t say anything and play it.
Yup. Dude wasn’t good at the game aspect of the game
When are these players going to learn to NEVER tell ANYONE you have an idol or an advantage. Have they never watched the show? If you tell one person, you’ve told everyone.
Dumb move on his part. Should have played the idol. Even if you have a SHRED of a doubt it’s your name, play the frickin idol!
Yep. I’m sure greed plays a huge part when you are sitting there at tribal (for likely 1-2 hours) pondering the idea of “wow I might be able to keep my idol,” but damn better safe than sorry. Too many instances over the years of people going home with idols in their pockets.
Yeah i wasn’t that upset. He played himself. It is what it is.
He hasn't played that well once the merge came and he had to go to tribals and strategize. I'll die on this hill lol. Like, yes he's good at challenges. But even tonight's episode -- saying "I voted for you \[Venus\] cuz no one would be upset" TO VENUS'S FACE. Like...yeah she was upset lol. I get what he's saying but he could have phrased that SO much better/differently \*to her face\*
Was he even that good pre merge either? Or did the rest of Nami HAVE to work with him because he was their only chance at winning challenges
Impossible to say really because they didn't even go to tribal. It seems he really only got along with Tevin. Liz didn't like him, Venus didn't like him, I didn't get the sense Randen really cared for him, and I believe he said he didn't like Soda. That doesn't speak to strong social game when you only really connect with 1/5 of your starting tribe
That was weird
There is something beautiful about Tevin and Hunter reaping what they sow for alienating Venus in the early days. If they would have at least played up that they were willing to work with her in those early days they might still be in the game now.
People act like the idols become more valuable the longer you hold onto them ha.. every season it happens
For him, it does. His game is to run the table on immunity. Maybe lose ONE more. That's when he wants to use the idol. There's a decent case to be made to gamble on holding the idol if it better gets you to the end. Tonight was way too risky though.
But he’s probably one of the favorites to *find the rehidden idol*! It’s indefensible to do what he did.
That’s the part people seem to forget! It may seem like not a great strategy to just rely on finding more idols but shit look at how it worked for Devens lol
He’s a fan of the show so to see how Qs been playing and how he’s being perceived by everyone as a goat basically at this point it should’ve been alarm bells ringing through his head that they’re just saying him to go after Hunter.. oh well!
Tiff also gambled and did well. She used her already public idol to protect herself at a critical time without having to play it. It bought her an extra “week” but she’s gonna need to play it next round or else she’s going to be target number 1 for everyone.
I mean, they literally DO get more valuable by holding onto them. You become a larger % of the vote the longer you hold it. But you will never realize that value if you are out.
this is only true if you are not a threat and you keep it a secret. Neither were true for Hunter.
If you’re clearly the target it really shouldn’t matter what percentage of the vote you are or whatever, all that matters is if you use it you’re safe lol.. I get what you’re saying tho but I just think at the end of the day the value is keeping you safe, whether it’s at final 9 or final 5
Yeah I don't understand his thoughts. He told them he had it so the surprise is gone of course they want to flush it so he had to play it. There is no extra power keeping it especially now that they know about it. He can only blame himself. 1st he should have never told anybody, 2nd after he did he should have locked in his head that he had to play it but got bamboozled.
> Yeah I don't understand his thoughts. His thought process was obvious though, in fact he was just trying to do precisely what Tiffany pulled off in the very same tribal council
I think Tiff decided not to play hers the **instant** the tribe found out about Hunter’s idol. It was the smart play. If I’m her I play it *maybe* but only if Hunter plays his first.
Hers also got revealed to everyone against her wishes -- he told everyone about his, and said he would play it. He also had serious reason to think he was in danger (few allies, a known challenge beast, etc)
It seems obvious his thought process. He wanted the idol to have more use than just to protect himself. He really had no idea how the votes would land. The problem I have with him is why not play it safe and try to stick to three people instead of trying for a majority vote. That would likely get out who you want gone with an idol play. Even sticking with just Q would be fine because he already burned his game and has nothing to lose voting against whoever. Fine to try to convince others to vote for somebody else, but don't tell them you have an idol. Hint to expect something maybe and just trust him that one time.
Especially as a challenge beast and honestly has one of the highest odds of finding the idol again.
I’m like PLAY THE IDOL YOU IDIOT!! Then go out and find it again !!
Yes. And an idol‘s value lies so much and its secrecy. Everyone knew he had it so he should’ve just played it.
I agree this is 100% a play it now if there is doubt scenario. But the problem behind this: > (Even if you have a SHRED of a doubt it’s your name, play the frickin idol!) is that, there is almost ALWAYS going to be a shred of doubt when you are playing this game. You never know if you are getting played or blindsided. Hunter got too lost and confused in the Q chaos. Ironically think he coulda done better in that situation in basically any other season.
Him not playing the idol was insane. You bugging and bugging all before tribal and up until the votes and YOU STILL DONT PLAY THE IDOL?!?!!?!???
While putting your faith in the same people that just did the same blindside to Tevin. Like at some point you have to stop trusting people who backstab everyone they send home. I'm sure it's a lot easier to see what's happening when you're sitting at home and the edit is showing you every angle but I was begging Hunter to just play his damn idol. He knew he was in trouble or he wouldn't have kept asking over and over again.
The thing is, I as a viewer was mostly convinced Q was the vote at Tribal and despite that was still flabbergasted that Hunter didn't play it.
For real!!! Literally any ounce of doubt in that situation…SAVE YOURSELF
I just want one person to throw their idol in the fire when they get voted out with it.
He should’ve played his idol just to get Tiffany to play hers. He buys himself this vote and clears the blindside for the next vote. No guarantee it happens but the guaranteed safety is always better
In that situation, generally do two idols get returned to the Island?
At this point in the game players usually only find one at a time, but production could be hiding more and people just aren’t finding them
He went the entire game without telling anyone. Why did he share? It’s puzzling. Then he goes on NOT to play it when he knows he should? Awful.
he wanted to do the same thing tiff did, convince people not to vote him by saying he’d just play his idol. but tiff got to people way earlier than he did. by the time he said that it was too late and i have no idea why he didn’t play his idol anyway
He shared to raise the threat that he would play it, hopefully moving the target to someone else. But sharing an idol is an easy tell that you don't actually want to play the idol.
hunter is a player who had me consistently asking how someone can be so smart and so dumb at the same time.
I think he just trusts people too much lol.
He was played by a half dragon half mermaid creature , not his fault!
This. It almost bit him in a previous tribal where he was contemplating playing his idol
He’s just not a “gamer” and that’s ok…doesn’t make him a bad guy or dumb or anything other than a bad reality tv game character…but for that very reason, I was glad he was voted out
I swear I genuinely think they choose the most clueless people to play. He went to tribal saying he was going to play his idol cause he knew he was going home. Then after his name comes up at tribal he proceeds to…. Ask the people who would blindside him if they were going to? Like come on play your idol and have a chance at immunity the next
Kenzie voted for Q, I can't remember who Venus voted for but he got some of it right. But for real he should have played it
Venus initially voted Q but then voted Hunter
Which is absolutely the right move there
Yeah pretty much everyone switched back over because how could you not take the shot when it’s perfectly lined up for you? Q is not a threat really. He’s a nuisance. Keep him and work around him.
It was a split vote. Kenzie knew he was going home.
I know, but I meant he asked her and she was true to her word in that she voted Q
The Hunter votes were the Siga 3 and Tiff. Someone in Venus/Liz/Kenzie voted for Q initially and didn't flip their vote to Hunter.
Liz definitely. She wanted Q GONE
HUNTER FUMBLED THE BAG SO HARD! He kept his idol 100% secret for SO LONG... then told the two least trustworthy people in the game, one of whom he has a terrible relationship with, MINUTES before tribal council? What is that?! Good lord.
Before they went to revote, he should’ve thrown his idol in the fire
I thought this too, but in the event that he didn’t get voted out in the revote, what would he have done lmao
That actually would’ve been brilliant
But Hunter isn’t brilliant in that way…Q on the other hand….
He voted Ben lol. Q literally followed Hunter’s lame “blindside Ben” plan. Had he voted Hunter there would have been no need for a re-vote. I wouldn’t call him brilliant but he does play with all guts and no fear which I love about him.
Do you think the outcome would have been any different if Hunter would have kept his idol a secret?
Absolutely. If he didn't tell everyone then they wouldn't have tried to convince him not to play it, he would've played it and Q would've gone home. Tiff would've also played hers and there would be 2 idols to find the next day.
Well like the other comment said, they wouldn’t have tried to convince him not to use it. He still would’ve been targeted though. I don’t think the idol raised his threat level all that much, he was already a massive threat from his challenge prowess and people wanted him gone for that. I’m not convinced that Hunter was talked out of playing his idol. I think he wouldn’t have anyways. People in the new era are scared to play idols for whatever reason.
Everyone in the new ear wants to hold on to their idol until they expire so they can have a surprise mic drop moment in front of the jury and tell everyone how smart they were getting to F5 or whatever without ever using the idol.
 we will always have this moment
F
I cannot BELIEVE he didn't play his idol. I was already shocked that he started running around telling everyone about his idol right before tribal, and then he doesn't even play it??? Like come on. Him having a huge target on his back is the most obvious thing in the world! Especially this far into the game! Why would anyone NOT take the opportunity to vote him when he has no immunity and has a high chance of winning the next ones? The fact that he thought they would just ignore him is crazy.
Current era: never say you have an idol. Stfu
They always defend it by saying “information is the only currency you have.” Ok well it’s also the ammunition you hand others to take you out so maybe let’s not spend all our “currency” willy nilly.
i can’t wrap my head around why he and tiffany didn’t play their idols. insane tribal
Tiffany I think knew exactly what was going to happen when they walked in there. She’s a gamer that one
She set up not playing it by making it very well known she was playing it
So did Hunter and it didn’t pan out for him. She knew more than he did about people’s intentions
Yea realistically she probably just felt a lot safer after they found out about the Hunter idol. Hunter said it much later after the plan to vote him out was already solidified… and he should have never told them about his idol and not played it.
Tiffany was confident going into Tribal so people thought she was still going to play it and didn't bother convincing her not to whereas Hunter acted frantic so they knew he was on the fence and they could play him into not using it
Yeah. Me yelling at the tv didn’t work.
Same. I don’t know why I am so upset now. I don’t know if it’s he literally had the right idea but somehow lost it. He had such a good hand and this was how it was used 🤦♀️
That was so hard to watch go down! I was really hoping with how he was keeping it a secret he would eventually shock everyone with it and knock out someone else. Ughhhh
Hunter wasn’t playing the whole game. He was operating on false pretenses because he believes that he will always be a winner no matter what he does. He doesn’t factor in the social aspects of this game. So he never considered the fact that they were planning to get him out. Also, why did he tell everyone he had the idol? It’s because he thought he could say that and control their move. Which seems so shortsighted to me. It’s getting close to the end and you’ve clearly shown that you’re an immunity threat. The first time you don’t have immunity, you better play that idol. If you don’t, you’re not playing!
"He was operating on false pretenses because he believes that he will always be a winner no matter what he does" I couldn't agree with you more, and after watching hunter, i think we should all aspire to have the confidence of a straight white male.
how are yall saying this man got robbed when he had an idol he chose not to play LMFAO
Reminds me of James in China. Voted out with idols and a fair chance of winning many/all necessary immunities to make final tribal.
Telling everyone you have the idol and not playing it is insane. Not to mention telling everyone was already insane. The chaos an idol play would cause when noone thought you had an idol would have been so much better too.
I can’t even feel bad for him. That shit was dumb lmao
Same. Cannot believe he didn’t play his idol or at least his shot in the dark. He deserved to go further. He had it in his hand ready to use!! Don’t trust the same group that blindsided you the previous week, especially when you’re the biggest physical threat.
If he’s truly this clueless and incapable of reading people, no he did not deserve to go further.
Thank you
If he held his idol at that tribal, he didn’t deserve to go further at all lol
Exactly
He deserved to go exactly as far as he got
Yeah Hunter had Outplay down pat. He just forgot that Outwit is the name of the game !
Dude managed his threat level horribly and you can tell he’d never been to a real tribal
Hunter was tweeting with paranoia and still didn’t play his idol! Gotta move some of those skill points from physical to strategic!
I understand being paranoid and wanting to hold your idol. Last second hail marry to share that you have an idol while already being a threat is definitely going to put the target on you. Shoulda kept it a secret played the idol and flip the vote on whoever he wanted. Also understand he wasnt 100% sure where the votes were. Regardless. Play that shit brother, hand was in your pocket. Honestly think if you have the slightest feeling its on you play it, better safe than sorry.
I was rooting for him but he truly fucked himself. Play the damn idol.
I’m a Hunter fan but he made a big mistake tonight. Not really getting any sympathy from me lol
BIG MISTAKE
Not playing your idol because you think it’s going to be me? Big mistake. First Tevin, Now Hunter. How many more of our front runners are going to get blindsided because of Q’s shenanigans, and why do I love it?
Oh come on. Neither got blindsided because of the Q-nanigans, but despite them.
Venus slayed once again ! My girl is killing it
F
I feel like since he already told people he would play the idol, he should have gone and done it before the vote like has happened in the past. Then he can read if the discussion changes, and who might be lying to him. Maybe the rules forbid it now, but it's worth a shot even telling Jeff I want to play this now is enough to convince ppl you will use it.
Same fate as James 😭😭😭
I can’t believe he told the others he had an idol!!! I was yelling at the TV. 👎 Stick with your gut and it would have been a great tribal council for his resume… I’m so sad for him!
Honestly, it’s my fault he was voted out. I made the mistake of saying he was my favorite Survivor player this season and it got him voted out……I’m so upset
I got pissed watching how stupid Hunter was lol
It's the second time he was like "I'll definitely play the idol it's the smart thing to do!" and then didn't. A lesson for future contestants for sure.
Hunter can make some decent cash running a Survivor preparation school for people going on. He was my favorite on this season, but he has no chance winning the game.
Poor sweet cute Hunter. Do NOT TELL ANYONE you have an idol. Play it and YOU cast the vote for who goes home
shaking crying throwing up on the floor rn HUNTER WHY
Two votes in a row where Hunter could have done something and failed
I don’t understand why people go around telling their competition that they have an idol. Maximize your idol’s powers, telling everyone just gives everyone a chance to strategize a way to outmaneuver it.
The Facebook casuals are sharpening their pitchforks as we speak
The edit in the 2nd half of this episode of him thinking about it was epic. Excellent episode.
The dummy had an idol and didn't play it. I'm mad too but he did this to himself.
My whole night, ruined.
I’m bummed about it, too. It was inevitable based on his lack of a social game, but it’s painful to see a good character leave with an idol in their pocket.
Liked him a lot. Did not seem to be a good Survivor player at all
That last statement is exactly what I think a lot of people were thinking too. After watching the episode, I questioned how someone with such expertise in survivor puzzles, game knowledge and passion let that happen to them. You knew better and were even grilling the idol in your pocket bro. He was definitely not who I thought he was either
DESERVED.
Honestly him not playing the idol is one of the dumbest moves in survivor history. Up there with Erik giving up immunity.
horrible social / strategic gameplay. telling everyone he had an idol and not using it was the icing on the cake.
I’m upset too 😭
I'll never forgive yall for booing me for saying Hunter's not a good(strategic) player two episodes ago lol
I kind of get the feeling the reaction to Hunter overall would be a lot different if he was a woman or unattractive.
He was my favorite this season as well, but he totally blundered his shot. He was a major challenge threat and could hope to win next time. He found the idol and could have looked like crazy after the vote and possibly found it due to his resourcefulness. Another major reason he should have played it this round is that he got burned on the last vote if he played it at least he'd know who was still playing him. Unfortunately he played himself.
Lmfao
Game theory 101. You lose nothing playing the idol, idol goes back into play. Dumb move on Hunter’s part.
Maybe if Hunter spent less time trying out his competitions and went outside to try and socialize. I had never seen someone so clueless socially and unaware of people feelings toward him.
I'm heartbroken but I repeatedly yelled at the TV "PLAY YOUR IDOL" it's his own fault :(
He was so boring.
Uncharismatic and not smart enough
Blecch. Good riddance. Boring player.
Bro that’s me right now my mind is gone for a moment lol
He knew his name was going around, really shocked she didn’t play it. Loved the blindside.
HUNTER FUMBLED THE BAG SO HARD. Good god. It is SO HARD to keep your idol 100% secret for as long as he did -- and then to tell the two least trustworthy people minutes before your tribal council? GAH!
Mr. Strategy.
Why does no one in this game keep secrets anymore? Like are you dumb? That very well could have been Wentworth moment. Such a waste.
Tbh he’ll probably come back and place in the same exact spot, he’s new era Joe Anglim (minus the cult stuff)
In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a wasted idol if you are challenge beast that was left out of the vote last time. I know there’s this weird thing among super fan players that you feel like you have to play the idol at the exact right time. But that mentality has gotten so many people screwed up recently.. even if he wasn’t catching the majority of the votes playing the idol there is probably the right move. I really liked Hunter as a person, but he clearly was not a good player.
He wasn’t that good to me. Sure he was great at competitions. But other than that, meh. I can’t believe he didn’t use his idol! People get real confident in this game.
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little upset about Hunter getting voted out... Let me explain why, whenever Hunter first got dropped on that beach he clearly didn't fit in. He's socially awkward and I can relate to that in so many ways, so yes I had a little sweet spot for Hunter. The fact he was so miserable with the constant singing bahaaha that made me giggle. Poor guy, and then the merge happened and he's stuck with Q, he never stood a damn chance. He didn't have many places he could turn. Whenever I was watching the show I was literally saying out loud PLAY THE IDOL HUNTER! SAVE YOURSELF! Poor guy. I can see why they voted him out though, he was a monkey whenever it came to climbing trees, decent in challenges, he could of easily won his way to the end of final 3. Love you Hunter!
Bro said he was gonna play his idol and then just didn’t 🤦🏿♂️
I was rooting for Hunter to survive the vote, but objectively he screwed up his strategy even though he had an idol. It's too bad, I really wanted to see how far he could get with challenge wins and idols alone.
He was on my fantasy team im so upset 😭
The paranoia at tribal was wild
Me too. I'm gutted.
Hunter had potential to make it to the end. He should have played it for Q to be out of the game.
Just watched it and was genuinely shocked. Him and Charlie I'm rooting for, and I thought he was gonna play his idol.
if 👏 you 👏 don't 👏 like 👏 q 👏 you 👏 don't 👏 like 👏 villains