One of the most intriguing features of Survivor is the enigmatic hidden immunity idol, which can play an unsuspectingly influential role. In Redemption Island, there is one on each tribe. Ralph and Rob are the proud owners, and we as kibitzers can analyse the similarities and differences in how they have approached the game with this advantage.
Ralph stumbled upon the hidden immunity idol very fortuitously, without even seriously looking for it. He knew for sure that Russell and his "concubines" could not have found it, but kept silent about it. Thus his alliance of six had to allow for the possibility that they had found it, and split their votes. Russell was quite capable of poaching one person, and had Julie decided to desert her alliance for Team Russell, Ralph would have received four votes and suffered the embarrassment of being voted out with the idol. It was a bit of a risk, surely, and he was fortunate that did not happen.
In this episode, Rob had for the first time ever gone to search for the idol. He had managed to avoid suspicion in the process by feigning constipation, and found it just in time to return to join in the fun activities he had planned for his tribe-mates. After losing the challenge, they had to vote someone out. Just as Ralph had done previously, Rob deliberately kept silent about having the idol, and made it look to his tribe that Kristina could potentially have found it. With enough people to spare (himself and four others against Phillip and Kristina) they planned to gave three votes to Kristina and two to Phillip. The theoretical possibility that Phillip, Kristina, and someone else, say Andrea, might conspire to vote against him was somewhat remote, even though Phillip and Kristina had certainly interacted while they were away to watch the duel. Phillip returned and tried to persuade Rob to save himself and Kristina, but Rob was not impressed. And Phillip's rather odd behaviour hardly rendered him charismatic enough to gain friends, so Rob's plan was sound enough, certainly far safer than Ralph's. Phillip and Kristina argued at tribal council, then voted for each other, and Kristina was voted out 4-3.
Going back to Ralph, after he had safely returned from tribal council, and with less of a need to tell his alliance the whole story, he decided to reveal to them that he had it. In contrast to Rob's thinking, he probably felt that it was better that they knew they could safely vote out Krista or Stephanie next. While he was less powerful than Rob, these two were the buffers to keep him safe for a while. And why did he boast to the defeated Russell at the duel that he had found the idol "after 15 minutes"? Even in elimination, Russell could still tempt out some information from him, which could perhaps be costly. Now the opposition would know that if Ralph made the merge, he would be expected to still have the idol, and if he did not, then the idol would not have made the merge either.
So now Rob is in a strong position in Ometepe. Phillip has made himself so unpopular that he must be the next to go, and Andrea should then be next in line. Ralph, though, having survived the risk of not exposing the idol, should perhaps have continued to keep it secret as after all he was under no pressure to tell anyone. The question is whether the rest of the tribe sees the idol as belonging to the tribe rather than to him.
To conclude, each tribe has a player with the idol, which in episode 4 neither was under pressure to tell the world about. Ralph has forgotten about keeping information secret and might have undermined his own position, while Rob looks like he has only strengthened his position with it, and could take it to the merge as his own. It will be interesting to see how the idols impact the tribal dynamics.
I'm super impressed with Rob's gameplay this time.... and his realizing... that the idol has huge impact on the outcome....he never paied too much attention to it before! As far as Ralph goes... not the brightest move!!! As always Phil... great read!!! <333
