But then how could they have played the two idols? Tai had one and Scot had the other. Scot was looking at Tai to give his idol to Scot so he could play both. Was Tai not allowed to do that even if he wanted to?
Yes, the double idol has the unique benefit of being playable after the votes are read.
He could have, he didn’t want to.
Do they players get additional rules explanations off camera from the producers? The rules regarding the super idol were pretty vague. The way they acted at the previous Tribal made it seem like the person needed both idols first, prior to the vote.
I’ve read that the producers explain the rules of all challenges in great detail, and allow contestants to ask questions, etc. We don’t see that because it would not be good television.
My guess is that they’re also given a pretty thorough rundown of the idol rules as well.
So after the votes are read, Tai could give his idol to Scot but Scot couldn’t give his idol to Jason? That doesn’t make sense.
What if Scot gave his idol to Jason while saying “As we planned, Tai and I will both give our idols to Jason to combine in a super idol. So here’s mine. Tai, your turn.”
I think the difference is, once the vote total has been announced, the player who has been voted out is OUT of the game, and is not supposed to do anything further to influence what happens. They’ve been consistent about this – several times in the past I’ve heard players say things about not being able to leave clothing or whatever behind for other players.
I’m not sure if Jason could have given the Idol Scott at that point. What they said you could do was play the Idol after the vote. And in the past we have seen players say things like “I am playing this Idol for/on behalf of Mehitabel.”
Now, I bet Jason could have said something like, “Jeff, hold on. Tai, give me your idol. We are going to combine the two into the super idol and play it to save Scott.”
And then Tai could hand his Idol over to Jason and Scott be saved, or refuse to and Scott goes but Jason keeps his Idol.
Or, another twist: Jason says, “Hold on, Jeff. I am giving this idol to Tail.” Assuming of course that Tai would then play them both, but Tai says, “Gee, thanks, Jason,” shoves it in his pocket, and keeps them both. 
I bet that would have been fair by the rules, too, though they might have had to assign a cameraman and bodyguard to Tai for the rest of his time in the game.
But that’s clearly not the case, or it would not have been possible for the super idol to save Scot since Scot was holding one of the idols.
Jason didn’t have an idol; he gave his to Scot earlier that day. After the votes were read, both Jason and Scot were waiting for Tai to give his idol to Scot so Scot could combine it with his to play the super idol.
And that’s my whole point: Scot was still allowed to use his idol at that point, and people were still allowed to pass idols at that point. So it should have been well within the rules for Scot to give his idol to Jason while saying “As we planned, Tai and I will both give our idols to Jason to combine in a super idol. So here’s mine. Tai, your turn.”
I see what you mean, but it doesn’t seem a un-justifiable result if the rules work the way I think they do.
I think of the Hidden Idols, and the various contest advantages, as specially carved out exceptions to another rule. As in, the general rule is that if the most votes are cast against you, you are out. The exception created by a normal Hidden Idol is that if you have one and play it before the votes are read, votes cast against you don’t count.
Two different general rules came into play here. First the one that says players who are voted out must leave the area immediately and they cannot give anything to another player at that point. Second the general rule that a Hidden Idol must be played before the votes are announced.
We know the SuperDuperHiddenIdol exception changed the rule about the time when you could play a Hidden Idol. Was there any indication that it also changed the other rule? I don’t remember any, and given how it played out, it looks like there wasn’t one.
So if, say Julia and Jason had been holding the idols, either of them could give their idol to the other (and that person could have played them to save Scott) because they were both still players in the game. And I guess it would have been okay for Tai to give his idol to Scott and Scott use the pair to save himself. (At least, I don’t really see why they’d have established a rule about existing players not being able to give something away to a departing player since why would it ever have come up in the past?)
But since a SuperIdol wasn’t going to be played, Scott was out of the game from the moment Jeff read the fourth vote against him, and so the general rule applied: ex-players aren’t allowed to give things to other players.
Weirdly, it was Jason’s ‘good fortune’ in winning the Individual Immunity that contributed to him losing his Hidden Idol. At least, I can’t see why he’d have had a reason to hand it over early if he were just as vulnerable as Scott to being the chosen target.
I am sure the producers have told the players that they can hand over an idol to another player after TC as long as the player with the idol hasn’t been voted out.
Okay, this I can wrap my head around. Thanks much.
On further review, this rule is actually needed to prevent coercing idols. Without the rule, Tai could have told Scot to give him the idol so Tai could save him, and then once he got Scot’s idol refuse to play them.
the super idol can be played after the vote. its pretty simple at face value. if it were super -complicated (as this board is suggesting)…im sure that would have been edited into the show.
tai didnt give his to scot to form a super idol after the vote…its a blindside.
4/27 show:
Not much surprise here. I think the smart thing would’ve been to take out Tai (especially since he can win the balance/endurance immunity challenges) but whatever.
Tai should be a lock for the Final 4. Next week, he plays his HII, which takes him to the Final 5. The following week he plays his Super Power: if he gets one ally, the worst that happens is a 3-3 tie. Two allies, and it’s 4-2, and he’s in the Final 4.
If he can get in front of the jury, he should be a shoo-in winner, with the only competition that I see coming from Aubrey. (Michelle and Joe are being dragged along as Final 3 Dead Weight.)
I thought that the advantage was that he could play a HII after the vote. I didn’t think that it was a 2nd HII. 
Shouldn’t there be another HII out there now? (Don’t they always put it back in the game after it’s been used, unless they’re down to the final 4?)
I think that it was smart to vote out Julia because her allegiance was only to herself.
That immunity challenge was brutal. I’m surprised that Michelle could remember 12 symbols at the same time.
No, the advantage is that Tai has an extra vote. The “HII after the vote” is the super-idol, when you combine two regular HIIs into one.
Thanks for the clarification. I clearly can’t keep up with all these moving parts!
Jeez, I would have played the idol. Tai is very lucky!!
I would love to see Tai win but, unless he runs the table on immunity challenges, it is unlikely.
Regarding the single ally at final five: If Tai’s extra vote forces a 3-3 tie, how does the revote work, I wonder?
In a normal revote, the two tied players don’t vote. If this includes Tai’s extra vote then he goes home, since a revote would go against him 2-1.