Viewers were shocked during week 5 of Survivor season 48 when Star Toomey gave away her immunity idol to former enemy Eva Erickson. Fans shared theories and speculation about why the castaway made the risky decision and how it might pay off later.

When Did Star Find the Beware Advantage?

Star found the beware advantage in her time with the previous Lagi tribe but only Eva wasn’t aware of it. The sales expert had been unable to figure out how to decode it to unlock the immunity idol inside. Until then, she would be unable to cast a vote at tribal council.

Fortunately for Star, Lagi went on a huge winning streak and never ended up going to tribal council, so she kept trying to figure out how to unlock it on her own to no avail.

Eva Revealed She Has Autism During the Immunity Challenge

After struggling to maneuver a ball down a maze and secure a victory at the immunity challenge, Eva became overstimulated and had an episode related to her autism, which caused her to be unable to calm down after finally succeeding.

After former Lagi teammate Joe Hunter helped calm her down, Eva revealed her autism to all of the other castaways in a moving speech that left the other castaways and host Jeff Probst in tears.

Eva Unlocked the Beware Advantage

Back at camp after Lagi was safe from elimination, Star told Eva how much she was inspired by her autism confession and revealed she had relatives who were also on the spectrum. In the spirit of how Eva’s admission had bonded the new Lagi tribe together, Star decided to tell her new teammates and Eva about her beware advantage.

The tribe then headed out and figured out via animal symbols what the six letters of the alphabet were that were needed to unlock the advantage. Eva was able to piece together the letters and tried various combinations before succeeding at unlocking the advantage with the word “silent,” thus gaining access to the immunity idol inside.

Why Did Star Give Eva the Immunity Idol?

Star decided to give the idol to Eva in the spirit of the moment, telling her frenemy, “You take the idol. It’s yours,” which she happily did. But in the process, Star gave away a huge advantage in keeping herself safe at future tribal councils. It could be a risky move, as she and Eva didn’t get along until the autism confession, with Eva wanting to vote her out of the old Lagi tribe if they ever ended up at tribal council.

Some fans believed Star gave away the idol to protect herself from future votes against her by making such a generous move.

“Star handing Eva the idol in front of everybody on her tribe so that she can use her as a shield. Oh Star you genius,” one fan wrote on X. A user responded, “Woah, great point. I didn’t like Star at first because she was playing too hard but with realignment, she has really settled in.”

“I truly couldn’t believe she did that, but my hope is this ingratiates her with old Lagi as well and they protect her while she flies under the radar,” a second user speculated about Star’s motive, as her selfless move could win respect with her former Lagi teammates post-merge.

“Honestly, I think Star giving Eva the idol is a good move because almost everyone left in the game already knows she has the beware advantage/idol. At this point, it only adds a big target on her back and giving it away just might convince Eva to work with her,” a third user wrote on X.

“Star has told 8/14 remaining cast members about her advantage, found it with the Lagi tribe and then gave it to Eva! Oh her ability to minimize her threat level is LEGENDARY,” a fourth fan gushed on the app.

Some fans were upset by Star’s gesture after how Eva treated her in the past. “Watching Star be so supportive and consoling of Eva while Eva has done nothing but talk s–t about Star from day 1 makes my blood boil. And to top it off Star gave her the idol! OMG,” one user proclaimed on X.

Another viewer questioned Star’s decision, writing on X, “Star, you don’t give people the idol. Like, what the hell?”