Henry Voted Out Of 'Survivor' With Another Idol In His Pocket, Or So It Seemed
During Season 2 of 'Australian Survivor', Henry Nicholson became the first castaway to be voted out while in possession of a hidden immunity idol.
Years later, returning as an 'All Star', Henry was the fifth person voted out 'Survivor' -- but he didn't go down without a fight.
After Michelle was voted out, Henry became spooked seeing his name written down three times. Heading back to camp he knew he had to do everything in his power to shift the vote off him and onto some of the other members of his Mokuta tribe who aren't as physically strong, namely Shonee.
When the opportunity came up for a reward, Henry was in prime position to get his tribe the win, convincing them that they needed him to stick around.
Speaking to 10 daily after he was voted out, Henry said, "Definitely beating Mat and David in the reward challenge solidified my physical strength and attributes for the tribe.
"I knew I had to bring it... I never like basing my game on my physical parts, I prefer my strategy to come through, but sometimes you've got to pivot."
But that wasn't enough to completely assuage any feelings that the Zen Hen's neck was on the chopping block. So he crafted a genius idea: a fake idol that he'd 'discover' during the Tribal Council.
Quickly crafting a sack to hide a rock in, Henry planted his "idol" then -- just before voting -- asked Jonathan for a brief moment to allow him to search.
But this wasn't just a way to save his skin for one more night. "It was a long play," he said.
"I thought I would have the votes... but I needed something in my pocket for down the track.
"I just needed the aura of me having the fake idol for the future. I knew if Shonee went, I still could be next so I needed everyone to see me get this idol."
The move was bold, big and very Henry but it was also some brilliant Tribal Council theatre, causing Shonee and Nick to really worry about their plans to give Hen the boot.
"I think, the way I executed it, if I was sitting on one of those blocks and looking, I would believe that was potentially an idol," Henry said "No one saw me plant it, no one saw me make it, no one had the balls to stand up and ask Jonathan for a couple of minutes because I needed them to think I needed it for the vote. Hopefully, that shook it up enough."
And shake things up it did. Unfortunately, what Henry didn't expect was for Shonee to have found an Idol during the reward he helped win for Mokuta.
"I assumed there would be another idol, but it would have to be in Shonee's hands. The one person that couldn't have it really, and she had it. It was a great move by her," Henry said.
So, as he did in Season 2, Henry was voted out still in possession of an 'Idol'. This one just happened to be made out of some jeans he chopped up.
Comparing his two 'Survivor' experiences, Henry said 'All Stars' was "completely different" from Season 2 adding, "I found it more emotionally hard this time around".
"You actually know these people. You're actually friends... and I think there are so many elements in 'All Stars' compared to going into a fresh season not knowing anyone that all come into it. Living and surviving was a whole lot easier," he said. "Fiji was a lot nicer than Samoa!"
While he was disappointed to go so early, Henry admitted that he wouldn't change a thing about the way he played the game.
"It's 'All Stars'. I wanted to set the tone of the season. I wanted it to be the biggest, best season that has happened. I wanted to roll the dice and go big from the start.
"The first time around I wanted to be a good 'Survivor' player. I love this game, and I still do, but I really wanted to be one of Australia's best players... I don't care anymore if I am," he said.
"I'm just happy to have brought a kind of character to both seasons. I did what the fan would have done sitting on the couch. I did something that's never been done before and for that I'm happy."
Despite saying that he doesn't take it personally, Henry did add that he didn't see the sense in voting him out so early.
"I remember saying in my exit that night I hope Mokuta just suck from now on. From that point they were going to lose challenges, they didn't have me as a shield or number. They'd fall apart...
"We'll see if that's true or not."
