‘This Amulet is very important right now’: why didn’t Austin Li Coon play his Amulet turned Hidden Immunity Idol during episode 11 of ‘Survivor 45?’

During episode 11 of Survivor 45, fans of the franchise saw what might have been the wildest tribal council of the “New Era” of the beloved competition series, causing challenge beast Austin Li Coon to be just one vote away from getting his torch snuffed. How wild is that?

In an attempt to blindside Julie Alley, the plan seemed to be in motion until one castaway spilled the beans. With Austin Li Coon telling Dee Valladares, and Dee Valladares telling Julie Alley herself, the plan was ultimately foiled, with Julie playing her Hidden Immunity Idol at tribal council (which Austin had handed to her a few days prior), causing just one vote to determine who would be heading to Ponderosa that fateful night. While Julie talked about casting her vote for Austin, she casted her vote for Emily Flippen instead, ultimately leading to her untimely exit.

As mentioned in a series of confessionals prior to tribal council, Austin debated playing his amulet that fateful night to secure his safety, but he ultimately made the decision to hold onto it for another week. Thanks to Julie casting her vote for Emily, the Illinois native managed to slip by!

As for what said amulet is, first introduced during Survivor 42 (during the very first challenge of the season) one member of each tribe received an amulet. The function of the amulet depended on the number of amulets still left in the game at the time — if three amulets were used, the holders would receive an extra vote, if two amulets were used, the holders would be able to steal a vote, and if one amulet was used, it would act as a Hidden Immunity Idol. Naturally, the stakes are at an all-time high when it comes to this advantage!

In Survivor 45, viewers saw the return of the amulets when Austin Li Coon, Kellie Nalbandian, and J. Maya embarked on a journey to the summit, where they were given the ultimate decision — “Sustenance” in the form of sandwiches, or “Strategy” in the form of the amulets. Despite hesitation from Austin (who thought the amulets would place a target on their backs), the trio decided to take on the amulets and leave the sandwiches behind, and fortunately, it has worked out in his favor so far.

Now, with both Kellie Nalbandian and J. Maya out of the game, Austin Li Coon has a Hidden Immunity Idol that can be played until there are six players left in the game, but seemingly in trouble during the tribal council during episode 11, why did he choose to keep his amulet to himself?

In a sneak peek into episode 12 of Survivor 45, the 27-year-old explained his thought process, as well as why he wanted to hold onto his amulet turned Hidden Immunity Idol for another week. Keep scrolling to see for yourself…

In a confessional, Austin gushed about why he did not use his amulet that fateful night, even though it was quite the risk.

“This is the one thing that we did not want to happen, but even though Julie played her idol, I thought Julie would either vote for Jake for Emily, so I kept holding on to my amulet instead of playing it, and I’m glad that I did… My amulet that I have is a full idol, but it’s only good until the final six tribal, meaning that this next tribal council, I need to play it! This amulet is very important right now. Plus, everyone’s eyes are focused on Julie.”

With the last opportunity to play his amulet turned Hidden Immunity Idol being tonight (December 13), it looks like Austin Li Coon has already secured his spot in the final five. To see how he decides to use this advantage, tune into CBS at 8pm ET/PT (or Paramount Plus the following day) to find out for yourself.