Survivor Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers - Season Finale Recap

Million Dollar Night

At the open of the show - five remain:

Ben - an American Hero and strategic powerhouse - but his bold game play has turned him into public enemy #1 and with no allies left will he be able to keep his torch lit?  Ben's strategy: keep looking for idols and do his best to win immunity.  With Ben in the pool is Coleen T., Cindi & Steve and Elaine R.

Dr. Mike - only Healer left and despite being excluded from nearly every vote, he's found a way to stay alive (with the filthiest shirt ever - I think it could walk away on it's own, maybe that shirt will win) - he's ecstatic to have made it to day 37 and it's like no one realizes he's going to win.  With Mike in the pool is Carol-Anne D., Fraser G., and Julisa C..

Devon - true to his nature he has hustled through this game controlling votes and orchestrating blindsides (really?) but with only five players left, will his grit be enough to get him to the end?  He's not backing down, he's going for the million.  And with Devon is Kevin R., Kim A., and Lynne B..

Ryan - this super-fan's knowledge of the game has helped him find advantages and idols but it's his social ability and alliance with Chrissy that has kept him in the game.  He says, as a super-fan, he needs to win this game.  With Ryan is Kim B., Susan N., and Sheila G..

Chrissy - a rough start nearly sent her home (she puked at the first challenge) - but she recovered and seized early control of the game.  When the tides turned again, she had to win immunity to stay alive and she did it. Will her roller coaster ride end in victory? - she just hopes they can pull it off in a joyful manner, but it's Survivor.  And with Chrissy is Bryon L., Roxanne S., and Jeff T.

Who will have what it takes to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast all the rest and win the million dollar prize and the title of Sole Survivor? (Can we just say right now, it's not going to be Ryan - I mean, come on.)

Solewa - Night 36
They return from Tribal Council where Ben played yet another hidden immunity idol that no one knew about and which resulted in Ashley going home.  This worked out just fine for Chrissy since that is what she wanted anyway. 
-Ben immediately goes off on his own - and the rest speculate that there can't be another hidden idol... they are, again, discounting the fact that Ben could find an idol - Mike says he's like the villain in any horror movie, he just keeps coming back to life.  Chrissy tells the rest of them that no matter what, they have to make sure Ben doesn't win immunity. (This sounds familiar.)
-Ben knows that a hidden immunity idol can be played until five which means there is one more tribal council remaining where it would be viable – so, while the other four are bedding down for the night, Ben is out searching - all night...

Solewa - Day 37
Ben is still searching in the early hours of the morning - and just when the exhaustion is about to take him he finds himself at the raft where he sees a symbol telling him to dig - and Ben has another hidden immunity idol!  This guarantees him a spot in the final four.  "I'm going to drop a big ol' Ben-Bomb at tribal council.  You think I'm going home? Watch this!"

Later in the morning after everyone is up - Chrissy decides she's going to try and make friends with Ben and they fakely hug it out and talk like friends - but she tells the camera it's all for game play, she doesn't trust him.  And he tells the camera that he's gunning for her to be the next to go.
-Chrissy asks him if he wins immunity today, would he keep her there - he turns it back on her, "if you win are you going to take me?" You see her face drop - of course not.  Ben gives her props for trying, but she barking up the wrong tree there.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-They are out on the water for this one.  They will have to swim out to a platform and climb up a couple crates - jump off and grab a key then swim to a balance beam which they have to cross and collect another set of keys, then swim to the final platform where they will have to unlock and then complete a puzzle where they have to line up multi-coloured balls in the spokes of a wheel with the corresponding coloured stripes in the right order in each spoke.  In addition they are playing for Reward - back at camp they will have a feast of comfort food - chicken, wine, cheesecake.

-This one - Ryan could not get across the balance beam because even the smallest wave was enough to launch his tiny weight into the water and it's Chrissy's puzzle skill that wins her Immunity again.  She also wins the Reward and decides to bring Dr. Mike and Devon along with her.  (Really? Ryan could really use a chicken dinner.) But instead Ryan has babysitting duty as he has to watch Ben and keep him from finding immunity (too late.)

REWARD
-First thing Mike wants to do is check everything for a hidden immunity idol clue - and they do look but then fall on the food (they got a whole chicken each - yikes.)  While they are eating, Chrissy wants to discuss the possibility of Ben playing another idol tonight and we gets to see all the food in their mouths as they talk (ew, gross) Devon says no way it will happen, he's voting Ben and they all agree they are voting Ben.
-Chrissy speculates - wouldn't it be great to use the dead super-immunity idol as a decoy... and Dr. Mike, who has no knowledge of said Super Immunity idol, asks her to back the truck up... she explains it was only good at the first tribal so it's dead - but Mike thinks they should tell Ben they had a clue at the Reward and they found the hidden immunity idol, showing him that dead idol. (It would be genius if Ben hadn't already found the actual idol.)
-They are so pleased with themselves - it's sad and awesome all at the same time.

-Chrissy takes the dead idol and the instructions from Ryan's idol that he played and she puts it on in the shelter then tells Ben to save his energy, no reason to search for the hidden immunity idol cause she's had a two-fer day.  He asks to see the idol and the clue and congratulates her.  She and Ryan are patting themselves on the back for how Ben bought it hook, line & sinker - he wanders away dejectedly ... but is really laughing his ass off once away from camp because he knows they're lying... and they have saved him from having to fake look for an idol all day.  He's been a step ahead of them the whole time - he thinks they do underestimate him – and now he's got the fate of someone in his hands.  Ryan is safe cause he's done nothing and Ben could easily beat him in the end - so it's between Mike and Devon.
-Ben does play it a bit too cool with Devon though, telling him he's not bummed about going out tonight because he'll at least get a meal.  This gives Devon pause, he knows Ben wouldn't just give up like that and he's thinking maybe he should vote for Mike.  Ryan isn't on board, he's voting Ben all the way - Devon is worried to piss Mike off (Why? Who cares if Mike is mad at you, as long as you are still there - listen to your gut Devon!) (And no matter what, Mike's shirt will live on.)

TRIBAL COUNCIL
-They all agree that Ben is the common enemy of the group.  Ben is not one to hide, he's out there to play and his moves have been bold and in your face.
-Jeff asks Chrissy how Ben was left alone long enough to find an idol, being enemy number one. She lamely says something about they couldn't be with him 24-7 (but you really could - what else do you have to do?) Mike takes up the lame excuses - comes down to the fact that no one else wanted to put in the work either... and Chrissy decides this is when she is going to pull out her fake idol.
-Chrissy tells her fake story  - after Jeff helps her toot her horn about winning three immunities in a row - at the Reward she found a hidden immunity idol that she is going to play for someone tonight because she can't use both.
-Ben is still playing along that it was a heartbreaker to him - when Chrissy told him not to waste his energy looking - and these guys all seemed pretty happy about it.  His only chance was to win immunity or find the idol and Chrissy had quite the day today. (She has a little self-satisfied smirk on her face... ugh.  I guess she deserves to gloat a bit, but still, grr.)
-Jeff asks Devon if Chrissy was graceful or gloating and Devon starts to say he didn't think she was gloating but you got to love Ben, he tells it like it is, "She was 100% gloating Jeff." (And she looks shocked that he would have seen it that way - come on lady.)
-Ben says it sucks to sit there and see his dreams get ruined by these four, he's there to win a million dollars for his wife and his kids - and this is a hard pill to swallow.
-Ryan says he doesn't take joy in it, but that's the game (oh, you are taking joy, yes you are.)

Time to Vote:
They show Devon struggling... use your gut!

Tallying the Votes:
Anybody want to play a hidden immunity idol - tonight is the last night to play it.  Chrissy makes a show of asking if anybody wants her fake idol... they all say no.  And then Ben makes a bomb dropping sound and pulls the actual hidden idol out of his boot –

KA-BOOM!  Ben-Bomb!
-Chrissy looks disgusted, they are all shocked and Ben rubs it in, the Early Bird gets the worm.

JP and Joe can't control themselves on the jury - JP claps and Joe is doing some silent facial and arm celebrating.

Votes:
Ben - 1, 2, 3 - does not count
Mike - 1
Devon - 1

Tie.  Devon admits to Mike he wrote his name down - Way to go Devon - he just saved his life in the game.  They will re-vote, they can only vote for Mike or Devon and those two don't vote.

This one comes back unanimous for Dr. Mike - (don't worry little buddy - you're shirt will hold your head up even if you can't.)  He was the final Healer left standing and he still thinks if he made it to the final three he would have won (delusional to the end.)

Oh, and Jeff gives them something to sleep on - tomorrow is the final Immunity challenge and there WILL be a TWIST. (oooh.)

Solewa - Night 37
Ben shocked them all again - Devon is proud he went with his gut and potentially made a million dollar move to keep himself there.
-Ben knows this is where it gets tricky - he has no Ben-Bombs to get him to the end - he has to win immunity tomorrow.  His wife and his kids are his driving force and he will need to take himself to the end.
-Chrissy feels like she can beat Ben in the end but she still wants to get him out of the game - it's driving her nuts she hasn't been able to get it done yet.  And, like a broken record, they know they cannot let him win immunity.

Day 38 - IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-They will have to stack letter blocks on a very wobbly platform.  They have to carry the blocks to the apparatus, unlock it so it's wobbly, then stack the blocks spelling out the words Heroes, Healers, Hustlers.  If at any time the blocks fall they have to start over - locking the thing, taking the blocks back to the start, carrying them back, unlocking, restacking, etc.  (Yeah, this was a long frustrating challenge.)
Ryan got out to an early start with Ben right on his heels.  Ryan started dropping some of his leaving the door open for Ben who got all the words spelled, blocks balanced, locked, back to start and the U was upside down in Hustlers.  He had to unlock to fix it and everything fell - NOOOOOOOOOO! (Picture Darth Vader meme http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/).
-This opens the door for everyone - Ryan gets close but blocks keep falling - Chrissy gets close - Ben gets close again... but in the end, Chrissy wins just a few blocks ahead of Ben and it was crushing! CRUSHING!  I felt so bad for the guy.  And good for Chrissy - tied as the most wins of immunity by a woman at four. (But it was really hard for me to be happy for her.)

Oh yeah, she also got the scroll with the final twist on it.

Back at camp, Ben's thoroughly devastated by his loss today - he sees this as having lost his kids college fund, his retirement... it really hurts.  But he's also not giving up.  He approaches Chrissy and asks her if there is any chance of her keeping him around - she dances around answering by telling him that she will hear him out at Tribal Council.  (But we know she is not keeping him around.)

Chrissy gets away to read the twist - which says that she will only choose one person to go on with her - the remaining two will have to build fire and earn the final spot. (Do you know what that means?? Ben could still be in it! YES!)
Chrissy quickly realizes that Ryan has no chance of building a fire so she will choose him and leave Devon to build fire against Ben since he has the best shot.
-Chrissy goes and shares the twist with her alliance - she tells Ryan she's choosing him and Devon is totally willing to step up - he'd relish the chance to prove himself and pad his resume as the one that took out Ben. 
-Devon gets to practice his fire-making skills - he has been doing it many a morning but he still wants to practice - and then he breaks the flint... hmm, is that a sign?  He thinks it must mean he's not meant to waste his energy (ooo-kay.)

TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 38
-Doctor Mike came in with the jury in a clean shirt - I was almost looking for his filthy shirt to walk in on it's own beside him.

-Chrissy gets a tepid round of applause for winning four immunity challenges, tying the record for a woman in Survivor. 
-An upside down U will forever haunt Ben - that was a million dollar mistake right there.  But he does say that if his torch is snuffed tonight, he's proud of how he's played and he wouldn't change a thing (good for him for not pandering to Chrissy, no pleading his case, just Ben being Ben.)

Jeff brings up the twist and asks Chrissy if she kept her secret advantage secret or if she shared it - she said she did share it but not with everyone - so Ben is dying to know what it is.  She reads it out again for everyone to know and this caused quite a stir on the jury and changed Ben's mood 100%.

-Chrissy says she does see the beauty in allowing us to have some degree of control in our fate, but she does hope this ends up a certain way.  That being said, she chooses Ryan to go to the final with her.
-Devon says he feels great about this decision, he has the chance to take his fate in his own hands.
-Ben is bouncing - he gets a second chance and he's ready to make some fire!

Ben and Devon are set up at the fire making stations and they both get started shaving off some flint and move on to sparking it - Devon has a couple almost starts but it's Ben that gets the flame going first and then Devon starts to panic and it's all over - Ben's fire grows and burns through the rope.  Ben has won his way to the final three.  (Yahoo!!)
Devon felt like he is leaving this experience a better man and he at least got to go out with a bang.  (He does seem like a good guy.) He feels blessed.

And Jeff tells us that the final twist is not a one-off, that will be a part of the game going forward.

Solewa - Day 39
Ryan knows he is the underdog going into this tribal council so he has to convince the jury he had total control of the game the whole time - this is a total lie, but if anyone can do it, it's Hustler Ryan.

Chrissy threw up at the first challenge she was so terrified but who would have thought she'd come back to win four immunities?  She says she's a mom, she's an everyday hero and she deserves to win tonight.  She wants other mom's to know they should believe in themselves because their dreams may just come through.

Ben has been full throttle since day one - this game and him are two peas in a pod.  Being a marine he's seen some battles and he knows tonight is going to be a battle because Ryan's a good talker and Chrissy won four immunity challenges - he has to go in humble but confident. He's done this to provide for his family more than anything and at the end he's got to bring home a paycheque.

FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 39
They did it a bit different this season, and I'm not sure how to write it up.  The jury didn't go one at a time, they did more of an open forum discussion in three rounds - Outwit, Outplay, Outlast... I hope you can follow.

Jeff explains: Outwit is the social part of the game, making alliance dealing with people - Outplay, how did you deal with the conditions put on you by the game - Outlast, did you put on the jury people that will respect how you played the game more than the people beside you.

Outwit - Desi starts off congratulating Chrissy for winning four immunities and hats off to Ben for finding so many hidden idols - but Ryan, everyone just thought they could beat you and that's why you're there, here's your opportunity to tell us why you deserve to win.
-(Okay, I would have laughed if he just made goat noises, that would have been awesome...) Ryan starts with saying he found the secret advantage day one on the boat and used it to build alliances with Chrissy and Devon - but then goes on a run of exaggerated claims that he was actually running things and using Devon as the face of the blindside decisions that were made.  He says he had to depend on things that he's good at - building social relationships.
-Ashley asked him why he never had a strategic discussion with her, isn't that a breakdown of his social game.  Ryan says that his strategy with her would have been filtered through Devon.
-Joe asks Devon to co-sign on this and he stumblingly tries to back up his boy but JP asks if Ryan knew about his blindside and no- Ryan did not know when they flipped on the seven.

-Joe then takes the floor, saying he's glad they started with Outwit, he didn't realize Ryan was making these moves early on but he wants to move on to King Ben, because his social game was horrible, he only ever yelled at Joe and Chrissy just butted heads with Joe (that's the way you wanted it dude.) Now he's blaming them for not trying to get along with him because he ended up on the jury.
-Ben owns his social awkwardness and just tells it like it is - coming back from combat with PTSD, he couldn't even talk to his family let alone a beach full of strangers.  He opened up a lot to these people not just for gameplay but to try to better himself as a friend and a man.
-Chrissy jumps in that her game was different - she got this far not by trying to make epic blindsides but by staying loyal to her alliances.  She was loyal to Ryan and JP (what about Ben?).  She also tried to get to know them all personally and could tell them each a personal thing about themselves.  Joe calls her on that, what's my thing?  Chrissy says he doesn't believe in getting married because his parent divorced when he was very young and it was horrible for him and he just doesn't think that marriage works (Boom! She totally got him there - it was awesome, finally someone shut Joe up.)
-Cole calls out Ben for blowing his food stealing out of proportion and trying to get everyone to turn on him as a thief - if Ben clears his name they'll be all good. (What? This is not about you and you did eat more than your share - whatever, move on from this dolt.) Ben says that Cole was a physical threat and if that was the only way he could get people to turn on Cole, he was going to use that - it was nothing personal.
-Then Ryan jumps in to try and make Ben look bad - saying it went beyond painting a target on Cole's back, he had a vendetta against you (what are you doing Ryan?) who did you not argue with, who had your back? Me.  Ben, says no, it was a strategic move - he talked to Cole man-to-man - he sat on the beach and told stories to Devon and Lauren, this is my life, I told stories.
-Ashley jumps in that he told people things but Chrissy actually asked people about themselves, she's a freakin' genius.  Chrissy takes up this line and says she did forge great social connections - she throws out Cole's SAT score - Ryan protests that she's just throwing out random facts now and Cole doesn't care if she knows things, it's how she used these relationships in the game and he doesn't know that about her.  She starts saying that she would try and find out people's philosophies on how to play the game to find out if they were compatible, like when she got to know Devon... and Ryan jumped in that it was through him - Chrissy shuts that down, "Just because your body is present, doesn't mean that people have a relationship through you." (That's right, you tell him.)
-Then there is some back and forth - Cole tries to shut it down, saying they are not making any impact on their voting with this - and Desi classes up the place again by trying to get them to realize that the jury does respect them and they should take a step back and realize this is just a game.

Okay let's move on to Outplay (are you serious??? Aren't we done?)  Okay, I'm just going to put in the salient points.
Chrissy won four immunities. Ben found and played three hidden immunity idols perfectly.  Ryan did nothing - he acknowledged that is true and then kept yammering on (let's just imagine goat noises when Ryan talks - you're wasting our time here.)
Ashley says she is very proud of all the girls on the jury and Chrissy - they took eight of the nine individual immunities this season (Wow! That's fantastic - as a feminist, I am really proud of this season's women.) Chrissy was terrified when this started - she never played sports as a kid, she was always told she sucked at physical stuff, but somehow she found the courage and did it. She is only one of four women that have won four immunities and she also got two advantages in the game - she is very proud of herself.  And the jury all chimed in that she should be proud, they are all proud of her too.  Lauren said she applied for 16 years, it's proven that giving up is not an option in her book. Congrats.
-Ben tries to jump in but Joe starts yammering - but then he turns it to Ben, asking him how he found three immunities - did he just put in the work or what?  Ben said his back was against the wall and he has no choice - he got up when everyone was sleeping and he was searching - he never quit.  The only person that was going to save him was him.
-Desi asked them how they let Ben go off on his own to find that many idols.  Ben answered that he was one step ahead of them on every idol.  They looked at the raft, he already had the idol. Mike looked under the shelter, he already had it in his pocket. Chrissy tried to play a fake idol, he knew it was fake, because he already had it in his pocket.
-Chrissy says they thought they were tailing him as best they could but that was obviously a game flaw (yeah, he put in the work, you guys didn't.)

Outlast - finally the final three make their pitches.
Ryan - bleat bleat 


Ben - he says he's going to be short but sweet - every one of them [the jury] he had a hand in putting on the jury because he saw them as hurdles to overcome to win a million dollars for his wife and kids.  He respects them as threats but he had to put them in those seats.  (The jury all look at him like, seriously, that's it?)
Mike says that win or lose, Ben has played one of the best games in Survivor history and he will be remembered as a legend in this game (sure…) but he wants more - why should you be the winner tonight? And Joe can't help himself he says that lack of speech was like he was giving up now. (Come on Ben, don't pooch it now.)
-Ben says the reason he should be sole Survivor this year is because even after been called a king and deemed a dictator - he never quit looking and I never quit battling against all y'all. I've told you I'm out here for my family and I am and I've talked about stuff that happened in the military - I came back with PTSD and me being out here now is a message to all those men and women who are struggling, they don't have to feel alone, or like nobody understands (oh, they even have music swelling under this - yup, that was the moment they wanted) it's powerful - if I can be labelled a hero for showing vets that it can be done and they can have happiness - you have to work hard for it but it can be done.

Chrissy - She underestimated herself coming into this game - and has realized that there are times she just has to say that she is awesome - in this case she is saying that she kicked ass at the challenges, she kicked ass strategically, she made connections with each of them and she got to the end by playing a good, clean, solid game, without leaving a trail of destruction.  She says all Mom's are heroes because they put other people before themselves - they don't even stop and think, they put themselves on the line everyday - not like a firefighter or a marine - but it is with great love and no thought that they get in there and do whatever they have to do for their kids.  They are not only heroes but also healers and hustlers - so her game was all parts of that.  And don't forget she's been applying for 16 years – “the point in never give up on your dreams - you can be a 47 yr old mom and freakin' do this.  Whoever wins tonight is going to be the representative of your season and I think that I would be a winner that we can all celebrate.”  (Wow, Chrissy is really good at tooting her own horn, I think she has had some practice, even though she thinks she's humble.  Regardless, it was a good speech and I'm not a Mom but I'm still proud of how she played as a woman of like age.)

Finally - it's time to vote (I'm feeling like Ben, up all night writing this recap as everyone sleeps.)
Lauren votes for Ben - hopes he does something good for veterans. (Not more awful tattoos)
Devon votes for Ryan - seriously? Do you speak goat?
Ashley votes for Chrissy - she's okay with her representing their season.

Then flash to the live studio for the reading of the votes:

Ben - 1
Ryan - 1
Chrissy - 1
These we knew.

Chrissy - 2
Ben - 2, 3, 4 - and BEN is the winner of Survivor Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers!! Wahoo!! 

With Ben winning this season, that means that the winners of our Pool are Elaine R., Cindi & Steve and Coleen T. (YES, That's me!!! I can't believe I finally won the pool on the season I decide to quit doing the pools. It's serendipity.)

So the reunion portion of this show didn't really talk to the rest of the contestants.  They did make us all cry by bringing out three of Ben's Marine buddies that he hasn't seen in 10-12 years and they confirmed that he had been in really bad shape when they last saw him but they are so happy for him and proud of how far he's come. (Someone was cutting onions through that for sure.)

And they showed a preview of Next Season (which will start usually in February). 
Survivor Ghost Island - will be based on some of the worst decisions ever made in Survivor history - giving a totally new cast the chance to reverse the curse and make better decisions using the actual haunted advantages and idols that did previous players in.  (Hmm, that sounds really interesting.)

So, this is it, I'm realizing that I really am going to miss doing this, it has been a labour of love and I've enjoyed playing along with all of you  - but it's time, I'm ready to let it go and I hope you all understand.

I'm a little weepy and going to bed now.  Don't forget the Amazing Race starts on January 3, 2018.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Coleen

 

Survivor HvHvH - Dec 13/17 Episode Recap

The Survivor Devil

Last week Ben got everyone riled up at Tribal so they voted for him, then he made the epic move of playing a hidden immunity idol none of them even had a whiff that he had- and his was the sole vote that counted to send Lauren to the jury.

Solewa - Night 33
They return to camp and everyone is just flabbergasted that Ben was able to keep having a hidden idol a secret (seriously? That's how the game is supposed to be played - duh!) If anything that move just solidified for the other five that Ben will be the next one to go - no question.  Chrissy demands of all of them that they not let Ben win immunity, no matter what.
-Devon calls Ben out, says he voted out the wrong person because he's (Devon's) not going to let Ben win immunity. 

Solewa - Early morning - Day 34
The one thing Ben knows is that he is on the outs and needs another immunity idol to ensure he stays there.  He wakes up before anyone else and takes the opportunity to go look for another hidden immunity idol - one thing in his favour, he's found one before, knows to look for a clue - not in his favour, thick jungle, big island and it's still kind of dark...

-Meanwhile, camp has awoken and Chrissy is sure that Ben is out looking for a hidden immunity idol (of course he is, he's no dumb bunny) but she's pretty sure the odds are against him finding another one (she's the actuarial, she should know, right?)

REWARD CHALLENGE
They will be randomly paired up and attached to a rope - they must run through a series of obstacles - over, under, however the rope is looped through these things - until they reach the end as a pair.  Then they have to untether and untie a string of knots holding five rings - once freed, they must throw the rings onto pegs - first couple to get all their rings on the pegs wins the reward of a helicopter ride to a private resort on a private island where they will get food, drink, chocolate mousse, and they will stay the night and sleep in a bed. (Oh my godapus - after 33 nights sleeping on bamboo, that would be heaven.)

Pairs are Ben & Ashley, Devon & Chrissy and Mike & Ryan.
Ben & Ashley work well together working through the obstacles, Devon is helping Chrissy keep up and Ryan & Mike are not communicating and Ryan keeps getting hung up in the rope.
Ben & Ashley are the first to start throwing the rings but Devon & Chrissy quickly catch up and it's DEVON & CHRISSY that win the Reward!  They get to choose one other person to go with them and Devon asks if they can discuss it - they take an aside, Chrissy says she thinks Ryan should go and Devon say, Alright.  Ashley is shocked and gets in a dig at Devon for letting Chrissy choose their third, she thought he was in her corner, maybe not so much.

-Ben wanted to go on this reward to look for a clue to a hidden immunity idol, but seeing Ashley's reaction to not being chosen to go, maybe it's better for him to start working on her instead.

Solewa - Day 34
Ashley, Ben and Mike return from the challenge and Mike is as tone deaf as ever - he starts ranting about how Ryan is the least deserving of going on the reward - Mike apparently thought that they would have chosen him to go as he's in the middle between the two "couples" - Mike is the star of his own show, that's for sure.
-Ashley and Ben let him rant, she's just as salty not being chosen but she's not piling on and Ben can't believe they're both such cry-babies - he moves in for the kill.  "What's your idea of who goes next?" Mike, "after you, you mean?"  Ben acts like he's hurt that Mike keeps trying to throw him under the bus and Ashley says it's safe to say that everyone wants Ben gone before they get to the final three.  Ben throws it out there, if they can use his vote for anything else, he's willing to vote with them.
-This discussion has solidified for Ben that Mike will be his next target, he's hoping he can work with Ashley, but he knows he's got a lot of work to do to keep his butt in this game.  Ashley, however, is having none of it.  Ben tells her that Ryan & Chrissy are gunning for her and Devon and they don't have the upper hand - she says that may be true, according to Ben - but she's not interested in playing with Ben any longer.

-Ben decides his best course of action is to spend his time looking for a hidden immunity idol rather than talking to Ashley and getting no where.  Mike isn't too worried about Ben searching for an idol, he's looked himself and couldn't find anything so he's still very confident that Ben will be going home.

REWARD
They eat and quickly Devon and Chrissy want to talk strategy - Ben out next, then Mike cause they don't know where he stands.  Chrissy says that she is willing to go to the final three with these two (of course she is, she thinks she would walk away with it against this brain trust.) Devon thinks this is the perfect time to make a move and he's going with Ryan and Chrissy because he thinks he has the best shot against them in the end.  Ryan - okay.
-Chrissy is excited to break up the Devon/Ashley alliance, Ashley called her out in front of the tribe so she wants her out.  She is thinking that they should take Ashley out next and then Ben - (Really? Chrissy seems so reactionary, is that the smartest move? No, but it'll make her feel good in the moment.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 36
They will race through a series of obstacles, getting covered in sawdust, to a bag of sandbags, get a sandbag in the basket and a ladder will fall.  They have to climb the ladder and use a ball on the end of a rope to pull a y-shaped trigger which releases another set of ladder rungs.  Up that ladder they will have to solve a cog-puzzle - first person to be able to spin the cogs and raise their flag wins immunity.

Ben went all out for this one and was the first person to the puzzle.  Poor Devon, after all the big talk of not letting Ben win immunity, he couldn't get the darn ladders down and was last to the top.
- But it was the puzzle skills of Chrissy that made the difference - she pulled out a come from behind victory and ensured Ben did not win immunity. 
-Chrissy feels like this is her time to be in control of the game and she's ensured that either Ben or Ashley are available for her to vote out tonight.

Solewa - Day 36
Ben continues to look for a hidden immunity idol and the rest of them let him just go off by himself.  They don't think he'll find one but, in case he does, Ashley proposes to Chrissy, Ryan and Devon that they split their votes between Mike and Ben so they don't have another upset like last tribal, with only Ben's vote counting because who knows who Ben is voting for.  They play lip service like this is what they'll do but Chrissy wants to take Ashley out tonight.
-Chrissy proposes this to Devon, Ryan and Mike but they don't see Ashley as anything close to the threat that Ben is - Mike says Ben plays with a ferocity that transcends the game. (They are all so afraid of Ben, curious.) The guys are all voting for Ben, Chrissy is still saying she may change her mind depending on how tribal goes and Devon just doesn't get it - they have to get Ben out before the final three of no one else wins. (It's not a very rational dislike of Ashley by Chrissy but whatever.)

Meanwhile, Ben finds a clue to the hidden immunity idol.  It's tied to the underside of their shelter and there is a map with an X marking where it is on the underside of their bed.  So now Ben has to try and slyly retrieve this idol without anyone noticing.  Everyone is milling around, packing their gear to go to tribal and Ben is just lying in the shelter... can he do it??? (Arghh!)

TRIBAL COUNCIL
-Ben tells Jeff he is still the target tonight - with Devon & Ashley and Ryan & Chrissy tight couples and Mike being the swing - Ben's just trying to keep himself in the game.
-Jeff brings up that Devon didn't actually choose Ashley to go on the reward though - and she is still upset by that, but says she understands the strategy.
-Chrissy says her comment about who made that decision was poor sportsmanship on her part (what?) and Ashley backpedals that she didn't mean it as a dig at Chrissy (sure you did, own it.)
-Mike goes on that Ben is a big threat but he's not the only threat.  They have to think about getting to the final three with the people that will be the best for your game - ultimately people you can beat.
-Jeff poles everyone to see if they have a set final three and they all agree that they do -except Ben who is very much a lone wolf out there now. He says he'll take any of them with him. (That's not making you friends, Ben. Basically, I can take you all!)
-Mike goes on about how Ben is a player and he could get his way tonight which made Ashley worry that maybe there is something going on that she's not been made privy to - and Ben jumps on the fact that Devon and Ashley need to start making moves and padding their resume, you can't just coast along and expect to win a million dollars.
-Devon takes exception to that but he's also not going to go through his resume with Ben - Ben says, Eventually you're going to have to if I'm [on the jury]. But Devon is all defensive and not willing to verbally spar with Ben.  Devon says he's  not going to go over his resume with someone he's not aligned with and doesn't trust - and he truly believes that Ben is going home tonight.
-To which Ben says, "Hey Jeff, should we just church this up and get to the point? Cause I'm not going home tonight." And he pulls out a hidden immunity idol which looks suspiciously like the fake one he made.  But he continues showboating, saying "Secret, secret, secret." Then making explosion noises, like he just blew up the game.
-Chrissy doesn't appreciate the theatrics and thinks it inappropriate (oh lady, it does suck when someone outplays you - but getting all prissy about it doesn't do you any favours.)
-Devon is ticked and his best come back is to tell everyone that just because the idol is around Ben's neck right now doesn't mean he's going to play it (of course he's going to play it! Don't be dumb.)
-Ben then plays it - gives it to Jeff who confirms it's a hidden idol and no votes cast for Ben would count so now who do they vote for.  Ben is pointing to Mike behind his back gesturing for Ashley and Devon to vote for Mike.
-Ashley is looking at Devon, he's glaring at Ben, not looking at Ashley - Chrissy is looking at Mike and Ryan... I think there is going to be one woman left standing.

Time to Vote:
They didn't show how anyone voted.
No one else had a hidden immunity idol.

Votes:
Mike - 1
Ashley - 1, 2, 3, 4 - and it's ASHLEY joining the jury.  She let Ben hug her but balked when Devon tried. "Oh, okay." He was shocked she was mad he voted her out (just shaking my head.)

So, with Ashley leaving tonight, that takes Drew C., Emily H. and Tam J. out of the pool.

Ashley says she made it 36 out of 39 days, you can't get much better than that.  She has hard feelings with Devon going against their alliance at the moment but this whole experience has given her a new outlook. (It did seem like she up and changed quite a bit over the course of this season - yet it still wasn't enough.)

Which means the people in the running for the moolah at the finale on Wed, Dec 20/17 are:
Ben: Coleen T., Cindi & Steve, Elaine R.
Chrissy: Bryon L., Roxanne S., Jeff T.
Mike: Carol-Anne D., Fraser G., Julisa C.
Devon: Kevin R., Kim A., Lynne B.
Ryan : Kim B., Susan N. and Sheila G.

And I have an announcement to make as well.  This is going to be the final pool I will run.  I have decided it's time to retire - it's been a decade. I've enjoyed watching with you all, but from now on, I will just be watching. 

But we still have one more finale and some winners to announce.  Go Ben Go!

Regards,

Coleen












 

Survivor HvHvH - Dec 6/17 Episode Recap

Not Going to Roll Over and Die

Last week they treated us to two episodes as a new core four alliance emerged of Ben, Lauren, Devon and Ashley.  First they banded together to take out JP with Ben pretending he wasn't in on it, and then they took out Joe which blew Ben's double-agent cover...

Solewa - Night 30
Mike, Ryan and Chrissy were totally blindsided by the outcome of that last vote - Ryan even burned his idol which he didn't need to do.  Chrissy reverts to form and demands answers of Ben and then takes it totally personal that he won't tell her every detail of what happened.  She calls him a jerk, he tells her this is Survivor and she tells the camera his response to her was inhuman (wow, that's quite the exaggeration.)
-Chrissy is not going to roll over and die, and if she gets the chance to get back at Ben, she's going to take it... (yes, that was foreshadowing.)

Day 31 - REWARD CHALLENGE
This turns out to be the loved-one visit and it devolves into tears, tears, tears...
Ashley's Dad Jim - aww - he's the best man she's ever known.
Ryan's Dad Steve - he's got some meat on his bones, I was curious if Ryan came from a family of Chihuahua people.  He said best moment of his life, sharing this moment with his dad.
Mike's wife Berry? - she's a cutey and she must be tiny cause he's a head taller than her.
Lauren's sister Sunny - she b-lines to Jeff and gives him a hug (ha!) then grabs Lauren's belly and says she's lost some rolls (k, Sunny is sassy).  Lauren and Sunny have the same Dad but grew up in different households - this was actually Sunny's dream to come on Survivor, she dragged Lauren to the open casting call with her and Lauren made it (oh boy) and Sunny didn't.  She's hoping this will bring them closer together (and I'm thinking she's sharing the money if she wins.)
Chrissy's husband Keith - He's her everything and she's feeling kind of broken out there, this means so much.
Devon's Mom Sonja - oh she's so cute, and she just giggled and hugged him and giggled.
Ben's wife Kelly - He tells her she smells so good and asks how the kids are - crying that she saved his life coming back as a veteran, she's the reason he's still on this earth.

Okay, so the challenge is just to pull rocks and if they match, they move on to the next round. Rock's don't match, you're out, that's it. (oof.)

Lauren - Out
Mike - Out
Ryan - Out
Ben - Match - he and Kelly move on.
Chrissy - Match - she and Keith move on.
Ashley - Out
Devon - Out

Of course it's the two that are feuding.  Ben and Kelly do not match this time - Chrissy and Keith DO match and Chrissy wins her loved one coming back to camp for a meal and afternoon.
Chrissy gets to choose people to join her, she chooses Ryan & his Dad, Dr. Mike and his wife and Ashley and her dad.  The strategy is to try and turn Ashley over this meal.

Ben, Lauren and Devon do not get to spend time with their loved ones - Ben picked the wrong time to cross Chrissy and she found her way to make him pay.

Solewa - Day 31
Chrissy is telling her husband what's going on in the game and how her strategy is to try and turn Ashley over this sharing of the reward.
-Ashley listens and she's not so much interested in flipping as possibly using the three underdogs - she sees the logic in taking Ben out sooner rather than later and having a big move to put on her resume. 

Back at Camp
-Ben is busy making a fake immunity necklace which actually looks pretty similar to the one he found.  He hopes to plant it for Chrissy to find while he finds the actual immunity idol.
-Ben shows Devon and Lauren - Devon thinks it's pretty crafty but Lauren thinks it's just petty and pretty farfetched just hoping that he can humiliate Chrissy with it.  Lauren's problem with Ben is that he's taking everything to a personal level - she's there to get the job done, no emotion involved.
-Just so happens that Lauren finds the immunity idol, the real one - sees a symbol on a log, hidden underneath it is a clue and a piece of cord which says it is one half of the hidden idol, she'll have to collect the other half at the immunity challenge where there will be a shell by her station which is the other half of the idol.  She didn't keep any of this secret, she yelled when she found it and read out the clue with both Ben & Devon right there (oh lady.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 33
-They will be standing with their arms stretched out with their fingertips on two discs which they have to keep pressure on so they don't slip and fall.  Of course the pressure is impossible to sustain and the discs will fall, which takes them out of the running - Last person standing wins immunity.
-Lauren is just staring at the inconspicuous clam shell in front of her platform.
-Ben is first out and they start dropping like flies - Chrissy out, Ryan drops... Lauren decides she's just going to stop, she didn't even make it look real... she was focused on picking up that shell.
-Down to Devon, Ashley and Mike... then Mike drops and Ashley promises Devon a shoulder massage if he quits, which works because he trusts her and his alliance - ASHLEY wins immunity again.

-Lauren has the second half of the hidden idol and figures this is a case closed vote and either Chrissy, Ryan or Mike is going home tonight.

Solewa - Day 33
-Ashley wants to start building her resume and she takes Lauren and Devon off to get water and discuss possibly voting out Ben tonight.  As they discuss if it should be Chrissy or Ben, Ben has crept up on them and is eavesdropping. He hears his name and knows something's going on.  He pops out and asks if everything's okay and they are acting all shifty like they got caught... yup, something is definitely rotten in Denmark.  They tell him it's Chrissy tonight but he's no dummy.
-Ben goes and talks to Mike to see if he'd be willing to make a move with him - of course Mike says he's in.  Ben tells him that Lauren found a hidden immunity idol, tells him about the two pieces that make up the idol and plants the seed that Lauren is too powerful in the game with all these advantages and they should take her out.  Mike thought he was out but now he feels like he's on top again.
-Ben then talks to Ryan who is on board with voting out Lauren, as along as it's not him... but in order for that to work, they have to get Chrissy to agree to vote with Ben and there's the rub.
-Ryan and Ben go to find Chrissy who is trying to make her move on Devon... who quickly skedaddles when he's sees Ben show up.  Ben asks Chrissy what Devon was saying (Devon wasn't the one talking) and she rips into him, what makes you think I would tell you anything... Oh boy, this doesn't look promising.  Woman scorned and all that.
-Ben really just wants to say screw it, he has a hidden idol, he'll be okay, but then he gives it another go, taking Chrissy aside he apologizes and tells her he still wants to work with her.  He lays out that Lauren has the extra vote and a hidden immunity idol, they need to make a move on her tonight.  This does shut Chrissy up, she is a tactician and will weigh this new info - if it will keep her safe, she has to consider it.  But she still does not trust Ben.
-Mike also talks to Chrissy trying to sway her towards voting Lauren but she just won't commit, she still wants to vote Ben - so Dr. Mike moves to Plan B and goes and tells Ashley & Devon that Ben told him everything and is trying to take Lauren out tonight.  They are shocked!  (Mike! What did you do??? Ben is my guy in the pool, so I'm rooting for the cowboy.)
-Devon tells Lauren that Ben has turned on her and she decides she's got to try and get numbers back on her side so she casually gives Dr. Mike the shell part of her hidden immunity idol - no fanfare or conditions, just here you go (what the what?)  Mike goes, huh, thanks - then tells the camera this will go down as one of the stupidest moves in Survivor history.  Will the Survivor gods make her pay for it?

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jeff starts us off with talking about the blatant show of camaraderie between Ashley and Devon at the immunity challenge.  Devon said he was just showing his trust in his alliance and would have done the same for Lauren or Ashley.
-Ben pipes up that he thought he was part of that and they turn this all on him - where was his show of trust in his alliance when he told everyone about Lauren's idol.  He said that became part of his game when they snuck off and where whispering at the well.
-They all deny that they were talking about voting him off and say he was being paranoid - betraying Lauren got him nowhere today. (The gall to act like the injured party when they were talking about doing the same thing to him.)
-Ben makes no bones about it - he tells her straight out that he was gunning for her today.  She hopes he has a lot of ammunition.
-Chrissy suggests that Lauren forfeit the advantage of the extra vote and that would take the target off her.  Lauren says the advantage has been ripped up, but then she backtracks and says it's at camp and she can't use it if it's not with her - So Chrissy says then we can vote 4 to 3 and vote you out.  Lauren says to do what they need to do.
-Jeff says he wants to clarify the idol situation and Mike pulls out the shell, "this is part of it." Lauren admits she gave part of it to Mike but then she shoots back at Ben telling them about the fake idol he made to give to Chrissy.
-Ben pulls out the fake idol and says to Jeff that he took it out of play because he didn't want it to be a personal attack on Chrissy - looks pretty good though doesn't it?
-Not to be out-done, Mike stands up and says, "well this is the real idol and I've always wanted to do this..." AND HE THROWS IT IN THE FIRE!  (What the??? Lauren face-palmed HARD! Yup, Dr. Loose-cannon over there just tanked her, big time.)
-They start talking about idols and advantages being both a blessing and a curse - Ben even says, you don't tell anyone that you have an idol... but they're not listening.
-Lauren is scrambling - the advantage is not being played - do you want it? She offers it to Chrissy (really? Now you just look desperate.) Mike says he'll take it.
-Ben says why not leave it to Lauren and send her home?  Devon pipes up that Lauren with an extra vote is not as dangerous a Ben telling everybody everything.  Bicker bicker bicker - there's tons of talking happening but they show us that Ryan and Mike are whispering back and forth Mike says they have to keep the vote Lauren - arguing continues and Devon gets up to go whisper to Mike - he says they need him to vote for Ben and they'll take him out.  Chrissy gets up and whispers to Ryan that she wants to keep the vote Lauren.  Mike gets up and says they should vote Ben but Chrissy says no, let's turn the game.
-Jeff asks what Ben thinks is happening here - he says that they are deciding if they are going to write Ben or Lauren's name down - he comes right out and says he's writing Lauren's name down.

Finally it's time to vote:
They don't show how anybody voted.

Tallying the Votes:
Anybody have a hidden immunity idol and want to play it... they leave us hanging to the last minute when Ben finally steps up and tells Jeff he made a fake one for his wife but her letter led him to this one - and he pulled out the actual hidden immunity idol (phew! For a minute there I thought he wasn't going to play it.)  No votes cast for Ben will count.

Votes:
Ben - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - Does not count.
Lauren - 1 and that's enough to send LAUREN to the jury.  Joe whispers an 'I told you so' "kept Ben around and look what happens" to the jury box. 
And with Lauren leaving, that takes Kim K., Mike L., and Brittany & Sarah R. out of the pool.

Jeff was very wise, "In a tribal council where everything was out in the open, the one thing that had the most power was the only secret."

Next week, the penultimate episode: Ben's big move breeds fear among the remaining survivors but his nemesis Chrissy may turn the tide.

Lauren's final thoughts were basically - it was a classic blindside - the only reason she is there was because her dumb-dumb-self gave Mike a piece of her hidden immunity idol and she thinks it cursed her, she got it.  Took responsibility for her own demise.

So, we're coming to the end, can't wait to see who wins.

Coleen





 

Survivor HvHvH - Nov 29/17 Episode Recap

Buy One, Get One Free

Previously on Survivor - cracks began to form in the alliance of seven when Devon realized that Ryan was sharing knowledge of his idol all over town and the girls bristled at Ben's dictatorial ways.  However, it was Dr. Mike who decided he was going to make his mark by trying to lure votes towards himself at tribal (which didn't work) and then playing his idol (for no reason).  It was Cole who ended up on the jury, which was going to happen anyway, and Mike burned his idol still thinking he made a brilliant play.

Solewa - Night 24
He was disabused of that fact when they got back to camp and Joe starting giving him grief for going rogue and not talking to him about this "big move" beforehand. He lost his idol which no one knew about and they could have used to keep them around longer. Plus Joe was mad Mike was trying to steal his villain thunder.  Mike was steadfast in his belief that he had taken his game in his hands and he was now playing his own way... but he did end up going off by himself so they couldn't make fun of him anymore. (Poor Mike).

REWARD CHALLENGE
-It's the monkey feet challenge - they are all sitting on stools and can only use their feet to release a rope which will drop a bundle of block - they then have to arrange the blocks with their feet in a three level circle ending with the placing of a flag in the middle - Just with their FEET!  I would be so dead.  Reward is a seaplane tour of the sacred islands, then a feast of cheeseburgers, French fries and beer.
-Off they go and Dr. Mike is surprisingly limber with his feet, as is Lauren and Ashley - they are the front runners early.  Mike gets to the point of setting his flag but he knocked over one of the blocks that he had to reset - which allowed Lauren to take the Reward right out from under him.

-Of course being the singular winner of a Reward is she gets to choose people to go with her.  First she chooses Devon (her Hustler brethren), then Ben (her buddy) and Ashley (that surprised me.)
-Ryan is bitter but he pretends he's fine with it.  Lauren tells the camera that she picked these people for strategic reasons, she's ready to blow up their group of seven.

At Camp - the plane does a fly-by and Joe moons them (keeping with last episode tradition.)  Mike is very salty that he lost that challenge and is stuck at camp with the sheep of the seven alliance (in his mind) JP, Ryan and Chrissy.  He decides that he and Joe are going to have a fun afternoon by being two obnoxious jerks basically - they think they're funny but no one else does.  They dub themselves the Coco-nuts, since Joe is kinda brown and Mike is a male genital doctor... oy, that is the level of their humour.
-Ryan & Chrissy take some time to figure out how they want to vote once they are down to the seven, because of course Joe & Mike are the next two - then they are thinking Ben, then Lauren.  And they are 100% sure that they are going to get to the seven.

REWARD
While filling their faces, Lauren proposes that these four create their own alliance and use Mike & Joe to take out one of the seven - because Chrissy, Ryan and JP are fooling themselves if they think it's smooth sailing to the seven. 
-Lauren wants them to put all their cards on the table and then they can use their combined knowledge against the others.  Ben and Devon confirm that Ryan has an idol, Lauren tells Devon & Ashley about her extra vote advantage... Ashley is just blown away, she didn't know any of this stuff (welcome to the party, Ashley.) She realizes she has to step up her game (ya think?)
-Lauren tells Ben and Ashley they have to put their dislike of Joe aside because they need to keep him around for a while - this ain't personal, it's business.  They all agree this is now their plan and cheers with beers to solidify it.  Devon is shocked that Lauren is as good a player as he is (yes, I rolled my eyes.)

And then the find the letters from home hidden under the extra buns and it devolves into a cry fest as they read letters from their loved ones - and have even more reason to thank Lauren for picking them for this reward.

Back at camp
-Ben goes off on his own to read his letters (the one from his son in the huge childish writing even made me tear up) and on his way back he stumbles across a marked rock with a clue to the hidden immunity idol.  Yup, Ben finds himself a hidden immunity idol because the Marine in him had a mission with a map and objective... that little clay pot up in the tree didn't stand a chance.
-He sticks the idol in his boot and says he's not telling anybody about it because nobody around here can keep a darn secret (ha, he's right there.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
It's the triangular float/balance challenge where they have their feet on tiny ledges on either side of the triangle, they move up at regular intervals and if they touch the platform with their hands or fall off they are out.  This one comes down to very light Ryan, desperate Dr. Mike and Ashley who rode that top of the float like a surf board and took the immunity.  Her fellow newly minted alliance of four actually sat out this challenge as Jeff offered a huge bowl of peanut butter and chocolate for those that sat out and Ben, Lauren and Devon took advantage of it - huh, that seemed a little too cocky to me, they just ate at the Reward... but whatever, it worked out for them.
-Chrissy, JP and Ryan didn't win and they don't suspect a thing.

Solewa - Day 27
-Ryan has a bit of a bad taste in his mouth with three of their alliance sitting out the challenge - but luckily Ashley won so they still can take out Joe or Mike.
-Six of them meet to discuss (where is JP?) who to vote for tonight and all are okay with either one of the two "Coco-Nuts" going tonight.  They decide the boys will vote Mike and girls will vote Joe, because won't it be fun surprising them with Mike leaving first.

-Lauren, Devon and Ashley meet on their own and discuss who they actually want to take out first, JP, Chrissy or Ryan... it's time for them to take charge of the game.
-Later Devon talks to Ben and Ashley and proposes that Ben vote for Mike tonight so that he can pretend he's not with their rogue four and can act as a double agent.  Ben is worried about this idea at first but he comes around and seems excited to play this role - but this also means that they need Joe & Mike to vote with them to actually take out whomever they decide to target tonight (they never tell us who it is.)

-When Lauren and Ashley approach Mike & Joe they act like of course this was going to happen, who doesn't love the Coco-nuts?  Mike, "All of a sudden the court jester has become Merlin and I'm going to make them disappear, one by one." (No you're not.)

TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 27
-Mike was hoping last tribal with him borrowing a page a Joe's book, maybe they would believe him saying the crazy things because he's a doctor. (what?) Then they do some more of their Coco-nuts routine, they are a package two vote deal, use us to break up the seven.
-Ryan is over their shenanigans and reiterates that it's just ridiculous, their seven is just too strong (oh realllyy?)
-Lauren knows this seven can only last for so long, but they aren't sitting around the fire discussing which of the seven will go first.
-When does this happen?  Ryan says it's happening when you don't know it's happening.  If you haven't been in on any of those talks, it could be happening to you.
-JP cautions that they can't get to Plan B before they get through Plan A and sometimes you can get caught looking too far ahead and end up the one going home (that would never happen to our in-the-moment firefighter - he's not two steps ahead of anyone, unfortunately.)
-They move on saying that you always have to be playing unless you can find people you trust and how can you trust people in a game with so much distrust (again, welcome to Survivor.)

Finally it's time to vote:
Chrissy votes for Coco-Joe
JP votes for Dr. Mike
Ben votes for Mike
But they don't show us how anyone else voted.

Tallying the votes:
No one plays a hidden immunity idol, though Joe jokes he might have one.

Votes:
Mike - 1
Joe - 1
Mike - 2, 3 - he looks around like, man.
JP - 1, 2, 3 - so that's who they targeted.
JP - 4 - Chrissy and Ryan are freaking out, what is happening.  Devon and Lauren are trying to hide their smiles and Ben and Ashley are much better actors.
JP - 5 -  and it's JP joining the jury.  He doesn't say anything a his torch is snuffed but walking away he says, "damn, they got me good."

So with JP going, that takes Shane B., Sharon R., and Susan H. out of the pool. 

And we jump right back in with our second hour... Yikes.

Solewa - Night 27
-They get back to camp and Chrissy is looking for answers, "Someone please explain what happened?  How did that play out?"  Joe tells her they're Coco-Nuts not idiots, they're not telling her anything.
-Ben even gets a lick in, "big talk for someone who said he'd never be a puppet." Oh yeah, he's loving the double-agent thing... and he was really good at it.  No one had any idea that Ben knew about this.
-Chrissy is genuinely upset that the three she sees as flipping (Devon, Lauren and Ashley) will not answer her questions. (They don't owe you anything) she feels like they treated her, Ryan and Ben poorly when they got back to camp because they wouldn't go over everything that happened and explain how they out-played her (?)
-Ryan was trying to be gracious, thanking them for keeping him around. He was actually infuriated that they got one over on him but he is falling back on his meek persona to try and keep himself there - underneath he is a seething cauldron of rage.
-Ben's next goal is to stay in with Chrissy & Ryan and get Ryan to play his idol.

-Ryan goes and talks to Devon to find out what the heck happened, he thought they were in it to the end.  Devon told him that he no longer trusted him because he told Ben about his idol - it's that simple.  Devon's plan to win a million dollars no longer includes Ryan.

Solewa - Day 28
Devon is feeling like his whole game has now become clear and honestly it seems to be going to his head.  He's talking to Ben like he's now running the show - just one more vote and they'll have the majority and can be out in the open with Ben - Ben reminds him they have Lauren's extra vote so they do have the numbers - Devon, "Oh yeah." and then he tells us nobody knows he's as good at this game as he is... (Oh boy, this sounds like an invitation for Survivor Karma to bite him in the butt.)

REWARD CHALLENGE
-They are divided into two teams of four.  They start out on a platform in the water - on Jeff's go they have to jump in the water and then get in a boat, then paddle the boat to three other platforms gathering very heavy bags of logs along their way in to shore.  Once at shore they have to carry the heavy bags to their mat then start pushing the logs through a tunnel, pushing puzzle pieces out the other end.  Once they have all the logs in the tunnel, and all the puzzle pieces out the other side, they can start on the puzzle.  They have to arrange a bunch of narrow boards of varying lengths to form the picture and theme of this season - Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers.
The Reward they will win is Survivor Spa - a nice shower, massages and food of veggie wraps, chicken, fruit and pie.

The teams are not evenly divided muscle-wise, its:
Red: Lauren, Ryan, Mike and Chrissy
Blue: Ben, Ashley, Joe and Devon

Gotta give Lauren props, she was able to step up and muscle the logs into the boat and through the tunnel (the bag weighed more than Ryan and he couldn't lift it into the boat.) But the Blue team was just too far ahead and had more time with the puzzle - which brought them the win.

REWARD
They are filling their faces and Ben has to continue to play his role of betrayed king with his disloyal knights - Joe is eating it up.  Secretly Ben is loving messing with Joe, especially since he doesn't even know it's happening. Any chance Ben has to mess with Joe he's going to take it.
-Ashley thinks Ben's performance is awesome, maybe too good though.  He's selling it so well, she is realizing just how dangerous Ben really is... and it's kinda scary. (Uh oh - Ben is my guy in the pool, so this talk is not good.)

Solewa - Day 28
-Ryan decides he's got to talk to Mike and try to endear himself to him, with their similarities... but Mike is having none of it.  He tried to worm his way in with Ryan a number of times and Ryan wouldn't give him the time of day, now the tables have turned and Mike could not be less interested in playing with Ryan at this point. "Isn't it just a buck late and a dollar short?" (Uh no, that's not the expression - A day late and a dollar short - but regardless, Ryan was Denied!)

-Chrissy found the same brick wall up when she tried to talk to Lauren.  Everything she said, Lauren just uh huh'd her - she was not having any of it.  Chrissy said that she and Ryan had talked strategy together prior to yesterday (how is that supposed to make Lauren want to talk to you now?) and they talked about going to the end with Lauren (no you did not) - but Lauren's no dummy - if Chrissy wanted to work with her she would have talked to her weeks ago, not after an epic blindside.  Too bad, so sad.

Solewa - Day 29
It's a cold and rainy morning and Chrissy just can't seem to get herself out of bed - she's convinced that she, Ryan and Ben are the next to go and this game is just kicking her butt.  She gets some rice and snaps out of it - she just had a moment because in her real life she is in control of everything and out there she is stripped bare and not in control of her own fate.  This has been her dream for 16 years and she's going to use her actuarial brain to think of all the possible scenarios to keep herself there.

Day 30 - IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
This is a new one - they have to push what they call a Survivor driving wheel (kind of a plank with a wheel at one end, a handle at the other and a very small platform surface in the middle) they have to balance a clay pot with a key attached on this wheel, take it over a teeter-totter, over a zig-zag balance beam and then unlock puzzle pieces (12 of them) that they will then have to transport over a number of small mogul like triangles to the finish.  Once they get all the pieces to the end, they have to arrange them vertically on a tall post and arrange them to spell a single word. 

Ben and Devon were leading to the end, Ashley caught up by being able to carry more puzzle pieces to the end but then they had to solve a word puzzle and everyone caught up.  It ended up being Chrissy who was able to figure out the word very quickly in a huge come-from-behind win.  Chrissy just fulfilled a dream of winning individual immunity (so you can go home happy now?)

Solewa - Day 30
-Now they just have to get to gettin' and figure out who they are voting out next.  Ben, Lauren, Devon and Ashley get together and Ben wants to vote out Joe next, they don't need him anymore and let's face it, Ben just doesn't like him much.
-So they all agree it's Joe tonight but what are they going to tell Mike & Joe?  Devon devises the plan to tell them that Lauren is going to use her extra vote and they will split their votes three for Ben and three for Ryan... and they'll just vote for Joe.

-Joe is ecstatic hearing this plan, they will flush out Ryan's idol and Ben going home... and getting rid of Lauren's advantage - things could not look better for him right now. (Oh, they really could.)
-Mike is looking forward to Ben going home, he's the biggest threat out there and he's betrayed Mike numerous times - fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me... (Shame, Mike, Shame.)
-Chrissy, Ryan and Ben are talking and she's telling Ben whichever way they slice it, she's pretty sure it's going to be Ben tonight.  He's playing up the "oh shucks, why me" while urging Ryan to play his idol - it'll make sure to get him to day 31.  Ben says the play acting is taking it's toll on him but it will all be worth it when he can sit like a kid in a candy store and watch Joe get his torch snuffed.

-Lauren goes and talks to Ashley and they are thinking that maybe this could be the time to vote Ben out (WHAT?? Noooooo! Okay, it would be smart, hell even they would vote for Ben to win in the end - but he's my guy in the pool.) Ashley talks to Devon and tells him they are considering taking Ben out tonight and he's shocked... and intrigued.  It's between Ben & Joe and it's not an easy decision to make - you want to be bold, but smart.

TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 30
JP got a haircut since the last tribal council and Ashley is eye-banging him as he comes in, keep it in your pants lady.

-Mike and Chrissy are just loving living their Survivor dream.  His tribe is vibing him and he's vibing his tribe (is that a thing people say?)  For Chrissy she's been trying to get on Survivor since 2001 so finally being there is a dream come true and winning individual immunity will let her stay a bit longer so she can't help but be joyful.
-Joe says Tribal is exciting because you want to see how strong alliances are; see if they are going to play it safe or be risky.
-Ben plays along that he, Ryan and Chrissy were blindsided by his three rogue knights and the two court jesters forming up - and it looks like he's probably going home tonight.
-Ryan starts talking about that happening because maybe they became complacent but Joe is shaking his head and lays it all on Ben thinking that he was King, when he had kings and queens around him.  He put his guard down and look what happened.  He's taking a lot of joy in this.
-Ben wants to point out that Joe had made a habit of calling everyone else puppets and goats and sheep when now he's calling his alliance kings & queens when he's still on the bottom.
-Mike and Joe are just on the other side now - just because they are the newest members doesn't mean they are the least important, everyone has an equal say... and they are best sticking together.
-Ryan points out that is exactly what they criticized about the alliance of seven.
-Mike says he looks at it like two surgeons performing the same operation - the outcome is different because the surgeons are different. Just because the old alliance didn't do it right, doesn't mean the new alliance won't do it right. (Boom.)
-And they keep talking (why???) gotta keep vigilant, lots of ups and downs, gotta look for cracks, Ryan says it's like prom. Joe says this is the most comfortable he's felt, he trusts his alliance and Ben says that is what every comfortable alliance says, and yet they all get blindsided like he was.

Let's just vote already.
They don't show how anybody voted.

Tallying the votes:
Anybody want to play a hidden idol?  Yes, Ryan does.  He hands over his idol and plays it for himself.

Votes:
Ryan 1, 2 - does not count.
Ashley - 1, 2 (who voted Ashley?)
Joe - 1, 2, 3, 4... That's right, finally JOE is out and the Ben stuff was just a red herring, phew.

So with Joe leaving us, that takes Scott M., Lynne B., and Robert L. out of the pool.

Next week the loved ones will be visiting and Ben gets the feeling that there is something going on in his alliance of four, when he comes upon the other three at the waterhole, without him.  He's making a fake immunity necklace and giving it to Devon (oh yeah!!)

Joe's final thoughts: It was a good call on their part, we had an alliance of five and obviously they didn't want me in that alliance.  But he played how he said he was going to, gave 120%, found some idols and he played his game, he didn't play anyone else's game (until the end there).

There are only three episodes left people - the final episode is the week before Christmas so someone's going to have an extra happy holiday ;)

Have a great weekend,

Coleen




























 

Survivor HvHvH - Nov 22/17 Episode Recap

Fear of the Unknown

Last week a strong alliance of seven was solidified when the former Heroes and Hustlers voted together to take out a Healer - but confusingly took out Desi instead of Joe. 

Solewa - Day 22
-Dr. Mike has decided to start throwing the other Healers under the bus to try and keep himself there a couple votes longer.  He tells people about Cole telling everyone's secrets and stealing peanut butter... and everyone already hates Joe. (He better be careful though, being the guy throwing out the names can backfire.)

-Lauren was super stoked that she was able to use pull off the secret non-vote so she'll have two votes sometime in the future, with no one any the wiser - because apparently no one bothered counting the votes.  Ben is the only other person that knows about it and he's actually kept it to himself, keeping their little secret pact going. They are focusing on getting to the seven, then they'll have to make some hard decisions.

-Devon and Ryan are talking also about what they're going to do when they get to seven, Devon's worried but Ryan tells him not to, because he has an hidden idol in his pants.  Yes, bellhop Ryan was able to dig up the idol before everyone starting wrestling under the flag last week, but now he's decided to share the knowledge with Devon - who tells him no one else can know - of course he agrees... (uh, doesn't Chrissy know too?)

REWARD CHALLENGE - Day 22
-They will be divided into two teams - out on platforms in the water - on Jeff's go, one person from each team will swim out to the next platform and a tall ladder, up the ladder then jump into the water and dive down to untie a buoy with a key attached that they will then have to swim to the final platform.  Once all three buoy/keys are on the platform the other two team members will use the keys to unlock a chest with balls inside which they will have to use to score five baskets in five nets.  First team to get all the baskets wins the Reward of an afternoon on a luxury yacht with food, including a huge chocolate cake.
Teams:
Blue: Ben, Devon & Ashley in the water, Ryan and Lauren on the keys.
Red: Chrissy, Cole, JP in the water, Joe & Mike on the keys.
Off they go and it's a bit back and forth through the water section.  They get to throwing the balls and Joe is able to get the baskets ahead of Ben - giving Red the win. (Dang it! I don't like it when Joe gets anything, he's insufferable.)

REWARD - Day 22
Chrissy, Cole, JP, Joe and Mike are enjoying the beautiful yacht and of course the food. Cole says he's only lost one challenge since being out there (Reward challenge I think he means) and now, with a full belly, he'll have a better chance at winning the next immunity.  Then out comes the chocolate cake and Joe starts cutting it up though it seems like everyone is too full to eat it but Chrissy calls him out - he`s looking for a clue.  Joe makes no show of hiding it after that, he starts looking under things, all over the boat for a clue.
-They do a drive by of the camp and the captain blows the horn to get the attention of the tribe on the beach, who lines up and moons the boat!  HA! It was pretty good.

Back at Camp:
-Ryan takes this opportunity to pull Ben aside and tell him that he has the idol in his pants. (What - Ryan is trying to gain favour with Ben but not realizing he`s betraying Devon - it`s all about the power in his pants going to his head.)
-Ben is ecstatic, because now he knows that Cole doesn`t have it... but this also means that Ryan is out there to play and he`ll have to keep an eye on that.

Solewa - Day 23
-There is Joe, digging for an idol under the flag... the idol that`s not there.  Joe`s thinking that he`s got no choice at this point but to start pushing buttons and getting everyone to hate him so they won`t worry about voting him out because they can take him out at any time... this will give him time to make a move.
-Mike finds Joe strangely entertaining but Chrissy and Ashley do not find him entertaining in any way.  Joe shows up and starts needling Ashley telling her she`s a goat and she doesn`t have to do anything because she`ll make to the end as a goat.  She tells him she has respect for his game but he should show the same respect for others and he twists it that he is showing her respect but telling her these things to her face (Arrrghhh!! I feel her anger and frustration and it`s even worse because you know he`s doing it on purpose but you can`t help but react to him.)  He takes shots at Chrissy and Ashley until Chrissy just has to get up and move away from him, Ashley opts for telling him to Shut Up!
-Ashley doesn`t understand his thought process, he`s so unpleasant to be around, that she is going to be pushing for them to vote him out next, before Cole. (But the men would say she`s thinking emotionally, Ben wants to keep Joe around because he is so unpleasant, no one will vote for him to win, so Joe is actually the goat in this scenario.)

Solewa - Day 24
-Ben takes Devon aside thinking that he needs someone to team up with him and Lauren and he thinks that Devon has a good heart.  Ben shares a secret with Devon to show he trusts him - he tells him that Ryan has an idol.  (Boom! Devon`s head explodes) He is shocked and Ben thinks it`s because he didn`t know about the idol but really, it`s because he trusted Ryan hadn`t told anyone else and now it seems like he`s been blabbing all over town.  Now Devon`s thinking he can`t trust Ryan and he`s going to go forward with Ben.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
This one made my back and thighs hurt just looking at it.  They will be standing on a crate with two bars resting on their shoulders.  Suspended at the end between the bars is an urn filled with water - if they stand up straight, the urn will fall dousing their fire, if they crouch too low, their flag will pop up - either way they are out.  So they have to crouch in this horrible position, not too high, not too low... I`d have to just take a pass I think.
-Off they go and Ashley was quickly out (kind of surprised there, swimmers have strong legs usually - but it`s just learning the range on this one, she went too high and that was it.)  Dr. Mike quickly followed, then JP. 
-Ashley made a comment to Chrissy, telling her that her form was perfect and just moving their heads to look took out Devon and Joe.
-Ben, Chrissy, Ryan drop which leaves it to the final two: Lauren and Cole.  Cole is blowing kisses to the peanut gallery who are holding their breath.  Ashley is giving Lauren warnings about not going to high, they are all trying to help her win and it does pay off, as Cole`s urn falls and LAUREN wins immunity.

-Cole is hoping that everyone`s dislike of Joe will save him tonight.

Solewa - Day 24
-The round table alliance of seven all go for water - to discuss the vote tonight.  Ben dictates that they still have to worry about an idol so they will have to split the votes.  He wants four votes for Cole and three for Mike (wait, what - still no Joe)
-Ashley is pissed - she argues to take out Joe tonight, he`s very slippery and has already found two idols, he`s always looking, she thinks he is much more of a threat.  Lauren tells her she just has to let it go and Ben just totally discounts her argument all together - he dictates it is four for Cole and three for Mike. 
-Ben`s my-way-or-the-highway attitude does not go over well with Ashley, she`s talking to Chrissy, Devon and Lauren, telling them it`s going to kill her not to vote for Joe (again) - Chrissy agrees, she and Devon have her back and they want to tell Ben this is not a dictatorship.

-Mike asks Ben who he should vote for and he tells him it`s Cole, just don`t tell Joe.  Dr. Mike also not so happy to be dictated to - he wants to try and flip things to get Ben out.  He talks to Joe and tells him they are being holier-than-thou, saying Joe`s so awful, but then not voting him out.  Mike is going to make their world implode by playing his idol tonight - but who to give it to? (Oy, this doesn't look good for Dr. Mike.)

-Chrissy now talks to Ben questioning why it has to be Cole tonight instead of Joe.  Ben says something about wanting to flush an idol but he`s just over it, he doesn`t have the patience to even explain why, because his answer would be that it`s better for his game.  Everyone already dislikes Joe so, he wants to keep him around.  Ben sneers to the camera that people are playing with their hearts and morals and that doesn`t win you a million dollars.
-Chrissy tells him that people are starting to feel a little bit steamrolled by him and he says, No, no their not.  (Uh, yes, yes they are, and you should listen.)

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Dr. Mike leans over and whispers to Joe that he has to follow his lead tonight, just trust me.  (Joe`s face says it all, No f`n way is he leaving his fate in Mike`s hands.)

Oh, and Desi is the first person on the jury.  Hello Desi!

-Joe says the game is lost from his point of view - he and the other Healers are not part of the round table.  Mike laughs that he's the court jester.
-Cole is not laughing, he knows that he and Joe are first up on the chopping block and there has been no strategic talk with him.
-Chrissy says camp has been difficult, Joe came after Ashley and her with a barrage of insults that went beyond gameplay.
-Mike interjects that he is disappointed in the tribe - they have to play with moral and ethical conduct here and they are saying that Joe is offending them and painting him as a pariah, yet they are not voting him out which seems to say that behaviour is allowed and they are not playing the game with high moral character.  If me speaking up puts a target on my back, then so be it.  (He just confused Ben, he told us earlier, you don't win a million dollars with high moral fiber.)  Mike says if Ben is King Arthur at the round table, he will be the Statue of Liberty in America because they beat England in the end (oof, that was a tortured metaphor - Dr. Mike needs a better writer you guys.)
-Lauren just face-palmed and Dr. Mike is looking all smug with himself (Dude, it didn't land.) Lauren says she agrees with Mike except that they are playing Survivor - she doesn't act that way [in everyday life]
-Mike won't let her make her point, he is talking a page from Joe's book, talking over her and restating his position that they are showing low moral character by painting Joe as a pariah but keeping him around.  Lauren asks if he just wants to take the shovel and bury himself, because he is digging that hole deeper and deeper, and he didn't even need to open his mouth.
-Chrissy tries to bring them back on course by saying they have to vote tonight looking to the next tribal (yeah, don't you do that every time?)
-Joe says something about them living in a fantasy world, no one is playing until they reach the magical four.  Mike pipes up that once the Healers are gone there are 4 Heroes and 3 Hustlers, and three doesn't beat four.
-Ashley says you can do all the counting you want but this is not just a numbers game, you cannot calculate relationships, deceptions, betrayal, the game happens in every conversation.
-Ben says the 2 or 3 relationships you build will take you to the end, the thing that puts Joe outside those relationships is his mouth - he talks about the round table, the king and his knights - but he's the only one living in a fantasy world right now.  Joe and Mike are just laughing.
-Jeff points out that Cole has shrunk himself trying to disappear and Cole thanks him for pointing that out, he's hoping Mike's opening his mouth is good for him.
Meanwhile Ben is whispering with Lauren and Ashley and gets Chrissy's attention - yes, they're good.  Okay, finally time to vote:

Tallying the Votes:
Jeff asks if anybody has a hidden immunity idol they'd like to play - and Mike stands up says, "I think America's going to stay one more day" and he plays the idol for himself (huh? Wasn't he trying to get them to vote for Joe?? I don't understand, did he think they'd all vote for him?)  Well, they just successfully flushed Mike's idol.

Votes:
Ben - 1
Mike - 1, 2 does not count
Cole - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... that's enough, COLE is voted out and Mike looks so proud of himself.  But he could have kept his idol and not done anything and Cole still would have gone home.  Ben told him they were voting for Cole - and watching til the end - Joe & Mike voted for Cole too.  I guess Mike that he'd rile them enough to vote for him and then he and Joe would take Cole out?? Whatever, if it makes him feel like a big man, fill yer boots.

Oh, and with Cole joining the jury - that takes Lorraine F., Gillian H. and Manny W. out of the pool.

Next week: The alliance of seven starts to crumble from within - they show Lauren, Ashley and Devon wanting to talk to Joe & Mike... oh ho!

Cole - he hoped it would be Joe not him but they saw him as too big of a physical threat.  He was just grateful and thankful to be there and proud of how he played the game.  No regrets and he was glad to have met Jessica. (Ugh.)

Is anyone else having trouble liking anyone this season??

Coleen