A new episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The castaways return to camp after tribal council. Cole says he knows how it feels to have people lie to him. Joe says he can admit it was an amazing play to vote out Jessica, even though it was a move that hurt his game. Ben says he and Lauren put a plan in place, and it was a good feeling to have it be a success. He wants to keep the reins on the Heroes and Hustlers alliance. The next morning, Lauren finds a secret advantage without anyone noticing. The advantage is that she can save a vote. This means that if she chooses to not vote at an upcoming tribal council, she’ll get to vote twice in a following tribal council.
It’s time for the reward challenge. They will have to hit targets by launching sandbags with the use of a slingshot. They will be divided into two teams, and the odd person out will get a chance to enjoy the reward without having to compete. The teams are randomly chosen, and the teams are JP, Chrissy, Cole, Ryan, and Devon against Desi, Ben, Ashley, Lauren, and Mike. Joe drew a white rock, and he’ll enjoy the reward. They are playing for a spaghetti meal. The challenge begins, and Ben and Ryan are the first two to launch a sandbag. Neither of them hits a target. Eventually, Ben and Mike each hit a target for their team. JP is the first to hit a target for his team. Lauren gets the third point for her team, but Devon and JP hit the next three targets for their team. Ashley hits a target, but JP gets the last point for his team right afterwards. JP, Chrissy, Cole, Ryan, and Devon win reward! As a twist, the winners of the challenge will serve themselves the meal and eat privately. Joe will get to decide the order they eat too.
At the reward, Joe chooses Devon to eat first since it’s Devon’s birthday. Joe also chooses to eat last to not have an additional target on his back. JP eats second, and he’s followed by Cole. As Cole eats, he reads the secret message on the plate under the spaghetti. It says there is a hidden immunity idol buried under the tribe flag. Cole tries to hide the message with an apron, but Chrissy finds it when she eats the spaghetti next. Ryan also finds the message when he eats next, and he also hides the plate. As Joe goes to eat last, Chrissy and Ryan whisper about the clue. Cole notices, and he’s aware they likely saw the message too.
They return to camp, and Ryan goes to try to find the idol right away. Ryan finds the hidden immunity idol, and he tells Chrissy to cover the sand back up. As Chrissy does what Ryan tells her to do, Cole notices and runs over to the spot, believing Chrissy is trying to find the idol. It soon becomes chaos as Chrissy screams for JP to help, and the entire tribe watches as Chrissy, Cole, and Ben are digging through the sand. Unbeknownst to everyone besides Chrissy and Ryan, the idol has already been found. Ben also claims he saw Cole find the idol due to him tucking his shirt in. Cole does not have the idol, but Ben wants everyone to think Cole has it. He also says he does not like Cole, and he tells Cole is was dumb of him to do that. Cole is aware he’s a target, so he hopes he wins the upcoming immunity challenge.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must use a pole to balance a statue from falling off a post as they are balancing on a balance beam. As the challenge progresses, they must move farther away from the statue. The challenge begins, and Mike and Joe are the first two out. Devon drops out next, and he’s followed by Lauren and Ryan. Six people remain in the challenge after ten minutes, and they move farther away to the next section on the beam. Ashley is the next to to be eliminated from the challenge. Chrissy is the next one out, and she’s followed by Ben. Three people remain: Desi, Cole, and JP. One of them will win immunity. Desi falls next, which means it’s down to Cole and JP. JP drops his statue. Cole wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp after tribal council. Cole is glad he won immunity since he knew he was on the chopping block. However, he is aware the Healers are still a sinking ship, and he hopes they can somehow save themselves. Meanwhile, Ben is telling the Heroes and Hustlers to split the votes between Joe and Desi. He’s hoping Joe will be voted out tonight. Cole, Joe, and Mike talk game, and Cole lets them know that he does not have the idol. However, he believes the other group will be splitting the votes. They will only need one person to have the majority at this upcoming vote. Joe asks Devon and Ryan to vote out Ben, but they aren’t too responsive. Ben even finds out Joe is gunning for him, so Ben confronts Joe. It turns into a heated argument as Ben is yelling at Joe after Joe claims Ben swore on the Marine Corps and broke his word. Later on, Lauren tells Ben about her advantage. They are worried that if Lauren does not vote, then the Healers will get to have the numbers. Ben tries to take a number away from the Healers as he goes to Mike, and he asks him to vote with his group. Mike is confused, but he wonders if siding with Ben will help him not be in the bottom of the tribe anymore.
It’s time for tribal council, and Joe candidly says he knows he’s in trouble and that Ben is running the camp. Ben says his alliance is like the knights at a round table; not one person is in control. Joe says Ben ruined the Healers alliance and never should have been trusted by Cole, Jessica, and Mike, and Ben snaps back at Joe for claiming he swore on the Marines. As Joe tries to speak, Chrissy tells him to be quiet and Ashley calls him annoying. As the conversation turns to lying, Desi admits that everyone in the game has lied at one point or another. Devon says the game strips them down, and it takes away his positive demeanor. Jeff remarks how the tribal council started very argumentatively mood, but it ended on a deeper level. Afterwards, it’s time to vote. Lauren plays her secret advantage.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Ben
Lauren
Desi
Joe
Desi
Joe
Desi
Joe
Desi
Joe
It’s a tie. Desi and Joe will not vote as everyone votes again.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Desi
Joe
Desi
Desi
Desi
Desi
Desi is the eighth person voted out and the first member of the jury.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
