A new episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The episode begins with the castaways returning to camp after tribal council. Mike admits he was blindsided after Joe was voted out. He says he keeps getting screwed and he needs to figure out how to get through this. Ryan also admits he was duped, and he says he is in an awful spot. He says his only ally is Chrissy. As for Chrissy, she asks Ben for an explanation. He simply says Joe went home, and Chrissy is bothered by Ben’s condescending attitude. Chrissy says Ben showed his true colors and calls him a jerk. The two of them get into a heated conversation. She felt close to Ben, so she feels like he betrayed her. And not only that, but he didn’t even treat her like a friend when she asked him what happened. Chrissy wants to get back at Ben.
It’s time for the reward challenge, and they learn it’s the loved ones visit. Among the loved ones are Ashley’s dad, Ryan’s dad, Mike’s wife, Lauren’s sister, Chrissy’s husband, Devon’s mom, and Ben’s wife. After they all greet each other, the challenge begins. The castaways and the loved ones must each pull a marble from a bag. If they match colors, they win. It begins, and Lauren and her sister don’t get a match. Neither do Ryan and his dad nor Mike and his wife. Ben and his wife, however, get a match. They stay in the game. Chrissy and her husband also match. Ashley and her dad, however, don’t get a match. Only Ben and Chrissy have a chance at winning time with a loved one. The second round begins, and Ben doesn’t match with his wife, but Chrissy and her husband do. Chrissy wins reward! She also gets to pick three pairs to join them for reward, and she chooses Ryan and his dad, Mike and his wife, and Ashley and her father. In a confessional, Chrissy says Ben picked the wrong time to betray her and she will make him regret it.
At the reward, Chrissy, Ryan, Mike, and Ashley share a meal with their loved ones. In a confessional, Chrissy says she chose Ashley to come along since she feels like she would be the easiest to break and flip to her side. We next see Chrissy make a pitch to Ashley. She suggests letting them help her take out people for her. Ashley asks Chrissy who she wants out, and Chrissy says Ben. In her confessional, Ashley says Chrissy will say whatever she can to stay alive, but she admits Chrissy is right that Ben is a big threat that’ll need to go.
Meanwhile, back at camp, Ben fashions a fake hidden immunity idol. He evens shows it to Devon and Lauren, but Lauren is not impressed. She thinks Ben’s only goal with this fake idol is to embarrass Chrissy since he hopes Chrissy will find it. Later on, Lauren stumbles onto one half of a hidden immunity idol, and she lets Ben and Devon know about it too. She’ll need to find the other half in order for it to have any power.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. It’s an endurance challenge that will require them to have their arms outstretched as they hold up two wooden discs against two wooden poles. If they drop the discs, they are out of the challenge. The last person standing will will immunity. In addition, we see the second half of the hidden immunity idol (a seashell) in the sand. The challenge begins, and Ben is the first to drop. Chrissy drops her discs afterwards, leaving five people left in the challenge. Ryan is the next one out, and Lauren voluntarily places her discs to the ground. Jeff points out how Lauren quit, but Lauren said she couldn’t take anymore. However, she picks up the seashell from the ground right in front of her. Mike drops next, meaning either Devon or Ashley will win immunity. Devon asks Ashley if she wants to battle it out or not. Jeff asks why is he making a deal, and Devon says everyone knows he and Ashley are tight allies. He says either of them having immunity would be good for him. Jeff says that was a bold statement to make this late in the game before Devon voluntarily drops his discs. Ashley wins immunity! We hear a confessional from Lauren before the commercial break. She says it will either be Mike, Chrissy, or Ryan leaving tonight.
They return to camp after the challenge, and Devon and Ashley discuss whom to vote out. Ashley wants Ben out next; Devon wants to vote out Chrissy. While they are getting water at the well with Lauren, Ben walks up behind them and hears his name before he approaches them. He’s concerned they may be voting him out tonight. Later on, Ben approaches Mike and tells him that Lauren found a hidden immunity idol. He also talks to Ryan, and he lets him know that he wants to vote out Lauren tonight. Ryan says in a confessional that the only way this will work is if Chrissy is on board, but Chrissy hates Ben. Ben tries to approach Chrissy about voting out Lauren tonight, but Chrissy blows him off. Ben considers abandoning the plan to vote out Lauren, but he eventually lets Chrissy know his thoughts about Lauren and how she has a lot of power. Chrissy is seemingly on board, but she still has a grudge against Ben. Mike is concerned Chrissy won’t be on board with keeping Ben in the game, so Mike lets Devon and Ashley know that Ben is trying to blindside Lauren. Devon lets Lauren know what’s going on, and Lauren gives Mike the second half of the hidden immunity to build trust with Mike.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff first talks about the immunity challenge and how no one seemed to mind how Devon and Ashley were so candid about how tight of a duo they are. Devon says that he’d done the same for Lauren, and Ben points out how Devon didn’t mention his name. Ben tries to call his allies traitors, but Lauren calls out Ben for revealing info about her hidden immunity idol and how Ben was targeting Lauren today. Ben is trying to accuse them of breaking trust when he actually tried to plan a blindside behind their backs. Information about Lauren’s advantage and hidden immunity idol is also brought up too. Chrissy suggests Lauren should forfeit the advantage, and Lauren lies and says the advantage has already been forfeited. In addition, Mike stands up and throws the second half of the hidden immunity idol into the fire, which visibly bothers Lauren. Ben suggests voting out Lauren tonight, but Devon says Ben is more dangerous than Lauren. Tribal gets chaotic as everyone is talking over one another as Mike and Ryan whisper about what to do. The tribal gets more chaotic as Devon stands up and walks over to Mike and Ryan. He tells them to vote out Ben tonight, but Chrissy would rather vote out Lauren. As everyone is whispering about what to do, Ben and Lauren are aware that the tribe is deciding between the two of them before they finally go vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, Ben plays his hidden immunity idol on himself.
The first vote is for…
Ben
Ben
Ben
Ben
Ben
Ben
Lauren
Lauren is voted out and the fifth 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.
