Survivor: HHH - Episode 12
Not Going To Roll Over and Die
By Jim Van Nest
December 11, 2017
BoxOfficeProphets.com
With 2 hours to play with, we saw Lauren step into the forefront of the game and create a 4-person alliance with Ben, Ashley and Devon. With Devon's masterful deception techniques, this foursome took over the game and worked out the ousters of JP and Joe. Ben has playing a secret agent role, at Devon's suggestion, but he has definitely got the attention of his own alliance as Ashley and Devon flirted with taking him out last week. They tricked Ryan into playing his idol and at this point, Ryan, Chrissy and Mike are firmly on the bottom of a 7-person tribe. Lauren still has the extra vote, though, which really gives her the option of moving forward with 3 people, if she thinks it's Ben's time to go. The only thing to worry about, though, is that Ben has an idol that NO one knows about.
Tonight's episode promises the family visit and little else. Will Lauren, Ashley and Devon pull the trigger on a Ben vote tonight? Or will they keep the status quo; dump one of the other 3 and save Ben for next week? What kind of tricks does Dr. Mike have up his sleeve? And do Ryan and Chrissy have any plays left? Joe has been all over Twitter promising awesomeness tonight, so let's stop screwing around and get to it!
We begin tonight at camp after Tribal. Mike was completely blindsided. Again. Ryan was duped and now he knows that Ben is really with Lauren, Ashley and Devon. He and Chrissy are all alone now. Chrissy and Ryan confront Ben about what happened. He told them that his plan just didn't line up with theirs. She starts to talk about how she's always had his back and that he showed true colors tonight. He cuts her off by telling her that she does this every time someone goes against her. Don't mother Ben and get over it, this is Survivor. At this she walks away. Honestly, this is something that has been pretty noticeable this season. Chrissy works with who she wants to work with treats the rest like second class citizens and then gets all self-righteous when someone dares go against her. I liked hearing Ben call her out on it. I don't think it was good for his game, but it's good TV. Chrissy tells us that she is really hurt by Ben and that his response was just being a jerk, not even a friend. She is going to do whatever it takes now to stay in and if she can get back at Ben, she will.
And here it is, per opening, our first Probst Sighting which should also be the loved ones portion of our show. This season, the loved ones will be playing with the Survivors. So let's bring 'em on out. Ashley's dad, Jim, comes out first. Next up is Ryan's dad, Steve. Many tears have flowed and many more are to come, I think. Who the hell would marry Dr. Mike? How about Bari! Totally not what I expected. She looks so young...how the hell did that happen, Dr. Mike? Next up is Lauren's sister, Sunni comes out. She is the spitting image of Lauren and refuses to run. She also makes a pit stop and hugs Jeff on the way. Lauren tells them that her sister is the REAL Survivor fan in the family. Chrissy's husband is next. Keith, come on out. She is thrilled to have someone there that she can trust 100%. Hey Devon - let's meet your mom, Sonya. He completely breaks down. He's been holding it in so well so far and this s his moment to be 100% really real. Last but certainly not least, Ben's wife Kelly. Wow, she looks young too. Maybe I just can't tell a woman's age anymore. Maybe I'm that old.
Ok, that was all touching and stuff, let's get to a challenge. Today's challenge will test how in sync they are. They're going to get bags of marbles. If the player and their loved one draw the same color marble, they stay in the challenge. If they're different, they're out. Last couple standing wins. The loved one will come back to camp for a Survivor bar-be-que. Now, you know they'll get to pick other couples, so this should be really interesting. Especially if Ryan or Chrissy win. Giving a player their family can be a huge motivator when alliance time comes around.
First round, Lauren pulls a white marble. Sunni draws black and they are out. Mike pulls out a white marble and Bari pulls black. As Ryan draws black and his dad draws white, I'm starting to think something is up. No way EVERYone is that unlucky. Jeff's setting them up...this is my prediction. Anyway, Ben draws black and Kelly draws black. Aaaaaand, I'm wrong. Not the first time. Chrissy and her husband both draw black. Ashley and her dad mismatch as do Devon and his mom. There are only 2 left. Ben and Chrissy and their spouses. Ben draws black again. Kelly draws white. Dang! Chrissy draws her second marble and pulls white. Keith draws white and Chrissy wins reward as well as the control over ALL the love. This should be interesting. Jeff lets her know that she can ask one person to come with her. She picks Ryan and his dad. No problem - they're an alliance. She gets to pick one more person and she chooses Dr. Mike and his wife. And she gets one more pick and quickly chooses Ashley and her dad. This leaves Lauren, Devon and Ben without the loved one visit. As we head to break, Chrissy lets us know how petty she is as she boasts about how Ben doesn't get to see his wife and how he'll be so sorry to have crossed her.
We come back from break to the feast. Chrissy tells her husband how she and Ryan are on the bottom and that Ashley is with the other group. She tells us she brought Ashley on the reward because she thinks Ashley would be easy to break. So we see her talking to Ashley and she makes the case that her alliance are a bunch of powerhouses and that she'd like to see Ben go home. Ashley is aware that Chrissy will say anything at this point to get someone on her side. That doesn't mean she's wrong though. Ashley needs to weigh out whether or not now is the time to make a big move. With the numbers as they are and Lauren's extra vote, I think she really needs to wait one more vote. But what do I know? I'm just a dude on the couch with a keyboard.
Back at camp, Ben is fashioning himself a fake immunity idol. He tells us that Ryan's idol should be coming back into the game and he wants to find it. But, in the meantime, he's making and hiding this fake idol hoping that Chrissy or Ryan find it and stop looking for the real one. He shows the idol to Lauren and Devon and they head out to start looking. Lauren doesn't totally understand why he wants to do this, other than to embarrass Chrissy. And if that's really the case, well, Chrissy has a partner in pettiness.
If the idea is to really trick someone into NOT looking for an idol anymore that makes sense. If the idea is just to make someone look stupid and embarrass them, well, that's no better than her bragging about keeping him from his wife. Anyway, Lauren doesn't like how Ben always takes everything down to the personal level. As she's telling us this, she looks down and finds the idol clue. She calls Ben and Devon over. As they come over, she digs a bit and finds the idol. But, it's an idol with a twist. She got half of the idol. The rest will be at the immunity challenge. Either one without the other is useless. So, she'll be on high alert to get the other half of this idol and everything's coming up Lauren tonight!!
We come back from commercial to another Probst Sighting! As we check out the challenge, the camera zooms in on the shell Lauren needs to grab. Today's challenge will have them standing with their arms stretched out. Their fingertips will be pressing up against a couple of discs. Drop one of the discs and you're out. Last one standing is immune from the nonsense happening tonight. 15 minutes in and Ben is really struggling. So is Ryan. After much movement from many people, Ben finally drops out. Chrissy also drop and Ryan follows her out of the challenge. Lauren also drops out of the challenge and promptly grabs the shell to complete her idol. I think she just realized she wasn't going to win, so she bailed and took the idol. 30 minutes in and Mike is really hurting. Ashley moves for the first time and Devon's having fun. Mike drops out and Devon and Ashley remain. Devon asks her if she wants to fight it out or end it. He says that he and Ashley are so tight that either of them having the necklace is the same. He negotiates a shoulder rub from Ashley and then drops out of the challenge. Ashley wins immunity. As we head back to camp, Lauren tells us she completed her idol and with a 4 person majority, Mike, Ryan or Chrissy is going home.
As they get back to camp, and everyone compliments Ashley. Devon says that he had a feeling she would win anyway, so at least he got a massage out of it. Ashley tells us it might be time to make a move. She'll look good having the necklace again, but she really doesn't have a move of her own. So she takes it to Lauren and Devon. Devon is a little nervous about it and thinks Chrissy is more of a threat to win immunity. They're getting water now and Devon again says he thinks Chrissy should go first, but he agrees about Ben. Meanwhile, right around the corner, Ben is standing there listening. He doesn't really hear what they're saying, but he thinks he hears his name. When he steps up, things get a little awkward. They say that Chrissy should be the vote tonight, but Ben is feeling really uneasy now.
Ben goes off with Mike and they talk about getting paranoid. Devon and Ashley are too close, he says and Lauren is right in there with them. He tells Mike about Lauren's new idol. That idol along with the extra vote makes Lauren way to powerful in the game. Mike tells us that once again, something has come up that could save him in the game. Ben takes this plan to Ryan. He asks him what he thinks and Ryan is a bit lackluster in his acceptance of the deal. Ryan tells us that the problem is that Chrissy hates Ben and won't work with him. Next up we see Chrissy talking to Devon telling him she doesn't want to go home. Proving once again to be the least stealthy player in Survivor history, Ben walks up as she's talking to Devon. He tries to start a conversation with her and she just barks at him. Ben somehow gets her to go for a walk with him. He tries to apologize to her but she really isn't having any of it. He finally tells her to vote however she wants to but Lauren has an extra vote and an idol and it might be time to take her out. If this happens, then they, along with Ryan and Mike will be in control of the game. Chrissy like the idea, but she's worried that Ben is just lying to her again. Mike tries to talk her down a bit but it's not working. She won't commit to taking out Lauren. And when that happens, Mike tells us it's time for plan B. And he is absolutely right. The person that hedges gets voted out. You have a small window of time to make a decision or the group moves on without you. Chrissy's window may have just closed.
Mike gets Devon and Ashley and lets them know what Ben's been doing and how he's targeting Lauren. Devon goes back to Lauren to let her know that Ben has told them everything and that he's making a move against her. Lauren decides that the extra vote will probably have to come into play tonight, but she'd like to get some more numbers on her side. So she gives the seashell part of her idol to Mike to gain his trust. He tells us that this falls into one of those stupidest moves in Survivor history. The question is whether the Survivor Gods will make her pay for it or not.
We come back from break as everyone arrives at Tribal. Jeff brings in the jury and we're ready to go. Jeff starts with the immunity challenge. He tells everyone what happened with the challenge. Devon says he was just sending a message to his alliance and he would have done the same thing if it was Lauren. Ben is a little surprised not to hear his name. Ashley says that the pressure of the game might be getting to some people. She suggests that some people, who were really safe, might not be anymore. Jeff gets Ashley to say she's talking about Ben. He says something about getting to play the game. Lauren jump in and asks what part of the game was telling everyone about her idol. He says it was part of his game. She basically dares him to come after her. Chrissy decides to shed light on things talking about her advantage. Lauren says she left the advantage back at camp and she can't use it if she doesn't have it with her. Chrissy suggests that they could vote 4-3 against her. Lauren says, "Do whatever you feel you need to do." I have NO idea what game she's playing right now, but if she really doesn't have the advantage and gave half the idol to Mike - she is completely naked tonight. You know Devon and Ashley are with her. This will all hinge on Dr. Mike now. Lauren also calls out Ben's fake idol that he wanted Chrissy to find. He says he never hid it because it would have seemed personal. He puts it around his neck. Mike then shows everyone his half of the new idol and then says, "I've been wanting to do this for 15 years" and he throws it in the fire. Lauren is crushed. Jeff calls him out on tempting the Survivor Gods by throwing an idol in the fire. Devon says that Lauren with an extra vote isn't as dangerous as Ben running around telling everybody everything. As this is going on Ryan and Mike discuss keeping the vote for Lauren. Much chatter goes back and forth and we lose what Ryan and Mike are saying. Whatever it is, they finally come to an agreement. Lauren also offers up her vote to someone else. And with this, Devon gets up and goes to Mike and says, let's just get Ben out of here, he's screwing up everything. Chrissy tells Ryan she's still good for Lauren. Devon tells Mike that they don't need Ryan and Chrissy's vote. Mike whispers to Chrissy to get rid of Ben and she refuses. She wants to turn the tables on the whole night and vote Lauren. I don't think Mike's on board. At this point, what I know for sure is that Lauren, Devon and Ashley will vote for Ben. Chrissy, Ryan and Ben are voting for Lauren. Dr. Mike's vote is the only one up in the air, I think. We'll find out shortly because it is...time to vote.
They show us none of the votes and play us none of the comments. We're totally blind on this one. Jeff asks for anyone to play an idol and after a large pause, Ben steps up to play his idol for himself. Jeff reads the votes and it seems that everyone got on board the vote out Ben train. The first 6 votes were all for Ben and they do not count. Ben's vote is the only one that matters and Lauren becomes the 12th person voted out and the 5th member of the jury. Because you know he'd have to say something, over in the jury box, Joe says something about that's what happens when you keep Ben around. And all I can say is, "Wow." That just went insane. And it proves what I (and others like me) have said for years with this game. Stop telling people about your advantages and idols. The only reason Ben is in this game is because NO ONE knew about his idol. No one. And now, he's part of the majority alliance. The most likely player to win is out of the game. Devon and Ashley, while challenge threats, have been neutralized for the most part. And there's a perfect path to the final 4 for Ben, Mike, Chrissy and Ryan. There are no more idols or advantages in the game, just a straight game of Survivor ahead for the final 6. Unless they replace Ben's idol, of course.
Next time on Survivor: Ben's big play has everyone talking about getting him out. Mike is scared of him. Chrissy wants to send home Ashley and Devon talks about how the game is never as simple as you want it to be. I think it's quite clear that despite everyone saying for weeks now that he's the biggest threat in the game - the new power alliance has no plans to do anything about it. Ashley and Devon are dead players walking right now, unless they can win immunity. I can't help but think that this season is going to end with Ben getting a million dollars and everyone else trying to figure out why in the hell they didn't do something about it. Either way, we only have 2 episodes left kids. Next week gets us to the final 5 and then the finale will air on Wednesday, December 20th. Looks like it could be good - so make sure you come back and hang out with me. Til then, take care everyone!