Survivor: HHH - Episode 12 Recap
The Survivor Devil
By Jim Van Nest
December 20, 2017
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Last week saw everything blow up, from Ben's old relationship with Chrissy to Ben's new relationship with Lauren. We saw the newly formed Lauren/Devon/Ashley/Ben alliance fall apart after only 2 votes. And finally, we saw Ben play an idol no one knew about to take out Lauren and her extra vote. Oh yeah, and Dr. Mike had a moment that he custom made for television where he threw half of Lauren's immunity idol into the fire and then decided to vote WITH Lauren in trying to oust Ben. There are moves, big moves, strategic moves and personal moves - but this one belongs in a totally separate category - made for TV moves. These are the moves that have no bearing on the game or actually hurt your game, but the TV moments they'll make are simply too good to pass up. In this case, I don't think it came off the way he wanted. AND it hurt his game. Although, Lauren and her advantage and her half of the idol went home while Ben spent his idol - so maybe things will still work out for Dr. Mike.
Tonight's episode, if you're to believe the Tweets of Healer Joe is set to be even crazier than the last 2. Previews suggest that everyone will be out to get Ben this week, except maybe for Chrissy who wants to target Ashley or Devon. I get that mindset, but Ben is so solidly the winner right now, allowing him to live even one more vote is just asking for it. Previews, though, are made to be misleading, so let's get to gettin' and see what actually happens.
As usual, we begin after Tribal. Ben is super stoked about how Tribal went. He wanted everyone to vote for him so he could choose who was going home and that's what happened. He lets everyone know that there are no hard feelings and then heads out to get some water. This gives everyone a chance to confirm that Ben is the next to go. They also confirm that no one had any idea that he had an idol and that none of them want to sit next to him at the end. Devon is totally thrown off and knows he has to start all over again. When Ben comes back, Devon starts taunting him a little, telling him that he voted out the wrong person. He, Devon, won't let him win immunity. All the talk and hyperbole aside, Ben knows he's a gang of 1 at this point and his road to the end will be a tough one.
Morning dawns on day 34 and Ben is up with the sun and doing exactly what you'd expect him to do. Hunting for an idol. As he searches, he tells us how hard it really is to find one of these things. He is having no luck. Back at the shelter, Chrissy finally wakes up and she sees that he's gone. She figures he's off looking for an idol and she tells Mike this. Neither of them seems too concerned. At least, not concerned enough to try to babysit him and keep him from finding one. Chrissy tells us that she just has to hope he doesn't find one. Hmmm...foreshadow much?
As you might expect, we come back from break to a Probst Sighting! Today's reward challenge will see the Survivors broken into teams of 2. This is the ole "pair tethered to a rope must complete difficult obstacles" challenge. It is completed with a simple carnival ring toss game. The first team to hook all 5 of their rings wins reward. Wanna know what they're playing for? Today, the winning pair will be picked "by a chopper" - 3 of Jeff's favorite words to say on Survivor - and will be whisked away to a private resort where they'll dine on lamb, chicken, lobster, cocktails and chocolate mousse. The capper, though, is the chance to spend the night in a bed for the first time in over a month. This could be huge for whoever gets to go. They randomly divide into teams: Ben and Ashley, Devon and Chrissy and Mike and Ryan. Um - this would seem to be a 2 team race wouldn't it? On Jeff's signal, let's get it on!
The challenge pretty much rolls as you would expect with 2 teams rolling through the obstacle course and Mike and Ryan getting stuck on the first obstacle. Ben and Ashley have a slight lead through the first 2 obstacles. Chrissy and Devon start to catch up as Ashley and Ben get tangled up a little. Ben and Ashley are the first to get to the rings, followed by Chrissy and Devon. Surprisingly, Mike and Ryan are starting to catch up and before long; all 3 teams are tossing rings. It stays pretty close, but at the end of it all, Devon comes up huge and he and Chrissy win reward. But, before they go, they get to take 1 person with them. They confer on this and come back and Devon chooses Ash---um wait---Ryan. What? Ashley is just as stunned as we are. But apparently, Chrissy gets her way regardless. As we head to break, Ben hopes to take advantage of Ashley's anger over not getting taken on the reward.
We come back from break to join the people NOT going on reward. Ashley is still pissed off about it. Mike, surprisingly, is also pissed about it. He feels that as a swing vote, you'd think he would have been in demand. He tells Ben and Ashley that Ryan is the least deserving to go on that reward. Ben is getting a kick out of how upset they are and he plans to exploit that. As they talk, Mike tells Ben that he is the biggest threat in the game. Ben tells them that he has a vote for sale if they want to work with him. With Mike out of camp, Ben talks to Ashley about not trusting Mike. Ashley seriously shuts him down. She tells him she knows where he's coming from. The bottom. And that while Ryan and Chrissy might be coming for her and Devon, she sure isn't going to take Ben's word for it. With both avenues shut down, Ben decides to go look for another idol. As he searches, Mike tells us that he's been all over this island and can't find an idol, so he's not worried about Ben finding it. All he wants is to not let Ben win immunity.
We finally check in with the reward winners (and Ryan.) They are blown away by the resort and the spread of food. Talk finally comes to game. They all agree that Ben is the next to go. Devon suggests Mike to go next. No one really can figure out where Mike's head is, so there's no real argument there. Chrissy suggests that they should just make a final 3 deal. Devon tells us that he really likes this idea. He wants to go to the end with people he thinks he can beat, so this final 3 makes sense. Chrissy just wants to break up the Devon-Ashley alliance. She tells us that Ben is a big threat, but Ashley might make more sense to go after first. That's gonna be a tough sell to Devon, I think. I mean he already outlined getting rid of Ben and then Mike - leaving the 3 of them and Ashley. Give it a shot, I guess, but don't be surprised when Devon shoots it down.
We come back from break on Day 36 and it's our 2nd Probst Sighting! Today's Immunity Challenge will have the players running through obstacles to get a bag of sandbags. They'll toss the bags to lower a ladder. On the second level, they'll use a ball to drop a second ladder. At the top of the challenge is a cog puzzle made of gears. When placed correctly, the gears will interlock and crank up the players flag. First to raise their flag punches their ticket to the Final 5. Ashely is out to an early lead and Devon falls a bit behind. Ultimately though, as with so many Survivor challenges nowadays, the first part of the challenge means nothing as everyone ends up working on their puzzles at the same time. As everyone struggles with the puzzle, it's not very easy to gauge who is leading and who is trailing. So, I'll skip the suspense and tell you that at the end of it all - Chrissy. Wins. Immunity! As we head to break, Chrissy tells us that her whole plan was to win immunity so then everyone is available to be voted out and she is relishing being in control of the game.
We come back from commercial and it's time to play "It's Anyone But Ben. Or Maybe Ashley." Ben tells us that he really needed that challenge win today. But, he's not giving up. He's heading back out to look for an idol. As he heads out, everyone starts talking about Ben being the vote. Ashley is very worried about Ben finding an idol. Not worried enough to follow him around, mind you, but worried. As a group of people who were completely blindsided by an idol just 3 days ago, I'm blown away and the nonchalance to not even think about tailing Ben all over the jungle. Seriously? If he finds one and nails you again, you'll all deserve it. Ryan, Chrissy, Devon and Ryan are all in the water discussing the possibility that Ben could play an idol. So Ashley suggests splitting the votes on Ben and Mike, just in case. Chrissy tells about this plan and then goes on to tell us that she'd rather vote out Ashley.
Chrissy makes her move by telling Ryan, Devon and Mike that she feels the same way about Ashley that she does about Ben. She wants to send her home. Mike is not on board with this plan. He says that they have a chance to get Ben out and they need to take it. "He has a ferocity which transcends this game," is how Mike describes it. He is not budging on this one. And you know Devon doesn't want to send his girl home. Ryan also agrees with this plan. And then we have one of the weirdest comments I remember hearing on this show in a while. Chrissy says, "I just don't know what I'm gonna do but I seriously may make a late game changing decision based on my gut at Tribal." Ok, so let's break this down. She wants to vote out Ashley. NO ONE else wants to do that and they tell her so. And all she can come back with is that she may completely change her mind at Tribal? This is the kind of over confidence that an immunity necklace provides. "You're my alliance and you all want to do this, but screw you guys, I'll do whatever the hell I want." This scene encapsulates what I do not like about Chrissy. She is incapable of seeing more than 10 minutes in front of her face. When she's on top, it's her will be done, period, game over, screw you if you don't like it. When she's on the bottom, it's just so hard that she can't even get out of the shelter. So many people have come out of this game rubbed the wrong way by Chrissy and this is exactly why. I mean, if you're gonna do what you want anyway, why even bother asking your alliance what they want to do? Devon tells us that he really likes Ashley and that getting rid of her prior to Ben is stupid. He says that if Ben is in the Final 3, none of them stand a chance. And he's absolutely right. And apologies for continuing on this rant, but what is the actual reason for wanting to vote out Ashley? Look, I like Ashley and she's playing a very understatedly good game. But no one on that island right now, save Chrissy, thinks she is any kind of threat to win this game. Right now, there are 3 people on the island that can beat Chrissy at the end. Ben, Devon and Mike. There are 3 votes left in the game. If she burns her chance to get rid of Ben tonight, if she's able to make the final 3, she'll be there with at least one person that can beat her. If she goes with Ryan and Ashley - she wins this game, hands down.
So sorry for that, but I get myself worked up sometimes. While I was ranting, Ben was looking for an idol. After some more searching, he finds an arrow pointing down to the ground. Down there he finds a note that there is a hidden idol tied underneath their shelter. All he has to do is have the guts to go get it. Dude, when you're the odds on favorite to go home, you get the idol regardless of who sees you. Hell, being seen might even be better. Then they'll know not to vote for you tonight and you might keep it til Final 5. At any rate, he gets back to camp and everyone is there, of course, so he just goes and lays down in the shelter right above where the idol should be. Time starts to run out and the sun starts to set. Ben positions himself and covers up his hand with his hat and starts to grab under the shelter. As everyone packs up for Tribal, Ben tells us that he HAS to get that idol.
And for the first time since Season 16 with Amanda Kimmel, we head to Tribal not knowing whether or not Ben got the idol. Well, sorta. I mean, they don't show it, but there's NO way he doesn't get that idol before Tribal. Even if he has to tear the shelter apart, I'm sure he has it in his pocket.
Jeff brings in the jury and we get right to it. Jeff asks Ben if there was any impact at camp after his idol play last time. He says that nothing has really changed for him and he's the next to go. He points out that Ashley and Devon are a pair as are Ryan and Chrissy. This leads Jeff to ask Ashley about the reward again and not getting chosen by Devon. She plays it off well saying that it was a 2-person decision and she understood the strategy behind it. As usual, Chrissy is not able to let something like this go, so she points out that Ashley's demeanor after the challenge was poor sportsmanship. I kinda expected Ashley to get a little irritated at that, but instead, she back peddles. I really do not care for Chrissy and how she talks to everyone like they're a child needing to be scolded. Maybe I just have mommy issues. Moving on. Jeff asks Mike if it's time to start looking at the end and start working backwards. He says that Ben is a huge threat, but not the only threat. This starts a line of questioning about wanting to get to the end, but get there with someone you can beat. 5 of the players fess up to having a final 3 in their head. So, obviously, some people are out in the cold. Ben, he just wants to work with someone. ANYone. Mike admits that Ben's offer might start to sound good soon, but Ben is very smart and very dangerous right now and he wouldn't be shocked for Ben to get his way tonight. This wakes Ashley up. It seems she never entertained the idea that anything other than Ben going home might happen and now she's concerned. Ben talks about how no one wants to play and no one wants to make any moves. This gets under my skin a bit. It's the Ciera Eastin method of Survivor play. "No one wants to make big moves. How can I play if no one wants to make big moves?" Um - to any Survivor players (current, past or future) please don't mistake people not wanting to make big moves with people not wanting to make big moves WITH YOU. People are making moves all over this game (some good, some monumentally stupid), they're just not making them with Ben. And Devon actually calls him on that asking if every vote hasn't pretty much been a blind side. Ben suggests Devon hasn't done anything in the game and asks him what he has done. Devon tells him he'll be happy to lay out his game for Ben, when Ben's on the jury. Devon maintains that he thinks Ben is going home tonight.
"Jeff, let's just church this up." I have NO idea what that means, but it's what Ben says as he pulls the new idol out of his boot and puts it around his neck. He tells them all, "I ain't goin' home tonight." Then he makes a bomb explosion noise. This really gets under Chrissy's skin and she quickly acts to diffuse the moment. She says that his reaction might be a little much and basically acts like this idol is no big deal. What was it Kimmi said a couple seasons ago, "No Pumpkin no." This IS a big deal. And it's the second big deal in a row. I totally understand how Ben making big displays like this, at Tribal, in front of the jury, can totally ruin your end game, but make no mistake. This is a pretty big deal. No matter what happens from this second to the end of this Tribal, it's Ben's play - not yours. Not Devon's, not Mike's, not anyone else's. Ryan, at least, sees the gravity of the situation. An idol was just pulled out by someone who was getting votes tonight. Devon jumps in to remind everyone that just because it's around his neck, that doesn't mean he's playing it. Ben offers a deal to Ashley and Devon. Points at Mike and asks if they want to go back to camp with him. Ashley is game, but Devon tells him he doesn't think he'll play the idol tonight. And in an unprecedented move, Ben gets up and takes his idol over to Jeff and says, "I'm in the final, Jeff." Now, here's an interesting grey area for me. Jeff does his normal Jeff thing, "This...IS a hidden immunity idol." My concern here is whether or not Jeff should have confirmed it as an idol at this point. Every episode he tallies the votes, comes back and says, "If anyone has a hidden immunity idol and you want to play it, NOW is the time to do so." So, should he have taken Ben's idol and let them know he'd confirm it after the votes are cast, like always. It's not a huge deal to me, but an interesting topic for Survivor nerds to debate for a while.
Needless to say, this changes everything. Ryan acknowledges that plans have to change and someone's plan will end tonight. Mike doesn't know exactly what to think. Ben is making nods at Ashley and Devon in the back row to see if they want to work with him. He is all smiles too. He's turning the group on themselves and has bought himself one more day in the game. We see very little talk or chit chat or anything before Jeff calls for the vote. We see no votes and hear no comments. Jeff tallies votes and asks for any further idols. There are none. First vote: Mike. Second vote: Ashley. And then the wave of Ashley's come in. Unanimously, Ashley is the 13th person voted out and the 6th member of our jury. As she goes up to see Jeff, Ben hugs her and tells her good game. Devon tries to hug her and she gives him the Heisman. Ouch. That's what happens when you vote out your boo, Devon. She ain't gonna want a hug. In fairness though, he's in a tough situation here. Ashley's his ride or die, but when the entire group is voting for her, what do you do? Do you go against them? Or do you stick with Ashley and vote Mike? Does that help you or hurt you at the end? His only other option here might have been to cast a vote for Ben. It's a throwaway vote, but not a vote for his girl. He doesn't alienate anyone at camp, since everyone knew a vote for Ben wouldn't count. But, that could also have been seen as the coward's way out. What the jury saw tonight was that Devon made the decision to take his girl out and they have to respect that. Further, what the jury saw tonight was Ben making another game changing move. It's been suggested that Chrissy's plan to take out Ashley was in play the whole time. First of all, as I stated about, it's a dumb plan. Second of all, it's not Chrissy's plan or move anymore. It's Ben's. He stole it right out from under her. As we've said for a few weeks now, if Ben makes it to the end, everyone else is dumb and he's a millionaire.
Next time on Survivor: only 5 remain for the season finale. Devon is shown hanging with Ryan. Chrissy has something around her neck and Mike looks like he doesn't know what's going on. If nothing else, the outcome is definitely up in the air. Sure, if Ben makes it, he wins. Other than that, though, there are a ton of different possible outcomes. Please make sure you come back next time for the 2 hour season finale of Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers. Til then, take care.