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We get back to camp and Cole is like a whole new person with the necklace on. Ben lays out a plan where all the guys will vote Joe and the girls will vote Desi and then no matter what happens, even if an idol plays, they should be able to get one of them. Desi did herself no favors by rocking out the first 2 immunity challenges. She went from under the radar to completely ON the radar and Joe's proclivity for finding idols may end up costing her here. We join the Healers on the beach as Cole breaks the news to them that he did not, in fact, find an idol. Joe is now concerned he'll be the target and he has nothing to save himself. Cole does mention that everyone thinks he has an idol, which means they might split the vote. And if that happens, all they need is 1 person to flip and they could turn the game around. For a guy who's shown not one strategic chop throughout this game, that was actually a pretty astute observation that I'm not sure Mike or Joe even thought about. Well done. Probably too little too late, but we give props here at BOP - that's what we do.

Joe pleads his case to Ryan and Devon. He questions who's really in charge of the big alliance. He can't believe that they've let Ben get such a strong foothold in the game as he's a guaranteed winner if he makes it to the end. Ryan tells us that everything Joe says is true and he has no intention of taking Ben to the end. That being said, now is probably not the time to make a move on Ben. Oh, did I forget to mention that Ben was lurking in the weeds during this little talk and heard every single word of it? Yeah - he did that. Who needs a #SpyShack, right?

As much as I enjoy Ben and I like the guy, he takes everything a little too personal. First it was Cole and the food, now it's Joe and the plotting to take him out. Dude, this is Survivor. You signed up for this. Chill out a bit. It's not personal. Until it is, it would seem. In an effort to get under Ben's skin, Joe suggests that he heard that Ben swore on the Marine Corps during the game. That is...not true and Ben goes off!! Ben takes his service and his life as a Marine VERY seriously and he is out to settle that he never swore on the Marines. To Joe's credit, he knows that. He just wants to blow up Ben's game and if he can get him pissed off and personal, maybe he'll make some mistakes. I'm not a fan of Joe. I still think he's a less skilled Tony Vlachos wannabe. Buuuut, he does have SOME skills. And getting under someone's skin, in the game of Survivor, is a skill. And it could prove to be a good one if Ben can't pull himself together.

One Ben has calmed down and this whole episode is over, Lauren pulls him aside to tell him about her advantage. She didn't want to have to tell him, but with the split vote plan, every single vote is needed and if she abstains, that throws the whole plan off. She's trying to convince him that this extra vote can really pay off for them when the numbers get smaller. Ben decides he needs to pull in a Healer to vote with him, so he, Lauren and Ryan go to Dr. Mike. He tells Mike that it's personal and he HAS to get out Joe. He tells Mike that he (Ben) is likely going home if Mike doesn't come with them to take out Joe. Mike tells us that the numbers don't really make sense to him as to how Ben could possibly go home when they have such heavy numbers. He does see this as a chance to get off the bottom, though. He shares with Cole and it appears that they might be locked in together now. As we get ready for Tribal, Ben tells us that he's basically put everything on the line with this one tonight. He's really worried he may have overplayed his hand tonight and could be going home. As everyone sits down, I think it's pretty sweet that Lauren has apparently gotten in so good with these people that she can straight up tell them, "I'm not voting with you tonight so I can get myself an advantage later in the game" and everyone is fine with that and Ben is trying to change the entire plan to make it happen. Crazy!

It only takes a couple minutes before Ben and Joe start going at it again. Ben does try to apologize to Joe for snapping earlier, but suggests that Joe was pushing his buttons. As Joe tries to explain, Chrissy shuts him down telling him no one wants to listen to him anymore. Seriously, every Tribal is not a good look for her. She might make the end, but I have no idea how she thinks she'll be able to be so bitchy to people and then get them to vote for her. As we go a little further, Ben does get to apologize to Joe and I think he meant it. Desi is worried that Joe and his antics could possible affect her game. She goes on to say that she's not a fan of all the lying that's going on in the game and that there are several people are lying a lot. Devon talks about the toll the game takes on a person. He hates just laying around like a zombie with no energy and no laughter. He'd much rather be a big shining light. He actually embarrasses himself with this, but THIS is the kind of thing that wins Survivor. What Chrissy is showing us is textbook "How to Lose Survivor". What Devon is showing us is "How to Win Survivor." Be real, be you and don't let this game do anything to change what you know you are inside. I'm loving this kid and I think I'm all in on hoping he pulls this thing off. Of course, tonight's vote could go a long way to helping that or killing it. And it's time to vote.

As everyone votes, the only person we really see or hear is Lauren as she pulls out her advantage. Tucks the blank parchment in her bra and places the advantage in the urn. She says that she hopes this works out for her somehow, someway and heads back to the group. Jeff asks for idols and there are none, so let's read the votes. First vote: Ben. Second vote: Lauren. Third vote: Desi. Fourth vote: Joe. And now we start the alternating Desi and Joe votes. When all is said and done, we're tied. 4 Desi, 4 Joe, 1 Ben, 1 Lauren. But where's the 11th vote, Jeff? Wait what? No one notices that there aren't enough votes? Seriously??? Ok. As we do in Survivor, now there's a revote and only Desi or Joe can be voted for. We watch Lauren again pantomime a vote as she just gets rid of this piece of parchment. And when Jeff comes back, there's 1 vote for Joe and everyone else voted for Desi. Desi is now the first member of the jury and the official Mayor of Ponderosa. She also joins a long list of players as my winner pick that didn't actually win. But, chin up Desi - Sarah Lacina was a winner pick of mine the first time and she kicked major ass the second time. You have that game in you too - so, go home, eat, regroup and come back a stronger better player! I'll still be rooting for you!!

Anyway, as she gets up, Joe lets her know that he didn't flip on her. As we see as the votes come up, Mike and Cole both flipped and this is what saved a potential disaster for Ben tonight. It should probably also be mentioned that this is now the 4th strong young female voted out in a row. Roark, Ali, Jessica and Desi. Not sure what that means, but they've all come out of the game with an axe to grind with Chrissy. Somehow, she's getting all the blame for their demise in the game. Not sure if that bodes well for her or if it's a serious omen. One thing's for sure, it's probably good she got rid of 3/4 of them prior to the jury!

Next time on Survivor: Lauren is feeling pretty awesome that her advantage played out the way it did and Ryan starts building trust with Ben by telling him about his idol. He also tells Devon about it, as you would expect. But what you wouldn't expect is Ben revealing to Devon that Ryan has an idol. That could potentially derail the most solid, long-lasting alliance in the game in Ryan and Devon. Then again, it could just be another Survivor red herring too. Guess we'll have to tune in this week to see. Til then, take care everyone and have a super duper Thanksgiving!

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