Survivor season 35 episode 10 recap: Double time
In the first double-elimination session of the year, Survivor season 35 episode 10 kicked off the long-awaited final third of excitement that we were promised.
After Mike Zahalsky left us scratching our heads as he tried to protect the Healers by voting for one of the Healers, we’re now in a place where Joe and Mike are targets number one and two in Survivor season 35. Voting out Cole and Mike playing the idol went perfectly for the Knights of the Round Table, but Mike twisted it around to make it about creating a fracture in the majority.
We didn’t even get commercials before we entered the Reward Challenge, with players stacking blocks and planting a flag just using their feet. Lauren and Mike were in the lead as the second layer was getting stacked, but as Mike dropped a piece with his flag it opened the door for Lauren to plant hers and win the reward of a plane trip and much-needed food.
She decided to bring Devon, Ben and Ashley with her, and despite Ryan saying it wasn’t strategic, Lauren talked about how these players may help elevate her game. While the four had fun, Ryan and Chrissy were plotting and scheming about who they’ll vote out next, going so far as to name Ben 7th and Lauren 6th.
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This reward was really crucial for Lauren, as she laid out a master plan for the pack to become the Final Four. Not only did everyone look up to Lauren in this moment, especially as they got the chance to read letters from home, but she laid out the fact that she’s playing for her daughter, not herself. It’s possible that this is the moment where Lauren wins the game, but we’ll have to see if Ryan or Lauren comes out on top with their elimination plans.
After spending some time to read his letter, Ben stumbled across a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol. To hide the power of Lauren’s moving passage, we saw Ben the Marine fight for his life with the help of his wife’s moving letter, ultimately securing that idol and potentially winning another round of safety. It was a touching moment that elevated his game.
The first Immunity Challenge was a classic; stand on a buoy until you drop, with the last person standing winning Immunity. Lauren, Devon and Ben opted to sit out in order to enjoy chocolate dipped in a boat of peanut butter. Only JP dropped after the first 20 minutes, but once players reached the final perch, we saw Mike, Chrissy and Ryan drop in quick succession. Mike dropped after hanging from his perch sideways, with Ashley ultimately winning Individual Immunity.
Six of the Knights of the Round Table convened to vote against the Coco-Nuts (Joe being Coco, Mike being Nuts), but the Reward Alliance had other plans. Devon saw how powerful Chrissy and Ryan are as players, so having a play against them could flip the game against them. That’s why he suggested Ben vote Mike in order to become a secret agent, infiltrating the upper part of the Round Table and keeping things as much in order as possible.
Mike opened up the first Tribal Council by saying he hoped to sell his safety because he was a doctor. It’s clear that Coco-Nuts were selling how downtrodden they were, laughing about how they were like kids on the block trying to play Survivor, but weren’t allowed. As the conversation shifted, it became clear that what’s best for some is not best for all, and people were dropping hints about what happens after the seven are securely left in the game.
After three votes for Mike and one for Joe, the game was changed forever. Five straight votes headed their way to JP, sending him home with nary an input. When the tribe went back to camp, Chrissy was so mad and salty in her confessional, seeds of bitterness may very well seep into the future votes at the end of the game. Meanwhile, Devon solidified his presence as a strategic player, letting Ryan know he wasn’t mad at him but set him in his place over sharing knowledge of his Hidden Immunity Idol. Finally, Ben may have sold himself oblivious fairly well, as he hopes to take down Chrissy and Ryan from within.
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After Devon gave a long, rousing confession about finally feeling secure and powerful in the game (the most dangerous words of confidence in the game), we saw the second reward challenge of the night. Two teams would jump to a boat, rowing over to piles of blocks needed to be thrown in the boat. Those blocks would be pushed through a column on the beach to knock out puzzle pieces, ending with another slide puzzle that reflects the season’s logo.
A spa reward, complete with chicken, watermelon and pie, goes to the winning team, with Lauren, Mike, Chrissy and Ryan representing the losing red team. They were misfits from the start, as Ryan could barely pick up the blocks that weighed as much as he did. Joe, Ben, Ashley and Devon beasted through the challenge, overcoming a brief puzzle obstacle in order to enjoy a relaxing spa.
Joe ate up the play performed in front of him by Ben, Devon and Ashley, as they sold Ben being on the bottom of the alliance. Meanwhile back at camp, Ryan tried to talk up Mike and make a movie, although Mike threw it back in his face. Lauren was a bit more gracious with her downplaying Chrissy’s strategy talk, but it’s clear that those who were blindsided are just scrambling for some sort of safety.
Chrissy must have spent a whole day crying and feeling bad about losing her control because that took up the events of Day 29. Day 30 brought along the second Immunity Challenge, with players balancing a wheelbarrow and a pot carrying a key to a pile of blocks over a series of teeter-totters and narrow beams. Once the blocks are unlocked, they must carry those blocks to a station and spell out the word “I-N-V-U-L-N-E-R-A-B-L-E.”
Dr. Mike was helpless in last place, but Devon and Ashley, who got their blocks to the station first, were just clueless. Slow and steady sometimes wins the race, as Chrissy had troubles carrying her jar through the early stages but was quick to discover what the series of letters spelled out. She ended up winning Individual Immunity, securing her spot until next week’s episode.
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Devon devised a masterful strategy to get Joe and Mike to vote for Ben, while secretly trying to vote out Joe in order to secure their secrecy. Ben, for what it’s worth, played up his sad sack ways to get Ryan to play his idol. However, Ashley and Lauren saw Ben’s strength and noted they would vote for him to win if anything. Before Tribal Council, Ashley pitched him Ben’s name, setting up one of the most difficult decisions in this season of Survivor (so far).
Rogue knights and court jesters marked the early discussion before the vote, with Ryan criticizing the “new five” about sticking to their plan as if it couldn’t have been done with an alliance of seven. Alliance talked ruled Tribal Council, with players taking on roles of the offended and the secure while many different plans were in effect.
Before the votes were read, Ryan did end up playing his Hidden Immunity Idol. Two of his votes were not counted, two votes for Ashley were and the plan to get out Ben was not deployed. Instead, Joe was blindsided and sent to the jury, leaving Mike the final player of the Healers left in the game. Now he’s just Nuts!
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Survivor season 35 returns to one-hour episodes starting next week on December 6 at 8 p.m. ET.