Survivor season 35 Ponderosa: Joe Mena gets a big surprise

Always one to respect the game despite a lack of people making moves, Joe Mena heads to Survivor Ponderosa with a huge surprise on the horizon.

If there was anyone always ready to make a move, ready to switch gears or search for a secret advantage or some sort of idol in Survivor season 35, it was Joe Mena. The man found two different idols, used them both and never stopped digging around camp when his back was against the wall.

Unfortunately, his used up all of his luck and was subject to a blindside by the people who brought him into a false sense of security, sending him to Survivor Ponderosa as the fourth member of the jury. As such, he and the rest of the Healers jury gang (plus JP) got to reconnect and share war stories, although one thing was stuck in Joe Mena’s mind; the fact that he was so close to getting his Loved One’s visit.

He insisted that Ben was super insistent on staying one more vote in order to get to that reward, and Joe didn’t like how one misspoken passage about his sister being able to afford a trip like it’s a vacation fueled Ben’s charge to stay in the game. Thankfully, Survivor Ponderosa brought more than food for Joe; the experience also brought his sister over to the resort!

Even after refueling on calories and getting out of game mode, Joe Mena’s true personality shined when reconnecting with his sister. Turns out, he’s just as energetic and loud with his family as he is playing the game, although one disarming comment from his child passed on through his sister opened up that sensitive side within Joe.

Next: Survivor: Ranking all 34 seasons

One of my favorite parts of this Survivor season is that even its villains aren’t painted so two-dimensionally. We got a lot of humanizing content from Joe, especially when he was digging for that second idol, and it’s hard to be discontent with the style of play he brought to Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.