Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers episode 13 review: Was it Ben’s last stand?

For most of Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers episode 13 we viewed it through one specific lens: Ben likely going home. Almost every single event in the episode, from Ben’s immunity-idol hunt to him trying to campaign to Ashley and Mike, was viewed through that lens.

Were there some moments of drama during this journey? Absolutely so, starting with the one in which Devon and Chrissy won immunity and took Ryan rather than Ashley. Ashley was understandably upset over the omission, but not to easily consider making a move against him. Another point of drama came courtesy of Chrissy, who was seriously considering voting against Ashley to split up her and Devon. They’re a strong alliance and everyone wants Ben out — this is why Chrissy wanted to mix things up a little bit.

Is this a smart move? Sure, at least for her. She had immunity and nothing to worry about; other players, including Ryan and Mike, were a little bit worried about it. We do think Ben’s status as a final three threat is a little overstated, just because he is so intense that it seems to rub various people the wrong way.

So, at around the 45-minute mark in the episode, we felt like the plan for tonight was secure and Ben was officially done.

Then, Ben finds an idol clue

But, did he find the idol? It was located under the bed at camp but we didn’t actually see him find it. The show pulled an Amanda Kimmel from Micronesia on us! They didn’t show us — it was hard to imagine that he didn’t get the idol, given that we would’ve just grabbed it in front of everyone at a certain point.

Basically, there were a few different scenarios that could’ve played out while at Tribal Council — but many of them were negated the moment Ben actually played the idol. (Ben actually played it before the votes were cast — isn’t that different?) This brought everything into chaos and it suddenly seemed as though Mike was in danger. He told Ashley and Devon to vote for him, and we know that Chrissy wanted to get rid of Ryan. (Chrissy was great all episode, but why did she have to go all party-pooper over Ben’s ridiculous idol presentation?)

Who went home?

Ashley. Shockingly, it was a near-unanimous vote — Devon voted to get rid of her! She did not appreciate that, and Ben is the only person she took a hug from.

CarterMatt Verdict

While we’re not sure that Ben is going to win the game — we’re not sure that he really should when there are several better players left — him sticking around is good for drama. We’re glad that our initial notion of this episode was wrong.

What did you think about tonight’s Survivor episode? Be sure to share in the comments below!

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