As much as I'm hoping Ben can pull this off, I already used my one-time on Mike Holloway and I doubt something like that ever happens again

When was the last time someone played an idol before any votes? I'm not sure that this has ever happened (or been allowed, but I'm unsure of the rules).

Surprised it's taken ~20 seasons to see this. It's a great way to get the majority to turn on each other (rather than everyone writing Ben's name). Mike Holloway should have done this that one time when he didn't win immunity but did have an idol.

Early on, they would wear the necklace and everyone would just not for them. Of course, its become common as a fake, so Ben had to play it early. Think if Chrissy was vunerable
it might have been her (who wouldnt want to take Ashley).

Team Devon

devon might've ****ed up some of his jury odds though. ashley seemed real pissed at him twice this epiosde (reward + tribal)

apparently all you have to do is go on a reward with devon and you'll end up in an alliance with him

theres a good chance the f3 is exactly chrissy/ryan/devon because i cant imagine them taking mike with so many healers on the jury

i have absolutely no idea how the jury would vote between them

**** i forgot about this. just imagine ben vs ryan in a fire making challenge lol. he would be a big favorite against pretty much anyone in fire making id assume

its pretty surprising he hasnt won any immunity challenges so far though. i guess he cant do puzzles. usually the last challenge is more of a running/obstacle course type thing which would favor him

How can Mike even be talking about possibly winning the million.

"Ben won't fool me again" - Ben fools him again

"Ben won't fool me a third time" - Ben fools him again

"I'm 100% confident there's no idol and Ben is wasting his time" - Ben finds and plays idol

His social game consists of trying to find someone to agree that another player is a jerk. He's useless in challenges and around camp as far as we can see.

He's an ideal F3 member who will get zero votes, and hilariously will go in believing he's got a shot.

So who is everyone's ideal final 3?

Mike: Lol doesn't matter, but i suppose with all the Healers in the Jury, if he's there with Chrissy and Ryan people might not vote for them?

Ben: Probably doesn't matter should beat everyone

Chrissy: Mike and Ryan

Devon: Anyone but Ben and preferably not Chrissy?

Ryan: Mike and Chrissy and hope he can beat Chrissy some how cause he pissed off less people? Drawing dead.

This is just me conjecturing, but there's been a theory floating around the Survivor community/RHAP all season about whether this season might end in a tie since Probst decided to randomly announce what the tiebreaker is during last season's finale.

Let's say Ben, Chrissy, and Mike make f3. I could easily see Ben vs. Chrissy becoming a 4-4 tie.

Desi: despises Chrissy, easy vote for Ben
Cole: had some altercations with Ben concerning food and with Chrissy concerning whispering/idol fight at the beach. I'll say he votes Ben since Desi will.
JP: easy vote for Chrissy
Joe: had altercations with both, but I noticed last night they cute to Joe nodding on the jury after several things Ben was saying. I'll say Joe votes with his fellow Healers for Ben.
Lauren: this is a tough one, since Ben and Lauren had such a tight bond for most of the game, but things got ugly at the end as they targeted each other. I'll say she's bitter and votes for Chrissy I also think it's possible that Joe and Lauren's votes both go the other way, and it still cancels out.
Ashley: despises Chrissy, and hugged Ben on the way out, so I'll say Ben
Some 2 of Devon/Ryan/Mike: They all seem to be very anti-Ben and like Chrissy, so I'll say Chrissy.

That would lead to a 4-4 tie, with whoever was the 0 vote finalist casting the deciding vote. I'm a little unsure who could be a good 0 vote finalist though, if it's not Mike. Devon and Ryan seem like they should be able to get votes. So if Mike isn't in f3, then who is the f3 goat? I wonder if it could be Chrissy, with Ben splitting 4-4 with a Devon or Ryan. It's also possible that Ben doesn't make it to f3, but that's kind of the assumption I'm working with based on my perception of the edit this season

everyone in the game is talking as if Ben would essentially sweep if he gets to the end. I don’t think he would be involved in a tie unless everyone completely misread the jury (including people who are on the jury)

I forgot about how the tie is broken. does that happen when they tape it, or live at the finale? would be pretty ridiculous if they get to do it live at the finale. they could basically just accept bribes from the other two all season long lol. plus they’d get to see the show which seems unfair.

wouldn’t a more likely tie be that joe is the lone vote for mike, and it ties between some combo of Ryan/Chrissy/Devon

These chumps better hope puzzles aren't involved for the next 2 challenges cause they don't stand a chance vs Chrissy

Also Chrissy correctly predicted what would happen and already had the back up plan in place. Just needs to get Ben out next tribal and win the last immunity to take this puppy home

My understanding is that the 3rd place finalists casts their vote on the island is then he/she is locked in a box until the finale to prevent spoilage.

Chrissy rules. Ben drools

I found it interesting that during tribal, everyone felt they were in a final 3 except Ben. With the shells they have been using, fake idols could be easily made/planted.

forgot to mention I thought the obvious choice for the reward was Ben. then you keep him away from the island so he can’t search for the idol. and if there’s some clue or something on the reward, at least you have eyes on him. plus then you don’t have to worry about him talking to other people

and you don’t have to piss off 2/3 of ryan/mike/ashley

so I was surprised they didn’t just pick Ben and it was especially dumb for Devon since Ashley actually got pissed about it. and who knows maybe Ben never finds the idol if he’s stuck at the resort overnight

plus you can play it up to Ben as being good sportsmanship or w/e since you know he’s going home so he might as well get something to enjoy for a good last memory. or whatever bs like that to try and get his jury vote

Didn't Devon just ensure that if Ben wins the next immunity, he's done? And why is Fishbach so warm on Mike's jury chances? His competitors don't see him as a delusional goat? Am I misreading?

probably because the jury is full of healers?

You don't want Ben to be rejuvenated with a feast and a good night's rest for the immunity challenge though. Plus one would assume that the others at camp would at least keep an eye on him to see if he finds the idol or better yet go look for it themselves. Unfortunately the two goats chose to sit around and mope instead.

I think Chrissy and Ryan can definitely vote out Mike over Devon. lots of friends on the jury, he's made spectacles at tribal council, and most importantly he was the underdog when the Healers were dwindled

I’m not sure why one would assume Ashley and Mike could stop Ben from finding an idol. If I was in that final 6, I would def want to be able to keep an eye on Ben myself. And keep him away from camp

As Ben said in a confessional---the biggest reason he wanted to win reward was because of the usual immunity idol clue that comes from being a part of the reward. The objective odds of him finding the HII had to be higher with him going on the reward then it were had he not gone.

Also---he didn't even find the actual clue until the rest of the tribe was back from the reward anyway.

yes, but that’s where you have the advantage of being with him at the reward and able to keep an eye on him

and idk about the timing, can’t really trust the edit for when he found the clue since he was obv by himself when it happened. what we do know is he had a lot of extra time to look for it with less people at camp

Not necessarily true, just how it was edited.

The idol should have been exposed the moment he had it to encourage as much rat-f***ing as possible among the others.

And yes alliance should have had Ben on 24/7 sight/sound supervision, taking overnight shifts and all.

Nobody deserves the win but Ben, despite the PTSD milking hoo rah bull****.