Heroes Vs Healers Vs Hustlers Episode 5: Battle Of Smarts

Ashley and Joe are good-natured after tribal, with Ashley congratulating him on a good move. But with her fellow Hero gone, her position is a bit more uncertain now and the tribe appears to be deadlocked.

Shots fired

On Yawa, the bamboo in the fire makes some loud popping sounds, which has a strong affect on Ben. The tribe soon realize he might have PTSD as he goes off alone in the water. Ben gets a nice moment to talk about his life experiences, and it's nice to see Survivor shine a light on a struggle we haven't seen before.

Ryan could stand to be a little more headstrong

The castaways compete for a coffee reward in the return of the weird snake challenge, only this time they're pushing a ball. Jessica, Desi and Roark start us off, with Desi racing into the lead. Ashley also does pretty well and in no time at all Levu are onto Joe. Roark struggles at first but Soko get back into it when Mike has a hard time. Ryan however loses his ball on a hill multiple times, giving them a massive setback. Devon has a huge headstart on shooting into the basket, but is making slow progress. Cole starts shooting, but Devon wins it for Levu. Ryan does finally complete his part of the challenge after taking forever, but it's too late to even get to the next part.

Levu enjoy their food, a well-earned break from their craziness. May this give them the confidence that they are a strong tribe after all. Devon makes sure Ashley knows that he's still focused on Joe, and she is too. They both think they can get Desi to flip on him, but that remains to be seen.

I, uh...what was this scene about? I was distracted

Ryan apologizes for blowing the challenge and has some damage control to do, but luckily for him he's been able to coast by on his social game so far. Roark talks with Ali and she says she can help Ali get in with some of the girls, plus Cole and Mike. Ali tells Ryan she feels good about Roark and wants to target Chrissy. Ryan agrees, but obviously that's not good for him as they have the idol connection.

Cha-ching, baby!

Cole is eating way too much food on his tribe now - incredible how he keeps finding new ways to suck. Jessica and Mike go off to the well, with the blonde hoping to strengthen this bond a little more. Mike digs for the idol, knowing that Cole and Joe found theirs around here, and he finds it. Great, now just don't tell Cole!

The immunity challenge is to carry heavy bags through the water, over a balance beam, then cut them open and use the balls inside to go through a hole-filled pulley maze. Levu have a tough time getting their bags through the gate and are left in last...until Devon and Desi destroy the balance beam part and move them into first. JP ends up having to carry all three bags as Soko lag behind. Ashley vs Ben on the maze, Ben does it very quickly and Ashley is right behind him. Chrissy has a hard time and Ali has to sub in. Jessica gets Yawa's second, with Ali and then Devon getting them next. Chrissy has another go, but it doesn't go much better than her first attempt. Cole closes out a win for Yawa, as Desi gives Levu 2nd place.

Chrissy talks to Roark about doing a girls alliance, but Roark laughs it off as this is the first strategy conversation Chrissy has head with her. Sensing this is not gonna work, Chrissy now decides to target Raork by telling JP that she was the one trying to get the guys out...and the fireman is shockingly easy to sway. Ali and Chrissy are both pulling Ryan in different directions, making him the clear swing vote...and he pretty much acknowledges that this vote is going to blow up his game whatever he does.

Dang, put her on blast

At tribal council, Ali talks about certain people not stepping out of the challenge when they should've, which Chrissy sees as a very clear attack on her. Roark piles on too, slamming Chrissy for waiting until today to talk to her. JP says he's nervous that the gender divide could decide the vote, and Chrissy agrees that it's not necessarily going to be along original tribal lines.

At the reveal of the votes, Roark is blindsided, with Ali out of the loop too. Did Ryan make the right decision? Tough one. This could've been their only chance to get a Healer out before the merge, but by leaving in a strong pair, is he really willing to turn on Ali already? He's got a lot of work to do if he wants to get all his ducks in a row.

STAR OF THE WEEK: CHRISSY HOFBECK

She turned the tables on Roark and got her sent home, prying Ryan from his Hustler homie and standing up for herself at tribal. Chrissy is in a good spot to make the merge now and will have a lot of allies still around.