Alliances start to form as alum Mike Zahalsky’s tribe survives another challenge.
In episode 3 of CBS’s Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, the Healers tribe enjoyed a relatively laid-back week of fishing, smooching, and avoiding the dreaded tribal council.
Although Mike Zahalsky ’95 MMS’98 MD’99 still has a nemesis in teammate Joe, the rest of the tribe isn’t ready to bend to Joe’s will. In episode 2, Joe located an immunity idol, which protects the bearer from being voted off, with the help of teammate Cole. Armed with the idol, Joe confided in viewers this week that he plans to boot Zahalsky at his first opportunity.
Dazed by a serious case of puppy love, Cole shared Joe’s secret with love interest Jessica along with the rest of the tribe. Although the Healers recognize that Zahalsky is not their physically strongest member, approval of Joe is falling fast after he repeatedly criticized other Healers’ cooking skills. The Healers decided to blindside Joe at tribal council should they lose the week’s challenge.
This immunity challenge involved an obstacle course, knocking blocks off a tall beam with sandbags, and creating a tower with the same blocks. Because the Healers are the only tribe to retain all their original players, Zahalsky opted to cheer them on from the sidelines.
The Healers and Heroes made it through the course and gathered blocks as one Hustler struggled to knock all the blocks off the beam—and refused to give other teammates a chance. By literally standing on the shoulders of teammates, the Healers seemed to complete their block tower, but then discovered they were missing a block. In the shuffle to finish, the Heroes won the challenge and a crate of chickens. The Healers fixed their mistake and were awarded a dozen eggs.
As the last to finish, the Hustlers were again ushered to the tribal council, where they voted off the teammate who refused to share sandbag duty. There’s little time to enjoy the prizes this week, as a tribe shuffle is foreshadowed for this Wednesday’s episode, at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
