Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Articles

If you missed an episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, or if you have just forgotten about what went on during an episode, you may want to check out these articles. My full-length articles go into greater detail than what I can discuss in this short recap.

Survivor Returns to Samoa for a Battle Between Good and Evil

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13

Episode 13

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Episode 12

Sinking Ship

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 12, Rupert stirs up the pot, trying to get everyone to see what a snake Russell is. This paints a big target on his back. There were two tribal councils tonight, and the Villains were gunning for him both times.

At the first tribal council, Rupert saves himself by making the Villains think that he has the hidden immunity idol. The decide to split the vote between him and Candace. The two remaining members of the Heroes alliance (now that Candace has jumped ship) choose to vote for Candace as well, and she is out.

For the second tribal council, Russell decides that he's not happy with Parvati and Danielle allying together, since he's no longer the alliance's top dog. He decides to stir the pot up and get them to vote against each other. Danielle and Parvati talk and figure out what is going on, and choose to vote out Rupert anyway. At Tribal Council, Danielle starts weeping, which causes Jerri to change her vote from Rupert to Danielle. Danielle ends up going instead of Rupert.

A much longer review of Episode 12 will be available shortly.

Episode 11

Jumping Ship

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 11, both the Heroes and Villains are trying to bring another person over to their side. Russell tries to convince Candace to vote with him, while the Heroes are working on Sandra.

Meanwhile, Danielle finds the clue to the hidden immunity idol at the reward challenge, and Amanda takes it. They argue over it, and eventually Amanda gives it back to Danielle. Russell "helps" her look for the idol, finds it himself, and hides it. Both the former Heroes and former Villains know that Danielle had the clue, so they think that she has the idol.

In the end, Sandra stays with the Villains, while Candace bails on the Heroes and votes with the Villains. Amanda goes. Read more on Survivor Episode 10.

Episode 10

Going Down in Flames

In Episode 10, the two tribes merge. J.T. is happy to see that Russell survived to the merge, but is confused as to why Parvati is still in the game. Russell's answer? Parvati played a hidden immunity idol at the same time.

The Heroes start to have doubts about Russell's trustworthiness, despite Russell swearing on his kids that Russell was on their side, after Sandra approaches Rupert and tells him that Russell is in charge over on the Heroes side, with Parvati as his sidekick. They decide to test Russell's loyalty by asking him to vote for Parvati, hoping to flesh out the hidden immunity idol if he is lying. Russell gives his hidden immunity idol to Parvati.

In a surprise move, Parvati gives both of her immunity idols away, to Jerri and Sandra. Since the Heroes all voted for Jerri, the Villain's candidate for elimination, J.T., is the next to go.

Episode 9

Survivor History

In episode 9, J.T. made what may be considered the dumbest move in Survivor history. Thinking that Russell Hantz would be the next to go as a victim of the "ladies alliance" (of which there is none), J.T. gave his immunity idol to the most conniving player in Survivor history. He suggested in the note that Russell vote off Parvati, which is not going to happen, because Parvati is in an alliance with Russell.

The Villains break their losing streak by winning a challenge where they have to hold onto the sides of a wall to stay in the game, but the Heroes end up winning the immunity challenge, tying the game in what likely is the episode before the merge.

Russell and his followers decide to vote off Courtney. A longer review of Episode 9 is also available.

Episode 8

Expectations

Episode 7

I'm Not a Good Villain

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 7, the Heroes finally get their act together and turn things around. They win both the reward challenge and the immunity challenge. Things aren't so rosy over at the Villains camp. Russell and Rob are determined to do away with each other. Russell decides to persuade Jerri to come over to his side, and as a result, her ally, Coach, follows. Jerri trusts Russell (mistake!), but Coach is a little bit more perceptive and does not.

Boston Rob is voted out, with Jerri voting for him. Coach voted for Courtney, which gave Russell three votes to Rob's four. A longer review of Survivor episode 7 is available on Associated Content.

Episode 6

Banana Etiquette

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 6, both tribes have to vote someone out. One person from each tribe is able to get immunity. During the challenge, James plays with heart and finishes faster than Colby. That doesn't seem to be enough; his leg still is bad enough to get him voted out. Plus, he eats a lot of bananas and doesn't know proper "banana etiquette"... that is, offering to get others a banana when you do.

At the Villains tribe, Rob decides that he wants Russell or Parvati out. He thought that splitting the vote would be a surefire way to get one of them out. However, Russell convinced Tyson that he would be voting for Parvati, Tyson flips his vote to Parvati's side, and Russell gives the immunity idol to Parvati. Tyson ends up with three votes to Russell's three, and that's the end of him. Please see Associated Content for a longer review of Survivor Heroes vs. Villains Episode 6.

Episode 5

Knights of the Round Table

In episode 5, the Heroes continue with their losing streak. James is injured during the reward challenge, but it's not his fault that the Heroes lose immunity again. The Heroes have to decide whether James is stronger than Tom, and if that even matters. Should they vote with the alliance or with Tom? J.T., who is losing trustworthiness as he flip-flops in voting, decides to vote Tom out.

Over at the Villains camp, Russell finds the hidden immunity idol, and lets Parvati and Coach in on the information. Coach acts as if he has just been knighted by this information. Meanwhile, the other Villains are talking about ways that they can get Russell out of the tribe.

See my Associated Content article to read more about Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 5.

Episode 4

Tonight, We Make Our Move

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 4, the Villains regain the upper hand, winning both the reward and immunity challenges.

Both tribes discover that there is a hidden immunity idol. While all the Heroes immediately go looking for it, the Villains decide that nobody would look for it. Russell didn't want to go along with that plan, however, and started looking for the idol as quickly as he could. When Sandra discovered this, the other Villains decided that Russell would have to go.

Tom found the immunity idol on the Heroes side, and Cirie came up with a plan for the large alliance to send three votes Tom's way, and give three votes to Colby. J.T., who is allying on both sides for the moment, discussed with Tom on who to vote out. Tom thought voting Candace out would be a good idea, but when Cirie objected, Tom decided that they should vote her out instead. Instead of going with the three votes Tom three votes Colby plan, J.T. voted with Tom to get rid of Cirie.

See my Associated Content article for a longer recap of Survivor: Heroes vs Villains Episode 4.

Episode 3

That Girl is Like a Virus

In this episode, the Heroes need to get their act together to win. When their chickens escape, they are able to work together to recapture them. Meanwhile, at the other camp, some of the Survivors are getting annoyed with Parvati and her lazy ways. Russell decides to bury the machete in order to create strife among his tribemates. After the Villains lose the challenge, some consider voting Parvati out. In the end, Randy is determined to be the weakest, and is voted out instead of the flirtatious, but lazy, Parvati.

A longer review of episode 3 is available.

Episode 2

It's Getting The Best of Me

In episode 2, Boston Rob collapses from exhaustion, and the medics are called. After a little hydration and a clear from the medics, he is able to return to the game. Meanwhile, the Heroes tribe is divided, and they lose in their second immunity challenge in a row. Some think that Stephanie is to blame, and wonder if she wasn't the cause of her first tribe losing every single challenge, until she was the only Survivor remaining. Thinking that she might be like Superman's Kryptonite, they decide to vote her out.

Cirie and Candace are the swing votes, siding with Rupert, J.T., Amanda, and James. Colby, Tom, and Stephanie tried to sway their vote unsuccessfully. It looks like Cirie and Candace are their own little alliance, teaming up with the larger alliance with Rupert and his allies.

A longer review of Survivor Samoa Episode 2 is available on Associated Content.

Episode 1

Slay Everyone, Trust No One

The Dragonslayer, whose quote made up this episode's title, returns, along with Russell Hantz, the popular Rupert Boneham, and several other favorites, for season 20. Right off the bat, the Villains lived up to their name, breaking a toe and dislocating a shoulder in the first challenge. Russell is up to his old tricks, trying to ally with everyone. Although the villains lose the first challenge, they do manage to get fire without flint, and they end up winning immunity. Sugar ends up getting voted out; she annoyed Colby and others while they were trying to sleep, performed poorly during the challenge, and wasn't an overall strong competitor to keep around.

A longer review of Survivor Samoa Episode 1 is available at Associated Content.

Heroes

Some of the most popular, most likable Survivors are returning for this upcoming season of Heroes vs. Villains. Some are appearing on Survivor for the third time.

There are a couple of female Survivors where I'm unsure whether they go into the hero or villain category. If I have made a mistake, they will be moved as soon as the season begins. Some are saying that Sandra is on the Villains tribe, but I personally don't think that she belongs there.

Colby Donaldson

Survivor Australia, All Stars

Colby was great at challenges, was trusted by Tina in Australia, and clashed with Jerri Manthey, who is making a return on the villains tribe. Colby may be in trouble, as one of the members of his core alliance, Stephanie, was voted out.

Villains

Many of the Villains are obvious. Who doesn't think of Russell Hantz or "Boston Rob" Mariano as being sneaky and backstabbing? I was surprised at a few of the contestants; they don't really seem like villains to me, but all of the hero slots were already taken.

Sandra Diaz-Twine

Survivor Pearl Islands

Sandra won Pearl Islands, but tended to ride under the radar for most of the season. While I didn't initially think that she belonged on the Villains team, her attitude in episode 1 showed that she belonged with the rest of them.

Russell Hantz

Survivor Samoa

Russell Hantz has got to be one of the most devious players out there, but none of the other Survivors are going to know it. Heroes vs. Villains began filming more than a month before the first episode of Survivor Samoa aired. While most of the other Survivors know each other to one degree or another, Russell is a complete stranger. He can use the same tactics, because nobody will know what he did the first time (hide your socks!). Will he continue finding hidden immunity idols? He has an advantage in being the sole unknown player.

Russell's physical condition will be put to the test doing back-to-back seasons so quickly. All of the other Survivors had some time to recover from their seasons, even when they competed back-to-back: Russell Hantz had 12 days between filming, barely enough time to take a shower, get a haircut, and wolf down a pizza. At least he won't have to get used to limited rations once again.

My guess is that Russell did not do well in Heroes vs. Villains. When the finale of Survivor Samoa occurred, Russell knew how well he performed in Survivor 20. If he made it to the final two in Heroes vs. Villains, he probably would not have been so dejected when he found out that he lost. He might not have offered Natalie $100,000 for the sole Survivor title.

Hantz Arrested for Battery

This is a Surprise... Not.

Parvati Shallow

Jerri Manthey

Survivor Australia, All-Stars

Jerri is back, and so is her nemesis, Colby. Jerri takes pride in being a Villain. She allied with Coach, but she was quite naive to trust Russell. She was the deciding factor in getting rid of Danielle.

Voted Out

Rupert Boneham

Pearl Islands, All Stars

Rupert is one of the most popular Survivor contestants ever. He really seems to like being on the show. He's a nice, likable guy, and he loves being in the game. This season he is back with his trademark tie-dye. He broke his toe during the first challenge.

Rupert's downfall was making an alliance with Russell when he knew Russell was a snake. Sandra approached him with an opportunity to vote him out, but Rupert was a little too trusting of Russell, and instead of making a deal with him, reports her to Sandra. I love Rupert, but that was a terrible mistake.

Danielle DiLorenzo

Fourteenth voted out.

Survivor Panama

Danielle DiLorenzo was the runner-up in Panama, but she wasn't that memorable. She allied with Russell, and is quite close to Parvati. She was both a victim of Russell's maneuvering and her own stupidity. Russell was upset that she was allied with Parvati and he was not top dog, so he tried to get her out. The rest of the Villains were planning on voting out Rupert, but after Danielle started crying at tribal council, saying "I'm closer to Parvati than you think", Jerri changed her vote at the last minute, and out goes Danielle.

Candace Woodcock

Thirteenth voted out.

Survivor Cook Islands

I don't remember Candice much, but she was a mutineer during Survivor Cook Islands. We can never know for sure if staying on her tribe would have helped her, but the team that she went to eventually got picked off one by one. She repeated her tendency to abandon ship in Heroes vs. Villains. This was her downfall. Neither the Villains nor the Heroes trusted her, and she was voted out.

Amanda Kimmel

Twelvth voted out.

Survivor China, Fans vs. Favorites

Amanda Kimmell is physically strong, and plays a great social game. She's also spent more time as a cast member than any of the other Survivors; she made it to the finals twice, but lost both times. Russell saw her as a strategic player, and ended up getting his alliance to vote her out.

J.T. Thomas

Eleventh voted out.

Survivor Tocantins

A nice country boy who everyone seems to like. His friendly persona helped him win Tocantins. He planned to play a little more darkly for Heroes vs. Villains. He allied with just about everyone, but his downfall was assuming that the Villains were in an all-female alliance, so he gave his hidden immunity idol to Russell, someone he had never met or even seen on previous seasons of Survivor. Russell repaid J.T.'s kindness with the first boot after the tribe merged.

Courtney Yates

Tenth voted out.

Benjamin "Coach" Wade

Ninth voted out.

Survivor Tocantins

Coach has some wild stories to tell, and thinks that he's the "Dragon Slayer". There is probably a grain of truth to most of his stories. He's not a great social player, but he is physically strong.

He was close with Jerri, but when Sandra suggested to Russell that Coach was trying to vote him out, that was the end of the line for him.

Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano

Eighth voted out.

Survivor Marquesas, All-Stars
Amazing Race 7, Amazing Race: All Stars

"Boston Rob" Mariano will compete in his fifth major reality show, if you don't count the wedding and series that he did with his wife Amber Brkich. He is crass and is not afraid to backstab. His new baby girl was born less than a month before Heroes vs. Villains began filming; will that affect the way that he plays like it did with Johnny Fairplay?

He stlll seems pretty sneaky, but he is also ambitious. He collapses from exhaustion in Episode 2, but is determined to continue once medical clears him to go on.

James Clement

Seventh voted out.

Survivor China, Fans vs. Favorites

James is a grave digger with rippling abs that was popular during Survivor China. He had to be medevaced due to an infection during Fans vs. Favorites. He is in an alliance with Rupert, J.T., and Amanda; Candace seems to be allied, but she is somewhat on the outside. James currently has a bum leg, and that ended up being his undoing, although he wasn't immediately voted out.

Tyson Apostol

Sixth voted out.

Survivor Tocantins

Tyson Apostol ran around naked a lot on Tocantins, but he didn't seem to do a lot of that in Heroes vs. Villains (at least not what the camera showed). He didn't get a lot of airtime this time around, so he must not have played a very controversial game. However, he was duped by Russell Hantz when he was told that Russell would vote for Parvati. Tyson flipped his vote from Russell to Parvati, Russell gave Parvati the immunity idol, and Tyson ended up getting voted out.

Tom Westman

Fifth voted out.

Survivor Palau

Winner of Survivor Palau, this firefighter excels in challenges and is an overall nice guy. He allied with Colby and Stephanie... only problem for him is, Stephanie was voted out. J.T. seemed to be allied with him, but he never could make up his mind.

Cirie Fields

Fourth voted out.

Survivor Panama, Fans vs. Favorites

A self-professed couch potato before she began Survivor, Cirie survived on her social skills. She went far during both of her previous seasons, but her fire-making skills took her out in Panama, and was voted out because she was likable in Fans vs. Favorites.

Once again, Cirie is playing a calculated social game from the get-go. She didn't want to get rid of Sugar right away, because Sugar was weaker than her. In the end, she voted with the group to take Sugar out. She also voted to take Stephanie out; perhaps because she is stronger than she is. When she tried to save Candace from being voted out, the plan backfired, and she was voted out instead.

Randy Bailey

Third voted out.

Survivor Gabon

Randy seems to hate everyone. Although he seems bitter, I detected a little bit of sadness during the Gabon reunion show. His only living relative is his brother who he never talks to, and the only person who he says has never let him down is his dog. He didn't form close relationships during his second season on Survivor, and was the first person voted out of the Villains tribe.

Stephanie LaGrossa

Second voted out.

Survivor Palau, Survivor Guatemala

Also known as Stepheme, Stephanie was on the losing Palau tribe, and then was on a losing tribe in Guatemala. She did manage to make it far in both seasons. I'm not exactly sure she belongs on the heroes tribe, but that's where she was cast. Her shoulder was dislocated in the first challenge, but the medics pushed it back into place (ouch).

In the end, the losing Heroes tribe thought that she might just be bad luck (Kryptonite) and decide to vote her off.

Jessica "Sugar" Kiper

First voted out.

Survivor Gabon

Sugar gives the impression of being a stupid pin-up girl, but she proved during her season on Gabon that there's actually something working in that brain of hers. She quickly found the immunity idol, and was able to take the "comfort" option during the several times that she was sent into Exile. Unfortunately, she's not very strong, annoyed some of her tribemates by talking in the middle of the night, and didn't perform well on the puzzle segment of the first immunity challenge. She was voted out first as a result.

Samoan Tsunami did NOT Affect Television Show

The 2nd Biggest Villain Is Missing

The 20th season of Survivor is an all-star edition, but not include Richard Hatch. Richard Hatch, winner of and bad-boy from Survivor 1, is still on confinement, after he failed to pay his taxes from his winnings. Since he owes the government money, he is considered a flight risk, so they told him they could not go along. According to court documents, filming began on August 1st, in Samoa, just like this fall's version of Survivor, Survivor Samoa.

Russell Hantz, who just finished Survivor Samoa and could very well be the nastiest Survivor Villain ever, did make it to Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. When filming began, he knew that he made it to the final three in Survivor Samoa, but he did not know that he did not win (although he clearly thought he deserved it).