Lost critic Andrew Dignan described "Every Man for Himself" as "quite the exhilarating episode, packing in enough thrills to make the 42-minutes fly by" in Slant Magazine. Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it considered "watching the con man get conned was brutally satisfying", saying that Sawyer "[ran] the whole gamut of emotions", and felt Colleen's death and the reveal of Ben's tumor "were good things, as people were already impatient by the glacial-like pace of Season 3."
Andrew Dignan of Slant Magazine called "Every Man for Himself" an "exhilarating episode," packed with thrills that make time fly by. Ryan McGee of Zap2it found the con man getting conned to be "brutally satisfying." He also praised Sawyer's range of emotions, and felt Colleen's death and Ben's tumor reveal were good because viewers were already impatient with Season 3's slow pace.