Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 43 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the 11th episode.
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Top 3 Moments
Sami does damage control
Gia: For the first time this season, Sami found himself left out of the vote when Noelle went home. Turns out that Sami has built himself quite the reputation for being an unreliable ally, and he does himself no favors by trying to deny voting for Karla. Once he recognizes his current standing, he works overtime to do some necessary damage control… starting with throwing Cassidy under the bus (with a complete lie, no less).
Last Gasp returns!
Christine: Remember the good ol’ days when Survivor would subject the castaways to water torture? Well, the good ol’ days are back, baby! I was ecstatic to see this challenge return, and it did not disappoint. It was genuinely the most thrilling challenge of the season so far, with a memorable ending as Karla and Owen were crowned joint winners. I do wish they had some sort of tiebreaker in mind, because three immunities (including Cody) at the final seven is excessive. But it was great TV, so I can’t complain too much!
Shot in the Dark is back… and done
Gia: Just when Shot in the Dark was about to go away, Sami brought it back at the last possible moment. With Karla and Owen winning joint immunity and Cody safe from Choose Your Champion, the pickings were getting incredibly slim. It becomes obvious that the vote will be either Sami or Cassidy, and while Cassidy is placing her game in her allies’ hands, Sami wants some extra insurance for himself. Not only does he decide to play his Shot in the Dark, but he announces that he will be doing so at tribal council. Not the most subtle gameplay we have seen on Survivor, but it was the right call for Sami, who was voted out unanimously when he pulled the wrong scroll.
Top 3 Players
Jesse
Gia: Jesse may not have won immunity in this episode, but he was the one that came out on top. Above all else, he is the player most consistently in power throughout the season. Not only was he off everyone’s radar this round, but he also turned the vote from Cassidy to Sami, potentially splintering Cassidy and Karla’s alliance in the process. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesse is a brilliant player, but we’ll see if he’s able to continue managing his threat level.
Karla
Gia: Good news, Karla (and Owen) won immunity in the iconic Last Gasp challenge, living out the dream of every Survivor superfan. Bad news, she may have destroyed her closest alliance by attempting to engineer Cassidy’s ousting. I can’t lie, I’m worried about Karla’s chances moving forward, but if anyone can beat this uphill battle, it’s her.
Cody
Christine: Even if I’m not a fan of the timing of the advantage (see below rant), I’ll tip my hat to Cody for making the right prediction and earning a crucial immunity win so late in the game. Cody and Jesse’s stranglehold on the game remains strong, with two idols on their side heading into the final six. Their downfall as a duo seems more or less inevitable, and I don’t see a universe where they both make the final three, let alone the final four. Cody is still flying high for now, but I do wonder if he might emerge as the bigger target out of the two of them after this week.
Advantage Watch
Choose Your Champion
Christine: Prior to the immunity challenge, the castaways were sent on a scavenger hunt to find a mysterious advantage in the jungle. Hilariously, everyone failed to notice the parchment hiding in plain sight at eye level on a tree until it finally caught Cody’s eyes. The advantage allowed him to bet which one of his tribemates was most likely to win the immunity challenge. If Cody’s guess was right, he would also be immune.
I don’t dislike this advantage, but introducing it at the final seven feels a bit late. The decision to have two winners (while understandable) was a little frustrating with this advantage in mind because it allowed three out of seven people to be immune, while we also have three idols and Shot in the Dark in play. We didn’t end up with a Cirie Game Changers experience this time around, but if we see this advantage again, I hope it’s at least a little earlier in the merge.
Idols
Christine: All three idols still remain in the game heading into the final six. Jesse’s idol (formerly Jeanine’s) is the only one that remains a secret, so it’s pretty bonkers that we haven’t seen a blindside or idol-flushing attempt yet to get Karla or Cody’s idol out of the game before now. We could end up with a lot of idol-playing action at the next vote, but I’m now growing more and more convinced that all three idols might go unplayed after all.
Fallen Comrades
Christine: Oh, Sami. I thought he was going pre-merge for sure when the cast bios and intro videos dropped. He was just as chaotic and messy as I predicted he would be in the pre-season, but it worked out for him a lot longer than I expected him to. His strategy of playing the middle while simultaneously stirring the pot was a dangerous game, and his antics finally caught up to him this week. I was rooting for him to make final tribal council because I was interested to see how he articulated his game to the jury. But I appreciate the appropriately messy send-off he got here with his last-ditch plan to turn Karla and Cassidy against each other and a failed (and very public) Shot in the Dark attempt.
Gia: Sami was a pleasant surprise for me this season. At times he was unconventional, and he was always willing to push against the status quo within the majority alliances that he was a part of. He may not have become the youngest winner like he wanted, but I’d be shocked if we didn’t see him return in a future season.
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