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 12th episode.
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Top 3 Moments
Cassidy Knows the Truth
Gia: Sami’s vote out last episode went according to plan… well, almost. Karla was supposed to vote for Cassidy, further splintering their alliance, but changed at the last minute once Sami announced that he was playing Shot in the Dark. Now the guys have to resort to Plan B, which is telling Cassidy that Karla was throwing her under the bus. At first, she’s hesitant to believe them, but one too many assurances lead her to the truth.
Karla’s Telenovela
Gia: Karla had some major damage control to do and very little time to do it. She wanted to solidify the bonds she’s worked hard to make, but also scheme behind the scenes. One way in which she hoped to achieve this was by channeling her inner Telenovela, turning on the waterworks to downplay her true intentions. It worked for a time on Cassidy, Owen, and Cody… for a time. Still, it was great to see Karla channel her inner actress.
Cody has a plan… so Jesse ruins it
Christine: As a Karla stan, as soon as Cody started talking to her about not playing her idol, I was sure she was a goner. It was a great plan: Cody uses his own idol to establish a trusting relationship with her, lulls her into a false sense of security by not playing his, and then stabs her in the back with a brutal blindside. It seemed like everything was in motion for Cody’s plan to work, but Jesse had second thoughts. Instead, Jesse decided to take the opportunity to eliminate his number one ally by idoling Owen and spooking Karla into playing hers, leaving Cody betrayed and vulnerable. Jesse’s plan almost got ruined, too, when he struggled to get Cody’s idol back after letting him show it to Karla. Somehow he managed to do so, though, and Cody was sent packing in a brutal blindside.
Top 3 Players
Jesse
Christine: I feel like a broken record every week going on and on about Jesse’s gameplay, but the man is just that good! He managed to take out a major player, keep his secret idol to himself, and still not catch any votes against him this round. He still hasn’t had a single vote cast against him the entire game, either. That said, Jesse’s move this week was incredibly risky. On the one hand, he greatly increased his chances of winning the game by taking out a big player (and someone with a similar game to his own), and he still has an idol to get him past the Final 5.
On the other hand, though, he made his path from Final 4 to Final 3 even more difficult. He’s now in a position where he more or less must win immunity or fire, since he cut the only person who might be willing to take him to Final 3. Jesse is playing a “go big, or go home” kind of game, and no matter how it turns out, he’s going to go down as one of the undisputed star players of the “new era” thus far.
Gabler
Gia: Gabler had a very interesting edit in this episode, and I felt it was necessary to highlight this as we head into finale week. Gabler is well aware of how others perceive him and is happily using this to his advantage while allowing others to make themselves targets. Will this secure him the win in the end? I’m not sure, but it’s notable that we are seeing this perspective from him so late in the game.
Cassidy
Christine: With another clutch immunity win, Cassidy secured her spot in the Final 5. We didn’t hear a ton from Cassidy after all the drama with her and Karla, but even if she didn’t have a massive role in this vote (as far as we can tell), she still benefited greatly from it. Her name has come up as a primary or secondary target quite a bit in the post-merge, just as it did again here before she won immunity. With Cody gone and Karla and Jesse as the biggest targets left, I just can’t see a universe where Cassidy doesn’t make Final 3.
With Karla idoless, she feels like a goner at 5, and Jesse is the obvious target to try to eliminate in fire-making. Whether Cassidy will be able to make a winning case for her game at Final Tribal remains to be seen. But her immunity win and Cody’s subsequent blindside have, in my opinion, set her up for a near-guaranteed seat in the Final 3 unless something totally wacky happens.
Advantage Watch
Idols
Gia: In just one episode, we went from three idols to one. While the plan was always to flush out the two known idols, who could’ve predicted how it turned out? Jesse played Cody’s idol (that was still in Jesse’s possession) on Owen, and Karla was scared into playing hers just in case. Now the only idol left is Jesse’s…, which, by the way, still no one knows about.
Fallen Comrades
Christine: I thought Cody would be an absolute trainwreck of a player during the pre-season. I expected his big personality to be a turn-off to his tribemates and figured he would Big Movez himself right out of the game before, or at, the merge. Much like Sami, though, he surprised me. Cody managed to play a much more low-key game than I thought he would be capable of, working in lockstep with Jesse from the get-go to control the game with an iron grip.
His plan to blindside Karla by misting her into not playing her idol was brilliant, but he made a fatal mistake in giving his idol back to Jesse. They were a tight duo, so I understand why it happened (and look forward to the flashback footage of it next week), but at Final 6, he should’ve held onto that idol just a little tighter.
Gia: Cody will always be American Chappies to me, and I mean that in the best way. His zest for life and unapologetic approach to the game was fun to watch during the season. Yes, perhaps he trusted Jesse too much, but then again, who hasn’t? It doesn’t take away from all the positives he brought to the season. If he does return for a future season, I’m confident he will learn from his mistakes.
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