A new episode of Survivor 43 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The episode begins with the Coco tribe and Vesi tribe learning they must drop their buffs, board a boat, and be taken to their new home. They are all excited that the merge is upon them. Karla is hesitant since she knows the merge doesn’t come easy. We hear confessionals from some of the castaways. Ryan says this is perfect timing. He thinks he went from the bottom to the top. He was on the outs of the previous vote, and he says he is a free agent now. Jesse is excited, but nervous. He says this is when you prove yourself as a player. Jeanine is excited. She has been looking forward to making it to the merge. Cody finds the enthusiasm of everyone meeting each other comical. Noelle doesn’t know what to think.
Owen is aware there are a lot of advantages floating around. He knows Gabler and Jeanine each have an immunity idol (Jeanine cannot vote). Jesse also cannot vote. Noelle has a Steal-a-Vote advantage. What Owen doesn’t know is that Karla and Cody each have an immunity idol too. Later, Noelle tells Elie about the beads Cody used to make a palm frond hat. Elie realizes that Cody has an immunity idol since he collected beads from his tribe members. Elie shares this news with Jeanine. Elie tells Jeanine she wants Baka and Vesi to unite to have the numbers.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. Two teams of six will lift debris to reveal a sled. They must then drag the sled to a series of stations to collect crates. Once they have six crates, they must use the crates to build a staircase. They will go up the crates to retrieve a ring. Afterwards, they must go up a ramp and solve a puzzle. The first team to solve the puzzle will make be safe at the upcoming tribal council and win a food reward. Jeff also notes that everybody will be voting at tribal council tonight. Since there is an odd number of castaways, one person will not compete. They will draw rocks to determine the teams and the sit-out. The person who draws the gray rock will sit out. He or she must bet on a team. If he or she picks the winning team, then he or she will be safe at tribal council too.
Blue Team – Gabler, Jesse, Ryan, Jeanine, Dwight, and Karla
Red Team – Cassidy, James, Elie, Sami, Owen, and Cody
Noelle drew the gray rock. She predicts the Blue Team to win. The challenge begins, and the Blue Team takes an early lead. They are eventually surpassed by the Red Team. Karla also cuts herself and has blood all over her hand. The Blue Team eventually catches up the the Red Team on the puzzle, but the Red Team had a head start. Dwight and Jeanine are having great success with the puzzle, allowing the Blue Team a chance to win. Owen and Elie are doing well with the puzzle too, making this a much closer challenge. Soon enough, Blue takes the lead and solves the puzzle first. The Blue Team wins immunity! Gabler, Jesse, Ryan, Jeanine, Dwight, Karla, and Noelle will be safe at tribal council tonight.
The castaways on the Red Team return to camp. Elie feels responsible for losing the challenge. Everybody is nervous about missing out on the merge. The castaways scatter and talk game. Owen and Elie feel sketched out by James. Elie believes the Vesi tribe and Baka tribe can work together to vote out a Coco tribe member. Later, Cassidy talks game with Elie. Cassidy suggests voting out Cody, and Elie pretends she is on board with her idea. James talks to Elie later. He asks for a name, and Elie cagily tells him that Cody is the only option if Baka and Coco work together. James noticed Elie’s reluctance to give him a name. He doesn’t trust Elie.
Meanwhile, the castaways on the Blue Team enjoy a feast away from camp. Ryan proposes they can be the Final 7 of the game, but the others aren’t committing to Ryan’s idea. When the game talk continues, Gabler throws Elie under the bus. He tells everybody that she went through his bag to search for an advantage. He lets everybody know that he doesn’t trust her so Elie will be the target tonight. Jeanine cannot believe Gabler spilled the beans, especially in front of her since she will inform Elie what Gabler said about her. Karla is glad to learn the Baka tribe is fractured.
After the feast, everybody is back at camp. Elie lets Dwight, Jeanine, and Cody know that Cassidy proposed to vote him out tonight. The plan is for Baka and Vesi to target James tonight. Jeanine also lets Elie know that Gabler threw her under the bus. Elie is dumbfounded about Gabler, so she tries to clear the air with him. Elie denies looking through his bag, but Gabler tells him that Owen and Sami told him that she went through his bag. After Elie and Gabler talk in circles, Elie leaves the conversation and goes find Sami and Owen. Sami and Owen deny telling Gabler anything. They try to placate Elie; Elie is panicking now that her name is on the chopping block. Sami and Owen are frustrated with Gabler spilling the beans. Sami tries to make Elie feel calm, but he would rather see her get voted out tonight. Later, Jeanine, Gabler, Sami, and Owen discuss the vote. Owen tells them that the Baka tribe members need to stick together for this vote at least.
Later, James lies to Jesse about Elie’s plan. James claims that Elie wants Cody to go home tonight. Jesse believes James, and James’ lie spreads around the island. Ryan also finds out that Elie was proposing targeting James and Cassidy tonight, and he lets them know. The Baka and Coco tribe members are now considering voting for Elie tonight. Jeanine is determined to keep the Baka tribe members together, but Gabler is adamant about voting out Elie tonight. Elie knows she is in danger tonight. She feels like her only chance might be if Jeanine plays her immunity idol for her.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff asks what happened back at camp. Gabler says everything exploded when they all got back to camp. He says he has not stopped talking all day. He says it’ll be an interesting night. Cody agrees it was chaotic. Jeff asks how does it feel to not have immunity tonight. Sami says it’s scary to be vulnerable. Every conversation matters. Cassidy agrees, and she points out how dynamics are going to shift when you bring a certain group of people together. Jeanine says it cannot be more different from a tribe vote. They all have to gauge their individual games and other people’s games. They need to look at the game from everyone’s point of view. Elie says everyone has an individual mission. She feels panicked. Every minute talking game counts. Owen says trust is their only currency. They can only trust themselves to figure out whom to trust. He says it was an exhilarating afternoon. Jeff asks about advantages. Karla point out there have been nine people on journeys, so they don’t know what people have. That’s an additional stress. Sami points out that playing an advantage could make their alliance trust them less. Jeanine says it’s a game of paranoia vs gut. They have to listen to their instincts instead of making a panic-stricken move. Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, he asks if anyone wants to play an advantage. Nobody does.
The first vote is for…
Elie
James
Owen
Cassidy
James
Elie
Elie
Elie
Elie
Elie is the sixth person voted out of Survivor 43. “Y’all see what trusting Gabler will get you?” Elie says before her torch is snuffed.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
