Survivor 43, Ep. 10: Get That Money, Baby
GAIA Night 17
The main takeaway from the double Tribal James and Ryan takedown is Karla was left out of the plan for a vote and Jesse feels confident as hell. Karla only knew to vote James because of Sami’s last minute heads up which tells us two things, 1 - Sami is playing to make big things happen and 2 - Karla is not in the position she once thought she was. Yes, she has an idol but she is not in power at all. For Jesse, he feels super confident with 2 idols in his pocket, knowledge of where the vote was going, and a feeling of being in that “middle” zone of the social network at GAIA.
Could we be headed for a huge blindside?
REWARD CHALLENGE Day 18
spin on a frame to bring a buoy across a line, cross a cargo net (while dizzy), cross balance beam and retrieve a sand bag, finish the beam, untie some knots, and land the sandbag on the pedestal.
REWARD - sanctuary with pizza, brownies, beer, wine, and spending the night with pillows and blankets
Well folks, we have the moment of the season. Noelle, struggling to get over the balance beam, in dead last, and her leg sweating off, figures a way to get over the balance beam, get back into the challenge, and plop her sandbag on the pedestal first and win the challenge!
Noelle then chooses Sami, Jesse and Owen to join her on the reward. Left behind is Karla, Cassidy, Gabler, and Cody.
SANCTUARY
The feast and the envelope filled with LOVE still connects. Owen and Jesse have their flood gates opened and cry their eyes out on national television, which is exactly what I would do in that moment. I get emotional thinking about such a scenario. Those letters pull the viewer out of the hole/vortex of the game to remind us of the reality of the players’ real lives and our own. Plus, what an advantage for these 4.
Sanctuary is also a time to talk game strategy. Sami wants Cassidy targeted next and Owen wants to split it between Karla and Cassidy. They all seem to open up and reveal their truths. With only 8 people remaining there isn’t much time left to keep flipping so Sami says he’s locked into this group moving forward and it feels like people are ready to ride that wave.
BACK AT CAMP
The vibes back at GAIA are finding the silver linings. Cassidy takes the lead among the 4 who didn’t win. She does a nice job of gauging where Cody and Gabler are at. She proposes to vote Noelle, the first we have heard her name thrown out and I think it’s the right person. Especially after a reward win like she just had where everyone is in awe of her overcoming her disability to win the challenge. The reality is, nobody would want to sit next to her at the end. Nobody. Plus, she can clearly compete and win challenges so now is the time to target her. Will others jump on board and see her as the biggest threat?
Prediction: Noelle should be voted out, but will not be.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Build a house of cards on a balance beam.
This challenge has to be sooooo much harder than it looks on TV. 15 minutes in and a montage of failures confirms my thoughts about the challenge. Jeff says that “starting over” is a major theme of Survivor and I love that they plan a challenge out to reflect major themes of the show.
After a marathon of failures in this challenge, Cassidy is able to get her tile just high enough to win immunity and a place in the final 7. What I realize at this moment is Cassidy is this season’s under the radar winner pick like a Maryanne or Erika before her. Think about it, she’s never been a top dog, never controlling a vote, not brought on the sanctuary reward, and has had her name written down to be voted out. Don’t sleep on Cassidy.
PRE-TRIBAL SCRAMBLE Day 19
The sanctuary 4 had thought to split the vote on Cass and Karla, but Cassidy winning immunity ruins that plan. Gabler alerts Noelle that her name was thrown out by Cassidy and Karla.
Jesse’s Checklist for Blindsides
Have a Cover Story - tell Noelle that Cody just wanted his idol back
Throw the Fall Guy Under the Bus - that’s Sami. He wants to keep Karla and vote Noelle, so Jesse tells Noelle this and there’s your fall guy.
Have a Backup Plan - that’s where Gabler comes in. Jesse proposes to Gabler that Cody wants to vote out Noelle via blindside, and then walk Gabler through Noelle’s strength throughout this game.
But, the AlliGabler is lurking in the swamp. He’s onto Cody and Jesse’s power in the game. Gabler is smart and though Jesse acknowledges that, his blindside plan may have been missing a step 4.
4. Bring your Immunity Idol to Tribal - just in case you may have a gut feeling that doesn’t sit right because your fool proof plan may make you the fool.
TRIBAL COUNCIL Night 19
Jeff kicks off Tribal trumpeting Noelle’s inspirational win at the Reward Challenge to the jury and to get the conversation going. The editing is excellent as the conversation goes from Noelle to Jesse to Gabler and back to Noelle. The stage is set for either Noelle’s blindside or Jesse’s.
Jesse’s son’s letter told him to “Get that Money, Baby” like the title of the episode, but the fact that Jesse revealed that to end the deliberation at Tribal is crazy.
VOTES
Noelle - 5
Karla - 2
Sami - 1
Gabler said it best, there are a bunch of silent assassins sitting here who are working for precision kills and tonight’s vote was exactly that. Jesse’s blindside checklist was to quote the great Monalisa Vito, “dead on balls accurate” and his crosshairs were locked in on Noelle and the trigger got pulled.
