Survivor 43 Discussion Thread

[Wendy Pleakley]

A reason Survivor continues to be so compelling is you never know what will happen, even when someone is dominating, and it always provides opportunity to armchair quarterback and discuss those what-ifs?

Jesse is playing to win, and with that now comes the risk that he will be taken out by fire making. Cody might have taken him to the end, but be more of jury threat. There's no "perfect" move he could have made.

Was his move the best option? Arguably yes. Could it not work out? Of course. That's the thrill of non-scripted TV.

It's also interesting how editing and story impact how we relate to a character. He came off as sympathetic when he justified the move and stated how it would help him in life. There was a time the show would tweak what we see to make him more villainous. It also came across better than back in the day when Rupert was bitter about being voted out because the money would help him. He came across as arrogant to suggest he was somehow entitled above anyone else. The show allows Jesse to come across well by including his claim that he's in it to win and everyone else is more there for the experience.

 

[JPPT1974]

True Jesse is there to win it. But really the guy is a smug snake. He is playing smart very true. But he has alienated so many people there. He may not win if it gets down to the wire.

 

[PUSH]

True Jesse is there to win it. But really the guy is a smug snake. He is playing smart very true. But he has alienated so many people there. He may not win if it gets down to the wire.

I think he's done a good job of making it a respect vote, without making it too personal. I think he'll do a good job of saying he had to do it, because they would have won if he hadn't. If he gets to the end that is.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Everyone seems to be ready and willing to work with him, so I'm going to assume any smugness is largely confined to confessionals that the viewers see, and he's well liked within the game.

Or they could see him as a snake and that's why he hasn't been a target because no one thinks he can win. You never know. The show is edited to tell a story and the reality is the story and reality often don't match.

I listened to a bit of Jamal on RHAP and he made the point that a player up against Jesse at final TC could definitely paint Jesse as a Russell type player who played in an underhanded and backstabbing way.

 

[PUSH]

Everyone seems to be ready and willing to work with him, so I'm going to assume any smugness is largely confined to confessionals that the viewers see, and he's well liked within the game.

Or they could see him as a snake and that's why he hasn't been a target because no one thinks he can win. You never know. The show is edited to tell a story and the reality is the story and reality often don't match.

I listened to a bit of Jamal on RHAP and he made the point that a player up against Jesse at final TC could definitely paint Jesse as a Russell type player who played in an underhanded and backstabbing way.

I think Jesse will have the story about his family that will humanize every decision he made. I think the jury will see that based on Noelle saying she knows he's all about his family, which is why she took him on the reward for the letters.

 

[PUSH]

Regardless of your views on Jesse, or whether you think he'll win, this move has energized the Survivor community. They've been very quiet, and it's seemed like the fans haven't connected to this season. But there's been a buzz around the show this week that I haven't seen since Survivor 42.

 

[artvandelay]

Jesse is putting on a great show for the jury, and just wait until they see him nullify 4 votes with an idol that they thought left with Dwight.

 

[surfsupdon]

I’m loving it!

 

[DryerLintFan]

Jesse is putting on a great show for the jury, and just wait until they see him nullify 4 votes with an idol that they thought left with Dwight.

He absolutely shouldn’t have Mentioned that idol until after the vote

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Worst winner ever

 

[DryerLintFan]

Worst winner ever

Why?

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Why?

He had a horrible edit had no business getting votes and was in general a joke

 

[PUSH]

Not the worst winner ever, but definitely a complete blindside to the viewers. I need time to process what happened, but Gabler did have at least some agency, unlike a couple other winners. I'll post my longer thoughts tomorrow after I've slept on it and am not giving gut reactions.

 

[Jedijax719]

Extremely shocked and rather disappointed in the result. I am very happy that it was turned around and the winner is putting the victory toward a tremendous cause. That justifies it, but from a game standpoint, I was shocked-especially the level of the blow out that it was.

I thought Cassidy had it wrapped up until her slip about being more involved in the Ryan vote than she was. Then, when they showed Karla's vote for Gabler (shocked enough about that) and James' vote for Cassidy, I thought it would end up being Owen who won. I think Gabler entertained the jury and did support what case he had pretty good, but all 3 actually did a great job in front of the jury (until Cassidy's mess-up which may have cost her the game in reality).

But I also thought that Cassidy would end up volunteering to make fire against Jesse.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Disagree he had the delusional edit who had zero sway. He has no business winning and it’s a bad legacy for the show

 

[Jedijax719]

This was different than other surprise winners in the past. Other surprises had reasons why others lost.

Way back when Bob won season 17, the other 2 (Sugar and Susie) had ZERO game and were very disliked by the jury. Other surprises included:
S19-Natalie White (but we saw WHY Russell lost and that was the theme)
S21-Fabio (very weak and disliked final 3)
S23-Sophie (more about why Coach lost and why they hated Albert)
S32-Michelle (this was the closest because we DID see Aubry's full gameplay so most felt she should have won)
S38-Chris Underwood (Devens was the star like Jesse this season but the other 2, Gavin and Julie, had NO game whatsoever)
S41-Erika (was not really a surprise as she was show, albeit subtly, to have more game, more strategy, more social play AND explained her game very well to the jury).

I'd say that Gabler's answer to the first jury question was excellent and he really outlined his game. The thing is, so did Cassidy and Owen who also gave great jury speeches. None were show to be better, but it was Cassidy who shot herself in the foot.

But YES, Gabler had the typical delusional edit where one always thinks they are on top, playing a stealthy game, but ends up far short of winning (like Xander and even Mike last season).

I will say though that for some, this season may be a pill that doesn't go down easily because we have an "older" white conservative male winning against a woman and minority male after having two seasons in a row with minority female winners.

 

[PUSH]

So here are my thoughts on Gabler as a winner.

Gabler did have some agency. As outlined by him and the jury in the final Tribal Council, he was part of a critical alliance called the Ride or Die. The unfortunate thing is, we saw none of that on our screens. He did make the initial move post-merge to take out Elie, which set a tone for how the rest of the game would play out. I do buy that he had relationships with everyone. You could tell the jury loved him by how much they were cracking up at everything he said. If they disliked him, they would have been rolling their eyes. That was the first time I thought... Gabler might actually win.

With that being said, I won't pretend like he isn't a controversial winner. He definitely didn't have the final say for most of the season, but those players haven't been winning consistently in years. He isn't a top tier winner. He definitely below average. I have him as the 38th best winner, just behind Aras and ahead of Natalie White. Since this is very fresh, that could shift pretty easily based on exit interviews and postseason deep dives, etc.

I think a big fault of this season was the editing. There was no cohesive narrative. Everything was told to us instead of shown to us. For any RHAP listeners, Rob's catchphrase this season was "SINCE WHEN?!?!" And I think that perfectly sums up so much of the story. I appreciate that they are trying to keep us guessing. We were getting really good at predicting the winner based on editing. However, you can't leave crucial information and alliances out just to surprise us at the end.

I don't blame Gabler for his win. He earned it. You can be upset that someone you liked (like Cass or Owen) didn't win, but Gabler doesn't deserve any of the hate. He played how the jury wanted him to, and that's all that matters at the end of the day.

 

[PUSH]

I touched on it a bit in my last post, but here are my thoughts on the season as a whole.

I feel a little let down by this season. There were some extremely high highs, but also extended periods of lows. The entire pre-merge was a bust. Everything was straight-forward. Even early in the merge, the votes were pretty mundane. You can really only point to four votes that were interesting: Elie, James, Noelle, and Cody. Every other vote was pretty straight-forward and boring in hindsight.

The season also falters when the two biggest characters leave in 5th and 4th place. You have two massive edits who get the "fallen angel" story right before a pretty weak final three. It really takes the wind out of the sails.

I was gutted for Jesse. I haven't rooted that hard for someone's end game in a long time. If he had won, I think this season feels a whole lot different. Jesse will go down as a top 4 player to never win, along with Rob, Cirie, and Dom.

A lot of people have said that this is a great cast. And yes, while I think it's a good one, I wouldn't say it's great. I didn't have a strong rooting interest until the last couple episodes.

I also think the "new era" format has grown very stale. The reason you introduced tribe swaps was to make the game more interesting. Yes, they went overboard with them in the 30s, but I still like one swap premerge. In 41 you got lucky with the Shan and Ricard story, but this season was pretty boring because of it. It's also dull because you know what's coming when. You knew the final 10 would be a split Tribal, you knew a challenge advantage was coming at final 5, etc. The fun thing about Survivor is you can't predict it. And like I said with the swaps, they did too much in the 30s, but they can find a middle ground.

To sum it up, I put Survivor 43 as my 27th ranked season. Ahead of Edge of Extinction, but below All-Stars. I said on Twitter that this is a very Gabon-esque season where everything just feels like a joke and an alternate reality.

My top rated player from the season was Jesse, who I put at #11 all-time. Just behind Tom Westman, but ahead of Richard Hatch. I really struggled placing him. I feel like I need to give it more time before I can decide who he is better than.

Some other notables were Karla at #102, Cassidy at #128, and Gabler at #138.

 

[Jedijax719]

Time for another second chance season. Here are my choices.

Angelina (S37)-good villain

Carolyn (S30)-almost came back in 1st sc season

Chrissy (S35)-true strategist of her season

Christian (S37)-mega fan favorite and super brilliant

Cody (S43)-stand out this season and would be interesting to pit against Jesse again

Davey (S37)-one of the best players in recent years in my opinion

Devens (S38)-highlight of his season and great at the game

Dom (S36)-should have won his season-would like to see he and Cody on the same season

Ellie (S43)-was on a roll and ruthless until her boot

Evvie (S41)-very game smart

Gabby (S37)-astute and willing to chop off allies

Jay (S33)-absolute standout and hilarious!

Jesse (S43)-obvious fan fav and great player

Jessica (S33)-was really upset due to rocks in heartbreaking TC-needs another shot

Kellee (S39)-short changed and mistreated in her season-deserves another chance with a better cast

Mike (S42)-obvious-true stand out and fan fav

Missy (S39)-very good player her season and many thought she could have won

Omer (S42)-obvious-super smart

Ricard (S41)-good at the game and super social skills

Shan (S41)-controversial player, not sure what happened in Ponderosa, but definitely memorable

 

[PUSH]

Time for another second chance season. Here are my choices.

Angelina (S37)-good villain

Carolyn (S30)-almost came back in 1st sc season

Chrissy (S35)-true strategist of her season

Christian (S37)-mega fan favorite and super brilliant

Cody (S43)-stand out this season and would be interesting to pit against Jesse again

Davey (S37)-one of the best players in recent years in my opinion

Devens (S38)-highlight of his season and great at the game

Dom (S36)-should have won his season-would like to see he and Cody on the same season

Ellie (S43)-was on a roll and ruthless until her boot

Evvie (S41)-very game smart

Gabby (S37)-astute and willing to chop off allies

Jay (S33)-absolute standout and hilarious!

Jesse (S43)-obvious fan fav and great player

Jessica (S33)-was really upset due to rocks in heartbreaking TC-needs another shot

Kellee (S39)-short changed and mistreated in her season-deserves another chance with a better cast

Mike (S42)-obvious-true stand out and fan fav

Missy (S39)-very good player her season and many thought she could have won

Omer (S42)-obvious-super smart

Ricard (S41)-good at the game and super social skills

Shan (S41)-controversial player, not sure what happened in Ponderosa, but definitely memorable

The only person that I don't think is realistic is Kellee. I believe she's said she does not want to play again.

My list of players from this season who I think would be considered for another season...

Gabler
Cassidy
Owen
Jesse
Karla
Cody
Sami
Noelle
Elie

I bolded the ones that I'd really like to see play again. I wouldn't be upset with any of the others coming back, but I just wouldn't clamor for them.

I think Elie would be a fun one. She showed a lot of strategic chops early on, but obviously did not play a great game. I think with hindsight, she could play a really good game. She has the tools, and hopefully she would know how to reel it in.