Welcome to “Top Five
Baby!” where after each episode of Survivor,
Brent Sullivan will try to break apart and find the top five
moments that made a lasting impact on the season or moments
that could at least affect the next few episodes. Sometimes
the moments are obvious and other times ... not so much, but
after years of watching and analyzing this show to myself, I
like to share the ones that I think stand out the most.
First of all, congratulations to Gabler. He started off extremely shaky but started to come around as the season progressed. I for one enjoyed his journey throughout the season and he helped make 43 a lot of fun. I can see why some people are surprised or upset that Cassidy didn’t win, and I would have been happy if it went that way as well. However, Gabler played the game his way and the jury respected him for it. Once again, the casting was great and that is half the battle of a great season.
This week will be a little different. Since there isn’t anything to discuss moving forward or what could have made an impact next week or down the road, I will be looking at all my previous articles to pick out the five that I think I got the closest to getting correct. Plus, maybe one at the end to see how bad I did as well. Here we go one more time with a Survivor 43 Top Five Baby!
1. Dwight and Jesse
From Episode 2:
The adventure we went through on Vesi this week was quite the show. It really appeared that Justine and Noelle were a pair, Cody and Nneka were a pair, and Dwight and Jesse were the third pair, but at some point, Jesse wanted to side with Cody and Nneka, and Dwight wanted to side with the girls. But each one wanted to bring the other one over with them. So, Dwight and Jesse were the “swing vote pair”. But ultimately since Dwight didn’t have a vote, it was Jesse’s decision on whom he wanted to side with. Obviously, he went with Cody and Nneka, but he didn’t tell Dwight, so now not only is Noelle upset because she thought Jesse was with them, but Dwight is going to be upset too because Jesse lied to him even though he thought they were together. I am really looking forward to that first conversation between the two of them when they get back to camp. Now, the big question is ... was that a decision made just to get Justine out and now he will go back and work with Dwight or is he now committed to the other group? Either way, it should be a fun group to watch over the next few weeks.
So, this ended up having a huge impact. They sort of seemed like they would work together for a few more votes, but right at the merge, Dwight still trusted Jesse enough to give him the idol that he was holding for Jeanine. Jesse then immediately had a hand in voting him out. Jesse ended up working with Karla for a bit and made it all the way to the final four.
2. Noelle's journey
From Episode 3:
Man ... what a badass Noelle is. Seriously, what a great story, what a great Survivor character, and what a great episode she just had! Coming off of being on the wrong side of the vote, it wasn’t looking good for her. She absolutely kicked butt in the immunity challenge and really made Jesse and Cody sway away from her and onto Nneka. Then she got picked to go on the journey with Owen and James, after the hike up the mountain, both of them allowed her to be the only one that risked their vote guaranteeing she would come away with an advantage. She gets back to camp and finds out that she has a “steal a vote”, which seems amazing since there are only five people left on Vesi and she shared this information with Dwight. However, it seems like her tribe valued her spot on the tribe so much that she didn’t have to play her advantage, she didn’t go home, and she still has Dwight with her. Overall, she had a badass day and she’s looking pretty good for her short-term Survivor life. The Taku tribe continued to dominate with the four members all making it to the final six. Plus, on top of that, both Jonathan and Lindsay from this tribe ended up being the two biggest competitors in every challenge until the end of the game.
Noelle continued to be a badass throughout the season. In fact, the reason she was voted off was because of her threat level. Not only was she going to have a great story at the end, but she was starting to make some big moves and had plenty of allies.
3. Karla
From Episode 5:
Not a whole lot to say here other than I think Karla is killing it this season. Not only is she sitting on an idol that no one knows about (which is huge), but she is seemingly running all of the votes with most of her tribe coming to her and making strong connections to her. Even though Coco has just lost the last two challenges, I think she still sits in a pretty good spot no matter what happens. Plus, on top of all of that, she knows the game really well, knows how to talk to people, and gives great answers at tribal council. In fact ... Karla may be the default narrator of the season so far. I’m excited to see where her game goes from here.
Really up until the last few episodes, Karla was having a great season. Jesse (who was the biggest threat to win) thought Karla was his biggest competition. The injuries definitely slowed her down a bit and some paranoia about her idol did too.
4. Gabler throws out Elie's name
From Episode 6:
So, by throwing out Elie’s name, Gabler’s big plan was to ... throw out Elie’s name. Makes sense. Everyone at the merge is looking for someone to vote for and you have someone you don’t trust and want out of the game. It’s almost too easy, right? Well, the issue was, he did it right in front of Jeanine, who of course went straight to Elie and spilled the beans on what Gabler just said. Which in return led Elie to confront Sami and Owen about it. In the end, Gabler got what he wanted, but at what cost? What is his plan moving forward? Sami looked frustrated with him but still voted with him. Owen voted for James which meant he was voting with Elie, and we know Jeanine isn’t going to want to work with him. So, does that mean that Baka is no more? Gabler made a big move to get out one of his own and it could get him further in the game depending on how the numbers shake out over the next vote or two.
Honestly, I could have chosen several of my Gabler points from throughout the season, but who would have thought the impact this move would have had on the outcome of the game? According to Gabler, this was all a part of his plan and it might have actually won him a couple of votes during that final tribal council.
5. New pact with the AlliGabler
From Episode 9:
So, right after the merge ... or not-quite-the-merge, Gabler told us his plan. He said he was the AlliGabler, and he made his move and now he was going to go back under the water a bit and stay off the radar. Well, surprisingly enough, this plan of his has been working out. He was quite the topic of people’s conversation a few weeks ago and now we barely see him in an episode. So, with Cody approaching him and making a “ride or die” deal with him, does that mean his plan is working? He is now getting approached by others to bring him in and now it’s only a matter of time before he re-surfaces and makes another move. I know short-term, this is great for him to be paired with Cody and Jesse, but for how long? How long will they string him along before they cut him loose? He may be better off agreeing to whatever they want and then taking one of them out. I’m intrigued by his gameplay and can’t wait to see if he is able to make anything else happen with these few people left.
This ended up becoming one of the most powerful alliances in the game. The “Ride or Die” alliance as it was referenced several times was Gabler, Cody, and Jesse. This threesome were able to steer votes and shift the game how they wanted and Gabler being a part of this group definitely helped him in the end as well.
...
Now for one that I completely was wrong on. Ok honestly, I was wrong on lots of other ones, but this one really stood out to me because I was clearly way off.
6. The Baka boys
From Episode 2:
Up last this week is the Baka bunch. Other than Gabler getting sick, the big topic of the week for this tribe was the division of the tribe by sex. Both Elie and Jeanine think they are playing a better game than any of the three guys in their tribe. However, Sami, Gabler, and Owen are well aware of this and formed a guys’ alliance to take them out. Not sure how strong of a bond they have at this point, but Sami even mentioned it during one of his confessionals, so it wasn’t just something he said as a lie to his tribemates. Of course, if they can keep winning none of this will matter in the slightest, but if they happen to lose again in the next immunity challenge, then these lines will get tested rather quickly. Personally, I don’t think it will last. I think the girls will pull in either Sami or Owen and they will blindside Gabler without him playing his idol. Everyone needs a Survivor souvenir, right?
Ok, if you read all my articles this season you will see that I really warmed up to Gabler and even picked him to win if Jesse wasn’t sitting in the final. However, at this point in the season, he was getting on people’s nerves and I thought for sure he was going to be blindsided real soon. Not only was I wrong, but he went on to become amazing at making bonds with people and used that to help him win the game.
So, there you have it for another season. Once again, I hope you enjoyed reading and interacting with these as much as I did writing them. As always, I am honored to be even the smallest cog in the great big machine that is Survivor and to be a minimal part of the overall Survivor coverage. Thank you to everyone who visited this weekly article, whether you are a committed reader and you seek this out every week, or you just happened to come across this while searching for something else. I couldn’t do it without either of you! Survivor is still the greatest show after all these years and it’s fantastic to enjoy it with all of you. So, thanks again!
But one last time, I want to hear from you as well, let me know if I missed any moments or if you think I’m way off base, the interaction is part of what makes this fun!
Were you happy with Gabler’s win? What was your favorite part of the season? What do you hope to see in season 44?
Thanks again and talk to everyone real soon!
Brent
Sullivan is a long-time fanatic of Survivor
and has been writing about it for years. When he is not
writing, talking about, or applying to be on the show, he spends
his time with family, doing nerdy IT stuff, and watching movies.
Follow him on twitter: @BSully_13
