S43.E12: Telenovela

[violet and green]

Apparently Jesse planted the seed in Cody's head about the possibility of Karla having another Knowledge is Power advantage, and later that day Cody returned the idol to Jesse for safe protection. Slick!

[KaveDweller]

16 hours ago, Fretful said:

Yay!  So much strategy, double-crossing, and social game.  A telenovela indeed.

I think Jesse might have just cost himself the game.  If he uses his idol to get himself to 4, he then HAS To win immunity to get to 3.  And. as Jeff said, he's the only one who hasn't won immunity.  It will be interesting to see who they vote out at 4.  Karla would be the obvious choice, but she's a bit of a challenge beast.  

He doesn't have to win immunity to get to final 3, because of the stupid fire making thing. If he loses final immunity, worst case scenario is he gets sent to build fire and has a chance to save himself.

Do we know how good anyone's fire skills are?

[mythoughtis]

This is why you don’t let anyone hold your idol.  Especially if you tell anyone you are going to play that idol at TC.  I’m happy to see Cody go.

 I am disappointed in Carla’s game the last couple episodes.  She’s been on the wrong side of the vote for a while now.  

Cassidy annoys me.  I don’t know why since she’s basically invisible.  I like Gabler and Owen. 
I wasn’t sure about Jesse at the beginning but he’s playing a very good game.  I also think he is a player that really really does need the money. He has a past that he can never outrun even though he’s done his best to do so. Life is harder for people with a record. I have a relative that has a record.   He has a harder time finding a place to rent, finding a job, etc.  

[violet and green]

If Jesse gets to the end, he deserves the win, but I think he may have severely hampered his chances of getting there by that pre-emptive move.

I think getting Karla out last night would have been the better plan to have put in action.

[candall]

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

    [...] I wasn’t sure about Jesse at the beginning but he’s playing a very good game.  I also think he is a player that really really does need the money. He has a past that he can never outrun even though he’s done his best to do so. Life is harder for people with a record. I have a relative that has a record.   He has a harder time finding a place to rent, finding a job, etc.  

I don't know where I've been all season, but I didn't know this about Jesse.  It puts a different slant on the TH where he said that other people were relishing the experience, but he was there for the money, he needs the money for his family.

Someone posted above that everyone has a family to play for, and I agreed at the time, but now I understand Jesse's position better.  As @mythoughtis said, it's never a level playing field for the ex-con, for all the rest of time.  You never know when your criminal record is going to pop up and ding your life.  Winning Survivor money would cover his family with a security blanket in a way unique to his situation, that other players don't necessarily share.

Huh.  Interesting.  Go, Jesse.

[Haleth]

6 hours ago, candall said:

I don't know where I've been all season, but I didn't know this about Jesse.

Yeah, I found Jesse's backstory inspiring so I've been rooting for him from the beginning.  He was involved in a gang and ended up in prison, but then straightened out his life, went to law school, and started a family.  His life has been like a movie.

[awaken]

17 hours ago, candall said:

I admire Jesse for standing up and sticking out his hand to Cody  

It would have been easy to stare at the ground while Cody shuffled off to Buffalo.  I think it must've been quite hard to stand up and own his betrayal straight to Cody's face. 

Totally agree. I felt so uncomfortable watching Cody’s realization that he was betrayed by his bro. That was mature of Jesse to face it and put out his hand, and of Cody to accept it gracefully. Don’t know that I’d have been able to do the same in that moment!  Cody will have a lot to process in ponderosa. Hopefully the guys will reconnect after the game. 

11 hours ago, violet and green said:

Apparently Jesse planted the seed in Cody's head about the possibility of Karla having another Knowledge is Power advantage, and later that day Cody returned the idol to Jesse for safe protection. Slick!

Was this in an extra scene or exit interview?  How do we know Jesse didn’t use Jeanine’s idol and Cody still had his, but felt secure in their plan and didn’t use it?

[DEL901]

16 minutes ago, awaken said:

Was this in an extra scene or exit interview?  How do we know Jesse didn’t use Jeanine’s idol and Cody still had his, but felt secure in their plan and didn’t use it?

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-43-cody-assenmacher-interview/
Cody talks about Jesse planting the seed about Karla maybe having KiP….Cody figured that was why Karla wanted to see his idol.  Jesse never asked foR it back which is why Cody thought to was a good move to give it to him.  Cody also said that when he realized Jesse was handing over his idol, he knew he was toast.  

Edited December 9, 2022 by DEL901

[Lady Calypso]

22 minutes ago, awaken said:

Was this in an extra scene or exit interview?  How do we know Jesse didn’t use Jeanine’s idol and Cody still had his, but felt secure in their plan and didn’t use it?

We saw in this episode that Jesse played Cody's idol; Cody's idol is red (for Vesi) and Jeanine's is yellow (for Baka). Jesse handed Jeff a red idol bracelet. 

[Lamima]

22 hours ago, KeithJ said:

The more I think about this, I wonder why Jesse even played Cody's idol.  Everyone knew that he was holding Cody's idol.  He could have just not told anyone Cody gave it back to him and then he'd have two at the final five with even more power to save possibly two other people (if he won immunity).

To get Karla to play hers so they can vote her out next.

1 hour ago, awaken said:

Totally agree. I felt so uncomfortable watching Cody’s realization that he was betrayed by his bro. That was mature of Jesse to face it and put out his hand, and of Cody to accept it gracefully. Don’t know that I’d have been able to do the same in that moment!  Cody will have a lot to process in ponderosa. Hopefully the guys will reconnect after the game. 

Was this in an extra scene or exit interview?  How do we know Jesse didn’t use Jeanine’s idol and Cody still had his, but felt secure in their plan and didn’t use it?

Cody would have used his because 4 people were safe...only Cody and Gabe were vulnerable, right? So if he had it in his possession he would have definitely played it. It would have been a Cirie moment and Gabe would have been out.

Edited December 9, 2022 by Lamima

[AncientNewbie]

Just because I'm pedantic, which wins me friends IRL and across the internet, Jesse wasn't in prison, but in juvie...it varies by state whether that's public record/needs to be disclosed. 

[GenerationX]

There's an old joke of the difference between the class clown and the class comedian.  The class clown is the person who runs naked across the field at halftime.  The class comedian is the one who talked him into it.  Gabler, should he make the final three (likely), will argue he planted the seeds for the big moves.  It could work for him.

Edited December 15, 2022 by GenerationX

[truthaboutluv]

Pity the board was having technical issues on Wednesday because this was a great episode to comment on live. After two days and reading many takes on the episode, I probably won't add anything new. But I will say I do see what many are saying in that on one hand, it was a great blindside and good move but it may be one of those big moves that blows up Jesse's game. We'll see.

Thus far, I'll give him this, he's been very good at seeing and playing all angles. And that might be the thing that saves him.  Although, correct me if I'm wrong, because again there was so much happening in that episode, doesn't Jesse have an idol? I remember him saying it's Jeannine's old one that many thought Dwight left the game with. So is that the one he played for Owen or was it Cody's he played? And if he can play an idol that he didn't initially find or was initially his, doesn't that mean he can play the one he still has?

So if that's the case, then that guarantees his F4 spot and at that point, it's down to the fire making challenge because I have to think that all of the players left must be aware that Jesse's the biggest threat to sit next to at the F3 and so unless he wins F4 immunity, whoever wins will not pick him to sit next to them. 

Edited December 10, 2022 by truthaboutluv

[peachmangosteen]

23 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

I remember him saying it's Jeannine's old one that many thought Dwight left the game with. So is that the one he played for Owen or was it Cody's he played? And if he can play an idol that he didn't initially find or was initially his, doesn't that mean he can play the one he still has?

The idol he played was red, so it was Cody's idol as he was on the red tribe. Also, yes, he can absolutely play Jeanine's idol.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Apparently Jesse planted the seed in Cody's head about the possibility of Karla having another Knowledge is Power advantage, and later that day Cody returned the idol to Jesse for safe protection. Slick!

Quote

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-43-cody-assenmacher-interview/

Cody talks about Jesse planting the seed about Karla maybe having KiP….Cody figured that was why Karla wanted to see his idol.  Jesse never asked foR it back which is why Cody thought to was a good move to give it to him.  Cody also said that when he realized Jesse was handing over his idol, he knew he was toast.  

Okay. I shouldn't have to go online to find out what happened though. I mean I get it - they wanted the suspense on the show. But they better explain this on the show proper next week. 

[LadyChatts]

8 hours ago, awaken said:

Was this in an extra scene or exit interview?  How do we know Jesse didn’t use Jeanine’s idol and Cody still had his, but felt secure in their plan and didn’t use it?

I can’t see where Cody wouldn’t have played his idol if he still had it.  Considering Cody voted for Karla, who played her idol, and Jesse pulled an idol out of nowhere to save Owen (the other target), there's no way he wouldn't have gotten scared and played his.  I haven’t had a chance to read exit interviews so I don’t know where the other poster got their info, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have gone along with the plan to blindside Cody if he still had his idol.

Edited December 9, 2022 by LadyChatts

[fishcakes]

4 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

Just because I'm pedantic, which wins me friends IRL and across the internet, Jesse wasn't in prison, but in juvie...it varies by state whether that's public record/needs to be disclosed. 

Haha, I am the same because I feel compelled to point out that he didn't go to law school, which any idiot can do (I am class of '98!), but that he's getting a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke. His department posted an article about him when this season started. I've been rooting for him from the beginning because of his backstory, so I'm glad to see that he's actually good at the game. I too was really impressed with him when he stood up and offered his hand as Cody was leaving, and I also give Cody a ton of credit for being able to shake off his initial shock/anger and take it.

[violet and green]

10 hours ago, awaken said:

Was this in an extra scene or exit interview?  How do we know Jesse didn’t use Jeanine’s idol and Cody still had his, but felt secure in their plan and didn’t use it?

I read it on reddit, it was from an exit interview. Jesse used Cody's idol. Cody knew they were his beads as they were red. (Jeanine's are yellow; not that Jesse told Cody he had his own idol, c/- Dwight, c/- Jeanine!).

[nlkm9]

On 12/8/2022 at 1:53 PM, LadyChatts said:

Cody gave Jesse his idol when it was revealed that James found the KIP (everyone was handing their advantages and idols to someone else in the event James used it).  For whatever reason, he let Jesse keep it.  That part I don’t understand.  
 

And he put the idol on Owen because that’s who Karla thought they were voting for.  So it was an attempt to scare her into playing her idol, which worked, and it ended up being for nothing.  But now Jesse’s the only one left with an idol.  

Thank you for explaining that. I thought he wouod play it on hinself but now i get it. Is there a chance that the idol isnt valid since dwight gave it to him, not jeanine?

[LadyChatts]

5 minutes ago, nlkm9 said:

Thank you for explaining that. I thought he wouod play it on hinself but now i get it. Is there a chance that the idol isnt valid since dwight gave it to him, not jeanine?

From what I understand, the idol is still valid.  Jeanine willingly gave it away, so even though she didn't intend for Dwight to keep it (or for him to give it to Jesse) there doesn't seem to be anything in the rules saying it wouldn't be valid.  The only real rule I've seen for idol possession is whoever finds the idol first gets to keep it, and no one can steal the idol.  I feel like this might be a gray area that TPTB never thought about.

[Kitty Redstone]

On 12/8/2022 at 10:37 AM, iMonrey said:

Yeah, I loved this. I've never liked Cody. There's just something about him that's way too smug. Plus I could never get past that mullet.

Agreed.  It wasn't that he wanted to merely blindside Karla, which is an understandable strategy, it's that he wanted to make her look stupid (his word) on top of it.  That was his stated goal for the last two tribal councils.  The guy is a douchebag, and I'm very glad he's out.

I disagree with some others who think Jesse hurt himself in the eyes of the jury.  They were impressed by his move, and if he makes it to final three then I think he wins.

As someone else said upthread, I'm disappointed that Karla bought Cody's line of bullshit.  I'm also disappointed that she thought crying was an effective form of manipulation.  Karla, please.  That was so lazy and worse than that, it was transparent.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Kitty Redstone

[SVNBob]

8 hours ago, nlkm9 said:

Thank you for explaining that. I thought he wouod play it on hinself but now i get it. Is there a chance that the idol isnt valid since dwight gave it to him, not jeanine?

When it comes to idols, when they are willingly given from one person to another, the ownership of the idol also changes hands.

That's why everyone in this thread (and on Reddit, where I've also seen this) that has said "Jesse played Cody's idol" or some variant is 100% incorrect.  Jesse did not play Cody's idol; Jesse played one of HIS two idols, specifically the red one from Vesi tribe.  Yes, Cody may have found the original advantage at Vesi and assembled said idol.  But the moment that he gave it (back) to Jesse, it became Jesse's idol.  And Jesse could play it or not as he so desired.

The same goes with the yellow idol from Baka.  Jeanine may have claimed the advantage and assembled that idol.  But then she gave it to Dwight.  Then later, because it was his property to do with what he wanted, Dwight gave his idol to Jesse. 

So Jesse has legally had TWO valid idols ever since the merge.  Until he gave the one to Cody to show to Karla.  And in the TH where Jesse talked about that, the chyron in the lower third that has read "TWO IMMUNITY IDOLS" since the reveal changed as the "TWO" faded away.  (The space still remained though.  Kudos to the editors for that whole sequence.  One more example of the brilliant and funny work they do with the chyrons.)

And now Jesse just has one idol...and it's both the only one left in the game, and the one that everyone else thinks was the first out of the game.  So no-one will see it coming if/when he plays it.

8 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

The only real rule I've seen for idol possession is whoever finds the idol first gets to keep it, and no one can steal the idol. 

There is one other rule.  If you find an idol and hide it somewhere, then someone else finds it in the spot you hid it in, they cannot claim it.  TPTB will tell them to put it back because it belongs to someone else, without naming names.

Edited December 10, 2022 by SVNBob

[seacliffsal]

On 12/8/2022 at 7:44 PM, violet and green said:

Apparently Jesse planted the seed in Cody's head about the possibility of Karla having another Knowledge is Power advantage, and later that day Cody returned the idol to Jesse for safe protection. Slick!

So, in other words, Jesse is the first person to correctly use the Knowledge is Power advantage to get someone's idol (and yes, I know he didn't have the KIP it's just that he was able to effectively use it [even without actually having it...]).  Now THAT'S the kind of gameplay I can respect.🙂

[peachmangosteen]

I can't remember the scene where Jeanine's idol was given to Jesse. Was it presented as Jesse convincing Dwight to give him the idol or like it was Dwight's idea?

[Guest]

6 hours ago, SVNBob said:

That's why everyone in this thread (and on Reddit, where I've also seen this) that has said "Jesse played Cody's idol" or some variant is 100% incorrect.  Jesse did not play Cody's idol; Jesse played one of HIS two idols, specifically the red one from Vesi tribe.  Yes, Cody may have found the original advantage at Vesi and assembled said idol.  But the moment that he gave it (back) to Jesse, it became Jesse's idol.  And Jesse could play it or not as he so desired.

I don't know about Reddit, but I'm sure a lot of the people here who are referring to "Jesse playing Cody's idol" know perfectly well that it was Jesse's to play. They're just calling it "Cody's idol" as a way to distinguish which one of Jesse's idols he played, or to point out the fun irony of Jesse using the idol that Cody assembled and gave to him against him. The context of their comments where they are praising him and saying it was a great play show that they know it was Jesse's idol, not Cody's. So to say "everyone" is "100% incorrect" when they say that is playing semantics in my opinion and a bit of an overreach.

1 minute ago, peachmangosteen said:

I can't remember the scene where Jeanine's idol was given to Jesse. Was it presented as Jesse convincing Dwight to give him the idol or like it was Dwight's idea?

All we saw was footage of Dwight giving it to Jesse in a flashback with Jesse's voiceover explaining that "Dwight got spooked and gave me his idol to hold" or something to that effect. So it seems like it was Dwight's idea, but we don't really know for sure. Not sure what Dwight might have said about it in interviews.

[SVNBob]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

I don't know about Reddit, but I'm sure a lot of the people here who are referring to "Jesse playing Cody's idol" know perfectly well that it was Jesse's to play. They're just calling it "Cody's idol" as a way to distinguish which one of Jesse's idols he played, or to point out the fun irony of Jesse using the idol that Cody assembled and gave to him against him. The context of their comments where they are praising him and saying it was a great play show that they know it was Jesse's idol, not Cody's. So to say "everyone" is "100% incorrect" when they say that is playing semantics in my opinion and a bit of an overreach.

Fair points.  I may have been a bit hyperbolic in my assessment about folks here.  Apologies to anyone I accidentally offended.

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

All we saw was footage of Dwight giving it to Jesse in a flashback with Jesse's voiceover explaining that "Dwight got spooked and gave me his idol to hold" or something to that effect. So it seems like it was Dwight's idea, but we don't really know for sure. Not sure what Dwight might have said about it in interviews.

Dwight didn't say anything about it in interviews.  He kept up the fiction TPTB were promoting that week that he was voted out with that idol.  It was the next episode that revealed that he'd given Jesse the idol Jeanine assembled, and afterwards the interview cycle had moved off of him and onto her.

[ljenkins782]

On 12/8/2022 at 1:10 PM, candall said:

I admire Jesse for standing up and sticking out his hand to Cody. 

It would have been easy to stare at the ground while Cody shuffled off to Buffalo.  I think it must've been quite hard to stand up and own his betrayal straight to Cody's face. 

Chances were high, in the shock of the moment, that Cody might have just stepped around him, if not actually giving him a fuck-off-and-die instruction.  So, good for Cody, as well.  He located a large measure of grace I didn't suspect he had.

I mean, in real life, yes. But on Survivor, in front of a jury who will be awarding $1 million to whoever played the best, Jesse had to make sure they knew it was him. They probably had figured it out, but just to be sure, Jesse had to be extra performative in that moment.

I give more credit to Cody for deciding to take his hand and go out with grace. It looked like he was ready to blow off Jesse and be bitter and made a choice not to. I was sad to see him go, I don't know why. Maybe because I thought he was quite attractive and one of those who probably looks better on the island than off. But I also thought his surfer dude attitude covered up some genuine intelligence (misplaced trust in Jesse aside) and I enjoyed his talking heads.

I can't warm up to Jesse and I don't know why. He does have an inspiring backstory, but he just irritates me for reasons unknown and I don't enjoy his interviews at all. And it always annoys me when people say "those other people just want the money, but I NEED to secure my family's future" as if winning Survivor is the sole way to provide for one's family. 

My investment in Karla is starting to wane too, I'd previously thought she was playing pretty brilliantly in a casual, understated way. She seemed to be able to get her way with a minimum of desperation, but I guess as the numbers dwindle, it's harder to be casual. She seems less and less in control of the game and her resume is looking less impressive up against Jesse's.

Owen seems to be hanging on despite himself, which leads me to believe he's not a threat. People aren't going to let you squeak by if they think you'll present a problem for them later on, so he's probably a bit of a goat as this point.

Likewise, Cassidy continues to survive, yet she's been so persistently targeted, I have to wonder what they are afraid of with her. I also have to assume she won't win because if there was some reason she's such a target, they would have shown us if she were the winner. 

Gabler definitely seems like he's getting the kooky character edit, he's a vote and a personality to be managed, but I don't see him proposing a ton of ideas.

[Lantern7]

One ore episode left, and I'm not feeling invested. I'm leaning towards Karla, since I'm a guy with weight and she's a "big girl," and you just know Probst probably fights to keep non-skinny women off the show. Basically, it's either Karla, Jesse or Owen. If Probst does recap narration, he should be honest.

"CASSIDY! She . . . um .  . . what did she do? She was a woman and she lasted past the purge of females, and that's not nothing . . . fuck it, moving on. GABLER! Just did Odd Old Man stuff, and there's no chance he'll win."

Reward Challenge was fun,  I was wondering what would've happened if Noelle was still in the game. Would she have been in the ball? Could she be strapped in given she'd have one less place to be strapped in? As much shit as I like to give the "Dream Team," mixing blindfolds, Atlas spheres (or whatever they're called) and Labyrinth puzzles was pretty good. Of course, most of this season's challenges fell short of the last one on The Amazing Race. Yeah, oversized piano keys would've looked out of place on Survivor, but it would be better than the umpteenth endurance challenge, puzzle and/or carnival game.

Man, Cody got played. I don't think he's on the level of asshole as we've seen in the series' worst moments, but I bet he's exhausting to be around. Jesse's play was a thing of beauty. Last season, Maryanne pushed herself over the top by not playing an idol. Jesse probably got the win with his blindside of Cody. Here's how Erik drew it:

I'm amused that Gabler is far in the background, and he vaguely looks like a garden gnome.

ETA: I can't feel bad for Cody. If he's not on the short list for another Survivor, he'll probably pop up on some incarnation of The Challenge. Minimum, he'd be a lot savvier than Jay and Michele were in the latest season.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Lantern7

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SVNBob said:

Dwight didn't say anything about it in interviews.  He kept up the fiction TPTB were promoting that week that he was voted out with that idol.  It was the next episode that revealed that he'd given Jesse the idol Jeanine assembled, and afterwards the interview cycle had moved off of him and onto her.

Ah, good point. They wouldn't have wanted him to give away the surprise.

[violet and green]

14 hours ago, SVNBob said:

That's why everyone in this thread (and on Reddit, where I've also seen this) that has said "Jesse played Cody's idol" or some variant is 100% incorrect.  Jesse did not play Cody's idol; Jesse played one of HIS two idols, specifically the red one from Vesi tribe.  Yes, Cody may have found the original advantage at Vesi and assembled said idol.  But the moment that he gave it (back) to Jesse, it became Jesse's idol.  And Jesse could play it or not as he so desired.

Oh, thanks mate! It's a figure of speech.

A lot of people aren't following on to the point they don't know who even has idols. So to refer to the provenance of the idols, one says Jeanine's or Cody's, which triggers a dull memory of the past events perhaps, or just explains the pathways of possession.

Jesse played the idol Cody gave him for safekeeping. It was identifiably the idol Cody gave him because it had red beads. Your semantics don't erase this fact. I don't think Cody, upon seeing it played, thought "Ah that is Jesse's idol! Cool."

[Nashville]

49 minutes ago, violet and green said:

A lot of people aren't following on to the point they don't know who even has idols. So to refer to the provenance of the idols, one says Jeanine's or Cody's, which triggers a dull memory of the past events perhaps, or just explains the pathways of possession.

Well… we could always start calling them “the idol formerly known as Jeanine’s” or “the idol formerly known as Cody’s” - but then conversations are going to start sounding like we’re discussing multiple Prince reunion tours, and THAT ain’t happening without a shovel, some serious smelling salts and a space heater.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Nashville
Can’t forget the shovel!

[nlkm9]

17 hours ago, SVNBob said:

When it comes to idols, when they are willingly given from one person to another, the ownership of the idol also changes hands.

That's why everyone in this thread (and on Reddit, where I've also seen this) that has said "Jesse played Cody's idol" or some variant is 100% incorrect.  Jesse did not play Cody's idol; Jesse played one of HIS two idols, specifically the red one from Vesi tribe.  Yes, Cody may have found the original advantage at Vesi and assembled said idol.  But the moment that he gave it (back) to Jesse, it became Jesse's idol.  And Jesse could play it or not as he so desired.

The same goes with the yellow idol from Baka.  Jeanine may have claimed the advantage and assembled that idol.  But then she gave it to Dwight.  Then later, because it was his property to do with what he wanted, Dwight gave his idol to Jesse. 

So Jesse has legally had TWO valid idols ever since the merge.  Until he gave the one to Cody to show to Karla.  And in the TH where Jesse talked about that, the chyron in the lower third that has read "TWO IMMUNITY IDOLS" since the reveal changed as the "TWO" faded away.  (The space still remained though.  Kudos to the editors for that whole sequence.  One more example of the brilliant and funny work they do with the chyrons.)

And now Jesse just has one idol...and it's both the only one left in the game, and the one that everyone else thinks was the first out of the game.  So no-one will see it coming if/when he plays it.

There is one other rule.  If you find an idol and hide it somewhere, then someone else finds it in the spot you hid it in, they cannot claim it.  TPTB will tell them to put it back because it belongs to someone else, without naming names.

so what happened to the bead idol Cody had?

[DEL901]

14 minutes ago, nlkm9 said:

so what happened to the bead idol Cody had?

He gave it to Jesse who played it on Owen.  

[nlkm9]

On 12/10/2022 at 9:07 PM, DEL901 said:

He gave it to Jesse who played it on Owen.  

Ok wow. With all the idols im struggling to keep up. I appreciate you explaining this to me.

[blackwing]

On 12/8/2022 at 12:34 PM, weaver said:

I liked Cody and didn’t find him smug.  I thought of him as a high energy, good spirited guy who was smarter than he appeared.  I was disappointed in Jesse breaking his trust.  

This is how I felt.  Cody has been my favourite from the start, so I was super bummed to see him get blindsided.  Yes, I know it's his own fault, but still.  I appreciated his good nature and carefree attitude about life.  He doesn't take himself too seriously and it was refreshing to see.  At the same time, he and Jesse were playing a good game, he did have some strategy about him.

On 12/8/2022 at 6:33 AM, SummerDreams said:

I mean, I do want people to play hard and have the money as their priority rather than game friendships, but that was harsh. Jesse did show to the jury that he is there to play, but even if he wins I don't appreciate this betrayal to Cody, maybe because I just love Cody and it was sweet to see him feel so close to a person who is so different than him.

I agree, I found it a bit distasteful of Jesse.  He was worried that people would give credit to Cody instead of him, but it's obvious to me that people were already giving both of them credit.  People viewed the both of them as a threat.  Jesse is more eloquent and focused than Cody and I do think he could have made his case clear in final tribal.  It's just disappointing that he felt the need to stab Cody in the back like that.

On 12/8/2022 at 12:10 PM, candall said:

I admire Jesse for standing up and sticking out his hand to Cody. 

It would have been easy to stare at the ground while Cody shuffled off to Buffalo.  I think it must've been quite hard to stand up and own his betrayal straight to Cody's face. 

Chances were high, in the shock of the moment, that Cody might have just stepped around him, if not actually giving him a fuck-off-and-die instruction.  So, good for Cody, as well.  He located a large measure of grace I didn't suspect he had.

On 12/10/2022 at 11:50 AM, ljenkins782 said:

I mean, in real life, yes. But on Survivor, in front of a jury who will be awarding $1 million to whoever played the best, Jesse had to make sure they knew it was him. They probably had figured it out, but just to be sure, Jesse had to be extra performative in that moment.

I give more credit to Cody for deciding to take his hand and go out with grace. It looked like he was ready to blow off Jesse and be bitter and made a choice not to. I was sad to see him go, I don't know why. Maybe because I thought he was quite attractive and one of those who probably looks better on the island than off. But I also thought his surfer dude attitude covered up some genuine intelligence (misplaced trust in Jesse aside) and I enjoyed his talking heads.

Agree with the second comment.  I think Jesse was putting on a show for the jury.  "Hey, I made a great move and got my best friend out, sorry man but I am here to win, hey jury, did you see what I did there?"  Cody is to be commended for shaking his hand and giving him a hug instead of being all bittercakes like so many in the past that have gotten betrayed by their closest allies.

Then for Jesse to say "I'll explain later".  And Cody responds "there's nothing to explain".  Because there really wasn't anything to explain.  Jesse didn't think he could beat Cody so he felt the need to blindside him.  Cody knew that.

On 12/7/2022 at 8:02 PM, mojoween said:

The music underneath Karla describing her telenovela was amusing.  

I actually found it a bit offensive.  Yes, she is of Mexican descent.  Yes, she talked about telenovelas, which are a staple of Mexican culture.  But I don't think they needed to play Mexican music in the background when she was speaking.  It doesn't matter to me that she was comparing life in camp to a telenovela.  It'd be like having background music of panpipes when an Asian contestant speaks, or tribal drums when a black contestant speaks.

On 12/7/2022 at 10:02 PM, North of Eden said:

With that said...I really, really REALLY want an Owen, Cassidy and Gabler final three. It would be such a unique circumstance where there is no clear cut winner...none of the three have done anything to truly distinquish themselves. I think jury votes split between all three of them could be an exciting possibility. This is really the best case scenario because Jesse or Karla up against any of them would be shooting fish in a barrel.

Glad that Cody went out...he was giving me the same slimy vibe as the guy who I believe went on to win Thailand  lo those many years ago.

I think an Owen, Cassidy, and Gabler final three would be hilarious.  In that scenario, I think Cassidy wins.  People have viewed Cassidy as a threat from the start.  They have been wanting to vote her out for several weeks now.   Gabler is a legend in his own mind.  His final tribal would be like Mike from last season, thinking he made all these moves when he really didn't.

If Owen is in the final three, what can he possibly say?  He hasn't made any of the decisions.  He said this episode that his strategy is Sandra's "anyone but me".  But the main difference is that Sandra controlled the votes from behind the scenes.  Owen hasn't done a thing, and he has been on the wrong side of the vote almost every time.  I don't see how he can account for himself.  It would be like Julie Rosenberg saying that her strategy was to "be nice".  Owen seems like a nice enough guy but he hasn't done anything in this game other than avoid getting voted off, win a challenge or two, and survive from week to week.  The surviving isn't necessarily because of anything he himself did (except for the challenge win), it's because he was perceived as so weak and useless that he wasn't a threat at all to win.  Owen would be very much like useless Romeo from last season, who slid by week to week because no one wanted to waste a vote on him when there were much bigger threats still in the game.

[SummerDreams]

I know the edit for winners lately was not good but I think that this time it was better. All final 6 had satisfying screen time so in my opinion Karla wins because the story from the start of the game was being told from her point of view. Jesse got screen time as well but it was only when he was making a move or he had to be shown for the story to move on. Karla had some bad moves in the last episodes but there is no winner with flawless game. I think Jesse's story will be his downfall. Nobody will want to take him to the end so they will do their best to get him out. I predict a final 3 of Karla Gabler and Owen.

Happy Survivor finale everyone! 💖