Survivor 43 Week 12 Recap and Live Blog

Survivor 43 Week 12 Recap and Live Blog
Pictured (L-R): Mike \’Gabler\’ Gabler, Cody Assenmacher, Owen Knight, Jesse Lopez, Karla Cruz Godoy, and Cassidy Clark. Photo: CBS

Last time Sami was voted out. Karla wanted to vote for Cassidy, but she decided to change her vote after Sami said he was going to play his Shot in the Dark. Everyone else wanted to exclude Karla from the plan to vote out Sami to turn Karla and Cassidy against each other. The next morning, Owen tells Cassidy that Karla was targeting her. Cassidy says Karla is her #1 ally, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to do that. She still has a conversation with Karla. Karla denies the accusations, and she even pretends to cry to get Cassidy to trust her again. Later, Karla tells Jesse to talk to Cassidy and back her up. However, Jesse tells Cassidy the truth. Cassidy is upset and now wants Karla voted out.

It’s time for the reward challenge. They will be divided into two teams of three. One person will be strapped inside a giant ball and guide their two blindfolded teammates through a long and winding course. They will also guide their blindfolded team members to solve a table maze. The first team to complete the maze will win a trip to the sanctuary, where they can enjoy iced beverages and pastries. After a random draw, Owen, Cody, and Karla are on the Blue Team. Cassidy, Jesse, and Gabler are on the Red Team. The challenge begins with Owen and Cassidy inside the giant balls. Owen gets the Blue Team to an early lead while the Red Team trails behind. The Blue Team has a big lead by the time they get to the table maze, but the Red Team manages to close the gap. Both teams are close to solving the puzzle, but the Blue Team gets their ball in the hole first. Owen, Cody, and Karla win reward!

Owen, Cody, and Karla arrive at the sanctuary. After they enjoy coffee and pastries, they talk game. Karla is worried she has a target on her back. She asks for a lifeline. After she walks away, Cody and Owen speculate that Karla doesn’t have a hidden immunity idol (even though she does). They agree that Karla should be the next one voted out. Meanwhile, back at camp, Gabler proposes a Final 3 with Cassidy and Jesse. He plants a seed to vote out Cody or Karla next. Cassidy also reveals to Gabler and Jesse that Karla has a hidden immunity idol. Jesse trusts Cody, so he would rather see Karla voted out next. After Owen, Cody, and Karla return to camp, Gabler pulls Cody aside. He tells Cody that Karla has a hidden immunity idol. They wonder if they should split the votes between Karla and Cassidy in case Karla plays her idol.

It’s time for the immunity challenge. They will have to race through a series of obstacles and collect tiles. They will use those tiles to solve a number combination and get a key. They will then race up a cargo net and solve a hanging bat puzzle. The first person to complete the puzzle will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Jesse takes the early lead when he’s the first to solve the number combination. Karla trails behind in last place as the last one to solve the combination. However, it becomes a close challenge at the puzzle. Cassidy, Cody, and Karla all get ahead in the puzzle. Karla closes the gap despite being in last place, but her hands have become numb. She is unable to keep working on the puzzle and has to take a break. This allows Cassidy and Cody to get closer to the win. Cassidy thinks she solved it, but Jeff tells her she’s incorrect. Karla continues working on her puzzle again, and she, Cassidy, and Cody only have a few pieces left. Cassidy asks Jeff to check her puzzle, and this time she is right. Cassidy wins immunity!

The castaways return to camp. Owen and Gabler agree that this is a bad scenario. Cassidy has immunity, and Cody and Karla could play their hidden immunity idols. This means either Owen, Gabler, or Jesse will be voted out. Meanwhile, Cody comes up with a plan with Karla. He suggests that they each tell everyone they have an idol and will play it. However, they won’t play their idols and save it for next time. Karla is on board with this plan. She says they can use scare tactics to sway everyone else to do what she and Cody want to do and then secure their spots in the Final 4 next time. However, Cody is lying to Karla. He doesn’t want Karla to play her immunity idol tonight. Cody is confident about this vote, but Jesse starts wondering if he needs to make a more cutthroat plan. Jesse doesn’t want to be viewed as Cody’s #2 even though he believes Cody will take him to the end. Jesse is still in possession of Cody’s idol (Jesse also secretly still has Jeanine’s hidden immunity idol), so Jesse suggests blindsiding Cody tonight. Owen and Cassidy are on board with Jesse’s idea, but the plan may be foiled after Cody asks Jesse for his idol back. If Jesse cannot hold onto Cody’s idol, then they may not be able to blindside Cody tonight after all. Owen is nervous. If Karla and Cody both play their idols tonight, then Owen could be voted out tonight.

It’s time for tribal council. After discussion about the challenge, the talk turns to the strategy back at camp. Jesse shares with Jeff that Cody and Karla revealed they will be playing their hidden immunity idols tonight. Karla said there were already rumors about her having an idol. Cody said it was an easy decision to guarantee himself another day. Owen says it’s scary that it could just take one vote to send someone home. Jeff brings up the possibility that Karla and Cody could be bluffing. Jesse says he doesn’t feel like he’s in a position to call their bluff. Cody admits that he talked to Karla about their plan to play their idols tonight. Karla says she’s confident in tonight’s plan, and she hopes the people she talked to feel confident too. Jesse hopes he landed on the right move. Owen says he hopes it’s anyone but him. Cody says he’s 95% certain the vote will go how he thinks it will. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Before Jeff reveals the vote, Jesse plays a hidden immunity idol for Owen. Afterwards, Karla plays her hidden immunity idol for herself.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Owen

Karla

Cody

Cody

Cody

Cody is the thirteenth person voted out of Survivor 43. The jury is shocked, especially seeing how it was Jesse who orchestrated Cody’s elimination. Cody is clearly blindsided, but he gives everyone a hug before getting his torch snuffed.

And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor 43. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.

About Steven Curtis 541 Articles
Steven is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a bachelor's degree in communication arts. He enjoys watching reality competition shows, such as American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race.