Survivor Season 43 Week 3 Recap and Live Blog

Survivor 43
Pictured (L-R): Coco Tribe: Cassidy Clark, Ryan Medrano, Karla Cruz Godoy, James Jones and Lindsay Carmine. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2022 

The episode begins the morning after tribal council. Cody says tribal council went according to plan. He managed to collect his tribe members’ beads to activate his hidden immunity idol. After Justine was voted out, Dwight and Noelle are now on the outs of the tribe. Noelle says it’s a new day, and she will do whatever she can to stay in the game.

At the Baka tribe, Gabler is struggling living in the elements. Elie says there is a lot of babying going on for him. She wants him to go next. Elie wants to persuade Gabler into not using his hidden immunity idol. His idol is good for two tribal councils, so Gabler can play it the next time they lose an immunity challenge. Elie wants Gabler to be blindsided, and she shares her thoughts with Sami and Jeanine. Sami thinks Elie is running the tribe, and he wants to outplay her. Sami later reveals to Gabler that Elie and Jeanine went through Gabler’s bag and read the rules of his hidden immunity idol.

Gabler trusted Elie, but now he doesn’t. He says she’s playing all sides. He wants her voted out next. Owen has been playing the middle, so he doesn’t let Gabler know that he was there when Elie and Jeanine went though his bag. Elie strikes a conversation with Gabler about the idol. Gabler lies to her and suggests keeping the idol as a souvenir. Elie and Jeanine are later pleased that the plan to blindside Gabler could work, but Gabler says he will have the last laugh.

At the Coco tribe, it’s James’s birthday. The vibe on the tribe is laid back, but people are suspicious about idol hunting. No one wants to be spotted looking for an idol. While James is napping in the shelter and Lindsay, Cassidy, and Ryan are out in the water, Karla goes searching for an idol. Karla finds the Beware Advantage on top of a branch. She’s tempted to open it, but she doesn’t want to risk losing her vote. She chooses to play it safe. She puts the wrapped Beware Advantage back where she found it.

After a segment with Nneka opening up to her Vesi tribe members about her mission group in Nigeria, we return to the Coco tribe. Karla changes her mind and goes back for the Beware Advantage. She gets the same instructions as Cody. She must collect specific beads from her fellow tribe members. She barters with her earrings and comes up with a story of wanting to make a necklace for her wife. Karla is successful and manages to collect all the beads necessary to activate her hidden immunity idol.

It’s time for the immunity challenge. Two tribe members from each tribe must leap from a tower and dive into the ocean. Then they must climb a stack of crates and dive to release a buoy for a key. After they collect their keys, the other two tribe members must solve a turtle puzzle. The winning tribes will also win a toolkit and fruit.

The challenge is fairly even at first, but Vesi gets the lead with Coco trailing behind in third. Jesse and Nneka work on the puzzle for Vesi, Elie and Jeanine work on the puzzle for Baka, and Lindsay and James work on the puzzle for Coco. Baka is the the first to complete the puzzle. Baka wins immunity! Jesse and Nneka’s struggle with the puzzle blows their lead, allowing Coco a chance to catch up and complete the puzzle before them. Coco wins immunity! Vesi will go to tribal council tonight. Jeff tells Baka to send one member from each tribe on a journey. Noelle, James, and Owen will go on the journey.

Back on the Vesi tribe, Nneka apologizes for not doing well with the puzzle. She feels like she let her tribe down. As for the vote, Nneka tells Dwight she will not turn on Cody or Jesse. So, Noelle is her only option. Nneka breaks down in tears since she feels sad about voting out Noelle since she views Noelle as an inspiration. Meanwhile, Cody and Jesse contemplate whether they should vote out Nneka. Even though Nneka is a loyal number, they realize Noelle is a stronger competitor in challenges. Cody and Jesse say they need to decide between loyalty or tribe strength. Jesse says Nneka reminds him of his mom, so he feels sad about the thought of voting her out.

Meanwhile on the journey, Noelle opens up about how she was on the outs of the vote at the previous tribal council. When it comes time to make a decision, Owen and James agree to let Noelle win the advantage. Owen and James choose not to risk their votes, meaning Noelle will learn what her advantage is when she returns to camp. After Noelle returns to the Vesi tribe, she lies to everyone and says she did not risk her vote. However, she later shares the details of her advantage to Dwight. Noelle won the Steal-a-Vote advantage. Noelle says she feels the most burned by Jesse, so she contemplates stealing his vote and voting him out.

It’s time for tribal council. The first topic of discussion is the challenge. Nneka and Jesse lost the challenge with their struggle with the puzzle. Jesse admits they let the win slip from their fingers. Nneka gets emotional about voting out another tribe member. She underestimated the personal bonds that would form being on Survivor. She says it was a hard afternoon.

Cody can relate to Nneka’s feelings. They spend 24/7 together, but he points out there is a game to play. Dwight says the vote will reveal what path the tribe will take. Noelle says it was a shame she missed out on a lot of time talking with her tribe members, especially since she was on the outs. She proved her strength at the challenge, and she wants to play. Jesse wonders whether Noelle came back with an advantage. Jeff asks how confident they are tonight. Everyone feels very confident tonight except Noelle. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Noelle

Nneka

Nneka

Nneka

Nneka is the third person voted out of Survivor 43.

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

About Steven Curtis 538 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.