Survivor Season 44 starts on page 5 (1 Viewer)

[Pipes]

The played idol had zero bearing on the result. Cody wasn't gonna play it (don't know why he even gave it back to Jesse), and he got 4 votes. Jesse could have just kept it in his pocket and Cody would have still went home.

Using the idol was for the shock factor, and everyone will remember it, so mission accomplished. The jury had quite a reaction to it, so...

Playing it also flushed Carla's idol. She doesn't play hers if Jesse doesn't make that move.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The played idol had zero bearing on the result. Cody wasn't gonna play it (don't know why he even gave it back to Jesse), and he got 4 votes. Jesse could have just kept it in his pocket and Cody would have still went home.

Using the idol was for the shock factor, and everyone will remember it, so mission accomplished. The jury had quite a reaction to it, so...

Once Karla played her idol, Cody would have played his if he had it.

Hopefully next week we'll be shown why Cody gave his idol back to Jesse.

There was one holdout, don't remember who, so going into tribal we didn't know if he had the idol or not. At some point they did a flashback showing how he causally got the last bead.

Noelle.

I suspect it never occurred to Cody that Jesse would betray him.

 

[nysfl2]

Letting someone else hold on to your idol as a "sign of trust" has to be one of the dumbest ideas ever conceived of in the game. Especially this late in the game.

Another one that should never be seen again after this season.

 

[Raging weasel]

That TC only makes sense if Cody gave his idol back to Jesse, which in and of itself is a colossal blunder. Why would he possibly give his idol to anyone at this stage of the game? Loyalty? Has he not seen any seasons of this show?

If he did have his idol and chose not to play it, even after everyone else played theirs... dumbest moment since that kid gave his necklace to Parvati? The vote would be down to him or Gabe. He definitely gave it back to Jesse. Question is why?

They made a point to show us the jury acknowledging "Jesse did that." Puts him at the top of the probable winner list.

To pour salt in the wound, Jesse played Cody's idol for Owen (it appeared). Cody can only be mad at himself.

The idol Jesse played had red beads, which means it was Cody's. Jeanine's idol that Jesse got via Dwight has yellow beads.

Good catch, didn't even think of that.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Letting someone else hold on to your idol as a "sign of trust" has to be one of the dumbest ideas ever conceived of in the game. Especially this late in the game.

Another one that should never be seen again after this season.

Giving up the immunity necklace went away after Erik Reichenbach got hoodwinked by the Black Widow Brigade (except when Brandon Hantz did it, but he was clinically insane). Asking an ally to hold an idol, at least in the late merge, is going away after what happened to Cody. (We could still see it in 44 because those people played before 43 aired.)

 

[The General]

Cody took that about as well as anyone could. He was crushed but quickly recovered.

Jesse saying “I’ll explain later“ will go like “it was for a million dollars“. I mean what else is he going to say

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

 

[stbugs]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

I just don’t get why he would have given it to him from the start. Once knowledge advantage is gone you get it back. Just by having the idol, Jesse can’t make that move and Karla goes home. You have to know an alliance never lasts at this point but the only way Cody is truly vulnerable is when someone knows he can’t play his idol.

Jesse’s got a great shot but damn I hate when a move is more because of another person’s stupidity. Great plan but literally had to be Cody being dumb. Same with Jesse’s idol. Dumb luck that another person panicked for no reason. You need a little luck and Dwight and Cody handed him the luck he needed.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

I just don’t get why he would have given it to him from the start. Once knowledge advantage is gone you get it back. Just by having the idol, Jesse can’t make that move and Karla goes home. You have to know an alliance never lasts at this point but the only way Cody is truly vulnerable is when someone knows he can’t play his idol.

Jesse’s got a great shot but damn I hate when a move is more because of another person’s stupidity. Great plan but literally had to be Cody being dumb. Same with Jesse’s idol. Dumb luck that another person panicked for no reason. You need a little luck and Dwight and Cody handed him the luck he needed.

Every winner or good player who has gone far has benefited from some luck. It’s easy for us to say what the optimal things to do were, but after a long time with little to no food or sleep, these people aren’t thinking clearly and they’re going to make mistakes.

 

[Runkle]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

I just don’t get why he would have given it to him from the start. Once knowledge advantage is gone you get it back. Just by having the idol, Jesse can’t make that move and Karla goes home. You have to know an alliance never lasts at this point but the only way Cody is truly vulnerable is when someone knows he can’t play his idol.

Jesse’s got a great shot but damn I hate when a move is more because of another person’s stupidity. Great plan but literally had to be Cody being dumb. Same with Jesse’s idol. Dumb luck that another person panicked for no reason. You need a little luck and Dwight and Cody handed him the luck he needed.

IIRC, Cody gave it to Jesse the first time in the trading swap around the Knowledge is Power advantage, when everyone switched so that KIP would be a dud.

No idea why he handed it back right before tribal.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

I just don’t get why he would have given it to him from the start. Once knowledge advantage is gone you get it back. Just by having the idol, Jesse can’t make that move and Karla goes home. You have to know an alliance never lasts at this point but the only way Cody is truly vulnerable is when someone knows he can’t play his idol.

Jesse’s got a great shot but damn I hate when a move is more because of another person’s stupidity. Great plan but literally had to be Cody being dumb. Same with Jesse’s idol. Dumb luck that another person panicked for no reason. You need a little luck and Dwight and Cody handed him the luck he needed.

IIRC, Cody gave it to Jesse the first time in the trading swap around the Knowledge is Power advantage, when everyone switched so that KIP would be a dud.

No idea why he handed it back right before tribal.

In his exit interviews, he said that he really trusted Jesse, and that Jesse had convinced him that Karla had the Knowledge Is Power advantage. BUT that Jesse never actually asked for the idol back. Cody did that on his own because of those two factors, and because he thought he would lose Jesse's trust (or at least arouse suspicion) if he asked for the idol back.

 

[bryhamm]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

I just don’t get why he would have given it to him from the start. Once knowledge advantage is gone you get it back. Just by having the idol, Jesse can’t make that move and Karla goes home. You have to know an alliance never lasts at this point but the only way Cody is truly vulnerable is when someone knows he can’t play his idol.

Jesse’s got a great shot but damn I hate when a move is more because of another person’s stupidity. Great plan but literally had to be Cody being dumb. Same with Jesse’s idol. Dumb luck that another person panicked for no reason. You need a little luck and Dwight and Cody handed him the luck he needed.

IIRC, Cody gave it to Jesse the first time in the trading swap around the Knowledge is Power advantage, when everyone switched so that KIP would be a dud.

No idea why he handed it back right before tribal.

In his exit interviews, he said that he really trusted Jesse, and that Jesse had convinced him that Karla had the Knowledge Is Power advantage. BUT that Jesse never actually asked for the idol back. Cody did that on his own because of those two factors, and because he thought he would lose Jesse's trust (or at least arouse suspicion) if he asked for the idol back.

Heard the same thing. The paranoia ran in Cody's mind, but the biggest factor was that jesse never asked for it back. Played it smooth. So, Cody ended up giving it back to him.

My guess is Cody was going home any way. He was banking on no idols being played and he had the votes to take out Cody. But, once Cody gave him back the idol, he then had a plan to freak Karla out and get her to play hers. That opens things up for Karla to be voted out at the next TC and Jesse still has a very hidden HII that he can use to keep himself safe.

 

[stbugs]

Finally! Some good game play. and so far they haven’t shown Jesse blabbing about his idol.

Cody’s a maroon for ever letting Jesse hold his idol. even more so in a tribal where you’re bragging about playing it.
and guarantee Jesse is a raider fan.

I just don’t get why he would have given it to him from the start. Once knowledge advantage is gone you get it back. Just by having the idol, Jesse can’t make that move and Karla goes home. You have to know an alliance never lasts at this point but the only way Cody is truly vulnerable is when someone knows he can’t play his idol.

Jesse’s got a great shot but damn I hate when a move is more because of another person’s stupidity. Great plan but literally had to be Cody being dumb. Same with Jesse’s idol. Dumb luck that another person panicked for no reason. You need a little luck and Dwight and Cody handed him the luck he needed.

Every winner or good player who has gone far has benefited from some luck. It’s easy for us to say what the optimal things to do were, but after a long time with little to no food or sleep, these people aren’t thinking clearly and they’re going to make mistakes.

I know that’s why I said “you need a little luck”, but that still doesn’t mean it can’t annoy me a little when people do ridiculously dumb things. It’s OK if I feel that way, doesn’t mean I don’t get why.

He just needed to get the idol back after the KIP was played. You don’t have an idol if it’s not in your hands. It’s funny that Cody wanted Jesse to trust him and he doesn’t think why doesn’t Jesse give me back my idol to make sure I trust him. There are moves that just never make sense, but Karla and Cody aren’t the brightest bulbs. I honestly still can’t believe how easy it was for Sami to turn Karla against Cassidy. Karla sticks to her alliance which was rock solid and she’s good. Now Cass wants her out and she’s idol-less.

 

[offdee]

My guess is Cody was going home any way. He was banking on no idols being played and he had the votes to take out Cody. But, once Cody gave him back the idol, he then had a plan to freak Karla out and get her to play hers. That opens things up for Karla to be voted out at the next TC and Jesse still has a very hidden HII that he can use to keep himself safe.

Just a brilliant play all around by Jesse.

Must've been REALLY tough for Cody in that moment of shock to not beg Jesse for his idol back quick. Would've looked pathetic, but still been natural instinct. Jesse probably would've just stared at him and said "but you did this to yourself" like a Don.

 

[Statorama]

Cody took that about as well as anyone could. He was crushed but quickly recovered.

Would have been a lot more bleeps if it had been done to me.

 

[The General]

Cody took that about as well as anyone could. He was crushed but quickly recovered.

Would have been a lot more bleeps if it had been done to me.

I mean it would be very hard to not be supremely pissed off but the game definitely seems to be all about blindsides those are what the juries seem to vote for. We don't know how bad Jesse lied to him in private I guess.

I always wondered of side deals are being cut. Like you take me and I'll give you and extra 100k type thing and how that is written into the rules.

 

[Statorama]

Cody took that about as well as anyone could. He was crushed but quickly recovered.

Would have been a lot more bleeps if it had been done to me.

I mean it would be very hard to not be supremely pissed off but the game definitely seems to be all about blindsides those are what the juries seem to vote for. We don't know how bad Jesse lied to him in private I guess.

I always wondered of side deals are being cut. Like you take me and I'll give you and extra 100k type thing and how that is written into the rules.

It's probably baked into the contract, but once they cut the check I don't know how they'd enforce it (outside of a winner boasting on twitter how the skirted the rules)

 

[Nick Vermeil]

I'm pretty happy with this final group. Gabler and Owen seem to be the drag alongs at this point. Jesse has to be the favorite but I would be satisfied with any winner from Cass , Karla and Jesse.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Cody took that about as well as anyone could. He was crushed but quickly recovered.

Would have been a lot more bleeps if it had been done to me.

I mean it would be very hard to not be supremely pissed off but the game definitely seems to be all about blindsides those are what the juries seem to vote for. We don't know how bad Jesse lied to him in private I guess.

I always wondered of side deals are being cut. Like you take me and I'll give you and extra 100k type thing and how that is written into the rules.

Survivor essentially has two rules. Do not physically assault another player, and do not conspire to split the prize money. Side deals are absolutely prohibited.

 

[nysfl2]

Cody took that about as well as anyone could. He was crushed but quickly recovered.

Would have been a lot more bleeps if it had been done to me.

I was impressed when Jessie stood up to shake his hand on the way out that he calmed down enough to do it. His first reaction looked like he wanted to clock Jessie.

 

[offdee]

I was impressed when Jessie stood up to shake his hand on the way out that he calmed down enough to do it. His first reaction looked like he wanted to clock Jessie.

I'm sure his inner monologue was..."settle down and play nice for the cameras". Probably would've been a different reaction if he knew it wouldn't be shown to millions of people across the world.

 

[Statorama]

Seeing that "previously on" tribal council.....I still kinda hate Jessie

Edit to add: I saw Jessie and Cody as one of those great pairs at the end like Cody and Derrick on Big Brother

 

[snogger]

Glad Karla is gone.. Of the 5 that were left she was the only one I didn't want to win. Gabler is the carry along this year. Would love to see Owen and Jesse be 2 of the final 3 as it would make for a great final vote.

 

[snogger]

Gabler's only winning move is what he said previously.. Tell the Jury that if he wins the whole amount will go to help Veterans.

Could be a close vote as I can easily seeing spilt votes between Owen and Cassidy who are both worthy.

 

[Statorama]

Alli-Gabler love that nickname

 

[stbugs]

Ok, I think I would have voted with James, but that was a really cool ending.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Ok, I think I would have voted with James, but that was a really cool ending.

All juries say they are going in with an open mind, but often that's not the case. Here, though, I think it was -- though I think Owen never really had a shot and they were being nice to him by saying that. None of the three finalists had an obvious case to win like Jesse, Karla and Cody did.

So I think it's quite possible that Gabler won with his answers at FTC, like Maryanne did in 42. He explained his game well and the jury agreed he deserved credit for taking out Elie at the fake merge and steering the mid-merge votes with Jesse and Cody. Whereas nobody bought Cassidy's argument that she ever drove strategy. And they especially didn't buy her rationale that she didn't need to put herself in fire against Jesse -- which I didn't either when she told Jesse that after the F4 challenge -- and that she thought she could beat Gabler even if he took out Jesse in fire. You could see Jesse squirm when she repeated those things to the jury, and that may have been the moment where she lost the game.

When you are at F4 and one player is the clear favorite, whoever takes them out in fire gets a huge boost in esteem from the jury. The immunity winner should recognize that and be the one to try to take them out. Deciding not to do so cost Natalie a chance to win Winners at War, and it may have cost Cassidy her shot here.

I liked this instant reunion better than those in 41 and 42. Mostly because it seems like this cast really likes each other, and that was not the case in 41 and 42. So there wasn't anywhere near as much awkwardness this time.

 

[Corporation]

This was a truly great final tribal council. Gabler was the one everyone wanted to take to final, and he ran away with it. His answers at Tribal Council were so smooth, Cass got really tripped up at the end with the Ride or Die boys. Cass and Owen were shocked when it was him, and of course you knew Owen's "I didn't come here to be a no vote finalist" was going to come back to bite him. Really great season with a lot of really good players.

 

[Corporation]

Ok, I think I would have voted with James, but that was a really cool ending.

All juries say they are going in with an open mind, but often that's not the case. Here, though, I think it was -- though I think Owen never really had a shot and they were being nice to him by saying that. None of the three finalists had an obvious case to win like Jesse, Karla and Cody did.

So I think it's quite possible that Gabler won with his answers at FTC, like Maryanne did in 42. He explained his game well and the jury agreed he deserved credit for taking out Elie at the fake merge and steering the mid-merge votes with Jesse and Cody. Whereas nobody bought Cassidy's argument that she ever drove strategy. And they especially didn't buy her rationale that she didn't need to put herself in fire against Jesse -- which I didn't either when she told Jesse that after the F4 challenge -- and that she thought she could beat Gabler even if he took out Jesse in fire. You could see Jesse squirm when she repeated those things to the jury, and that may have been the moment where she lost the game.

When you are at F4 and one player is the clear favorite, whoever takes them out in fire gets a huge boost in esteem from the jury. The immunity winner should recognize that and be the one to try to take them out. Deciding not to do so cost Natalie a chance to win Winners at War, and it may have cost Cassidy her shot here.

I liked this instant reunion better than those in 41 and 42. Mostly because it seems like this cast really likes each other, and that was not the case in 41 and 42. So there wasn't anywhere near as much awkwardness this time.

Totally agree with no one buying her argument that she drove strategy. I thought she did a decent job offsetting that by pointing out her track record on being on the right side of the votes, but in the end everyone knew it was Karla and James at first, then Karla and Jesse driving her votes. In her defense, she was absolutely right in the decision to not make fire. We can play the results and say "It clearly wasn't the right decision since she didn't win" but had she gone to fire when she was safe and lost, we would have called her the biggest idiot since Erik or JT. Winning would have been a feather in her cap, but I thought she was right when she thought she was in the driver's seat in the car with Owen and Gabler.

One thing I tell the high school students I work with at church is to trust the process and make the best decision you can with the information you have available. Lots of people make good decisions and have circumstances crap on them, and conversely you will see people make off the cuff or outright poor decisions and get rewarded. Over time, you will end up with a way better ratio when you get good payoffs from good decisions rather than falling into them.

 

[The General]

Wow. That was great. Fantastic season.

Gabler didn’t tell them until after he had won. Amazing dude.

He will be back.

 

[BigJim®]

I almost never watch the BS aftermath, but I'm so glad I did. Great season.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Ok, I think I would have voted with James, but that was a really cool ending.

All juries say they are going in with an open mind, but often that's not the case. Here, though, I think it was -- though I think Owen never really had a shot and they were being nice to him by saying that. None of the three finalists had an obvious case to win like Jesse, Karla and Cody did.

So I think it's quite possible that Gabler won with his answers at FTC, like Maryanne did in 42. He explained his game well and the jury agreed he deserved credit for taking out Elie at the fake merge and steering the mid-merge votes with Jesse and Cody. Whereas nobody bought Cassidy's argument that she ever drove strategy. And they especially didn't buy her rationale that she didn't need to put herself in fire against Jesse -- which I didn't either when she told Jesse that after the F4 challenge -- and that she thought she could beat Gabler even if he took out Jesse in fire. You could see Jesse squirm when she repeated those things to the jury, and that may have been the moment where she lost the game.

When you are at F4 and one player is the clear favorite, whoever takes them out in fire gets a huge boost in esteem from the jury. The immunity winner should recognize that and be the one to try to take them out. Deciding not to do so cost Natalie a chance to win Winners at War, and it may have cost Cassidy her shot here.

I liked this instant reunion better than those in 41 and 42. Mostly because it seems like this cast really likes each other, and that was not the case in 41 and 42. So there wasn't anywhere near as much awkwardness this time.

We can play the results and say "It clearly wasn't the right decision since she didn't win" but had she gone to fire when she was safe and lost, we would have called her the biggest idiot since Erik or JT.

I wouldn't have. It's results-oriented thinking and there are now enough data (S36, S38, S40 and now S43) to show it is the right move in this circumstance. It wasn't necessary in seasons like 39, 41 and 42 where there wasn't a clear favorite at final 4.

Interesting that since forced firemaking at F4 began in S35, only one person who has won F4 immunity and not given it up to make fire has gone on to win the game (Nick in S37). Four people who won firemaking won (including Chris in S38, who won immunity and gave it up), and three people who were taken to the end by the F4 immunity holder won.

 

[Jayrok]

Great ending. I was so glad Gabler didn't tell them about the donation until after the vote. Some may have told them before the vote to try and sway. Guy is genuine and it made for a great ending to the season.

He was also flawless in his explanations to questions on his game play. Won the game at the last TC. Quickest to make fire in the show's history.

Wonder if the donation gesture will lead to some form of Celebrity Survivor. Immunity/reward challenges are for immunity but also wins money for the contestant's charity.

 

[Jayrok]

Also loved the look on Cass and Owen's faces when Gabler was getting all the final votes. Both thought they had a better shot than him.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Also loved the look on Cass and Owen's faces when Gabler was getting all the final votes. Both thought they had a better shot than him.

Owen knew he was a goat and said as much to the jury. He might have been surprised that so many votes were going to Gabler, but I don't think he thought he was going to beat Gabler (or Cassidy). Cassidy was genuinely shocked, though.

It can be argued that Cassidy torched her game at FTC like Mike did in 42. Both of them insisted on telling the jury that they played a different kind of game from what the jury believed they did. And the juries punished them for it.

 

[TLEF316]

Decent season and pretty solid finale IMO. They did a little better in terms of getting rid of some of the REALLY wacky twists of the past couple of years, but there's still a few too many idols, advantages, etc. for my taste. But I'm guessing that's not going away and with the shorter game.....they need ways to make things as interesting and fast paced as possible.

2nd season in a row that the winner got a goofball edit early and then talked circles around their opponents at the final TC. It was much easier to see coming with Gabler though. While he's older, says some odd things and was a bit strange looking (with the hair, the clothes, tats, the faces he makes, etc.) it was still pretty obvious that he was a cunning, experienced, smart guy who wasn't a total wildcard out there. Maryanne becoming coherent late in her game (especially at the final TC) was an absolute shocker....and her "underdog story" plus the explanations she came up with (in terms of having multiple paths to the end) swayed the jury whether they were 100% true or not.

Obviously being able to effectively communicate your game has always been a MASSIVE part of winning, but I think the current format makes it even more important. With the shorter game and constant switch-ups, there's less opportunity to build REALLY strong relationships or rack up a resume of dominating strategically. It basically comes down to 2 or 3 moments and then being able to talk about those moments effectively at the end. In the past, a really good player could build a huge stack of "wins" over the course of the longer game. And even if they weren't amazing at articulating it, they could still win. (assuming they didn't have a super bitter jury that couldn't accept being outplayed). Seems like those days are over. Best talker wins....period.

 

[offdee]

Gabler not announcing his full donation to charity until after he won was a boss move. If he would've brought that up in jury and won he would always have an asteriks next to his name as the winner. He killed the final jury. Short distinct confident answers and no rambling...that's the key at final tribal.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Gabler not announcing his full donation to charity until after he won was a boss move. If he would've brought that up in jury and won he would always have an asteriks next to his name as the winner. He killed the final jury. Short distinct confident answers and no rambling...that's the key at final tribal.

Gabler had a great FTC. He answered everything straightforward and owned his game, and most importantly didn't try to take credit for things he didn't do, unlike Cassidy.

 

[Pipes]

Wow. That was great. Fantastic season.

Gabler didn’t tell them until after he had won. Amazing dude.

He will be back.

Agreed. I feel like alot of these contestants will be back. Gabler, Jesse, Karla, Cody and maybe even James. All very compelling.

 

[offdee]

Gabler had a great FTC. He answered everything straightforward and owned his game, and most importantly didn't try to take credit for things he didn't do, unlike Cassidy.

I think part of the problem with Cassidy is that what she claimed to take credit for she truly believed she did those things. When Jessie, Cody AND GABLER pointed out it was actually them that did it and she had no clue that was the dagger. She literally said "ok you got me then". It was game over at that point with the jury.

 

[offdee]

At the end there Jessie looked like he literally was going to die. Dude could barely raise his arms and you could tell he was just completely exhausted and spent. Looked like a talking skeleton.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Gabler had a great FTC. He answered everything straightforward and owned his game, and most importantly didn't try to take credit for things he didn't do, unlike Cassidy.

I think part of the problem with Cassidy is that what she claimed to take credit for she truly believed she did those things. When Jessie, Cody AND GABLER pointed out it was actually them that did it and she had no clue that was the dagger. She literally said "ok you got me then". It was game over at that point with the jury.

The other dagger to her heart was when she told the jury that she didn't need to take Jesse out in fire. Jesse visibly squirmed and it didn't look like the other jurors bought it either.

 

[stbugs]

Ok, I think I would have voted with James, but that was a really cool ending.

All juries say they are going in with an open mind, but often that's not the case. Here, though, I think it was -- though I think Owen never really had a shot and they were being nice to him by saying that. None of the three finalists had an obvious case to win like Jesse, Karla and Cody did.

So I think it's quite possible that Gabler won with his answers at FTC, like Maryanne did in 42. He explained his game well and the jury agreed he deserved credit for taking out Elie at the fake merge and steering the mid-merge votes with Jesse and Cody. Whereas nobody bought Cassidy's argument that she ever drove strategy. And they especially didn't buy her rationale that she didn't need to put herself in fire against Jesse -- which I didn't either when she told Jesse that after the F4 challenge -- and that she thought she could beat Gabler even if he took out Jesse in fire. You could see Jesse squirm when she repeated those things to the jury, and that may have been the moment where she lost the game.

When you are at F4 and one player is the clear favorite, whoever takes them out in fire gets a huge boost in esteem from the jury. The immunity winner should recognize that and be the one to try to take them out. Deciding not to do so cost Natalie a chance to win Winners at War, and it may have cost Cassidy her shot here.

I liked this instant reunion better than those in 41 and 42. Mostly because it seems like this cast really likes each other, and that was not the case in 41 and 42. So there wasn't anywhere near as much awkwardness this time.

That whole fire thing is ridiculous. That’s the stupidest play ever to go up against Jesse in a fire challenge. You win immunity and you set who sits where. It’s annoying to think Gabler got so much by beating Jesse and Cass got dinged because she played it out perfectly by putting Gabler there. She got the exact result she wanted and putting herself in harm’s way is the dumbest thing I’ve heard. While the jury may have voted that way, Cass had a pretty solid resume, far better IMHO than Gabler. Gabler made people laugh at the last tribal and his showman skills shines.

Her answer was fine to me. I just assume that Cass wasn’t as well like as she maybe thought. I mean, she saw through Jesse wanting someone to beat in the fire challenge by trying to convince her. She saw through Karla trying to convince her to get rid of Jesse. One would say she got exactly what she wanted. It’s weird that she got no credit for that and even got dinged because she didn’t do fire herself. That’s like congratulating Cody for giving away his idol because he needed to head on beat Karla and forgetting that giving up immunity is dumb and cost him. It’s just weird to think how dumb we all said Cody was for giving up immunity and then ding Cass for not giving up immunity.

Everyone else would have 100% wanted Gabler next to them in the final 3. The jury voted as they wanted to vote. I would have voted Cass just because Gabler was never considered a threat and was absolutely being brought along by everyone. Not a single person voting for him should have been a negative. He had no idol and no one was afraid of him. I do think they were more anti-Cass than pro Gabler and he gave them enough to vote that way.

 

[stbugs]

Gabler had a great FTC. He answered everything straightforward and owned his game, and most importantly didn't try to take credit for things he didn't do, unlike Cassidy.

I think part of the problem with Cassidy is that what she claimed to take credit for she truly believed she did those things. When Jessie, Cody AND GABLER pointed out it was actually them that did it and she had no clue that was the dagger. She literally said "ok you got me then". It was game over at that point with the jury.

The other dagger to her heart was when she told the jury that she didn't need to take Jesse out in fire. Jesse visibly squirmed and it didn't look like the other jurors bought it either.

Already had my long reply but this one kind of pisses me off. Makes me think Jesse and Karla were way more spiteful. Jesse 100% wanted Cass to do fire because he thought he’d win. Cass saw through that and got a guy who set a record to knock Jesse out and somehow Cass did the wrong thing? If she’s frustrated by that, I’m on her side. Same with Karla. Karla specifically targeted her multiple times in part because Sami played her and Cass won that battle and she voted for Gabler?

Also, to @offdee I do think the removal of Ryan thing was the only real ding but let’s be honest, it wasn’t Gabler. Jesse and Cody just used him as a vote. The problem was that Cass didn’t know and her example blew up on her. She did want Ryan out but she wasn’t the ring leader but again, Gabler wasn’t either. Sami was also the main player on Ellie but unlike Ryan, he didn’t speak up and try to ruin Gabler by saying that he controlled Gabler and his reactions because he wanted Ellie out. Ryan and Cass didn’t get along so he was more than willing to ruin her response. She should have stuck with getting Karla out. That was her best move because Jesse was more than willing to get her gone.

 

[offdee]

Also, to @offdee I do think the removal of Ryan thing was the only real ding but let’s be honest, it wasn’t Gabler. Jesse and Cody just used him as a vote.

Yep, agreed. But Cassie's big theme of her speech was that "she was always in the know and on the right side of the votes". Well that was discredited a bit by that one little comment and Gabler took the opportunity to jump on board with Jessie and Cody as part of the Ride or Die alliance which Cassie wasn't aware of.

 

[PinkydaPimp]

Im not a fan of fire tbh. i dont have an alternative but i dont like it at 4.

Otherwise great season. Props to Gabler. The fact he didnt even use donating that money in his final speech just makes it all that much more rewarding. CBS should match it.

Cass really thought she was gonna win. Seeing her face when the votes were read was great. Do we think Karla poisoned the Jury for her like she threatened?

I was rooting for Jesse though. But alas.

 

[stbugs]

Im not a fan of fire tbh. i dont have an alternative but i dont like it at 4.

Otherwise great season. Props to Gabler. The fact he didnt even use donating that money in his final speech just makes it all that much more rewarding. CBS should match it.

Cass really thought she was gonna win. Seeing her face when the votes were read was great. Do we think Karla poisoned the Jury for her like she threatened?

I was rooting for Jesse though. But alas.

I think she may have. I honestly think their minds were made up. I don’t think Owen and Cass were as well liked. They seemed to gravitate towards each other when they won the last two immunities really congratulating each other.

I think Gabler had a great tribal but no one called him out on anything. If Cass had never gotten a vote and tried to use that, she likely gets a different response like a well that’s because you weren’t a threat. I think Gabler gave them a reason not to vote for Cass.

I guess I just look at it and think that Cass played everything out perfectly in the last 5, 4 and 3 to get exactly what she wanted and Gabler built a fire and nothing else. He was just a here’s who to vote for and Cass put him in the build a fire to get rid of Jesse.

I’m always more of a fan of people winning the game but this jury did seem a bit bitter, not in their questions, but they absolutely did not want to vote for Cass and to a lesser degree Owen. It still boggles my mind, unless they were bitter, that Jesse and Karla couldn’t acknowledge that Cass saw through them and was responsible for getting them out. A lot of times that gets kudos but definitely not last night.

That said, Gabler was fun and his donation was awesome.

 

[stbugs]

Also, to @offdee I do think the removal of Ryan thing was the only real ding but let’s be honest, it wasn’t Gabler. Jesse and Cody just used him as a vote.

Yep, agreed. But Cassie's big theme of her speech was that "she was always in the know and on the right side of the votes". Well that was discredited a bit by that one little comment and Gabler took the opportunity to jump on board with Jessie and Cody as part of the Ride or Die alliance which Cassie wasn't aware of.

100% hurt bad. I do think they were looking for something negative and Gabler was a wow, alli-Gabler so funny type of response. No one called him on not being a threat or just going to wherever the votes are just tell me who to write down.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Something about the Jesse story seems off. Juvie to Berkeley then duke?

 

[Runkle]

Something about the Jesse story seems off. Juvie to Berkeley then duke?

He just rubbed me the wrong way... like, he made it seem like he needed the money too much, which made him hard to watch. Because I didn't want him to win but he always made it sound like his kids would die if he didn't win. I don't need the existential angst in my reality shows. I definitely want people who are trying to win, sure, but, not so much that it's like The Running Man if they lose.