The final five Survivor 43 castaways strived to “get that money, baby” during the finale on Wednesday, Dec. 14, on CBS. However, one was voted out, while another was the latest fire-making victim. And the final three explained why they deserved the title of Sole Survivor during the Final Tribal Council. Read on for a recap of the Survivor 43 finale, including spoilers regarding the winner.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Survivor 43 finale, “Snap Some Necks and Cash Some Checks.”]
Which two castaways left right before the Final Tribal Council in ‘Survivor 43’?
Following Cody Assenmacher’s epic blindside, the final five castaways — Jesse Lopez, Cassidy Clark, Karla Cruz Godoy, Owen Knight, and Mike Gabler — start from scratch on a different beach in Survivor 43. At their new camp, they receive individual envelopes that read “clue to secret advantage.” To get the clue, they have to solve a word scramble.
Karla unlocks the clue first, but Owen is right on her tail. Ultimately, Karla gets the advantage. She opens it up and learns she’ll have an edge at the final five Immunity Challenge, where players must maneuver a buoy, transport blocks over a balance beam, and solve a word puzzle. The winner gets not only immunity but also a food reward. Karla’s advantage is that some of her blocks are already at her last station.
After an intense battle, Owen wins the Immunity Challenge, securing his spot in the final four. He chooses to bring Cassidy with him on the reward. There, the duo contemplates whether they should target Karla or Jesse next. Owen and Cassidy settle on writing Karla’s name down.
Back at camp, Karla pitches to Jesse that they should target Cassidy. However, she reveals in a confessional that she wants to get Jesse out and tries to get Gabler, Owen, and Cassidy to vote for Jesse. Karla even tells Cassidy that she will smear her name to the jury if she leaves. At Tribal Council, Jesse reveals he has Jeanine’s idol. Everyone starts talking in different circles before reconvening.
After the castaways vote, Jesse plays the idol for himself, and everyone votes out Karla, who ends up writing Jesse’s name down, breaking his perfect record.
In the final four Immunity Challenge, the contestants must use a long fork to guide 15 bowls through a structure and stack them on top. Cassidy wins, securing her spot in the final three. At Tribal Council, she brings Owen to the final three, sending Jesse and Gabler to the fire-making challenge. Gabler wins, making Jesse the last jury member.
The final three plead their case to the jury
At the Final Tribal Council, Cassidy, Owen, and Gabler explain to the jury why they should be the Sole Survivor of Survivor 43.
Gabler claims that his game was “relationship-based” and “trust-based.” He had alliances with everyone, but no one had written his name down. And Gabler reveals that the Elie vote made him want to lessen his threat level, which he did by becoming the “Ali-Gabler.” No one ever targeted him, but he had influence over the game.
Cassidy states she always knew where the vote was going, so she was not blindsided the entire season. Her bonds also thrust her forward in the game. And Cassidy is proud that she is the last woman standing. She had a mental checklist of everyone who came after her and targeted them. However, the jury rebuttals Cassidy when she tries to take credit for the Ryan vote.
Owen says he is an underdog that persevered. He also discusses his involvement in the move to send James home and his clutch win during the final five Immunity Challenge. But Owen admits that he wasn’t the driving force behind any votes.
Then, the jury cast their votes for the winner of Survivor 43.
Gabler is the winner of ‘Survivor 43’
Jeff Probst reads the votes and reveals that Gabler is the winner of Survivor 43, disproving spoilers. James voted for Cassidy, while everyone else voted for Gabler.
His win will likely be controversial, given how unexpected and crazy it is. But whatever the case may be, Gabler won for a reason, and he is the reigning Sole Survivor.
Survivor 43 is available to stream on Paramount+, and fans can find spoilers about Survivor 44 on Showbiz Cheat Sheet before the premiere on March 1, 2023.
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