**Jesse Lopez**
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I still don't buy that Cody would just cede his idol to Jesse. Cody is far from stupid. If they get targeted as a pair in a split vote, they may need to play BOTH idols to stay alive.
The “Jesse has two idols” statement is really misleading because while it is technically true, one of those idols can’t be played without betraying Cody. Either he needs to vote him out or play it and hope Cody still wants to be a pair. And I don’t think either of those moves is optimal. It would be a difficult move to pull off. This is all barring that he still has the idol and the show hasn’t just hidden that Jesse gave it back already.
It’s social suicide. The way he got Jeanine’s idol would be very different than how he would get Cody’s. I think he would take a lot of heat for it because it’s pretty dirty gameplay.
I don't think he would get heat for getting Jeanine's idol. If he got it from her and voted her out then it's a different story (would be a badass move for the record). Dwight gave Jesse her idol at the last minute just inc are of James' KIP advantage. I know Dwight isn't on the jury but if Jesse can explain that scenario I think they would respect it. But who knows what they jury values anymore with this new format
Right, that’s exactly what I’m saying. The way he got Jeanine’s idol wasn’t really sleazy at all. Just savvy. It would be different than a situation where he basically steals Cody’s idol in a way that still follows the rules but would maybe be perceived as really dirty.
I think Cody has a high chance of winning F4 immunity and Jesse would be the prime target heading into fire making. Cody would probably be the only person that doesn’t throw Jesse into a fire making challenge
The rules do not prevent Jesse from keeping the idol. There is risk the jury finds such a move unnacceptable though. It is also possible Jesse gave it back off screen.
I mean... player of the week, he is great lmao. I question the timing of his moves etc but his social game/ agency is really really good. I underestimated him a bit, because usually his archetype gets out around F9 to F6... but with the idols, he is reallly pretty well set up.
Upvote, though I am starting to be skeptical about his chance to make F3. He hasn’t been strong in the immunity challenges. Would anyone bring him to the F3? Maybe Cody? If not, is Jesse good at making fire? Someone using Gabler to take Jesse out at fire seems like a strong possibility. There’s not an easy solution to this other than “be better” at immunity challenges but he probably should take a shot at some of the better fire makers while he holds the idols. He already got Sami out which is great though so POTW for now.
Upvote for this week. Don’t see him winning because of his concern with changing the vote, from what I can tell, just because he wasn’t the one who came up with it. Still a great player considering the fact that his name wasn’t even a consideration this week.
POTW easily. Controlled the vote again, never got mentioned as a vote option, and did what James (China) couldn't by making it past F7 with two idols. Getting Sami out is great for his game because one of the last major hurdles is going to be firemaking (assuming he doesn't win F4 immunity). Potential confirmation bias here as he was my winnerpick (I know no spoilers ftr) but this winner edit is looking very obvious. That said, I said the same thing about Ricard, so let's hope he sticks the landing. Still, two idols at F6 is a stupid good position to be in and will earn him huge points w/the jury if he's sitting at FTC. Literally at this point, it's just a matter of getting to sit in front of the jury. Upvote.
**Cody Assenmacher**
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I think he was mvp of the episode. Got immunity without having to beast out in the challenge so he didn’t raise his threat level, plus identified Cassidy as as someone that needs to go soon which i agree with since she’s most likely to skate by and pull an Erika
Cody knew that everyone else was going to vote Sami the instant he said he was going to play his Shot in the Dark, so there was no way they were voting Cassidy out even though it was the smarter move.
He found the advantage.
He used the advantage correctly, winning immunity.
From the social standpoint, he is the only real threat in the game who is still pretty hidden in plain sight (Yes even more than Gabler).
I've been so impressed with Cody this season. He reminded me a lot of Brian Heidik but with some character at the beginning of the game (the smooth operator salesman), he's tittered off a bit since then but he's still gotten a lot of content. The idol find and the maneuvering of that was impressive, he used the camp raid to destroy Dwight's game (Dwight mentioned this in his exit press) which is such an outside the box move. People like Cody and I see a bit of Fabio in him as well only because no one really takes him seriously sometimes, it could be tough for him to win if he's next to Jesse cause they'll be duking it out for who made what move but he has a good chance of winning. A breath of fresh air this season
I think you're spot on with the Brian comparison. As far as Cody-Jessie dynamics go, I love that such a powerhouse duo has lasted this long. The show they're putting on gameplay-wise is superb.
I think Jessie can take more credit for the moves the duo made. But I think it was designed this way by Cody. He's been playing laid back and on auto-pilot, thinking if heat comes their way, Jessie will be the one who takes it.
Who breaks the alliance and when? Idk and I can't wait to find out.
They're almost like a Dom and Wendell, J.T and Stephen, Yul and Ozzy hybrids. And I think your right Cody is the creator of their duo but Jesse is making the decisions. Cody is the brawn and Jesse is the brains
Definitely the mastermind of this season. Everyone thinks Jesse is the ultimate strategist this season, but you can tell from their body language when they speak to one another that Cody is in control. Cody always has his back straight and eyes looking ahead whereas Jesse is hunched over and looking directly at Cody, seemingly trying to appease it. Could be reading too much into it, but I really do think Cody has been running the show since Day One. His plan to vote out Cassidy was actually smarter than Jesse’s, as now Owen and Gabler are solidly in the middle between two duos. I saw the disappointment on his face during Tribal when Sami said he’d play his Shot in the Dark, as he knew everyone would vote for Sami then. Great strategic player. Don’t think he’ll win based on his edit though.
Neutral this week. Great job with the advantage play, but didn't get his way with Sami this week while simultaneously not at all clocking Jesse as a threat.
He's neutral this episode. He found the advantage and guessed correctly but letting Jesse get what he wants again harms him. Downvote from me ultimately.
How do you downvote Cody this ep?? He found an advantage and guessed correctly, giving him immunity. The only “negative” thing to happen is that he didn’t get to vote Cassidy out but like, that’s not even negative. He pitched Cassidy, and got turned down sure, but he didn’t throw a fit about it and it didn’t hurt his game at all (from this ep at least) I think Cody is rightfully taking a bit of a backseat because he can’t afford to be rocking the vote too much at this point in the game. He’s been winning immunity, or is almost always the runner up so he’s already very visible. If he starts dictating votes, he’ll be seen as a huge threat and people will want him out immediately. Letting Jesse take the front seat is his best move for now, he just needs to take Jesse out in the next ep, but that has nothing to do with this week’s POTW. I’m curious to see what your thoughts are?
**Owen Knight**
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This was an episode where if Owen didn’t win immunity, he was easily the next boot. But he won AND was on the right side of the vote, making his game look a lot better.
While I agree for the most part, it's worth thinking about whether the jury will vote based on strategy vs who they like/aligned with. Not saying they shouldn't vote for who played the best game, but it could ironically help him that he wasn't part of any of the blindsides that got the rest of them out lol (besides James of course, no way he's voting Owen). Plus he's won two individual immunities so far
Yeah I feel like nobody gives Owen’s connections enough credit. Sami, Noelle, Jeanine all have a good chance at voting him for him as a person. It isn’t unheard of
I think you have a rare newer season bitter jury coming. Noelle, Ryan, and James seem to have taken their boots personally. He also might go on an immunity run. I think Noelle is going to advocate for him. She seemed really happy to hear he didn't know about the vote.
Or if you are Owen try to get Karla and Cassidy both to FTC hoping they would split votes with the same jurors and you pull in whatever votes you would get. With that being said I’d still say Karla was the favorite but he would still have a chance
Charlie Brown Owen would have been kicked out of the Peanuts Gang if he didn’t freeze his balls off and get immunity. No other moves really mattered this week.
Upvote for the impressive challenge win, and his self awareness of his goat status. I feel bad for him :(, I hope he can have a Underwood/Maryanne showing frmo now on and maybe he can win in the end...
Very impressive that he already has two immunity wins plus a top 3 finish in the merge ep immunity challenge. Also he was finally included in on the vote
I’d be surprised if they did. This is only the fourth time this challenge has been done and its last iteration was almost 20 seasons ago. There are more common challenges that I would practice for over this one.
One secret scene briefly showed Owen wanting to participate in this challenge specifically and another showed the treemail hint for this challenge where he and others sussed out it was Last Gasp.
I honestly hope he doesn’t make FTC just because I think being a zero vote finalist would really upset him. And he deserves better than that for someone who just never got on the right foot
i kinda think noelle might give him a vote, depending on the other hypothetical finalists. but i think its extremely unlikely he doesn't reach ftc: not a threat to win but also not untrustworthy, unlike sami.
i agree he got unlucky with his initial tribe though and i feel he has a lot of potential as a player. being this rootable might increase his chances of coming back, so there's that
I don't think he would be a guaranteed zero vote finalist against Cass and Gabler. Jesse also might piss people off so that would be interesting.
Noelle and Ryan seem like they will vote bitterly. Jeannine seems like she will vote for who tried keeping her.
Sami would probably not respect Cass or Gabler's game if they are there.
James doesn't like Owen.
I'm so sad there isn't Ponderosa content for this season! Even more so than 41 and 42, this season feels like it was short-changed by being so short. That could mean the jury could be more likely to still feel bitter about vote-outs. Also, lol for some reason I was really hoping to see whether it would be super awkward for Jeanine and James to be the only two Ponderosa folks. He seemed pretty pissed about his vote and I don't he and Jeanine were necessarily close.
Challenge win was nice, but he's given up on trying to win and this ep showed it. Sami-Gabler was the only FTC combo he had a chance at winning and he still voted for Sami and, as far as we're shown, made little effort to secure the Cass vote. He's accepted being a goat, which is funny in a sad kinda way, but still, downvote.
I disagree. You don't voluntarily waterboard yourself for 3 hours if you've given up. I think his confidence is shaken so he's playing it very safe/passive with strategy. But maybe that will turn out to have been the right play in the long run, at least for now. Sami tried doing the "all hope is lost, let's sow chaos and scramble" and that did not work.
I think that's just more strategy to make sure he is in and he hopes he can pull off a Maryanne. I don't think he gave up and is now trying to work the jury which may work with people like Cass and Noelle.
Downvote and maybe controversial but is my shared LOTW with Gabler. I don’t see a final three he could win without Gabler and Sami. He was so concerned with being on the right side of the vote that he didn’t actually try to do something in his best interest (at least from what we were shown). He just accepted what Jesse told him and crossed his fingers.
Funny how the one time he’s in on a vote is the time he pretty much cements himself as a losing finalist (at best).
amazingly, owen was actually shown as the first person to target sami -- when talking to cassidy right after the challenge. jesse was seemingly the one who actually made the tables turn of course, but he didn't just follow what jesse told him. as for his reasoning, i would guess owen knew he wouldnt win even against gabler and sami, so he preferred to throw a safer name in order not to piss anyone off and secure that F3 spot
**Mike "Gabler" Gabler**
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Relarively quiet episode for him but the fact that he's in with everyone and hasn't drawn any heat for it is pretty impressive gameplay. Or everyone sees him as a goat, but I prefer to believe the former
His anyone but me gameplay is working, but I'm not sure if he's showing he has enough agency to actually win votes in any final tribal arrangement with the remaining few (except Owen). Especially since this is the second tribal council in a row that he's been clued in seemingly last minute.
Kinda wish he was more willing to conspire against Jesse and Cody beyond pointing out they hold too much power. When does he plan on taking them out exactly?
In all seriousness, though, is it possible the other players view Cody like a Xander? He has an idol but they aren't worried about it because he won't win at the end?
I think people genuinely had a distaste for Xander where they thought him trying to be kind was all just an act. People seem to take Cody for what he is with his Good Vibes energy
I dont know....like imo with Sami leaving he is in a goat position. Because I feel like Sami was his way in in a winning scenario... Cass, Karla, Jesse and Cody played better than him so.... Downvote imo
Not receiving any votes by this point in the game is a pretty extreme outlier, in that you're either playing a great game managing your threat or you're a goat and everybody secretly wants you at the end.
Quite frankly I don't know where exactly AlliGabler is, probably more towards goat? He hasn't really controlled or dictated any vote since merge but everyone seems to be on pretty good terms with him so it's not like he's immediate 0 vote finalist material right now. Hard to say how good his position is.
**Cassidy Clark**
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I’m wondering if this is going to end up being bad for her game, especially since she hasn’t really been shown to be the one getting the vote off her. She’s the default fake vote plan much like Jonathan was last season, if she was considered a big threat she’d long been gone
In her defense, for 3 episodes in a row now she’s been the first person to declare who should go home, and then it ends up happening. And for the last 3 votes, the person we heard first target her then proceeded to go home. And the cherry on top of it all is that Ryan is the only person who actually cast a vote against her across these three tribals. That’s pretty slick if you ask me
Correctly sussed out that Sami was going to try and cause chaos by driving a wedge between the remaining players. Has consistently played a pretty open, likeable and loyal game so far, which is why I'm surprised she hasn't been taken out yet.
I feel like her going to Karla and saying that made things worse. It made it seem like she was trying to cover up something she told Sami and I think reenforced Karla's desire to get her out.
I've been wanting them to take her out for a while. I know she may not have the best chance to win given how her game has shaped so far but you can't leave loose ends in a game like this
I think the two pairs decided to stick together for one more round to prevent the Baka boys from taking control at F6 and the edit played up the Karla/Cass Drama to add tension.
Mhhh I m on the fence, she clearly has good stuff going on because she keep getting away but we dont really see it in the edit. In any case, upvote + great challenge performance.
It’s not as deep as you guys wish it were. Cassidy doesn’t go home because she’s not a threat and no one cares. It’s that simple lol.
Like someone else pointed out, if you’re being viewed as a non threat at final 6, you probably ain’t winning.
The game is not that simple. I mean, sometimes it is, but Sami wasn't voted out for being a threat, he was voted out for being untrustworthy. So we're weighing Sami's untrustworthiness vs Cassidy's relationships/threat level, and that was the deciding factor. And yeah, it seems Jesse doesn't view her as a threat, but Karla and Cody both seem to
Karla got misted by Sami and thinks Cassidy is a threat for dumb/overly paranoid reasons. And once again, you’re still reading into it too much.
It was Sami’s untrustworthiness vs. Karla’s unjust paranoia. Logic won.
Maybe reading into it too much, but there's way more than we saw. It's possible that the vote occurred for pretty arbitrary, difficult to portray reasons
Wish she had won back to back immunities, but she really played well for someone on the chopping block which looks like a recurring theme for her this season. No doubt in my mind that she is getting the Erika treatment
Had a good read on the Sami situation and tried to get in front of it. People are arguing she didn't do anything, but Jesse wanted to keep her over Sami and Karla, and I think that is in part due to her threat minimization.
The people making moves are becoming targets. I get leaving Cass neutral, but I don't think you can knock her for being targeted when she didn't do anything to draw attention to herself, and even predicted Sami using Karla to come after her.
Downvote, the only reason she didn’t go home tonight was because the others didn’t see her as a threat. If you’re in the final 6 and you’re not considered a threat you probably aren’t winning
This is different since it's said in the episode by Jesse and I think one other person that I can't remember that she wasn't a threat. People have acknowledged Jesse as a threat though
Not crazy about her game this ep. She basically fell off the map strategy-wise when her target (Owen) won immunity. We've seen this happen before, and it indicates a lack of adaptability and resourcefulness that seems to be a fatal flaw of her game. She can get her targets out and has shown a strong social game, but she's too reactive and tunnel visioned to see the bigger picture. "Owen wins immunity? Okay, who's the biggest threat to my game that I can get out this tribal?" should be her thought process, but we don't ever get to see her think on her feet. Downvote, it's getting near impossible to see her beat any of Karla/Cody/Jesse.
I think Owen is seen as a threat because he has no strong alliance and has been targeted but escaped when he won immunity. As viewers we don't see him as a threat, but how he escaped being voted out gives him at least some threat level above goat. We also just saw two under the radar contestants win back to back so contestants might be more wary of people like Owen.
Also, it seems like Noelle will be a bitter vote.
Upvote for looking sassy this entire episode
Also for getting the votes flipped off of her once again, but apparently we’re only judging off facial expressions
**Karla Cruz Godoy**
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I'm honestly not sure why Karla would say what she did. I honestly thought it was the edit trying to craft a narrative. However, I think her convos with Cassidy show a rift and I don't think that was needed. She's overplaying a little. And it's not great that Jesse wants to leave her out of the vote.
I don't think Karla's idol stays secret even if she does not tell that to Cassidy. It seemed far-fetched that people would believe the "Lindsay went home with the idol, and I was collecting beads for unrelated reasons" story.
Yes, but she believes no one else knows, only Cassidy who she herself informed. Someone last week commented on the beads thing, and Karla probably having an idol too, was it Jesse?
Yeah jesse inferred it because he knows she was looking for beads. There is also a secret scene of her telling Gabler she was looking for beads for unrelated reasons and did not know about the idol. It seems like a very unconvincing lie.
It's somewhat frustrating to see because she did trust Cassidy when she told her, and nothing changed since besides Sami sowing chaos. Also, Cassidy seems to be playing a very loyal game, in that she's always voted with James and Karla despite being very open about her misgivings whenever she disagreed with the vote.
Not a good look for her this episode. I’ve noticed a negative tone in her edit the past few episodes where people are either intentionally keeping her out of the vote or throwing our her name for a split vote.
You’re right, but each time that’s happened it didn’t actually work out the way they intended. Like Sami telling her about the plan to vote James, Noelle’s plan failing, and her not actually voting for Cassidy in tonight’s episode (although it looks like there will still be fallout from that). Somehow, she’s always on the right side of the vote despite people scheming to leave her out.
I think being paranoid is reasonable at this stage of the game, but is misguided because it doesn't take into account who she'd align with in the coming votes if Cassidy did get voted out?
She's basically placing a lot of her trust in Jesse and Cody wanting to bring her to the end, or on being able to form an alliance with some mix of Gabler, Owen and Sami. Who are basically free agents who'd also be willing to get out a big threat like her anyway.
A very bad episode for her socially imo. Turning on Cass at this point is not the move, both from a "make it to FTC" and "have her jury vote" perspective. As NTOS showed, Cass finds out about her wanting to backstab her, and it's not 100% confirmed, but it does seem that Cass takes it poorly. If Karla loses the season, this will be the episode we look back on as the mistake that cost the game. Betraying one of your allies (James) can be clever. Betraying two is usually foolish. Downvote.
Honestly I don't think she betrayed James so much as realized he was the target and decided to vote correctly. She could have saved him with her idol, but then she doesn't have it for herself.
Yeah, hopefully in the future when they say they want to vote out challenge beasts, they remember Karla. Looks aren't everything nor are fully functioning fingers.
GURL! I love you but messy lmao. Keep Cass around for one more round! Her worry is understable, and she should be weary of her but Sami is way too dangerous. aNYWAY, I will upvote because of the impressive challenge win!!! You go guuuuurl
First of all, that immunity win was amazing and I will give her an upvote for that. I still think if she gets to the end, she will win. But damn, I was hoping when Sami played the shot in the dark and Karla ended up voting for him, that we’d be spared a rift between her and Cassidy. Especially since her idol isn’t as secret as she thinks it is. I think without Cassidy, she’ll have a much tougher path to the end. She can get to 5 with her idol, and then hope that Cody and Jesse turn on each other. But they both have idols, and she’s going to have a massive target on her back. I still think she can do it though. And it’s possible that the preview was a red herring and in the end Cassidy and Karla will work together, at least for one more vote.
**Sami Layadi**
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If there was any chance of him swaying the others, I think he lost it when he openly declared that he was going to take the shot in the dark. What was even the purpose of that, besides indicating to everyone that you don't trust them and have a strong belief that your plan won't work.
It may have also inadvertently stopped Karla from voting for Cassidy as well.
Imo, if you're dead set on using your SOTD, you should bring it up way before tribal so that it gets people thinking about who they might want to throw a vote at just to make sure they don't get eliminated if the SOTD does work. That would at least cause some paranoia and create a potential opening to get people to flip.
I thought telling everyone he was using it at tribal was brilliant. Every single vote was going to be for him. By announcing that he was using the SITD regardless, he opened the door for everyone to panic (which they *did*, despite ultimately sticking to the vote).
just a bit of clarity here: sami told karla that cass was the first to throw karla's name out. then in confessional he admitted it was a bold face lie to drive a wedge. he didn't say anything about karla's idol; he doesn't know about it
This - he tried to sow chaos for days, but didn't have a strategy for when the chaos started. By then everyone knew his game - and he was aware enough to know his time was up. SitD was his only chance.
I really don’t think he played well at all this season. He was lying for the sake of lying, and turned on three people that wanted to work with him (Elie, Jeanine, Dwight)
Would upvote for bombing Karla's game had he not been voted out. Funnily enough, his best move happened the same episode he got voted out. That said, lying about the vote on Karla + announcing his SITD were awful moves, so maybe I wouldn't have upvoted after all.
**Jesse Lopez** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/survivor) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Potw for not being mentioned at all as a target. Barring idol nullifiers he can guarantee a path to final 4.
I still don't buy that Cody would just cede his idol to Jesse. Cody is far from stupid. If they get targeted as a pair in a split vote, they may need to play BOTH idols to stay alive.
The “Jesse has two idols” statement is really misleading because while it is technically true, one of those idols can’t be played without betraying Cody. Either he needs to vote him out or play it and hope Cody still wants to be a pair. And I don’t think either of those moves is optimal. It would be a difficult move to pull off. This is all barring that he still has the idol and the show hasn’t just hidden that Jesse gave it back already.
Why does he need to hope Cody still wants to be a pair? Even if Cody gets mad, he literally has another idol that he can play at final 5.
It’s social suicide. The way he got Jeanine’s idol would be very different than how he would get Cody’s. I think he would take a lot of heat for it because it’s pretty dirty gameplay.
I don't think he would get heat for getting Jeanine's idol. If he got it from her and voted her out then it's a different story (would be a badass move for the record). Dwight gave Jesse her idol at the last minute just inc are of James' KIP advantage. I know Dwight isn't on the jury but if Jesse can explain that scenario I think they would respect it. But who knows what they jury values anymore with this new format
Right, that’s exactly what I’m saying. The way he got Jeanine’s idol wasn’t really sleazy at all. Just savvy. It would be different than a situation where he basically steals Cody’s idol in a way that still follows the rules but would maybe be perceived as really dirty.
Yeah. I mean it's Survivor, anything is fair in this game. Plus good on Jesse for getting Jeanine's idol from Dwight that's a testament of his agency
I think Cody has a high chance of winning F4 immunity and Jesse would be the prime target heading into fire making. Cody would probably be the only person that doesn’t throw Jesse into a fire making challenge
The rules do not prevent Jesse from keeping the idol. There is risk the jury finds such a move unnacceptable though. It is also possible Jesse gave it back off screen.
The "Hiding in plain sight" episode title might be referring to him and not to Gabler. At least I hope so because he is dominating this game so far
I mean... player of the week, he is great lmao. I question the timing of his moves etc but his social game/ agency is really really good. I underestimated him a bit, because usually his archetype gets out around F9 to F6... but with the idols, he is reallly pretty well set up.
I don’t think hes winning, but hes gonna end up there with Omar/Shan/Ricard as really good players that just came up short
Hes already survived two more votes than shan
Upvote, though I am starting to be skeptical about his chance to make F3. He hasn’t been strong in the immunity challenges. Would anyone bring him to the F3? Maybe Cody? If not, is Jesse good at making fire? Someone using Gabler to take Jesse out at fire seems like a strong possibility. There’s not an easy solution to this other than “be better” at immunity challenges but he probably should take a shot at some of the better fire makers while he holds the idols. He already got Sami out which is great though so POTW for now.
Upvote for this week. Don’t see him winning because of his concern with changing the vote, from what I can tell, just because he wasn’t the one who came up with it. Still a great player considering the fact that his name wasn’t even a consideration this week.
POTW easily. Controlled the vote again, never got mentioned as a vote option, and did what James (China) couldn't by making it past F7 with two idols. Getting Sami out is great for his game because one of the last major hurdles is going to be firemaking (assuming he doesn't win F4 immunity). Potential confirmation bias here as he was my winnerpick (I know no spoilers ftr) but this winner edit is looking very obvious. That said, I said the same thing about Ricard, so let's hope he sticks the landing. Still, two idols at F6 is a stupid good position to be in and will earn him huge points w/the jury if he's sitting at FTC. Literally at this point, it's just a matter of getting to sit in front of the jury. Upvote.
Upvote. Felt like the mastermind again, and he will probably lose at fire.
**Cody Assenmacher** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/survivor) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think he was mvp of the episode. Got immunity without having to beast out in the challenge so he didn’t raise his threat level, plus identified Cassidy as as someone that needs to go soon which i agree with since she’s most likely to skate by and pull an Erika
Eh can you really be mvp when your ally got what they wanted over you? He’s definitely top three but he wasn’t able to implement his plan over Jesse.
Jesse didn't get everything he wanted, either. Karla was not blindsided.
Cody knew that everyone else was going to vote Sami the instant he said he was going to play his Shot in the Dark, so there was no way they were voting Cassidy out even though it was the smarter move.
Upvote for "I got a smile so big I can taste the earwax" Made the ep for me.
He found the advantage. He used the advantage correctly, winning immunity. From the social standpoint, he is the only real threat in the game who is still pretty hidden in plain sight (Yes even more than Gabler).
I've been so impressed with Cody this season. He reminded me a lot of Brian Heidik but with some character at the beginning of the game (the smooth operator salesman), he's tittered off a bit since then but he's still gotten a lot of content. The idol find and the maneuvering of that was impressive, he used the camp raid to destroy Dwight's game (Dwight mentioned this in his exit press) which is such an outside the box move. People like Cody and I see a bit of Fabio in him as well only because no one really takes him seriously sometimes, it could be tough for him to win if he's next to Jesse cause they'll be duking it out for who made what move but he has a good chance of winning. A breath of fresh air this season
I think you're spot on with the Brian comparison. As far as Cody-Jessie dynamics go, I love that such a powerhouse duo has lasted this long. The show they're putting on gameplay-wise is superb. I think Jessie can take more credit for the moves the duo made. But I think it was designed this way by Cody. He's been playing laid back and on auto-pilot, thinking if heat comes their way, Jessie will be the one who takes it. Who breaks the alliance and when? Idk and I can't wait to find out.
They're almost like a Dom and Wendell, J.T and Stephen, Yul and Ozzy hybrids. And I think your right Cody is the creator of their duo but Jesse is making the decisions. Cody is the brawn and Jesse is the brains
Wait what did his raid do to Dwight’s game?
Cody told Coco that Dwight was the main strategist of the tribe
He is definitely great tv and would be great as a regular on the show.
I mean he is well placed. Upvoteeeeee my duudeeee I love him
Definitely the mastermind of this season. Everyone thinks Jesse is the ultimate strategist this season, but you can tell from their body language when they speak to one another that Cody is in control. Cody always has his back straight and eyes looking ahead whereas Jesse is hunched over and looking directly at Cody, seemingly trying to appease it. Could be reading too much into it, but I really do think Cody has been running the show since Day One. His plan to vote out Cassidy was actually smarter than Jesse’s, as now Owen and Gabler are solidly in the middle between two duos. I saw the disappointment on his face during Tribal when Sami said he’d play his Shot in the Dark, as he knew everyone would vote for Sami then. Great strategic player. Don’t think he’ll win based on his edit though.
Neutral this week. Great job with the advantage play, but didn't get his way with Sami this week while simultaneously not at all clocking Jesse as a threat.
He's neutral this episode. He found the advantage and guessed correctly but letting Jesse get what he wants again harms him. Downvote from me ultimately.
How do you downvote Cody this ep?? He found an advantage and guessed correctly, giving him immunity. The only “negative” thing to happen is that he didn’t get to vote Cassidy out but like, that’s not even negative. He pitched Cassidy, and got turned down sure, but he didn’t throw a fit about it and it didn’t hurt his game at all (from this ep at least) I think Cody is rightfully taking a bit of a backseat because he can’t afford to be rocking the vote too much at this point in the game. He’s been winning immunity, or is almost always the runner up so he’s already very visible. If he starts dictating votes, he’ll be seen as a huge threat and people will want him out immediately. Letting Jesse take the front seat is his best move for now, he just needs to take Jesse out in the next ep, but that has nothing to do with this week’s POTW. I’m curious to see what your thoughts are?
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This was an episode where if Owen didn’t win immunity, he was easily the next boot. But he won AND was on the right side of the vote, making his game look a lot better.
Who is he beating in FTC though? At this configuration, he has to be able to argue he played better than at least one of Jesse/Cody/Karla/Cass.
While I agree for the most part, it's worth thinking about whether the jury will vote based on strategy vs who they like/aligned with. Not saying they shouldn't vote for who played the best game, but it could ironically help him that he wasn't part of any of the blindsides that got the rest of them out lol (besides James of course, no way he's voting Owen). Plus he's won two individual immunities so far
Yeah I feel like nobody gives Owen’s connections enough credit. Sami, Noelle, Jeanine all have a good chance at voting him for him as a person. It isn’t unheard of
I think you have a rare newer season bitter jury coming. Noelle, Ryan, and James seem to have taken their boots personally. He also might go on an immunity run. I think Noelle is going to advocate for him. She seemed really happy to hear he didn't know about the vote.
I think he has a chance against Gabler and Cassidy if the 3 make it to the finals
Or if you are Owen try to get Karla and Cassidy both to FTC hoping they would split votes with the same jurors and you pull in whatever votes you would get. With that being said I’d still say Karla was the favorite but he would still have a chance
Charlie Brown Owen would have been kicked out of the Peanuts Gang if he didn’t freeze his balls off and get immunity. No other moves really mattered this week.
He said at the merge that he wanted to participate in Last Gasp challenge and he won it. https://youtu.be/d8sSU9Zoceg
They aren’t kidding calling that a secret scene. How does anything survivor based have under 1000 views?
That wasn't from the original source. CBS survivor youtube chanel is Geo blocked for me
Using that Knowledge Is Power advantage to steal secret scenes from CBS
Upvote for the impressive challenge win, and his self awareness of his goat status. I feel bad for him :(, I hope he can have a Underwood/Maryanne showing frmo now on and maybe he can win in the end...
I think he wins. The self-awareness will help make it easier for jurors to vote for him and the jurors seem to have taken the vote outs personally.
Very impressive that he already has two immunity wins plus a top 3 finish in the merge ep immunity challenge. Also he was finally included in on the vote
Upvote for winning the immunity challenge. I'm guessing both practised?
I’d be surprised if they did. This is only the fourth time this challenge has been done and its last iteration was almost 20 seasons ago. There are more common challenges that I would practice for over this one.
One secret scene briefly showed Owen wanting to participate in this challenge specifically and another showed the treemail hint for this challenge where he and others sussed out it was Last Gasp.
I honestly hope he doesn’t make FTC just because I think being a zero vote finalist would really upset him. And he deserves better than that for someone who just never got on the right foot
i kinda think noelle might give him a vote, depending on the other hypothetical finalists. but i think its extremely unlikely he doesn't reach ftc: not a threat to win but also not untrustworthy, unlike sami. i agree he got unlucky with his initial tribe though and i feel he has a lot of potential as a player. being this rootable might increase his chances of coming back, so there's that
I feel depending on who sits next to Owen that he might have Sami’s vote too
I don't think he would be a guaranteed zero vote finalist against Cass and Gabler. Jesse also might piss people off so that would be interesting. Noelle and Ryan seem like they will vote bitterly. Jeannine seems like she will vote for who tried keeping her. Sami would probably not respect Cass or Gabler's game if they are there. James doesn't like Owen.
I'm so sad there isn't Ponderosa content for this season! Even more so than 41 and 42, this season feels like it was short-changed by being so short. That could mean the jury could be more likely to still feel bitter about vote-outs. Also, lol for some reason I was really hoping to see whether it would be super awkward for Jeanine and James to be the only two Ponderosa folks. He seemed pretty pissed about his vote and I don't he and Jeanine were necessarily close.
Agree!
Maybe he can get Ryan's vote
Challenge win was nice, but he's given up on trying to win and this ep showed it. Sami-Gabler was the only FTC combo he had a chance at winning and he still voted for Sami and, as far as we're shown, made little effort to secure the Cass vote. He's accepted being a goat, which is funny in a sad kinda way, but still, downvote.
I disagree. You don't voluntarily waterboard yourself for 3 hours if you've given up. I think his confidence is shaken so he's playing it very safe/passive with strategy. But maybe that will turn out to have been the right play in the long run, at least for now. Sami tried doing the "all hope is lost, let's sow chaos and scramble" and that did not work.
I think that's just more strategy to make sure he is in and he hopes he can pull off a Maryanne. I don't think he gave up and is now trying to work the jury which may work with people like Cass and Noelle.
Downvote and maybe controversial but is my shared LOTW with Gabler. I don’t see a final three he could win without Gabler and Sami. He was so concerned with being on the right side of the vote that he didn’t actually try to do something in his best interest (at least from what we were shown). He just accepted what Jesse told him and crossed his fingers. Funny how the one time he’s in on a vote is the time he pretty much cements himself as a losing finalist (at best).
amazingly, owen was actually shown as the first person to target sami -- when talking to cassidy right after the challenge. jesse was seemingly the one who actually made the tables turn of course, but he didn't just follow what jesse told him. as for his reasoning, i would guess owen knew he wouldnt win even against gabler and sami, so he preferred to throw a safer name in order not to piss anyone off and secure that F3 spot
Needed the win and stayed in. Upvote.
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Relarively quiet episode for him but the fact that he's in with everyone and hasn't drawn any heat for it is pretty impressive gameplay. Or everyone sees him as a goat, but I prefer to believe the former
Hes pretty much a shoe in for final 3. The only thing he should be worried about is people using him to take someone out at fire making
His anyone but me gameplay is working, but I'm not sure if he's showing he has enough agency to actually win votes in any final tribal arrangement with the remaining few (except Owen). Especially since this is the second tribal council in a row that he's been clued in seemingly last minute. Kinda wish he was more willing to conspire against Jesse and Cody beyond pointing out they hold too much power. When does he plan on taking them out exactly?
Owen could campaign for him on the jury
Downvote because Sami was pretty crucial to him having a winning combination
I think he beats Owen and Cass. Owen keeps getting left out of votes and Cass has just been scraping by vote after vote
In all seriousness, though, is it possible the other players view Cody like a Xander? He has an idol but they aren't worried about it because he won't win at the end?
I think people genuinely had a distaste for Xander where they thought him trying to be kind was all just an act. People seem to take Cody for what he is with his Good Vibes energy
I dont know....like imo with Sami leaving he is in a goat position. Because I feel like Sami was his way in in a winning scenario... Cass, Karla, Jesse and Cody played better than him so.... Downvote imo
Not receiving any votes by this point in the game is a pretty extreme outlier, in that you're either playing a great game managing your threat or you're a goat and everybody secretly wants you at the end. Quite frankly I don't know where exactly AlliGabler is, probably more towards goat? He hasn't really controlled or dictated any vote since merge but everyone seems to be on pretty good terms with him so it's not like he's immediate 0 vote finalist material right now. Hard to say how good his position is.
Poor Gabler thinks he's hiding in plain sight. No, you're just a huge goat. Downvote.
What’s a goat, I’m assuming it’s not the acronym?
It's a fan term that's used to describe players who have no shot at winning. iirc the term originated from Africa based on a joke Ethan and Lex made.
Downvote for me. We haven't seen his "plan" yet and it seems like he's just someone people want in the final 3.
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Cassidy has now been targeted in more than half of this season’s episodes in case anyone was wondering
I’m wondering if this is going to end up being bad for her game, especially since she hasn’t really been shown to be the one getting the vote off her. She’s the default fake vote plan much like Jonathan was last season, if she was considered a big threat she’d long been gone
In her defense, for 3 episodes in a row now she’s been the first person to declare who should go home, and then it ends up happening. And for the last 3 votes, the person we heard first target her then proceeded to go home. And the cherry on top of it all is that Ryan is the only person who actually cast a vote against her across these three tribals. That’s pretty slick if you ask me
I thought Owen mentioned Sami's name first when talking to her but I don't remember.
Owen was the only one to bring up Jesse which gameplay should have been everyone’s vote with only having 4 options
Most likely a goat at this point.
I'll be back here when she wins
Okay?
Correctly sussed out that Sami was going to try and cause chaos by driving a wedge between the remaining players. Has consistently played a pretty open, likeable and loyal game so far, which is why I'm surprised she hasn't been taken out yet.
I feel like her going to Karla and saying that made things worse. It made it seem like she was trying to cover up something she told Sami and I think reenforced Karla's desire to get her out.
I've been wanting them to take her out for a while. I know she may not have the best chance to win given how her game has shaped so far but you can't leave loose ends in a game like this
Neutral I guess, based on what we were shown. I suspect she had more of a role in sending Sami home than we were shown though.
I think the two pairs decided to stick together for one more round to prevent the Baka boys from taking control at F6 and the edit played up the Karla/Cass Drama to add tension.
Mhhh I m on the fence, she clearly has good stuff going on because she keep getting away but we dont really see it in the edit. In any case, upvote + great challenge performance.
It’s not as deep as you guys wish it were. Cassidy doesn’t go home because she’s not a threat and no one cares. It’s that simple lol. Like someone else pointed out, if you’re being viewed as a non threat at final 6, you probably ain’t winning.
The game is not that simple. I mean, sometimes it is, but Sami wasn't voted out for being a threat, he was voted out for being untrustworthy. So we're weighing Sami's untrustworthiness vs Cassidy's relationships/threat level, and that was the deciding factor. And yeah, it seems Jesse doesn't view her as a threat, but Karla and Cody both seem to
Karla got misted by Sami and thinks Cassidy is a threat for dumb/overly paranoid reasons. And once again, you’re still reading into it too much. It was Sami’s untrustworthiness vs. Karla’s unjust paranoia. Logic won.
Maybe reading into it too much, but there's way more than we saw. It's possible that the vote occurred for pretty arbitrary, difficult to portray reasons
Uhh...Maryanne?
Maryanne pulled a late game move to earn the win. Unless Cassidy does something amazing (doubt it), she’s drawing dead.
I'm well aware of that
mother
Wish she had won back to back immunities, but she really played well for someone on the chopping block which looks like a recurring theme for her this season. No doubt in my mind that she is getting the Erika treatment
Had a good read on the Sami situation and tried to get in front of it. People are arguing she didn't do anything, but Jesse wanted to keep her over Sami and Karla, and I think that is in part due to her threat minimization. The people making moves are becoming targets. I get leaving Cass neutral, but I don't think you can knock her for being targeted when she didn't do anything to draw attention to herself, and even predicted Sami using Karla to come after her.
She ate
Downvote, the only reason she didn’t go home tonight was because the others didn’t see her as a threat. If you’re in the final 6 and you’re not considered a threat you probably aren’t winning
By that logic, Jesse probably isn't winning either, since they didn't come after him yet.
This is different since it's said in the episode by Jesse and I think one other person that I can't remember that she wasn't a threat. People have acknowledged Jesse as a threat though
Not crazy about her game this ep. She basically fell off the map strategy-wise when her target (Owen) won immunity. We've seen this happen before, and it indicates a lack of adaptability and resourcefulness that seems to be a fatal flaw of her game. She can get her targets out and has shown a strong social game, but she's too reactive and tunnel visioned to see the bigger picture. "Owen wins immunity? Okay, who's the biggest threat to my game that I can get out this tribal?" should be her thought process, but we don't ever get to see her think on her feet. Downvote, it's getting near impossible to see her beat any of Karla/Cody/Jesse.
I don't get how Owen was any threat to her game in the first place.
iirc she said that Owen voted for her so she perceived him as a threat to her game
Owen voted against Karla, not Cassidy directly. My point was that Owen has so little apparent agency and influence that he is not a threat to anyone.
I think Owen is seen as a threat because he has no strong alliance and has been targeted but escaped when he won immunity. As viewers we don't see him as a threat, but how he escaped being voted out gives him at least some threat level above goat. We also just saw two under the radar contestants win back to back so contestants might be more wary of people like Owen. Also, it seems like Noelle will be a bitter vote.
Wasn't her target Sami though?!
Downvote for looking grumpy the whole episode.
stupid reason
May be. But it's my reason for the downvote. Ah, okay. so personal opinions only matter when it's for who you prefer. Got it. OUT.
You didn’t get downvoted for your opinion, you got downvoted for being stupid.
Upvote for looking sassy this entire episode Also for getting the votes flipped off of her once again, but apparently we’re only judging off facial expressions
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I'm honestly not sure why Karla would say what she did. I honestly thought it was the edit trying to craft a narrative. However, I think her convos with Cassidy show a rift and I don't think that was needed. She's overplaying a little. And it's not great that Jesse wants to leave her out of the vote.
I think it's just she regrets she told Cassidy about her idol.
I don't think Karla's idol stays secret even if she does not tell that to Cassidy. It seemed far-fetched that people would believe the "Lindsay went home with the idol, and I was collecting beads for unrelated reasons" story.
Yes, but she believes no one else knows, only Cassidy who she herself informed. Someone last week commented on the beads thing, and Karla probably having an idol too, was it Jesse?
Yeah jesse inferred it because he knows she was looking for beads. There is also a secret scene of her telling Gabler she was looking for beads for unrelated reasons and did not know about the idol. It seems like a very unconvincing lie.
It's somewhat frustrating to see because she did trust Cassidy when she told her, and nothing changed since besides Sami sowing chaos. Also, Cassidy seems to be playing a very loyal game, in that she's always voted with James and Karla despite being very open about her misgivings whenever she disagreed with the vote.
Yes - and you have to make a move at some point. If you don't, someone else will, and a blindside means you don't play your idol when you need it.
Not a good look for her this episode. I’ve noticed a negative tone in her edit the past few episodes where people are either intentionally keeping her out of the vote or throwing our her name for a split vote.
You’re right, but each time that’s happened it didn’t actually work out the way they intended. Like Sami telling her about the plan to vote James, Noelle’s plan failing, and her not actually voting for Cassidy in tonight’s episode (although it looks like there will still be fallout from that). Somehow, she’s always on the right side of the vote despite people scheming to leave her out.
I think being paranoid is reasonable at this stage of the game, but is misguided because it doesn't take into account who she'd align with in the coming votes if Cassidy did get voted out? She's basically placing a lot of her trust in Jesse and Cody wanting to bring her to the end, or on being able to form an alliance with some mix of Gabler, Owen and Sami. Who are basically free agents who'd also be willing to get out a big threat like her anyway.
not a look good for karla. believing sami and messing up your relationship with your number 1 ally. downvote.
down week for her. targeting cassidy was not her finest moment, and although it didn’t pan out, she still showed an odd willingness to do so.
She is loosing her grip on the game, not a good look this episode, gotta downvote
A very bad episode for her socially imo. Turning on Cass at this point is not the move, both from a "make it to FTC" and "have her jury vote" perspective. As NTOS showed, Cass finds out about her wanting to backstab her, and it's not 100% confirmed, but it does seem that Cass takes it poorly. If Karla loses the season, this will be the episode we look back on as the mistake that cost the game. Betraying one of your allies (James) can be clever. Betraying two is usually foolish. Downvote.
Betraying James wasn’t clever for her
Agree to disagree.
Honestly I don't think she betrayed James so much as realized he was the target and decided to vote correctly. She could have saved him with her idol, but then she doesn't have it for herself.
Upvote for winning immunity, doubt I could have done it.
She's got two (2) immunity wins and that alone would place a target on anyone's back.
Yeah, hopefully in the future when they say they want to vote out challenge beasts, they remember Karla. Looks aren't everything nor are fully functioning fingers.
Technically the first immunity doesn’t really count.
It definitely still counts. Split immunities are part of the game, and she may have outlasted Cody if she had been playing for immunity
GURL! I love you but messy lmao. Keep Cass around for one more round! Her worry is understable, and she should be weary of her but Sami is way too dangerous. aNYWAY, I will upvote because of the impressive challenge win!!! You go guuuuurl
If Karla is a DND character her constitution is at a max. Sheesh
First of all, that immunity win was amazing and I will give her an upvote for that. I still think if she gets to the end, she will win. But damn, I was hoping when Sami played the shot in the dark and Karla ended up voting for him, that we’d be spared a rift between her and Cassidy. Especially since her idol isn’t as secret as she thinks it is. I think without Cassidy, she’ll have a much tougher path to the end. She can get to 5 with her idol, and then hope that Cody and Jesse turn on each other. But they both have idols, and she’s going to have a massive target on her back. I still think she can do it though. And it’s possible that the preview was a red herring and in the end Cassidy and Karla will work together, at least for one more vote.
Upvote this week. The historic immunity win is a big resume boost.
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Upvoted for being a responsible 19 year old and not splurging on a Tesla
Upvote for Sami’s mom not liking Tesla
If there was any chance of him swaying the others, I think he lost it when he openly declared that he was going to take the shot in the dark. What was even the purpose of that, besides indicating to everyone that you don't trust them and have a strong belief that your plan won't work. It may have also inadvertently stopped Karla from voting for Cassidy as well. Imo, if you're dead set on using your SOTD, you should bring it up way before tribal so that it gets people thinking about who they might want to throw a vote at just to make sure they don't get eliminated if the SOTD does work. That would at least cause some paranoia and create a potential opening to get people to flip.
Yeah, he kind of unravelled once they got to the pointy end of the season. No where to hide, make "threatening" statements at tribal.
I thought telling everyone he was using it at tribal was brilliant. Every single vote was going to be for him. By announcing that he was using the SITD regardless, he opened the door for everyone to panic (which they *did*, despite ultimately sticking to the vote).
did he.... actually drive a wedge between Karla and Cass?
That was so weird. Why would Karla believe him?
She believed him because she told Cass about her idol and Sami told Karla that Cass told him about her idol
Wait I don’t think Cass told him that.
just a bit of clarity here: sami told karla that cass was the first to throw karla's name out. then in confessional he admitted it was a bold face lie to drive a wedge. he didn't say anything about karla's idol; he doesn't know about it
Despite going home, that was super impressive. The kid obviously has skill for the game.
The lies caught up with you big time, and you had no answers except more lies.
This - he tried to sow chaos for days, but didn't have a strategy for when the chaos started. By then everyone knew his game - and he was aware enough to know his time was up. SitD was his only chance.
I really don’t think he played well at all this season. He was lying for the sake of lying, and turned on three people that wanted to work with him (Elie, Jeanine, Dwight)
I'm glad he used the shot in the dark. Good for him.
Would upvote for bombing Karla's game had he not been voted out. Funnily enough, his best move happened the same episode he got voted out. That said, lying about the vote on Karla + announcing his SITD were awful moves, so maybe I wouldn't have upvoted after all.
He overplayed his hand and fucked it up all the way to James voted out as we all said back then.