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CBS' Survivor season 43 aired its much awaited finale episode on Wednesday, December 14, at 8 pm ET. The episode began with five contestants giving it their all and fighting for their lives to make it to the final 3 and convince the jury of their game. Karla was the first finalist to be eliminated, followed by Jesse, who lost the fire-making challenge.
Gabler, Cassidy, and Owen tried to convince the jury. However, it was Gabler's pitch about depending on social relationships and forming the right alliances at the right time while staying hidden, that won the jury members over. Fans, for their part, were shocked at his win. One tweeted:
Season 43, hosted by Jeff Probst, began with 18 castaways who participated in several immunity challenges, formulated strategies plus alliances, and pulled out several blindsides plus eliminations. While some were termed easy fan favorites because of their powerful moves this season, others were criticized for some of their gameplay while competing.
The official synopsis of the finale episode, titled Snap Some Necks and Cash Some Checks, read as:
"The remaining five castaways must find the perfect balance in the immunity challenge to make it to the final four; two castaways must make fire in order to earn their seat in the final three, with one player being crowned the title of sole survivor."
Gabler terms himself "alligator hidden underwater," wins CBS' Survivor season 43
Tonight's episode of Survivor saw the five remaining castaways - Jesse, Owen, Karla, Cassidy and Gabler - fight two immunity challenges, the Tribal Council and one fire-making challenge, to outwin each other and earn the coveted title along with the grand cash prize of $1 million. Their first challenge was to find an advantage that they were given a chance to find at the start of the season.
Each of the remaining castaways had a chance to find the advantage after solving a scrambled phrase. While Owen was close to finding it, it was Karla who snatched it at the last minute. However, the former redeemed this loss by winning the first immunity challenge and making it to the final four.
At the first Tribal Council on Survivor, Jesse played his idol and the contestants voted Karla out of the competition. They then got into their second immunity challenge. Cassidy took over the challenge and won a straight ticket to the final 3 with a chance to convince the jury of her game. She also had the power to decide who her two fellow opponents could be.
Cassidy knew that Jesse was a threat and wanted him to lose the fire-making challenge. She pitched Gabler over Owen against Jesse for the challenge because she decided Gabler would be the perfect opponent to not only beat Jesse in the firemaking challenge but also not gain enough glory to take the win from her while convincing the jury.
Her plan worked as Gabler won the fire challenge and Jesse got eliminated. Cassidy, Gabler, and Owen had to convince the Survivor jury of their game. Cassidy explained that she was on the right side of the votes and played a strategic game by aligning with Karla and James from the beginning.
Owen pitched his story as the underdog. He explained how he was consistently on the wrong side of the votes and was left out of most of the votes. He also stated that after being on the vote at the Tribal Council, he had to dig in and start fresh to make his way to the finale.
Gabler, for his part on Survivor, explained that he relied on social relationships and formed alliances with everybody at different stages of the game. He also termed himself as the "alligator hidden underwater," or as was named by his fellow cast members, "AliGabler."
All the jury members, except James, voted for Gabler as the winner. The season champion also donated the entire amount to charity (in aid of war veterans).
Fans shocked as Gabler wins Survivor season 43
Several viewers were shocked at the unexpected turn of events. For them, Gabler had the least chance to win the game. They were as surprised as the winner's fellow finalists, Cassidy and Owen. Check out what they had to say on Twitter below:
Season 43 of Survivor finally came to an end. Viewers have followed each contestant's journey religiously and have made their opinions known on social media. The hit CBS series certainly lived up to its name, considering the diverse castaways with varied life experiences, power moves, blindsides, and more.
Season 44 of Survivor premieres on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, on CBS.
