Survivor featured the merged Gaia Tribe voting out Jeanine Zheng at Tribal Council and a shocking revelation about Jeanine's idol during the Season 43 episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.

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Jeanine, a 24-year-old UX designer from South Hamilton, MA, was voted out of Survivor on Night 16 of the game in a split 9-2 vote at Tribal Council instead of Ryan Medrano, a 25-year-old warehouse associate from Savannah, GA, who currently resides in El Paso, TX.

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"Dwight leaving with my idol had a major impact on my game," Jeanine said in her final words, not knowing that her idol was actually in the possession of a different player.

"But I can't look back on any of it and not smile. I truly do feel like I learned more about myself in these last 16 days and I challenged myself physically, mentally and in every possible way. I can't describe it any more than gratitude and contentment.

The Survivor broadcast began on Night 14 at Gaia's camp following Tribal Council in which Dwight Moore had been voted out of the game.

Cody Assenmacher, a 35-year-old in elevator sales from Preston, IA, who currently resides in Honolulu, HI, celebrated how he and Jesse Lopez, a 30-year-old with a Political Science PhD from Venice, CA, who currently resides in Durham, NC, had managed to pull off a blindside with "Team Coco" and the unexpected help of Sami Layadi, a 19-year-old pet cremator from Las Vegas, NV, who currently resides in Las Vegas, NV.

Cody said it was pretty much public knowledge that James Jones, a 37-year-old event planner from Philadelphia, PA, had a "Knowledge is Power" advantage.

Sami then talked to Jeanine, essentially apologizing for having left her outside of another vote. Sami explained how he had learned at the last minute Dwight was going home regardless due to Cody and Jesse flipping.

"I lost an ally in Dwight, and before Tribal Council, I had given Dwight my idol to hold onto," Jeanine lamented in a confessional.

"I was on such a high but then everything slipped through my fingers. I was so shocked that I blacked out the moment when he got his torch snuffed. I'm like, 'I'm a freakin' idiot and had my idol go home in Dwight's crotch."

Jeanine started to cry and told Sami that he had broken her heart, but Sami insisted no one wanted to even consider working with Jeanine while her idol was still in the game.

Jeanine had no numbers or immunity, and so she wasn't sure how she was going to pick up the pieces of what was left of her game.

The tribe celebrated how Jeanine's idol went home with Dwight, and Cassidy Clark, a 26-year-old designer from Plano, TX, who currently resides in Austin, TX, called the surprising turn of events "perfect."

Jesse, however, then revealed how Jeanine's idol was actually in his pocket!

"Nobody knows about it!" Jesse gushed.

Footage then flashed back to Dwight handing over the idol bracelet to Jesse prior to Tribal Council. Dwight had passed off the idol in a panic, and Jesse boasted about his advantage in the game.

Dwight intended to keep the idol to himself and make a big move with it when nobody saw it coming.

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On Day 15, Owen admitted he was upset about the fact the tribe had left him out of two votes in a row. Owen couldn't help but blame himself, thinking something was wrong with him.

And feeling like an outsider reminded Owen -- who was adopted by white parents -- of what it felt like when he was a child.

"It feels like I'm running around on the playground asking people to play with me and no one wants to," Owen complained, adding, "I need to remind myself I'm here to have fun... I have hope there is room to maneuver... and [people] on the bottom can start an uprising of sorts."

Owen then discussed with Jeanine and Noelle Lambert, a 25-year-old U.S. Paralympian from Londonderry, NH, who currently resides in Manchester, NH, how they appeared to be on the bottom.

The trio agreed they had Mike "Gabler" Gabler, a 52-year-old heart-valve specialist from Houston, TX, who currently resides in Meridian, ID, and only needed two more castaways to join them in order to have the majority.

Noelle, however, didn't think the seven people who voted together the previous night were going to remain "seven strong" through the rest of the game. She noted how "that never works out."

But then Jesse, Cassidy, James and Karla Cruz Godoy, a 28-year-old educational project manager from San Diego, CA, who currently resides in Newark, DE, were shown talking about how they should stay a seven-person alliance going forward with Cody, Sami and Ryan.

Cassidy shared with the group how they should target a challenge threat next, and James threw out Owen's name. James called him "a sneak" and said Owen didn't seem to have a backbone.

"He's always going to follow the numbers, and that's dangerous in this game," James told his allies.

Owen had voted for James at the two previous Tribal Councils, and so James determined they were not friends and he could trust Owen at all.

At this point in the game, everyone was starving and physically depleted.

Gabler therefore decided to go spearfishing, hoping to get back on his tribe's good graces. But the main provider of the tribe was Ryan, who worried his tribemates were going to view him as a threat.

Ryan, however, was part of "the seven" and said he trusted his alliance.

Sami, on the other hand, didn't know where he stood in the alliance of seven. Sami said his goal was to win the game and not just make it to the end. Sami wanted to earn respect, be in control, and make decisions.

Sami therefore talked to Jeanine and Owen about working with them, which would mean they only needed one more person to join them to make six.

The seven talked about taking Owen out, but Sami went along with it just so no one would suspect he was playing both sides of the tribe.

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On Day 16, the Gaia Tribe met Survivor host Jeff Probst for the season's next Individual Immunity Challenge.

Each player was required to balance a ball on a pole. At regular intervals, another section of pole would be added, making it more difficult. If, at any point, a ball dropped, that person would be out of the challenge.

The last person left standing would win immunity and be guaranteed a spot in the Final 10. The next person voted out at Tribal Council would become the eighth person voted out of this game and the first member of the Season 43 jury.

Jeff then presented the tribe with a big bag of rice, which would be enough for four days for every player, or maybe even a lot longer if they rationed it.

The established price for this rice was five players sitting out of the Immunity Challenge.

James tried to negotiate by asking Jeff if only four players could sit out, but Jeff replied, "No... [And] tomorrow, it will be more expensive."

Sami said he was hungry and so he wouldn't mind sitting this one out, and Karla explained how her finger was "busted" and this was a gripping challenge. Jesse also noted how his hand was swollen.

The following players therefore volunteered to sit out: Jesse, Karla, Sami, James, and Cassidy.

James tried to get Owen to sit out by telling the player he was "protected" it, but Owen didn't budge.

Six people therefore competed for immunity. Jeanine was the first person out, and she was followed by Noelle, Gabler, and Ryan.

The challenge came down to Cody vs. Owen, and in the end, Owen won immunity.

"I'm not the biggest, I'm not the strongest, but I just did that!" Owen gushed.

Gabler felt he was in a trouble as a result, along with Noelle and Jeanine. He feared the majority alliance smelled blood.

After the tribe returned to camp, Owen breathed a huge sigh of relief. He also complained about how James had been "patronizing" with his "you're protected" comment.

Ryan then mentioned to Gabler and James how they should go after Jeanine since Owen was immune. Gabler and James were also pretty sure that Jeanine didn't have an idol or advantage to her name. The men then asked Noelle, Karla and Sami to get onboard.

The group agreed they were good and settled on Jeanine, whom Ryan said was a threat to slide under the radar, and then Ryan got Cody to agree on the vote as well.

Ryan hoped for a unanimous vote before he went fishing for two hours, and Cody attempted to pull Jesse into the "simple vote."

But Sami set out to break up this entire operation and make the game his own. Sami assured Jeanine that she was okay, and he pointed out how they needed to vote out Ryan. Owen also participated in the conversation.

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Sami spoke to Karla about potentially gunning for Ryan, and Karla told the cameras she was excited about this possibility because it would be a big move and they'd be getting a strong guy out.

James then told Karla that he was down to swap out Jeanine for Ryan. Karla said Ryan wasn't strategizing enough, especially since the tribe had a decent amount of rice now.

"I don't care about your fish," Karla said, before Noelle and Cody were shown agreeing on the next vote.

Jesse also told Cody that he'd be down to vote out Ryan, and Jeanine discussed the opportunity with Cassidy. James then told Noelle that they were voting for Ryan.

The more James thought about it, however, the more he thought it was a bad idea because Ryan trusted him and was a vote on his side. James said the devil one knows is better than the devil one doesn't know, and he pointed out how maybe it wasn't the time to sacrifice one of their own.

Cassidy tried to convince James that it made the most sense to target a bigger threat in challenges sooner rather than later. Cassidy wanted to get her revenge on Ryan because he had voted for her before, and she didn't want to see another woman go home at this point.

"I don't think Ryan would have my back more than Jeanine," Cassidy said in a confessional. "Everyone seems scared about being on the wrong side of the votes if there's a unanimous decision... Sometimes you have to rock the boat; this is a cutthroat game."

On Night 16 at Tribal Council, Cassidy explained how she was playing a more subtle game but that doesn't mean she wasn't making big moves, and Owen announced how he'd love to be on the right side of the vote this time.

Ryan also revealed he had caught 21 fish that day and so he hoped if he kept feeding people, they would keep him in the game.

Sami called trust "a crock of crap" and predicted chaos was going to ensue after this vote, which seemed to alarm Ryan.

The players then cast their votes one at a time. Ryan was shown voting for Jeanine, and Cassidy's vote for Ryan was also featured.

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No one played an advantage or idol, and then Jeff read the votes aloud in the following order: Jeanine, Ryan, Ryan, Jeanine, Jeanine, Jeanine, Jeanine, and Jeanine.

Jeanine and Cassidy were the only tribe members who voted for Ryan.




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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