‘Survivor 43’ power rankings post-merge: Karla and Jesse are at the top (and off the radar)

Following the trajectory of seasons 41 and 42, “Survivor 43” enters the home stretch of the game this Wednesday when the final 11 players will begin voting each other out and onto the jury. Only three players will sit in the final seats at the last tribal council, meaning eight others will take their place on the jury that decides the winner. This stage of the game is defined by individual immunity, trust in what alliance you’ve built, who plays what advantage when, and padding your résumé with jury-impressing moves.

Two weeks ago we delivered our first power rankings of the season, naming Karla Cruz Godoy, Cody Assenmacher and Sami Layadi as the top players from each of the three original tribes entering the merge. All three remain in the game, but our assessment of who has built the best path to the final tribal council has changed. Take a look below at our updated “Survivor 43” power rankings post-merge at this all-important stage of the game and then sound off with your own take on the season in the comments.

SEE ‘Survivor’ most days played: Which 19 castaways hold the record?

1. Karla Cruz Godoy
2. Jesse Lopez

Though it was a short scene in the latest episode, the moment where Jesse went to Karla with the information that Noelle was making a move against original Coco was a very telling one. He said that Karla reminds him of his family and that he trust her 100% in the game. By the end of the episode we had the evidence that they had worked together to form a large enough voting block to take out Dwight. That decision was, of course, made in tandem with players like Sami and Cody, but that short scene showed that it was initiated and followed through with by Jesse and Karla. If the two of them continue to work like that — fully trusting and well under the radar — then they can get themselves to a point in the game where they’d be unstoppable.

3. Owen Knight
4. Sami Layadi

What Owen and Sami both have going for them is that they’re allowing themselves to be used as numbers in the decisions of other players. That spot gives them the benefit of not having a target on their own backs while catching the ear of both sides of the game and learning as much information about the plans of others as possible. Owen has a good handle on where most of the advantages are at any given moment and Sami is one of the most aware players in terms of who is a true threat and who is not. Though they’ve worked together in the past, Owen and Sami were on different sides of the vote at the last tribal council, which isolates themselves from being fully loyal to each other in the future. Right now, Sami appears to be a weapon of Karla’s and Owen is struggling to maintain control over Jeanine and Gabler.

SEE ‘Survivor’ most days played: Which 19 castaways hold the record?

5. Cody Assenmacher
6. Noelle Lambert

Cody made a big move last week to take out Dwight instead of keeping original Vesi numbers around for the future. The move was intended as a direct strike at Noelle, neutralizing her strong partnership with Dwight and any ability she’d have to take the lead position in the Vesi-Baka eight person alliance she wanted to form. It remains to be seen how Noelle will react to Dwight’s elimination, but it should be apparent that Coco has made in-roads with Cody and Jesse. Noelle’s test will be seeing who from the seven that voted Dwight out would be willing to go in a different direction going forward. At this point, Cody and Noelle seem to be at odds in the game, meaning one of them will level up in to the top tier of the rankings and one will descend into a minority alliance… unless they find a way to work together instead.

7. James Jones
8. Cassidy Clark
9. Mike Gabler

While on the bottom half of our rankings, James, Cassidy and Gabler could actually be considered the players floating somewhere in the middle of the standings. James seems to be one of Karla’s closest allies and Cassidy is swept up in the power that original Coco has wielded in keeping their four safe. That being said, we don’t see them making any of the moves that create a narrative for a jury to select as the winner. Gabler, however, is shown to have a definitive strategy episode-by-episode — his latest being a decision to sit back under the radar after being the loud advocate for Elie’s elimination — but the sense is that the isn’t respected enough around camp to suggest that a whole jury will elect him as their winner.

10. Jeanine Zheng
11. Ryan Medrano

The two players with the least amount of agency in the game right now are Jeanine and Ryan. Two votes in, Jeanine has been left out of the majority decision both times, a strong suggestion that those making the decisions not only don’t trust her, but they also don’t need her. That puts her on a back foot that will be nearly impossible for her to overcome if she makes it to the end of the game. Ryan, on the other hand, has been included in those majority votes so far, but he’s been flagged as one of the most physically threatening players and as the numbers dwindle, his competitiveness in immunity challenges will only become more dangerous and his need as a number in the majority vote less necessary.

SEE exclusive predictions: Who will win ‘Survivor’?

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on CBS. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “Survivor” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.