‘Survivor 43’: Dwight on That Idol Mystery and a Jesse and Karla Preseason Theory

The Survivor 43 cast panicked when a new advantage entered the game. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Dwight Moore over Zoom on Nov. 3 about the fallout from that and other theories about connections in the cast.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Survivor Season 43 Episode 7, “Bull in a China Shop.”]

Dwight says he didn’t return Jeanine’s idol on ‘Survivor 43’

Q: I’m going to start off with the most pressing question that everyone has. Were you able to give Jeanine her idol back?

Dwight: Jeanine did not get that idol back.

Q: Then why did you say I see you and I got you?

Dwight: So that came–that was coming from a different time. I didn’t say that at Tribal. I said that actually the night before, night before, like after. I was telling her, like I got you. We’re all good. I’m not sure how they put that in tribal, but that was said at a different time.

Yeah. Yeah, that was a mess. And when you see her like reaching back, she was like patting my leg because I was like. Like, my leg was shaking. She’s just like, you’re fine. I was not fine, but she thought I was fine.

Q: So she wasn’t reaching back for like that idol or anything?

Dwight: She was not like, ‘Give me the damn idol back!’ No, she was not doing that. It was really just like, ‘You’re good.’ Like a friendly, just like making sure I was doing fine.

Did Gabler’s move against Elie at the merge feast hurt or help his game?

Q: Noelle told everyone she wants to keep Cody, and she was close with him. Did you feel the same way? Did you throw out any names to keep safe?

Dwight: Yeah. So at on day 13, right? Yeah. I was trying to keep Cody because, like, even though, like, we weren’t, like, best friends, like, it’s still or my game, I saw him as an asset. You know, like, even though he did kind of–he called me a strategist a lot back on Vesi for like. I knew he was somewhat threatened by me.

Let’s be real, like that was clear but seeing I didn’t think he would take the shot so early, I was like, listen, I think he–from my perspective, I saw him as like a shield for me at a physical side of like he might seem like a challenge threat. I keep that in long term. So I was thinking from his perspective, maybe he sees me more a strategic threat. He’d keep me long-term and vote me out later if he needs to.

So I was thinking I don’t want him going home so soon. Unfortunately, he warned me gone real damn soon. But you know, like once again, it’s a matter of perspective, and I saw it from his perspective incorrectly.

So I was really going to bat for him on the day before. I think I was trying to make sure like he didn’t catch–someone just catch a single vote, like as a stray option. You see, he got no votes at Tribal. I was like, I remember talking to Coco about–I can finally, like, talk about this. So that day I talked, Coco pulled me aside, saying ‘How are we gonna split the votes?’ And I was like, ‘OK, one of y’all put a vote on Owen and Cody. I’ll put both on Owen as well, just in case idols get played.’

Of course, we didn’t put votes on Owen, but that’s why Owen caught a vote at the–at Elie’s vote just because I was like, OK Coco needs to put one on Owen. I thought it was going to be James or Ryan. It was Karla. And yeah, I think Karla did it for a separate reason. But it was still like a–I was like, you should vote Owen as a stray like it’s a great, great idea. So that’s why that happened.

Q: Gabler also took control of the situation by throwing out Elie’s name. He got his way. But I’m curious, what were the conversations like after that meal? Did people want to work with Gabler, or did they want to avoid Gabler because of his big move?

Dwight: How do I answer this? It was, it was a lot of the…Gabler made it very clear he was not afraid to say someone’s name and, like, go at them with the fury of a thousand suns. So for me ,and for other people, it was like, ‘OK, if we say another name and they go against Gabler, he might come against us with the same fury he’s going after Elie.’

So it was like, satisfying the crazy man! Get Elie out of here, and then cool like he’s controlled. Like, at that point, it’s controllable. You know, like let him get out, and then maybe he’ll be satisfied for, like I said, for Baka/Vesi. If he gets Elie out, then maybe he will work at Baka/Vesi long-term.

But if Elie’s in the game, Baka/Vesi will never happen. Everything we worked for at this point goes to shambles, and then it’s like we gave up our majority for nothing. So voting out Elie for me and the rest of Vesi was like, ‘OK, we’re satisfying his needs here to keep Baka/Vesi, our alliance, strong in that regard.’ So that was just a one-for-four trade.

Did Jesse and Karla know each other before ‘Survivor’?

Q: There are some theories. We saw Jesse and Karla, they actually did connect after the merge. There’s a theory that they knew each other just because they went to the same school, which I’m like, I feel like Berkley’s probably big–

Dwight: I can shut that down now. No, no. Went to the same school, yeah. But they did not. They didn’t know each other. No.

This interview has been condensed for this article.

Other Exit Interviews:

‘Survivor 43’: Geo Responds to Cassidy’s ‘Sassy’ Comments and Says ‘Karla Had the Bullets’ Not Her

‘Survivor 43’: Lindsay Hates You Think She’s out for ‘Paranoia’ and Not Karla’s Strategy

‘Survivor 43’: Nneka Talks Struggling in That Challenge, Bonding With Cody, and More

‘Survivor 43’: Justine Says ‘Hats off!’ to Cody for Clever Idol Hat, Shares What the Edit Left Out

Morriah on Disappointing the Dad of ‘Survivor 43’ and Not Believing Gabler