Survivor 50 is here! Every week, Parade's Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the castaway most recently voted off the island."I always feel lucky."One of the final quotes from Rick Devens on Survivor 50 is a perfect microcosm of his general attitude across 22 tumultuous days. Of course, there is the fact that the Edge of Extinction standout staked his entire game on a coin flip, adding quite a bit of coin to the overall prize fund. But the former reporter gave the scoop preseason that he was originally told he would be an alternate for the milestone season. And so just the fact he was here in Fiji was a blessing, a freedom to play no holds barred and, most importantly, find the joy. And, while he spent his last night in the game pontificating on the meaning of the stars dotting the sky, we witnessed a true star of Season 50 get snuffed out shortly thereafter.
?Don’t miss our weekly Survivor newsletter! Sign up to get Mike Bloom’s exclusive interviews with the players and the latest news about the show right to your inbox.?Despite feeling he was playing with house money going into the game, Rick was still cognizant that he needed to change his play style if he wanted another deep run. And so he spent the first half of the game staying away from the idol hunts, sitting on his hands. Admittedly, those hands did come out when he was presented an opportunity courtesy of Christian Hubicki, hiding a fake idol at Tribal Council to pull out in a pinch. But Rick was more set on accruing relationships rather than idols this time. Unfortunately, perhaps the relationship he was most known for this season was far from positive. Rick and Joe Hunter's approaches to Survivor are like oil (not blood) and water. And that came to a head early on Cila, as he had a fiery argument with the fire captain that would bear out for the rest of the game.
Fortunately, Rick entered the merge with many more friends than enemies, as his tactics to lay low had gotten him into a solid spot in an enormous postmerge. But it all went up in smoke once he reached into the Tribal Council fire pit one fateful night. Knowing he and Aubry Bracco were being floated around due to the "Double Duos" twist, he grabbed his fake idol, believing the slate could simply be wiped clean tomorrow. Unfortunately, many others in the game did not see it that way. From their perspective, Rick had unnecessarily drawn attention to himself and now seemingly had an idol. And so, he suddenly found himself a familiar position: On the outside, public enemy number one.
Related: ‘Survivor 50’ is Bringing Back Fan Favorite Prize Thanks to Sia — Here’s How to VoteAs Rick espoused, however, the last thing you want him to do is know he's on the bottom. Because that's when the fireworks begin. Once again feeling in danger going into Tribal Council, Rick quickly commandeered the evening by throwing Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick and Jonathan Young under the bus. But his time as the star of the show was only beginning, as MrBeast entered the fray to present him with an offer he couldn't refuse. Given the chance to risk instant elimination to earn immunity, an idol and an extra million dollars to the prize fund, risky Rick jumped at the opportunity. And the Season 50 50/50 turned out well for him indeed. Over the course of mere minutes, Rick had gone from a dead man walking with a fake idol to the safest person in the game with a real idol.Despite his game-changing choice of heads, Rick couldn't use the opportunity to get ahead in the game. While he guaranteed his safety the next round by playing his idol, he lost his number one ally in Emily Flippen. His back was against the wall, and unlike the Kool-Aid Man, he couldn't bust through it. His ordinary escape routes in idols and immunity wins were no longer options. And so he took a literal shot in the dark, hoping another gamble would work out in his favor. Alas, this would be Rick Devens' final form of Tribal Council shenanigans of the season. But he still wallked out with a trademark grin plastered across his face, and his head held high, looking aloft at the stars to light his way out of the game.Now out of the game, Rick talks with Parade about his complicated relationship with Joe, how much that fake idol changed his game, and the emotional roller coaster of staking his entire game on MrBeast and a single coin flip.
Related: Read our Survivor 50 pre-game interview with Cirie Fields
It's safe to say you felt on the ropes during your last day in the game. Were you always going to play your Shot in the Dark? Or did you feel like Tiffany's blindside of Rizo had legs?I was absolutely, at Tribal, determined that I was going to play that Shot. There was a time during the day when Tiff was open to this plan. And it was so funny, because that all came about [because] Tiff and Jonathan were really pretty annoyed with Joe for not taking them on the reward. Because Rizo had had a lot of food options at the auction, and Cirie, famously, was eating so much at the auction. She was regurgitating a little bit. So me and my mischievous self, I'm really playing into that. I'm like, "Yeah, didn't Rizo not drink that protein shake, Jonathan? You probably would have liked that." And so I was really hoping that they'd get that annoyed. And so when Tiff floated this, I was on board, and Aubry was kind of the swing. And Aubry and I had really gotten a deeper relationship when we were tied together. But clearly I was more into that relationship than Aubey was. [Laughs.] As we watch it back, we see that she was loyal to me then, but not really loyal to me after that. And I think that's better in gameplay. As much as I say, "I don't care if you play with honor and integrity," and that's true, I'm super loyal. I'm not going to write Christian's name down; I'm not going to write Emily's name down. And Aubry became that, until she wasn't. And I was never going to write Cirie's name down until she had to pick a side. And she ended up not picking our side, which I think was probably the right move. So there did seem like there could be momentum. And Tiff even told me, l"You've got to stop looking for the idol, dude. You are freaking everybody out,. You've got to chill if we're going to make this work." And I did, and that's when I'm in the hammock. And finally, I went to Tiff and was like, "I don't think this is going to work. I'm going to go look for the idol." And she was like, "I think you're right. Go for it." Because at that point, she wants me to find the idol, then her plan gets done anyway. So I love Tiff. I love that she tried to make it happen. But by the time I got to Tribal, I knew it's the Shot in the Dark. And dude, I was riding so high from the MrBeast thing, I'm like, "It'll probably hit!"Well, let's talk about another moment where people were freaking out around you having an idol. It seemed like the pivot point of your game came when you pulled out the fake you had hidden during the "Double Duos" Tribal Council. What led you to do that in that moment, and what was your reaction to how people were responding to it?So honestly, I was so in love with the idea of playing this fake idol. I mean, Christian and I had done this amazing heist where he falls, and we plant a fake idol at Tribal. So it's a nightmare to think I'm going to go home without using it. So I felt very at risk that night. I'm still not convinced that I wouldn't go home. When I talk about revisionist history, dude, you know that people will say things now that they didn't necessarily feel there. I mean, everyone's like, "We knew it was fake." And it's like, well, the whole next episode you're still acting like it's real!So A, I did feel at risk. B, the idea of going home without playing it was a nightmare. And then it's a two-for-one. I can save Aubry, and I can save myself. Whereas the other nightmare scenario is like, okay, we wait a week, maybe Christian and I are the targets. One of us grabs the fake idol, and it gets the other voted out. That would be awful if I was the reason Christian went home, because I got the fake idol that we both planted. So I knew Christian's basically safe at this duo thing because he's tied to Jonathan. So I just felt like it was the perfect moment to do it. And again, in my mind, I'm like, "Okay, I can hold onto it. For all they know, I have a real idol because I can't play it tonight. I've got to come up with an excuse why I'm not playing it." But I thought it was just the right moment to go to it. And I thought it was so interesting how many people criticized or Monday-morning quarterbacked how I went for it. It's like, guys, it worked! Like people doing impressions of you?Jealous, jealous. They wish they could come up with a move like this. [Laughs.] But no, it was so fun, and I loved it.Let's get into the person who ended up doing that impression of you: Joe. It's clear the two of you just have different opinions of how to play Survivor. And we see this rocky relationship all the way back from an early argument with Cila all the way to last week's episode, when he said what you were doing at that Stephenie Tribal Council was "inappropriate" and "disgusting." Talk to me about your perspective on this dynamic.So before I get into our dynamic out there, I just want you to know I love Joe. We talked a lot during the season, sending apologies back and forth. He's a dad; I respect him. I'm looking forward to our kids playing together at the finale. Love Joe. Any fan who meets Joe will not be disappointed. He's a great guy, and he's going to give you a great experience. It's a real shame that things took a turn, because I think I showed during the season, as much as I'm all about playing a deceptive game and having fun and doing all these things, I'm super loyal. I'm never writing Christian's name down. I'm never writing Emily's name down, even in a revote when I know it's failed. That's just not the way I'm going to be. And I think that sends a message to the jury about the way you're playing. That's much more helpful than going back to camp and saying, "Well, I didn't write your name down the second time." People don't care. You tried to write me down the first time! I don't care about that. So I do think if we could have gotten back on the same page, I could have been a really good ally to Joe. And I will say I was surprised during the season at how much I was on his mind. I'm not a bad person because I'm playing a game hard. I keep all my commentary to gameplay, and he does too. By and large, I think we have that in common. But I think our difference in opinion is I feel like, as an ally, I'm taking care of you, if I'm protecting you, and if I'm never coming after you, if I'm looking out for our interest. But I don't think that means I need to tell you all my secrets. I had planned to hide a fake idol before Christian found the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol, and [then] he found that. So, okay, I told him, because we can use that wrapper, and it's great. I still don't tell Emily and Cirie, who at that point I'm totally loyal with, because it doesn't affect them. So that's fine to me. But I think Joe, from watching the season, it's like he really wants you to tell him all the secrets and be filled in, which is a fine perspective. But, yeah, we kind of hugged it out on that beach and said we're good after that argument. And clearly, we were not good on either of our parts. [Laughs.] But that being said, if I think if I felt the same way Joe had, I would have voted him out and kept Genevieve at that one split. But I felt likeJoe's such an honest guy that when he tells me, "We're good," we're good. I just did not realize that I'd gotten under his skin as much as I had as a game player. But I really have a lot of respect for Joe. It's just a shame that one tiny little thing of bad gameplay on my part, coming up with a stupid lie, it shows you how much of a ripple effect that can have throughout a season.The thing he assigns this "inappropriate" label to is this MrBeast Tribal Council where Stephenie goes home. We need to go through the big hits of perhaps the pinnacle of your Survivor career. It seems like you immediately sit down and blow up the game, saying Stephenie and Jonathan approached you and Aubry about targeting Ozzy. Was that true? And did you do this because you felt you were in danger going into tribal?Okay, let me take it step by step. It's 100% true, and I felt like that was a real key, to be honest. Like, "Ozzy, I was comfortable voting for you also. Rizo, I threw your name out." I thought that was a real key in my strategy of letting people know that I was being honest. Whereas Stephenie, her response was, "Oh, I never did anything, I never did anything. I never did anything." And that's why I say, "I think thou doth protest too much." It's like, now I'm just trying to be quiet and let you sink your own ship. And yeah, it was because I thought that I was at risk. I thought for sure I was the number one target going into that Tribal. But I didn't think, as I'm trying to put myself in other people's shoes, that getting rid of me was good for Cirie or Tiff or Rizo or Ozzy, and certainly not for Aubry and Emily. Because I'm a heat-seeking missile at Joe and Jonathan and Steph at this point. Because they tease me in on this plan, and then they're like, "Oh, well, it didn't work out. We'll just cut Devens."So again, I think it was a great move. I'm very proud of. That's almost what I'm most proud of all season. Because, yeah, the fake idol was a big, flashy thing. The coin toss, I love the way I went at it, but it's a big risk. Whereas this was a plan. "I'm going to go in and I'm going to try to turn the tables." And I'm not sure to this day whether or not it would have worked. Because I don't trust people's revisionist history. What you're saying now is not necessarily what you were feeling out there. But again, nothing personal came out of my mouth. I didn't say, "Oh, so and so's a bad person" or anything. It was strictly gameplay. They told me too much information. Now I'm sharing with you the information. And just like with the fake idol, I try to make it a big splash and then kind of sink back and let other people work it out. As soon as Tiff jumped in, as soon as Cirie started asking follow-ups, it's like, "Alright, I got the ball rolling. Let's see where this goes."So I don't think it was disgusting. I thought it was great. That's exactly the type of gameplay I like to root for on Survivor: Big, bold moves. I'm not going out quiet. I'm going out fighting.Well, you were able to sink back soon after this because you earn immunity through taking the "MrBeast Super Beware Advantage" and flipping that coin. Walk me through the emotional roller coaster of those moments, from jumping up at the chance to do it to the coin landing on heads to then having to immerse yourself back in the game during a live Tribal Council.Well, so as I'm going up to flip the coin, I gotta tell you, my confidence was stupid! [Laughs.] I was just so sure that it was gonna hit. And I was at peace with the fact that, if this is the way I go out, no one in 50 seasons has gone out by a coin flip. It's fine, they can say they didn't vote me out. But I was sure it was gonna hit, Mike. I had no doubt my mind I was landing this, which is insane. Looking back on it, like, "What are you talking about?! It's 50/50!" But also, as much as I thought I'd turn the tables on Steph, I wasn't positive. So I say out there it's a better chance than the Shot in the Dark. So I was very much at peace with it. I was ready to roll.And then when it hit, I'm over the moon. Even Jeff's like, "Alright, well, now we got to get back in." And I'm like, "Jeff, can I have the coin?" He's like, "Devens, I'm trying to do something here! We can talk about that after." Like, "Sorry, Jeff. I had adrenaline just pumping through my body."Did you get to keep the coin?I have not gotten the coin. And I asked for it again at the end of the game. And there's more than one coin apparently, because they knew it would be such a big moment. I'm like, "You've got to give me that coin." But when I go back to the bench, in my mind, I've already done enough to put the target on Steph. I know that the other person's probably Aubry, which I don't want to go. But whenever I make a big splash, I try to sink back, and that includes going back to camp. I'm not mouthing off; I'm trying to shrink back. The next morning is the calmest Devens you'll get! [Laughs.] I'm leaving camp, maybe I'll go dance away from you, but that's not in front of anybody. I'm trying to sink back in the shadows — always unsuccessfully, obviously. [Laughs.] But no, from that point, I just felt like I'd done enough. I probably won't even have a vote; I assumed Steph would steal my vote. So, yeah, I was just riding high, going, "Wow, I'm safe tonight. I'm safe tomorrow night. This is great."Well, I think that high is a representation of the general gratitude you had in every phase of this game. I know you spoke to me about being an alternate forthis season at one point, which gave you this freedom, knowing there was one time when you wouldn't be out here. And I think, as much as you talked about looking up at the stars and seeing those who support you from miles away, we got the chance to look at a star ourselves light up our screens for 12 weeks.Thank you, dude. You have such a way with words. You're such a poet. I love it. I never forgot that this was Season 50, and that I wanted to give the fans something special. And I never forgot all the players that wanted on 50 so badly and didn't get it, because I remember how much my heart hurt when they told me I was an alternate and I felt like I wasn't going to get on the show. So I never wanted a player at home to go, "Devens took a spot that was wasted."One person's going to win the game, and I don't want anyone to have any doubt that was my focus. Even when I make a big target of myself, that's what happened on 38, and I almost got there. But I also will never be sitting in a Final Three and looking at zero votes not have anything to plead. That's just not going to be the way I play. If I become a target too early, I take great pride in being a target. [Laughs.] I think that means you're doing something that's putting people on edge.
Related: Cirie Fields Reveals Why She Knew She Could Never Reach the End of 'Survivor 50' (Exclusive)
Hence then, the article about rick devens reveals what shocked him most about his survivor 50 feud with joe and where they stand now exclusive was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rick Devens Reveals What Shocked Him Most About His 'Survivor 50' Feud With Joe — And Where They Stand Now (Exclusive) )
Also on site :
- North Korean operatives stole $2 billion last year—and financial firms are the next target
- Nepal in a bind as US-China drone war reaches Everest
- Polestar CEO tells CNBC ‘pump anxiety’ has made EVs ‘all about money’