By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

Sometimes you need a force of nature to shake things up. Rick Devens was that storm. His in-your-face bold and sometimes chaotic gameplay shook Survivor 50 to its foundation making it one of the most enjoyable seasons in its 26-year history.

Devens was at the centre of many of those unforgettable moments including the Mr. Beast coin toss and the fake idol hidden at Tribal Council. Speaking to Global TV, Devens lifts back the curtain on those and other turning points in the game.

John Powell: Rick, how are you?

Rick Devens: I’m good, John. How are you?

John Powell: Fine, thank you. Last night, we saw you go into Tribal Council. Were you always going to play your Shot in the Dark?

Rick Devens: I was pretty much determined to play my Shot in the Dark. There was a little moment there where Tiff had a plan and I was into it if we could get the numbers but when it was clear that we couldn’t even get Aubry on board, it’s like, “Okay, I guess it’s got to be the Shot in the Dark,” because I wasn’t able to find a Hidden Immunity Idol.

John Powell: Yeah. Talk about that. Rick of all people doesn’t find a Hidden Idol?

Rick Devens: (laughs) I’m telling you, I was looking hard, even harder than they showed! I was out there every second trying to find one. I was so worried that they were going to do that thing where they pan right over to it after I walked right by. So, I still don’t know if there was one there or where it might be, but I was so confident I’d find one. You know, I’m good at this! I felt up every tree on that island. I don’t know what’s going on.

John Powell: Jonathan wasn’t helping you out there?

Rick Devens: (laughs) You know, I had a really good time with Jonathan out there. We talked about life; we joked around. He was cool. I think, in my opinion he was doing exactly what he should be doing. It was crazy to me that the other people were just sitting back at camp. So, good for Jonathan for following me around and he did it in a very nice way.

John Powell: We saw you play one of the most entertaining and boldest Survivor games we’ve seen in quite some time. At what point in the game did that switch just flick? When did you say, “You know what? I’m just going to go for it all, good or bad. I’m just going to lay it all on the table.”

Rick Devens: Really, it was at the Tribal Council where we were paired up and I was with Aubry. I realized, “Right now, we’re in a lot of trouble. I’ve got to go for this fake idol.” There was no turning back because that made such a scene. Just because I had the fake idol, I had to sell it by being crazy confident, like it’s a real idol.

There was no turning back after that point. That put me on everyone’s radar. It kind of forced the “old Rick Devens” out and then, of course, I lost ally after ally, and that made it even more the “Rick Devens Show”, trying to get by on my own and make it one night at a time.

John Powell: Hey, the strategy worked! You made it quite far! When you guys came up with this plan for the hidden fake idol was there any pushback? Did production come in or was it just like what we saw, you put it there and you were allowed to use it?

Rick Devens: You know, before Christian was ever brought in on the plan, before he found that “Billie Eilish boomerang” idol, I had made a fake idol out of a pocket square that I’ve had. That’s really what I just put inside of his wrapping once he came through.

So yeah, I did go during one of my interviews and say, “Hey, this is what I want to do. I want to hide this at Tribal.” And they said, “Let us check on that.” They came back and said, “Yeah, do it. Figure it out.” So, it did get run up the ladder, but they’re all about us having the freedom to do what we want. They just needed to make sure I wasn’t going to destroy anything.

John Powell: We saw you in that biggest moment, you obviously had the coin flip with MrBeast. Your kids must have gone bananas when they saw that! Just for the record, because you have the armchair detectives saying, “I analyzed the footage and it was a rigged coin,” or “It was one flip and Jeff picked it up.” How did that go?

Rick Devens: That is absolutely correct. I will say there was a flip of a totally blank coin right before I did it. They brought it out the same way and said, “Listen, we just need it to land in this area for the cameras, so you can practice with this as many times as you want. There’s no heads, no tails.” I did it one time, it landed flat, and I said, “Okay, I’m good.” They said, “That’s it? You only want to do it once?” I said, “Yep.”

Then I flipped the actual coin and dude, it could not have been more cinematic! It didn’t land on the edge. I’m just waiting and it felt like an hour as I was sitting there but no, it was one flip of the actual coin and believe me when I say there were people at that Tribal who would love to throw me under the bus and tell you if that wasn’t true!

John Powell: Did you get to keep the coin, Rick?

Rick Devens: (laughs) No, not yet anyway. It was funny because I did that, and then we all go sit back down because we have to continue Tribal, right? Someone is going out. And I’m like, “Jeff? Jeff, can I have the coin?” He goes, “Devens, I’m trying to do something here!” Later, after the game was all over, I’m still asking about this coin and nothing yet. I’m hoping I get surprised at the finale but I’m not optimistic.

John Powell: Well, again, you played one of the boldest and most entertaining games. Every episode, we could see that you were grateful and so happy to be out there. It was in your talk, your mannerisms, everything. I spoke to Ozzy and he talked about having a dream that he should have played the idol.

In interviewing Survivors over the years, many people mention things like that—”I had a dream” or “I thought I needed to go home.” You showed a lot of emotion out there. Ozzy says when you’re on the island, you’re stripped of everything and you get in touch with yourself more than ever. Did you feel that way? Is that why you got so emotional?

Rick Devens: Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely part of it. I’d had it weighing on me for years, those stars. I really wanted to get back to those stars. I had lost different people and, for whatever reason, it was in my mind that I needed to get under those stars to feel them again. This might surprise people, but Joe, early in the game… he’s such a big, tough, charismatic dude, but he’s very in touch with his emotions. He can let it out and he made me feel like I could do the same thing early in the game.

It was like night two or three. Since I’d been waiting years, I was out under the stars alone and I just let it out. It’s not on TV because it didn’t matter to the plot but that was a big part of it. Having guys like Ozzy and Joe who can have those conversations with you makes it seem like it’s okay. I’m away from my wife and kids, and I’m missing them. It really is a special experience in all those different ways.

John Powell: Speaking of Joe, he obviously had some critical comments to make on the show about yours truly. How do you reflect on that? How did it affect you seeing that, and what are your thoughts?

Rick Devens: I will say for Joe, I don’t think he ever crossed the line from gameplay into personal, which I think is the key thing. If you were insulting me as a person, that’s kind of messed up, right? Gameplay-wise, that’s fine.

He and I are good. We have sent messages to each other during the season apologizing and saying, “Let’s move past this.” I fully expect our kids to meet and be playing together at the pool at the finale next week. I love Joe as a dude; we just clearly couldn’t get on the same page game-wise. And honestly, as a fan, I love that stuff! I appreciate, as a viewer, that Joe’s willing to air that out.

Some people would just let it bug them but he was willing to say on TV that Devens was driving him nuts. Cool that he did that. I was shocked by it out there. I didn’t understand there was that much animosity toward my gameplay but Joe’s good. We’re good now.

John Powell: We come to another big part of your storym that Tribal Council where Stephanie said, “I didn’t do anything,” and you pulled the rug out from everybody. Set the record straight: what really happened? We don’t see everything on the show, so some things aren’t clear.

Rick Devens: To this day, I don’t know how that vote really would have gone because there’s so much revisionist history. What they say now isn’t necessarily what they were thinking then. I felt that I had done enough to switch the vote onto Stephanie right in that moment. I really did feel that way. It wasn’t so much that I wasn’t psyched for the MrBeast coin but I also knew that even if I was safe that night, I’d be in danger the next night. So I wanted to flip it. I wanted to get that idea in their heads.

To me, it’s all about putting yourself in other people’s shoes. I’m thinking, “After I did all that, why would Cirie, Tiff, Aubry, Emily, and even Ozzy and Rizzo want to get rid of me?” I’m a heat-seeking missile toward Steph, Joe, and John. If no one’s really working with me, whoever’s left of those three is going to be coming at me instead of the others.

It just seemed to me like they should keep me in the game. I’d been honest about my dishonesty! I said, “I was willing to get rid of you, Ozzy. I put Rizzo up as an option.” Meanwhile, Steph’s not owning any of it. I’m like, “Why would you get rid of me and not Steph?” So, I honestly felt at the time that I’d done enough to flip it.

John Powell: Is there anything, a game moment or maybe just a moment with somebody, that you wish had made it to air?

Rick Devens: Yeah, there was one day, an off day. We didn’t have any challenges or anything going on and those are the longest days. I was just like, “Can we take this boat out?” In all my time on Survivor, I’ve never just taken the boat out. So Emily and I ended up taking Ozzy and Jonathan out into the cove. Those two are fishing. They’re having a contest to see who can catch the most fish. Emily and I are our chaotic selves in the boat, laughing about everything that’s happened in the game and how insane we are.

Then, I’m getting in the water failing at spearfishing but Jonathan’s like handing me his spear with a fish already on it so I can make the production guys laugh. It was such a fun day. I understand why they didn’t have time for it, but seeing Ozzy and Jonathan going head-to-head? That’s pretty awesome to be a part of. It was even at a time where Ozzy had already voted for me and I’d already voted for Ozzy. Jonathan and I had a little animosity. It was the perfect example of, “We’ll deal with that at Tribal; right now, we’re all having a great time together in this adventure.” It was a special day.

John Powell: Obviously, you can’t say who you voted for because that would be a spoiler but being on the jury is a big responsibility. This isn’t just any winner; this is Survivor 50. What were you weighing in your mind when you said, “This is what I’m looking for in a representative of Survivor 50”?

Rick Devens: I really wanted it to be the best player available because of the season it was. We were getting lots of different messages from jury members who were there when I got there, and then people who arrived after me. There were a lot of strong feelings and a lot of spin. I just really wanted someone who played the best game.

That’s what we were trying to figure out. What questions can we ask to get to the bottom of this? Who’s going to give us the best Tribal Council performance? And how does what they say line up with what I feel was actually happening? I saw it as a lot of responsibility. Again, it made it easier that if Emily or Christian were there, I’m voting for them no matter what. But with the group that’s still there when I leave, I’m looking at them and thinking, “I love them all in different ways, but I’m going to vote for the person who I think played the best game.”

John Powell: Well, Rick, you went out, you got to be under the stars, and you got to be on the island again. Do you feel a sense of redemption or satisfaction from that experience?

Rick Devens: I was so happy with how everything went the first time. If I never got back, I would regret it because I love the experience but I wouldn’t have regrets of “unfinished business.” Now, I feel that way times two. It’s unbelievable how well it went considering the crazy stuff I did the first time.

I know I didn’t win but I feel like I left it all out on the field. When I went, I knew I was going, and I did everything I possibly could to stay. And I made a ton of friends! I don’t think there’s anyone out there who hates me anymore, and I love all of them. I’d go back and play again because I’m insane and it’s a fun game, but I’m over the moon with how everything has turned out.

John Powell: Well, Rick, it was great talking to you. A lot of people have loved watching this season because of how you played and your love and joy for the game. It came out more than almost anyone we’ve seen in quite some time. It was wonderful talking to you. Thanks for taking the time, and I can’t wait to see you at the finale. Here’s hoping you get the coin! Survivor Gods, please!

Rick Devens: Thank you! I appreciate all that, John. That means a lot.