“Survivor” fans received a double dose of “Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers” in this week’s back-to-back episodes, which featured Jeff Probst snuffing the torches of John “JP” Hilsabeck, followed in the next episode by the departure of Joe Mena, who found himself outwitted, outplayed and outlasted by nemesis Ben Driebergen.

ET Canada caught up with both ousted castaways after the airing of Wednesday night’s show. First up: JP, the 28-year-old firefighter from Los Angeles discussing what led to his “Survivor” downfall.

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Why was it the wrong decision to go after you when they did?

“I think it was the wrong decision to go after me when they did because I thought there were some bigger threats out there that were a lot more strategic and a lot better at the game than I was. But I guess I was that physical threat at the time and that’s what they went after.”

Who was your tightest ally in the game and what was your plan with them?

“My tightest ally in the game would have been Chrissy. I think she and I complement each other pretty well, and our plan was to work together. She obviously related to some other people better, and I related with other people better in the game. And to be able to draw on those connections and those alliances and bring some of those people together, and hopefully myself and her and somebody else would make it to the final three.”

How have you dealt with the criticism of how vague you can be?

“You know, sometimes all the criticism, it’s just criticism. People are always going to say things. People are always going to say not-nice things behind your back. But hey, at the end of the day it’s just a game. I have my life, and I know who I am as a person. I did things the way I did things and I stand behind it, and it’s not going to affect me as a person whatsoever.”

What was your fondest memory of being out there?

“My fondest memory would have been spear-fishing. Being out there, being in the ocean, being out there in the reefs and the coral, seeing all the different sea life that was out there. But I have to say, my best one was probably catching that stingray. That stingray that I caught was probably one of the best things I ate. I didn’t think it was going to be that good, but it turned out to be the best. It was awesome to catch the big stingray and be able to eat it. It was pretty cool.”

What was the most challenging thing you had to do out there?

“Besides the food deprivation and the hunger part of it, just being able to socially try to relate with everybody, because the game changes so fast that, you know, this alliance is over here, but then you’ve got to relate to these people over here, and all of a sudden those people flip, and then you’re on the outs and you’re just trying to keep up with game, because it changes so fast.”

What has it been like watching the game played back from home?

“It’s always interesting. You get a bit of anxiety, kind of a restlessness before the show comes on, like you kind of know what’s going to happen, but you don’t know exactly how it’s gonna come out on TV. You don’t know what everybody else said in the interview and behind the scenes type of things. It’s always a little nerve-wracking but in the end you see it and you’re kind of relieved at the end. You’re like, ‘Alright, that’s how it worked out,’ and it answers a lot of your questions.”

Have any of your fellow firefighters given you any grief for the way you played?

“Yes. I would say they have given me the full-fledged grief and a lot more. That’s just basically how we are in the fire service, you know, joking around and having a good time when you can and hey, there’s some other fellow firefighter that’s on TV, let’s find the dorkiest moment or funniest facial expression he has and print it out and put it up in his locker or leave it around the house and make fun of him or what not. But hey, it’s all in good fun at the end and I’m all for it. Bring on the hate, right?”

©2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Next, ET Canada chatted with Joe Mena, the 34-year-old probation officer who originally hails from The Bronx opening up about how Ben managed to derail his strategy and blindside him during Tribal Council.

How much of a blindside was that?

“I’m gonna stick to my 80/20. Maybe the last three hours prior to Tribal, that’s when it became 80/20. Prior to that it was like still a 50/50.”

What was going through your head when the votes were being read and it was your name Probst was calling?

“Prior to the votes being read I knew I was going home, just because of the cold shoulders I was getting. Lauren said she was going to play her double vote, so I was like, ‘Wait a minute, when is this double vote coming?’ It was the first time it had ever been used I think in ‘Survivor’ so I don’t know if she just throws it in or if she has to announce it… she wrote that name pretty quickly, so I was like, ‘Nah, it doesn’t add up.'”

Can you explain your strategy of aggravating your fellow tribe-mates to make it further in the game?

“It wasn’t the end goal… but I’m glad ‘Survivor’ showed in the edits it was all premeditated and that’s what I was attempting to do. I did that pretty early into the game, at the swap, and it kind of continued into the merge.”

What single thing do you think messed up your game the most?

“The lack of risky players, really. I think I stuck out like a sore thumb, just being risky and being aggressive. I feel pretty good with my game play. I could have strengthened it in a couple of areas, but if I strengthened it in one area I think I would have weakened it in other areas, so I’m pretty content with how I played.”

How much do you regret not picking yourself first for the spaghetti idol clue reward?

“In the game I had no regrets. I had no idea that there was going to be a clue to the idol, I thought maybe, like an advantage, but never a clue directly to an idol. I didn’t think they would do something like that, so in the game I kind of wanted to distance myself so that’s why I allowed everyone else to go. Like, they can have the advantage, I don’t care. But now, quarterbacking a month later — absolutely! I would love to have an idol, but it wasn’t guaranteed there was an idol there. If I knew 100 per cent there was an idol clue there… but there wasn’t, and I just wasn’t willing to take that chance at that point.”

Since you pride yourself on how well you read people, how do you feel about getting played by Ben?

“Kudos to Ben. There was no way I kind of picked that up. In addition to that, I misread not really Ben, I misread Lauren’s game play, and Devon. I just over-estimated them. Like, why would you allow someone to be a double agent? I don’t think it’s ever been done purposely, like someone just says, ‘Hey! Make sure you do this, become a double agent and give someone so much power.’ So yeah, that never even crossed my mind, to be honest with you. Kudos to them.”

How aware did you feel you were overall out there?

“I think I was pretty good. I was aware of what was going on I think I was more aware of what was going on with The Seven and with some of the players within The Seven. I picked up on a lot of things. Unfortunately I had no control over the advantages, I didn’t know how that information was shared until afterwards, so yeah, I knew about the idol and I knew about the advantage, but that was after the fact. So relationships I had already established and were strengthened because of those advantages, that I wasn’t able to distinguish, like why are these two close? Why are Ben and Lauren close? I was aware of the relationships, but it was impossible to know what relationships were created because of the advantages.”

How do you feel about the comparisons to [“Survivor: Cagayan” winner] Tony Vlachos?

“I feel bad for Tony. For me, whatever. You want to compare me to one of the greats, a winner? Sure, I’ll take it. But for him, I’m a loser. Like, I didn’t play anything like Tony. Tony played an amazing game. Yes, there are a lot of similarities, we’re aggressive, we’re in law enforcement, we’re bald, we’ve got tattoos, but Tony played an amazing game and my game was nothing close to that. I didn’t mind it, but I didn’t win and that’s what bothers me. If I had won I wouldn’t mind. But I prefer to be called ‘The Bodega Tony,’ I don’t really like ‘The Walmart Tony.’”

If they were going to do another Second Chance season and you were in the running, what would you say to campaign to come back?

“Campaign to come back? Man, I love to talk but I don’t think I would have to say much. I mean, I gave it my all out there… some people play safe, some people just wanna be nice-nice, some people are not willing to get down and dirty, and I’m willing to do anything to win.”

How many Chocolate Thunder from Down Unders have you had since you got back?

“The sad part is I’ve only had it once. Once I got back, I just had to get back on the whole workout routine, so I haven’t had much. I still eat doughnuts, but not the Down Under unfortunately.”

“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global; watch full episodes of “Survivor” here.