Big Brother’s house is open once more! Every week, Parade.com’s Mike Bloom will be bringing you interviews with houseguests as they get evicted from the game.

[WARNING! The last question in this interview reveals the winner of the next Head of Household competition, which was not completed on last night’s eviction show. Please look out for the warning further down if you do not wish to be spoiled before Sunday’s episode.]

In Big Brother you can either be the truck or the trailer, the driver or the shipment. Over 44 days, Sam Smith played both roles, consistently shifting gears between being powerful and powerless. This past week, he tried in vain to herd votes like wayward sheep, but a unanimous decision put him in the prejury pen.

Sam went all-out in the first two Vetos of the season and used that power to shift the game considerably. In Week 1, he wanted to fulfill a promise to save Cliff Hogg III from the block, and gave HoH Christie Murphy the idea to put up Ovi Kabir in his place. The cookie-baking college grad suddenly became the house target, and he was evicted unanimously to become a member of Camp Comeback. The next week, Bella Wang told him about the secret “Gr8ful” alliance. Perturbed by the news, he attempted to swing the house to save Kemi Faknule, but couldn’t make it happen. Luckily, Sam was officially brought in as the ninth member of the majority, and despite his plan being squashed, he was feeling safe.

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After a dramatic Week 3, the alliance decided to blindside Nick, Bella, and HoH Nick Maccarone, making it undeniable that “Unde9able” was done. After a series of events the included Bella’s eviction, Holly Allen winning HoH, and Nick winning Veto, Sam found himself in his position from the endurance competition: On his back, clinging for his life. He attempted to plant some seeds by feeding the growing conflict between Christie and Jackson Michie, which culminated in a series of chaotic conversations mere hours before the eviction. Unfortunately, the Six Shooters’ soil was not fertile enough at the time for Sam’s plant to sprout, ending his game.

Now out of the house, Sam talks with Parade.com about his thoughts on the mayhem right before the vote, how he reacted to finding out about Gr8ful, and what his thoughts are on the new HoH.

From what we’ve heard, it was absolute chaos in the hours before the eviction. As you watched the various arguments going on, did you think you had a chance of staying?

Oh yeah! I really did. When I campaigned the day of, I was pumped because I saw people were upset about what I said about Christie, which meant it was working. When that whole chaos frenzy was happening last night, I was sitting back like, “Yes! It’s coming together!” I kept looking at the camera, rubbing my hands together like, “Things are flipping, I love it.” If the live show was a half-hour earlier, I don’t think you’d be talking to me right now. I think everything changed 15 minutes before the live show began. It was so close. Christie and Sis came to me saying they were voting to keep me. Cliff and Tommy came to me with the same thing. I heard Jack, Nicole, and Nick were too. I had the votes.

All of a sudden, about 15 minutes before the show, I saw Tommy pull Jack aside to talk about it. There was word that maybe Kat didn’t know Holly [from outside the house]. It was complete chaos. Right as we sat down for the show, I was on edge but told I had certain votes. I looked at Jack; he said, “Sorry.” And I was like, “Oh no!” I looked over at Tommy, and he nodded his head. I was like, “Bro!” Then I looked over at Cliff, and he said, “Sam, we tried.” And there it was. I almost had it. It was right there, and I missed it! But I hope everything that happened helped Nick, Nicole, Jess, Cliff. Someone had to break up that six, and I hope that happened.

So you had wind that things wouldn’t go your way by the time your eviction speech comes around. There was a lot of talks earlier in the week about you calling out Christie, but you end up talking about the seeds you planted. What was the strategy behind your speech?

I did have a sense I was going. What I told Michie when I first started blowing up Christie’s game was going to be my speech. However, it was such a big story; I didn’t think I had enough time to say it. When I was originally planning the speech, Cliff told me that Nick told Christie I was planning to blow up her game. Which…cool. I don’t know how that helps him out, but whatever. I ended up changing my mind. If I got voted out, I was going to leave the house with Christie’s story [about targeting Jack and Jackson] and not tell anybody. I was going to let it go. But as I kept hearing Christie campaign against me, I thought, “Why am I not blowing up her game? Screw it; I’m going to use it as my campaign pitch.” I didn’t have an angle about why I should stay; it still spread seeds of doubt and deception in the six.

I always want to make people laugh and like me. That’s just who I am. Going into my speech, since the chaos was overwhelming, I wanted to have a nicer speech. Like, “Yeah, I was guilty by association. So what? It’s Big Brother. Was I was in the room when names were dropped? Sure! It’s Big Brother. I’m not here to babysit conversations because I’m not one gigantic babysitter. Get over it.” There was one thing I was going to say that I forgot. I was going to end with, “Hey, going from here, do you want me or Kat to win the next HoH?” But my mind went blank, and I totally forgot to say that! I don’t think it would have worked, but it was a hard line I pitched to Cliff, Tommy, and Jack. But since they already looked at me before the vote, I knew they were going to vote with the majority, and I was back to being voted out. I was at peace.

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Let’s go back to the beginning of your game. After winning the first two Vetos, did you think that you may be coming across as a threat early on?

I did think of that. But in the same sense, I wasn’t thinking of it. Coming into this game, I wanted to play socially in the first half and physically in the second half. Before I left, I told my wife, “If I get voted out Week 1 or 2, please don’t make fun of me. The game’s really hard. I’m probably not going to win anything, and it will be super depressing.” I thought I sucked at that food fight Veto. But when I came out and won, everyone was ecstatic for me because they knew I thought I wasn’t going to win anything. I didn’t think I was a physical competitor. I’m out of shape and get winded. I climbed the stairs next to the HoH room, and I walk in out of breath. I didn’t think I was able to do it.

When I won that one, I was like, “Cool. But that’s just one comp. There’s no way I’m going to win another one.” But then we go to the next one, and I say, “I’ll take my time and not get hurt. I don’t want to pull my back or hurt my leg.” As the comp goes on, I notice that I had it again! And Fiji was on the line too. So I thought, “Alright, this is cool.” Everyone knew I thought I wouldn’t win one competition, let alone two! I felt comfortable with winning. I didn’t think it put a target on my back, because everyone knew how I felt. I’m sure my mind will change once I see the show. But from where I was, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal because everyone knew I had no idea what I was doing. I was winging it, and it worked out!

In Week 1, you used the Veto on Cliff. Why did you decide to carry through on your promise to him, and why did you suggest Ovi as a replacement nominee?

I was never really close to Ovi. I love him; he’s a great kid. His stories were outrageous, and he made me laugh. But the house was more so pushing for Ovi. I guess they had their reasons; I don’t really know. I wanted to play Big Brother. I wanted to use the Veto! If it wasn’t Cliff, it would have been Kat. I just wanted to use the Veto. It just so happened that I did like Cliff, and it worked out to my favor. I thought, “Cliff seems trustworthy. If I do this, he’ll always have to owe me.” Since the house wanted to flip anyway and vote out Ovi, I thought it was a win-win! I’d take off Cliff and tell him, “Hey, I’ve got you. Don’t worry about it.” In return, he said he’ll remember this forever. The house was fine it. So on my end, it was me playing Big Brother. I wanted to live the experience, and I did that.

The next week, you find out about Gr8ful. What was your reaction to that reveal?

So Bella told me about Gr8ful, and I thought, “Haha. Gr8ful, hilarious. No wonder they say ‘grateful’ around the dinner table.” I felt like an idiot, but I still felt like I was part of the majority. I knew there was an eight-person alliance, but I still felt like a part of that without them knowing. They still liked me and wanted me there. As far as I knew, they weren’t trying to get me out. I wasn’t a target at that point. So it wasn’t a big deal. I got a little hurt that Nick didn’t tell me. But looking back, he didn’t need to tell me! It wouldn’t do him any good to do that. I was happy that Bella told me so I wouldn’t be in the dark.

Then Jack and I were in the storage room, and he slips up and says, “I want to do what’s best for Gr8ful.” And I’m like, “Good job, moron! Guess you let that one out of the bag.” Then he tries to cover it up and say, “I just want to do what’s best for the eight.” Again, good job, buddy! Those numbers don’t line up because I’m still number nine. After all that lined up, they tried to make Unde9able. It doesn’t work like that! I’m still number nine! You just don’t do that. You can’t be like, “Alright, we have an alliance of eight from a couple of weeks ago. Sam, you want in? It will be under a different name, but you’re good. You’re number one on the board.” Get out of here! I’m still on the bottom!

Did that inform your unsuccessful campaign to keep Kemi?

(Laughs.) I tried! I really did. I like Kemi so much. I felt really sorry about it, but Jack wasn’t having it. That’s when he ended up slipping up about Gr8ful anyway. So I figured, “Alright, there’s where the majority of votes are coming from.” So my campaigning was done. I tried to get Jess out and Kemi to stay. It didn’t work; it happens.

So you knew you were on the bottom of this big alliance. The next couple of weeks, you have allies like Nick and Cliff win HoH. But despite knowing the power dynamics, you don’t convince them to turn on the six in power. Did you ever contemplate doing that?

I tried pushing Cliff. I said, “We can do this! We need numbers. Why are you going along with the majority?” But things are so different and real in that house. People get cold feet; they get worried and scared. I was all on board when Cliff won. I went up to the HoH, and Cliff asked, “What are we doing, Sam?” And I’m like, “Yo! Jack and Michie. Let’s go!” But then it just fell apart. Everyone is so scared of being against the majority, against that six-person alliance. Everyone was terrified, even Nick. Nick always said he wanted to make a big move. Then all of a sudden, when he wins HoH, now he doesn’t. I could only say so much and have so many little conversations before I became overbearing and annoying, which can also get you a target on your back. I always tried to see where people were at. If they’re dead set on someone or something, there’s nothing I can do about it. I will try to plant little seeds to get them to flip. If it doesn’t work, I’m not going to push the issue. At the end of the day, it’s not me on the block, and I’m okay with that.

You told Jackson that you would be loyal to him had you survived. But I also know you said that if you won HoH, you would have nominated Jack and Holly. What would you have done if Kat was evicted and you became HoH?

I still think I would have gone for Jack and Holly. When I was trying to campaign to Holly and Michie, at that point in time, I trusted them. When I said, “I can work with you guys and be in your corner,” I had no problem campaigning to “put me in, coach.” But after the whole family feud last night, that would have changed everything if I stayed. I used to call everyone who wasn’t relevant in the game “the bottom feeders.” Since I became a bottom feeder, since I was irrelevant and not in any alliances, that’s who I think I would have worked with. Seeing how the fight broke out and the six was weakened, now it’s time for the others to come out and make out some moves. It’s time for Nicole, Jess, Cliff, and Nick. It’s time to flip that house and get some big targets out.

I would go Jack and Holly, but it could have been Michie and Holly. I would be with the bottom feeders, but everyone would still be mad at Michie and Holly. That would have worked in my favor since they would have been outnumbered. I would have been safe, even with some of the bigger targets. They would have also gone for Michie and Holly. It would have been a nice place to be in because it’s not that bloody. It would be what everyone wanted. I actually think that’s what would have happened.

[SPOILER ALERT! Information about the next Head of Household is below. Please do not continue if you do not wish to know the winner of last night’s competition.]

On that note of “bottom feeders,” Jessica is the new Head of Household. I know that you certainly have some opinions about the game she’s been playing. What do you think and hope she’ll do with this power?

(Laughs.) I’m actually really happy she won because this can flip the house. It’s very exciting. In Weeks 1 and 2, Jess and I hashed it out. I was telling people if I won HoH, I would put her up. Since the game first started, there wasn’t much I could go off, just some conversations we had. I would have said, “Everyone knows I’m not a fan, so sorry Jess, it’s time to go.” But about a week ago, I told her she wouldn’t go up if I won HoH. My mind and perceptions about her changed. We got over our differences and talked things through, and I began to appreciate her. Even though she admitted to being a floater, so what? Some floaters make it to the end! That works.

When she found out I wanted her out in the beginning, I did try to tell her, “Don’t you find it a little coincidental that you found this all out in the past couple of days? You get reeled in, and now you find out everything bad about Sam?” She’s like, “Oh, I knew everything. I’m part of the majority; they tell me everything.” They don’t! You can see that; it’s obvious. I tried to tell her nicely, but that’s how I felt. She did take my information, hugging me during last night’s fight and saying, “Sam, I still remember what you said to me.” Now with Jess winning, I really hope she sticks with the floaters and bottom feeders. They could really get some momentum and run through this game. But the majority recently pulled in Jess. So we’ll see if they did a good enough job and if she stays loyal. It should be very fun to watch.

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