Survivor Ghost Island has arrived! Every week, Parade’s Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the castaway most recently voted off of the island.

“My whole life, I’ve gotten places because I take risks. It’s important in this game to take risks. Because that’s the only way you make it to the end. Survivor is not built to coast.”

Chris Noble said these words as he ruminated over possibly sacrificing his ability to vote to strengthen the power of his new idol (though it would be hard to tell it was him, considering the quote is not rapped). Ironically enough, despite his insistence against it, Chris had “coasted” for the first few weeks in the game, as his Immunity Challenge wins coupled with another trip to Ghost Island had him never seeing Tribal Council. Perhaps this circumstance allowed him to be risk-happy, choosing to not only extend the shelf life of his idol but also keep it in his pocket after being put in the spotlight at Tribal Council. Unfortunately, the latter risk gave him no reward, as he was completely blindsided when the rest of the new Lavita tribe joined together to make sure the only vote Chris would cast in the game would be on the jury.

For someone whose parents both used to work at NASA, Chris’s lift-off in Survivor experienced some initial shuttle troubles during the season’s first challenge. When his Naviti tribe was asked to elect a leader, the tall and athletic model seemed to volunteer himself. He was told he had to assign roles based solely on first impressions, a decision which would, true to the theme of the season, haunt him. He chose Desiree Afuye to complete a slide puzzle, but her struggle resulted in Chris electing to pull the plug on the challenge shortly after pulling the plug on the sand pouring through a bottle. He forfeited to make sure Naviti held on to their fishing kit, but he also earned another “reward” in an immediate vendetta with Domenick Abbate, who vocally expressed his disagreement with Chris’ decision. Unhappy with getting called out, Chris decided to use the initial days on Naviti to dismantle the structure around the construction supervisor, recruiting fellow Floridian Sebastian Noel and several others to his side. After catching wind of this plotting, Domenick tried to curry favor by showing Chris his fake idol, passing it off as real, but it only resulted in him saying “FU” to his “Fugazi” relic. The swap after the first week put Naviti up 5-4 against the former Malolo members. But Chris found this a prime opportunity to bring others onto the anti-Dom initiative and was the first of the season to cross the all-important tribal lines. When Naviti lost their first challenge since the inciting incident for this entire schism, Chris was excited at the opportunity to strike finally, only for the weapon to get taken out of his hand when he got sent to Ghost Island. This gave the opportunity for the other Navitis to strike against him out of revenge, electing to give Chris’ tightest ally, Angela Perkins, her walking papers. But it was the new kids in town who proved they were adept at Tribal Council, as the former Malolos bailed on the plan to forge their own legacy with the boot of Legacy Advantage-owning Morgan Ricke.

When Chris came back to camp from Ghost Island, he looked nearly as pale as a poltergeist when he heard about the attempted assassination on Angela, taking that as a sign they wanted to go for him. Luckily for him, he never had the opportunity to see if that was true. Naviti would win every other challenge from there on out, with Chris having a hand (and in one case, a very strong arm) in those victories. A surprise second tribe swap sent him to a new camp with the green Yanuya tribe. Still green to the idea of Tribal Council, he was still elated to be able to reconnect with Sebastian and used this chance to extend an olive branch to Wendell Holland in the hope that he and the furniture builder could construct a strategic fixture in the game. But his personal dynamics might have been undoing his game work, as his constant talking about himself was not “beneficirary” to his reputation. But Yanuya’s challenge prowess continued to keep Chris’ behind from occupying the seats at Tribal Council, giving him a spot in the boat that took him back to Naviti camp on Day 20. The game was now individual, but he had reentered Domenick’s home for the entire game, and the manager at Hotel Naviti saw no vacancies for him any time soon. Wendell tried to utilize his new connection with Chris to broker a deal between the two men, but Chris refused any offers, feeling he wasn’t being fed anything truthful. Perhaps the headache he was causing came from his own cranial clue, a note that read he had the opportunity to sneak away at night to play a game at Ghost Island. Surrounded by torches, he ended up losing his vote for his first (and ultimately last) Tribal but supercharged his idol to last for two rounds rather than just one. With Survivor winner J.T. Thomas’ idol sitting in his pocket, Chris decided to take the initiative to make a move against his biggest enemy. He called one of the biggest alliance meetings in the show’s history, leading a line of eleven people to the water well to encourage them to split their votes between Domenick and Wendell. But as the old saying goes, you can lead a tribe to a water well, but you can’t make them drink. Chris felt he had built strong relationships during his time in the game, like bonding with Donathan Hurley over their respective role as caretakers and revealing to Laurel Johnson he was and is a model. But it turns out his behavior was not exactly model, and he was shocked to find everyone, but Angela and Desiree voted for him at Tribal Council. Though Domenick played the Legacy Advantage Morgan gave him, it was Chris who would create the legacy, continuing the curse of not playing J.T.’s idol (though it probably made for a good prospective chain for his upcoming rap video at Ponderosa).

Now out of the game and on the jury, Chris talks with me about who he felt most betrayed by at that Tribal Council, his relationship with Angela and how he feels about his overall portrayal on the show.

How are you doing the day after your boot episode aired?

I’m doing good. I’m jacked up on coffee.

Did Domenick make you the coffee? He talked about in his voting confessional how he had to make you coffee for 22 days?

[Laughs] You know what? I think he’s going to have to drive out from Long Island and hand-deliver it to me after what happened last night.

[Laughs] Domenick the delivery man! Well, let’s get into what happened last night. There’s a crazy Tribal Council and, because of a certain set of circumstances, you don’t play your idol, don’t cast a vote and then get voted out. You seemed very amiable to Domenick when you got up to go, but what was going through your head when you realized it was you?

So clearly a lot of dynamics from a lot of different avenues here, so I’m going to try to break it down in a basic way:

One: Not having the ability to vote made me more hesitant to play my idol. I wanted to play it when I had my vote. Two: If Dom and Wendell both played their idols, or they both didn’t play their idols, I was using that idol. Three: Being my first Tribal, it was a big disadvantage. When people’s attitudes changed when we got back after the challenge, I had nothing to compare it to. I didn’t have any past Tribals to compare personalities and where the lines were drawn. After my huge mistake of being impulsive and telling too many people what I thought the good game plan was, I went to some close allies individually. For the most part, they all lied to me.

I knew if I was going to win Survivor, which is why I’m playing, I have to take risks. I knew [that] every Tribal going forward, the potential for me going home would go up exponentially. If there’s any Tribal I thought I could get away with something and hold on to that idol, it was this one. I was playing with house money, I pushed it all in, and I got sent home.

You just mentioned that, because you hadn’t been to Tribal Council, you didn’t know how the dynamics on the beach during the day prior work. Looking back, even though you made it to the merge without going, do you think attending at least once or twice would have helped you?

Absolutely. Any time you can get a Tribal or two under your belt, it’s definitely more of an advantage. You know what to sense and look for. But at the same time, I wouldn’t change it in any different manner [when it comes to] not going to Tribal. Any time you go to Tribal, there a risk of going home. For 22 days, my fire was not at risk. Frankly, I’m honored and humbled that I get to play this great game and I get to be one of a [select] few who got to make the merge without going to Tribal.

You also talked about how most of your close allies lied to you and voted you out. Who were you most surprised betrayed you?

Sebastian and Donathan. We made super-personal bonds. I chose only to make those kinds of bonds with a few people. I was banking on the loyalty game. I felt like it was the only way I had a chance to win because the target was on my back from Day 1. Unfortunately, the relationship game didn’t work out how I planned. In situations like that, if you have a game plan, you have to stick to the game plan. I had to stick to the fact that, “Look, if I want to win this game, I have to take risks. I have to trust my ability to connect with people.” And those connections were overpowered by the game. I can’t tell you what people think of me. I know I can bring out the best in people and I can bring out the worst in people. I think that’s just what happened.

When the votes came in, we saw that Angela and Desiree voted for Libby, which seemed to come from a scene we saw of the Naviti women debating whether they should get rid of a Malolo. Were you aware of this plan?

I did have knowledge. And if I had a vote, I would have done the same thing! [Laughs] That ended up becoming the game plan. I talked to Angela right before Tribal, so she couldn’t open her mouth or anything. I asked her, “What’s going on?” She said to me the details. I asked her, “Do you think I’m going home tonight?” She said, “Not tonight, but definitely the next Tribal, they’re gunning for you.” And I’m like, “Angela, are you sure? Because I have an idol and I will play it.” She said, “You’re good.” Some people have up-and-down views of Angela, but she was one of my Day 1s. She’s a midwest Army girl, I love her to death, and I knew she was a loyal person. So in times like that, you have to take the word of some people that you’re close to; that’s the only way you’re going to make it.

Let’s talk about Angela a bit. There was one moment in the third episode after the first swap when you spoke to her about getting rid of Domenick, and she didn’t like how you were talking to her. We also heard others like Wendell say this past episode that he didn’t think you could get people on your side with the way you spoke to them. Was this something you were aware of out on the island, or did it become news to you when you watched the episodes?

That was new news. I was unaware that was happening, or that was what she thought. She and I had a very close relationship that didn’t make the edit. We exchanged a lot of personal information. She looked at me like a younger brother; I looked at her like an older sister. They showed a clip in this past episode where I said, “Hey, big sis” [when reuniting with Angela at the merge]. We had the kind of relationship where we could talk to each other eye to eye and tell each other what we wanted to say and there [wouldn’t] be any judgment. For her to say, that was a shock. I never demanded anything out of her, and she knows that. I can’t tell you much more about that, other than we were respectful to each other. We had a very good connection, and I was completely loyal to her. In dire straits, you have to be direct, and you have to be honest. You can tell someone’s intentions by the way they look at you and talk to you. I had to be real with Angela that Dom and Wendell were snakes and that you cannot trust them. She chose her heart over her head, and I clearly was right. Sometimes that’s what builds relationships; maybe she respected me more after that, I don’t know.

Speaking of Dom and Wendell, in this past episode we show you sit down with them in a pseudo “peacekeeping summit.” You were very upfront in saying that you weren’t very interested in entertaining a deal with them. Was there any thought that you would go along with it, for now, to put them under a false sense of security so you can blindside them later?

I didn’t want to give away my hand. That’s why I told them, “I don’t really know who I’m voting for.” I didn’t give them a direct answer, yes or no, because I knew what they were both capable of. Dom had lied to me multiple times, and I knew some of the things he was saying about me behind my back. The trust was too tarnished. Even if [the deal] was genuine, I could not go with that. I would have been humiliated if I decided to ride with them, and then they blindside me. I’d much rather go down the way I went down [last night], at least sticking to my guns. If I follow them, then they’re controlling me, and I’m their puppet. I’m not going to be anyone’s puppet or be under anyone’s control. You can call it what it is; that could be my downfall in playing a game like Survivor. [They could] tell me what the plan is the way they did and have me boot a Malolo, which they could have easily used against me at Tribal. I couldn’t fly with that. I couldn’t give them any details because I knew both of them were going to gang up on me, and I’m riding solo. I have to make them think.

We saw in one episode you tell Donathan about the story with your mother having MS. Did you tell anyone else out there about that as well, or was it more of a personal secret?

I disclosed it to three people. The first person was Angela. She was missing her family. She’s a mama, and to connect with her, I told her about my mom and her inspiring story. I told Angela her kids love her and she’s a great woman. At Yanuya, I told Sebastian because Sebastian grew up in the same area that my mom lived in and grew up. He was saying, “For the premiere, let’s get together.” And I kept telling him, “No, no, no, we’ll see,” throughout the game. It was just him, and I was like, “You know what? We’re coming up on the merge. I feel like him, and I are legitimate bros.” So I revealed, “Look, I’d love to do [the premiere] with you. But between you and me, I can’t because my mom’s in an assisted-living facility. I can’t have her around a bunch of people drinking at a bar. I’m just going to watch it with her.”

[Those two and Donathan] were the only ones. Unfortunately, two of them lied, even after creating some close bonds like that. It’s hard not to get wrapped in the game and personality traits that would make some people do that. Sebastian and I are brothers; I’m not bitter about that. But after watching last night’s episode and the way Donathan did that, I’ve lost some respect for him personally.

A couple of weeks ago, you had a secret scene where you compared Survivor to society. You said there was a small upper class of the athletically elite, a small bottom class of the athletically weak and then a huge middle class of people who were good at strategy but fine physically. You had tried to warn Laurel that the “middle class” would gang up on the upper class and take control of the game. Now that you’ve gone through the experience, do you feel like that theory has been fortified or disproven?

Personally, I think it fortified it. I think I would stick to my explanation in [both] my scene with Laurel and my confessional. Look, this is all about perception. We decipher everything with our eyes; that’s why we have sight. The hierarchy that I’m explaining is just off visuals. Yeah, you can be in the upper class strategically, but most people aren’t going to see that. Most people are quick to judge the super-athletic guys. I was the first one out! [Laughs] You look at most Survivor games; people like me either right before the merge or right around the merge are gunned for. You look at some of the past guys like Joe [Anglim] and Ozzy [Lusth], you can only win so many Immunity Challenges once the merge happens, then they vote you out. If you think that’s a bigger threat than someone who can manipulate and lie without blinking like Russell [Hantz], that to me is a bigger threat. I would still stick with what I said. If the middle class, as far as the eye test, is way bigger, they eventually will take out most of the people on the extremes physically. I feel like it’s been showing itself.

Suffice it to say, you had quite the edit on the show, ranging from you breaking down about your mom on Ghost Island to bragging to your infamous confessional where you coin the term “beneficirary.” How have you felt about your portrayal?

My edit was a roller coaster. I mean, that’s great TV; it was a roller coaster for you guys and me. I did what I set out to do, and I can’t thank production enough for giving me that moment on Ghost Island in talking about my mom’s story and spreading awareness of MS. That is the biggest moment of my life, and I’m very grateful for that. But they had fun with my edit! Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big personality, and I know I’m on television. In most of my confessionals, I don’t mind bringing it out a little bit. No one’s going to want to watch me after my baseball moment and say, “Yeah, God gave me a good gift, and I was blessed to have a good day.” That’s something I would say in real life. But come on, man, I’m on television! People want to see some Happy Gilmore Shooter McGavin stuff where I’m blowing out smoke on my gun. I think they had fun with my edit and took it to the extreme, and they showed my sensitive side. I can’t complain. I’m still human. It’s tough when they show five minutes with people talking crap about me. At the same time, that’s part of the show; that’s what I signed up for. I got a lot of airtime for someone who didn’t go to Tribal for 22 days. That was my goal: to be a personality and not to be scared to play.