Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for “Survivor” season 50, episode 9, “I Deserve All of This.”
It’s safe to say that “Survivor” player Christian Hubicki won’t be watching “The Tonight Show” anytime soon. Christian, who first competed on season 37 of “Survivor: David vs. Goliath,” was the 13th most voted person of the 50th season, thanks in part to Jimmy Fallon.
There were two big developments in Wednesday’s episode. First, Jeff Probst competed with a group of castaways. It was part of a side bet. Four of the contestants had to outlast Probst: Ozzy, Joe, Tiff, and Jonathan. If all four people do so, the tribe will get a large bag of rice. After seven and a half minutes, Probst dropped and all four men continued to fight.
During the challenge, he revealed that this came about during a conversation with Fallon. In keeping with the “in the hands of the fans” theme, Fallon polled the audience, asking if the hosts should compete, and the audience voted yes.
But that’s not the only thing Fallon has worked hard on. After Joe won the immunity challenge, he had to send one person on a journey. He asked who was interested instead of choosing blindly. People who were played rock, paper, scissors. Christian was victorious and was driven off in a boat.
He arrives at a floating dock in the middle of the ocean, where he receives a note from Fallon himself. Once you complete the puzzle, you can add additional votes to the jar on the spot. However, he was unable to complete the puzzle. He was not required to lie about what had happened, but was instead instructed to take the note back to camp, where he was to read it aloud. Back on land, he reveals that for the first time in Survivor history, he will be writing his name at Tribal Council.
Several votes were cast for Ozzy and Devens, but in the end it was Christian who was sent home. Variety spoke exclusively with Christian, who was on set for his emotional day in Fiji, about what happened during the puzzle, his thoughts on 50, how he feels after voting Mike White out, and more.
How do you look back on your 50-year-old journey today?
The overall experience of the show was great. It was a great experience. There are many different ways the show can go about it, and I basically agree with all of them. You may get out first. You might trip over a coconut and be saved. Worse things can happen than Jimmy Fallon invading your life in-game and forcing you to adapt to it. I really appreciate it. It was a wonderful time. Jimmy Fallon’s story is also kind of interesting. I think if it didn’t happen to me, I’d find it very funny. Comedy is about tragedies that happen to other people. And as it happened, the other person was me.
Before we get into this episode, what did you think of how Devens handled the fake idols?
I didn’t know at that point that he was going to pull it out. I thought there would be a vote, but at the same time there was a lot of chatter. Before he played this song at that Tribal Council, people were standing up and talking to people, so I understood why he would do it. I sat there, wincing, wishing this was the right time. It also caused political turmoil. In my opinion, it was a close vote, but Coach and Chrissy would have been eliminated. That’s my view. I could be wrong. No one would actually know who was leaving at that point. But from then until now, everyone had better get involved. Raw tribes happened and everyone lied about what the vote would be. Wires are being crossed and cover stories are exploding. I have to create a new cover story. It’s wild. It’s crazy. It was very memorable. I’ll never forget those moments.
Now, onto this week. Since he raised his hand to travel, he must have wanted to go. Went on the boat, are you excited?
When I got on the boat, I thought this was a good thing. Whatever happens, whatever this is, I will control it. If there is an advantage there, no one has it but me. If I don’t have it, no one else does. It’s not in someone else’s hands. So it didn’t really matter whether we won or lost. And you’re wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen while traveling. If you go there, you will lose votes if you lose the challenge. I thought it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t fatal. That’s how I calculate it. Do you want to give Ozzy this advantage? Another thing I thought about was this is Survivor 50. This could be “Survivor” trivia! If this is “Survivor” trivia, I’ve got this. That would be perfect. It wasn’t quite like that. So I thought: This is okay. What is the worst that can happen?
And then…the worst thing that could happen happened.
Then I literally went through the worst thing that could happen. And there was a hint! During the challenge, Jeff states that this was Jimmy Fallon’s idea. But I will never be able to fathom the depth of Jimmy Fallon’s plans for me.
So you understand the puzzle. How difficult was it to drop the weight into the water, and how strong was the pressure to drop the weight into the water?
I panicked because the timing was bad. This type of puzzle requires extensive trial and error. Experiment with combinations and hone them thoroughly. You must always be alert. There were times when I got stuck on one piece, but I really should have shifted my focus to another piece. I had to really focus. The weight is increasing and I can feel the time passing. You start getting inside your own head. So I panicked. Now, in the light of a cold day, I think it was doable. But under that pressure, it really hit me.
How was the camp going when you came back and read the letter? Did it feel like it was over quickly?
The downside of traveling was being away from camp, but I should have considered that more. I wasn’t really interested in traveling during my season. Now, I know, but I generally won’t be traveling. Once Emily Flippen took me aside after reading this note. I’m like, “Christian, don’t go on a trip. Let someone else do it. Don’t go on a trip. Why would you go on a trip?” I’m like, “I didn’t know!” But Emily said, “Don’t worry, I have a plan. I think we can funnel the votes to Ozzy.” I pitched this idea early in the episode with mixed results, but Emily is sharp. She is very insightful and has a different relationship with people than I do. So this might work. But I was feeling a little helpless. I couldn’t vote, I couldn’t really advocate for my position, so I just talked to people.
During this process, I missed several warning signs. Some warning signs told me this wasn’t going to work. I wondered what options I had. You can’t play a shot in the dark. The tribal fake idols are gone. I have to rely on Emily to bring this out. If you find that things are going sideways, you’ll need to pull out something crazier.
So you thought you had a chance at Tribal.
I was optimistic…I was really blindsided. I didn’t know I was going home. I thought Emily might have gotten the votes, but just like on “Survivor,” things took a turn for the worse.
You were very emotional when we broke up. Since I was on set, I got to see the raw, unedited version, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. How emotional were you when you were sent home?
I always try to be a good sportsman. Because they’re playing as hard as I want them to. Because it’s very good for them. I wish them all the best, whether I worked with them or not. That’s the nature of this game.
Of course, I wanted to win this for my son and show that you can fight for what you feel you deserve and it will work. It’s okay to sacrifice yourself and give to others, but it could be yours. So what does that mean now? “Look, son, sometimes we think that if we win or get something in life, we’ll be happy and all our dreams will come true. But even if we don’t win, it can all happen. Dreams can still come true. We can’t control everything that happens in life. We can control how we move forward to get what we feel will make us happy.”
This season, you came with a few allies. One of them is Mike White, whom you blindsided. He said he hasn’t talked to you since the show ended and that he heard you bragging about getting rid of him. How do you feel about your relationship with him now?
I hope to speak with Mike again. I knew Mike would be hurt by this, so I texted him as soon as I got home. That’s what I hated most about this move. The only thing I’m proud of is that it was a complicated plan. What I liked least about that vote was that it was going to hurt him. I like him and always have. I always thought he was a very interesting person. Whenever I get a chance to talk to him, he has an insightful way of redirecting the conversation and recontextualizing it with just a few words. I always respected that.
The only reason I took that action was because I felt that if I didn’t, I would end up joining the merge as a dead man, especially against the “David vs. Goliath” trio. I was the target of those three people. Even though I said I wasn’t going to work with Angelina, it would have been seen as protecting them because I cast multiple votes. Now I’m both the liar and the target. When Mike started seriously trying to save Angelina and I felt like he was trying to keep me from seeing the truth, I felt how bad it was going to be when we met up, and I thought Mike wasn’t really trying to help me here. He’s not trying to say this about Emily to help me. He is trying to help Angelina. And once that switch was flipped, I thought Mike was the glue between Angelina and Ozzy. In other words, if I eliminate Mike, these two will become enemies. There are three of them now, but Ozzy and Angelina probably won’t get together. Even if I get a lot of votes, I might be on the right side in the next vote. That’s it.
And he said to Mike: I messaged him as soon as I got back. Because I knew he was hurt and probably confused. I hope he understands that someday and I hope we can talk again someday. When I voted for him, I said, “Mike, I don’t know if you understand how much respect I put into this vote. I hope that someday you understand and we can talk.”
This interview has been edited and condensed.
