One thing is clear: Rick Devens came to play on Survivor 50. He is making that more obvious by the week. After his audacious move in episode 10, “A Side Dish of Chaos,” Rick showed he is willing to take almost any risk if it gives him a shot at becoming Sole Survivor in this landmark season.
Rick bonded early in the season with Christian Hubicki, and the two worked together until Christian’s exit in episode 9. Both were playing hard, but Christian’s aggressive style ultimately sent him to the jury instead of the endgame.
And this week, Rick was dangerously close to joining him. Because of how boldly he has played, his knack for finding idols, and his overall sharpness, his name keeps coming up in discussions about who should be voted out.
What would happen if Rick Devens reaches the Final Three on Survivor 50?
Rick looked like the easiest vote in episode 10. At the start of the episode, he admitted that the idol he pulled from the rocks to save himself in episode 8 was actually fake, and that he had planted it earlier in the season. The whole beach already knew he was a major threat, but players often hesitate to take the obvious shot. Once people start thinking about resumes, it’s not exactly a great look if everyone agrees on the same target.
Instead of keeping his focus on what seemed like a sitting duck in Rick, Jonathan Young put together a plan to blindside Ozzy Lusth. He floated the idea to Aubry Bracco and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick first. Thinking he had a strong opening, he brought Rick into the loop, and the vote-counting began. But then Joe Hunter, who is aligned with Jonathan, shared the plan with Cirie Fields, whom he has been trying to impress.
That’s when everything blew up. Cirie is tightly connected with Ozzy and Rizo Velovic, and she wasn’t ready to lose Ozzy yet. She immediately warned him, and Ozzy got frustrated because he believed Stephenie was behind the move. From there, the situation unraveled, with multiple names being tossed around in a frantic scramble before Tribal Council.
At Tribal Council, Rick understood that, after all the chaos back at camp, he was once again in danger. So he decided to shift the spotlight, telling everyone that Stephenie had been the one pushing the Ozzy plan and that she was holding a steal-a-vote advantage. His hope was that he could become the vote used to eliminate Stephenie, whom he painted as Cirie’s real opponent.
Then came the major twist. Earlier in the day, the players learned that MrBeast was bringing a Beware Advantage to Tribal Council. That night, it was revealed that the players had to choose someone to flip a coin. If the person guessed correctly, they would be safe and receive an idol. On top of that, the $1 million prize would double. If they guessed wrong, they would be sent home.
Because he had already played so hard, Rick volunteered, and nobody else seemed eager to take the risk. He flipped the coin, won immunity, and doubled the prize. It was a bold move, but one he clearly believed was worth it. Stephenie was sent to the jury as a result.
Rick made that gamble because he likely believed he was heading home anyway. Now he has immunity, but he also has the biggest target in the game squarely on his back. Everyone will be looking to take a shot at him.
If Rick can survive the next few votes, maybe win an immunity necklace, and use his idol at the right time, there is a real path to the Final Three. Considering where he stood earlier in the day, that would be an incredible turnaround.
He now needs someone willing to work with him — maybe a player looking to hide behind the massive shield Rick offers. That won’t be simple, because right now, nobody seems eager to sit in the Final Three with him.
If he does reach the end, it will be hard for the other players to ignore how aggressively he has played, how much risk he has taken, and how much damage he caused with that episode 10 move. These are players who understand the game, and some may respect the way he’s been willing to shake everything up.
He still has plenty of work ahead of him, though, because there are several smart players left in the game. Imagine how compelling it would be if Rick somehow made the Final Tribal Council alongside Cirie and Ozzy. Both would be extremely difficult to vote against, and Cirie has played a brilliant, understated game. Ozzy has also improved his overall résumé, and both would be sentimental favorites. If that ended up being the Final Three, who would get your vote?
If Rick can reach the end with anyone other than those two legends, he would have a strong case for the win based on everything we’ve seen so far. But there is still a long road ahead. Jonathan, Rizo, and Tiffany Ervin have all played well in different ways. If one of them makes it, that likely means someone found a way to take out Cirie and Ozzy — and that would carry serious weight with the jury.
Rick has played as hard as he possibly can, and he seems to be enjoying every second of it. It would be a major upset if he made it all the way to the end, but if he does, it will be hard to overlook the player whose aggressiveness literally doubled the pot.
