Cedrek McFadden pulled off quite the trick on this season of Survivor: He somehow managed to lose two players with one vote. When Cedrek decided to save Sai Hughley and jettison Justin Pioppi instead during a critical tie vote, he not only lost his No. 1 ally in Justin, he also completely lost the trust of the person he had initially voted against in Sai.

That made it almost impossible for Cedrek to move forward when Sai kept undermining him during the tribe swap and merge, and when the new Niu Nai tribe was split in two, Cedrek was unanimously picked off by his group as the second in a double elimination. Luckily for him — the only time Cedrek was lucky this season — his group went to Tribal Council last, meaning he gets to be on the jury and help determine the winner of Survivor 48.

But what the heck happened on that last challenge? Did he ever consider playing his Shot in the Dark? And what does he make of Sai coming after him after he saved her? We asked Cedrek all that and more.

Cedrek McFadden on ‘Survivor 48’. Robert Voets/CBS 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Let’s get to the most important question first: Why have you not been to Luigi’s yet?

CEDREK McFADDEN: Actually, I’ve been to Luigi’s. I went about a week ago. It was great. Great food, great host. Boston’s a great city. And remember, we recorded this nine months ago and so much happens in life. We get back to our routine, work, I have family, I have a kid who’s going off to college. There’s a lot of things that happen, and so we finally made it happen last week and it was really great connecting with Justin.

I hope you left a hell of a tip, my man.

Well, I think we both appreciate the opportunity to bond. We didn’t really have a proper goodbye. We didn’t have the time to connect, and he remained someone even outside of the game that I have such great fondness for and appreciation for.

As you walked into this last Tribal Council, what did you think was going to happen? Did you know it was you?

I was very suspicious that it would be me because as soon as the rocks were drawn and I looked at who I’m working with, it was very clear to me that I was the odd man out. And as much as I think I said in one episode that I’m glass-half-full, I saw what was happening. I wanted to believe otherwise. I didn’t manifest completely that “Hey, I’m going home tonight.” But it was really strong suspicion that I had that it would be me. So I was not terribly surprised by it, even though I was wanting it not to be me.

Cedrek McFadden on ‘Survivor 48’. Robert Voets/CBS

Did you consider playing your Shot in the Dark? If so, why didn’t you?

I don’t have a lot of regrets in this game. That’s probably one that perhaps I should have played. And I think part of it was the support that they’re like, “Yeah, it’s Shauhin.” And I’m putting myself in the context of that moment.

I was also incredibly spent. I was emotionally, and clearly physically, and I was at a point where I felt the game closing in on me. I really did. I had a hard pre-merge since day one. We’re out there, we’re fighting, we’re at Tribal Council nearly every night. And at that point I think in clouding me and not thinking about the Shot in the Dark, I was hitting that wall, figuratively and literally.

How bummed would you have been if Joe had beaten David and you ended up one spot outside the jury?

I would’ve been bummed, but I think I’m still walking away from this with what Jeff says all the time: The game is the lure, the experience is the prize. I still would’ve had an experience that not many people get to have. And regardless, there has to be a deep appreciation for that experience that we’re getting to have.

We have an exclusive deleted scene this week of you saying how excited you were for the upcoming immunity challenge to show off how strong your willpower was in an endurance competition, so what happened?

I think two things can be true at the same time. I have willpower, but also, at the same time, I’m not a physical beast, and it’s two weeks in which I had not eaten anything. Maybe instead of 20 seconds I would’ve had 40 seconds. I think what’s interesting is that in this season, I have redefined what a flop looks like, and I don’t walk away from that. I don’t shy away from that.

That challenge is harder than it looks, right? There is a spring action on it. I don’t have calluses on my hand. I wash my hands a million times a day. There’s no grip. And I don’t change the fact that I believe that I have willpower, because that willpower is still there. It’s just there’s a point at which the willpower meets the physical wall, and that’s what it was.

And I was ready for a challenge where you stand and hold the rope. I was demonstrating that. But that weight and my pregame body weight… I mean, I lost about 17 pounds by the time I left the game. And that’s a big difference.

What was more frustrating, this gripping challenge or the balance beam in the water?

Probably the balance beam. There were several times that I don’t know if it shows that I actually walked across without an issue. I think the challenge was the balancing with Kevin at the same time. And so it wasn’t necessarily getting across the beam. It was the getting across the beam with Kevin. And obviously there’s a whole lecture you can have there on teamwork and the value of patience and how you do things together. But that was the defeating point in that challenge, was just doing it together. And that was what was tough.

Cedrek McFadden on ‘Survivor 48’. Robert Voets/CBS

You and Sai had a roller coaster of a relationship. What was it like to watch that back and see her telling Bianca not to trust you, and see her voting for you at Tribal Council after you saved her at that earlier Tribal by switching your vote?

The edited version that we see shows the bumps in our relationship. Everyone in relationships has bumps, and they showed our bumps. Our relationship was still a bond. Our relationship was complex. It was messy at times, but she was still the person that would say, “This person said this about you, this person did this.” There was a lot of that that unfortunately the viewer doesn’t have a chance to see.

I completely enjoy the editing team. They do a phenomenal job. So I trust what they put out there, but for the sake of when I’m watching it, I’m seeing that version which happens when she said those things and I immediately called and text like, “What did you say?” But I also know the other sides of those conversations, and I attributed the relationship that I had with Sai in several ways to what Joe and Eva had. In the sense, with that Justin vote, I saw somebody’s heart. I saw somebody breaking and I stepped in to help in that moment, in a moment that I think transcended the game.

Have you replayed in your head your decision to switch your vote from Sai to Justin at that Tribal Council and how your game might have played out differently if you had saved the pizza man instead?

Oh yeah. Here’s what I know: That particular moment was a moment that was not about game in that moment. What I saw was someone that was hurting. I saw someone that was in pain, and I’ve told Sai this after the game. I said, “I was worried about what would’ve happened to you had you left the game like that.” We all were potentially going to leave the game. That wasn’t up for questioning, but I was concerned about her. If there was any hurt, if there was any friction in her life, if there was any trauma in her life, would that moment only now compound in a way that would be irreparable?

And so that’s what I saw in that moment. I actually said in that Tribal, I said, “Jeff, this is transcending the game. This is not about Justin.” And I came in here, I’m not writing your name down under no circumstance. That’s what I believe. But in that moment, I saw it was a human-to-human connection. You’re having a moment. And I was concerned about her mental state, and I knew if she left the game like that, that could be something that she may not be able to come back from.

Justin Pioppi and Cedrek McFadden on ‘Survivor 48’. CBS

Had Justin pushed harder for you to keep him, as Sai did at that Tribal Council, do you think you would have kept him instead?

Well, I don’t even think it was about pushing harder, because one of the things that Sai said in her conversation with this: She did exactly what she should have done, right? She played it right. She pointed out the holes in the alliance that I had with Justin. In the moment, that was live in real time. This game is fluid and we have to respond appropriately. She pointed out some holes in that alliance, and so it shattered some of that.

So even if he had pushed harder, would it have made a difference? Depends on what he had said, but it really wasn’t even about Justin at that point. I was primarily concerned about her as a person. The same way that you see Joe kind of hold Eva, I was in my moment with Sai. and I think the quote they showed me saying to her and Mary, “That’s enough.” I was telling Sai, “You’re enough. That’s enough. You don’t have to do all this. You are enough.” Because I was concerned about her. So it really wasn’t about Justin. It was about this girl — I need to keep her or not keep her in the game, but I need to make sure she’s okay.

What was your initial assessment of the Vula tribe?

I said it. I was like, “Oh crap.” On one level, you’re really happy to be in that space. I remember looking around and looking at our team and knowing that we would have an uphill climb, but there’s something to say about the human spirit. There’s something to say about the ability to fall down and get back up again. And even when you fall down, it’s never that you’re out. And even if you’re out, there’s something next.

And so as long as you have breath in your body, you get up and you try again. And that’s what I was really kind of connecting with: Don’t get afraid of what it looks like. Keep your head down, do what you can. And I knew what strengths I had. Obviously, I hope they had more strengths, but I believe in the power of human will and the ability to get back up again.

Stephanie Berger, Sai Hughley, Justin Pioppi, Mary Zheng, Cedrek McFadden, and Kevin Leung on the Vulu tribe of ‘Survivor 48’. Robert Voets/CBS

What’s something that happened out there that didn’t make it to TV but you wish we had seen?

We smiled. I laughed a bunch. I had belly laughs and I had conversations with so many of our castmates that I think ultimately influenced their ability to feel like they could trust me, that they could give me reliable information that no one else would have. Even if Sai and I were arguing the next five minutes, we talked a bunch about strategy, and she’s the reason why I made it past the first vote.

As soon as we got on the island, she says, “They’re talking about your name.” She immediately comes to me, gives me information. I’ve gotten a lot of people saying “Oh, he’s keeping her the game. She’s dragging him out.” That’s one element that they’re showing, but there’s so much more that you didn’t see that substantiated that relationship that allowed me to stay in the game for as long as I did.

You’re looking at somebody who thought I would’ve been out the first vote. And so the fact that I was able to remain in this game and even make it to the jury was a blessing and was something that I remain grateful for. So that’s no accident, but it really is a testament of what it means to have these connections with and build these bonds that even exist today.

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