Throughout the second episode of Destination X season 1 has been a wild ride so far, with the game sucking viewers into a world filled with travel trivia and hidden hijinks as host Jeffrey Dean Morgan leads the cast blindly (literally) around Europe. After losing reality TV veteran Josh Martinez in the first episode, anything seemed like it was possible for the show's sophomore effort.

Throughout Destination X's second episode, the show's cast were brought to different areas within the Swiss Alps as they got closer and closer to Geneva, the show's second destination. After competing through a series of challenges, Jonah was one of the few Destination X cast who was chosen to head into the terrifying map room. While he'd been working with the clues provided, a tip off from Ally Bross on where she allegedly believed they were, he chose his mark, but wound up off-base. Jonah spoke to Screen Rant about his time on the series, including his difficult elimination.

Screen Rant: Did you come into Destination X feeling like you had any kind of advantage from your background as a former English teacher?

Jonah Evarts: I wasn't entirely sure if my background as an English teacher would help. It all depended on what clues we got, and I figured if I got anything related to, like, books or literature, I was going to be on top of my game. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of that, but I had my fingers crossed there might be some here or there. It ended up not being as much of an advantage as it could've.

Screen Rant: Getting into the episode, going into that room with the bells, you were certain that your memory was going to help you. You did get five right. Do you think getting all 10 would have helped you in the end?

Jonah: Honestly, I think I would have been more stressed if I had gotten all 10 of them, because then I'm moving two names, and I have to choose two people. Then, I'm literally just a firing squad for someone. I was fine with just getting five, because I was able to just move my name out, which made it a little bit easier. Getting 10, then if I go out there and someone is like, well, he moved my name out, why did he do that? That would have been awful. So I'm kind of glad I only got five - I think 10 would have been actually more complicated.

Jonah's Destination X Elimination Was A Close Call

He Was Just A Few Miles Away From Safety

Although it wasn't shown as fully as Jonah experienced it on Destination X, he was working with Ally and, in turn, Shayne Cureton throughout the first legs of the game. While Jonah was hopeful Ally would bring him information that would help, she shared the wrong city with him during a chat before heading to the map room. This pushed Jonah to choose a completely different city than they were actually in, which he may not have considered otherwise.

Screen Rant: Getting into Ally and Shayne - prior to the map room, Ally gave you some bad information. Why did you trust her?

Jonah: Well, it's kind of hard to say too much, because a lot isn't shown, but on the bus, Ally was the person I was the closest with at that point. We had talked a lot, and I really did trust that she, at the very least, would want to take me further into the game, because her and Shayne were partnered up. I know Shayne, in the episode, he's pretty vocal about wanting Rachel [Rossette] to go or thinking Rachel should go. Since they were working together, I thought, okay, they're telling me what they know, because they want to make sure that I go on and that she does it. So in my head, I was like, well, it makes sense that they would at least want me to get past this next round. I was wrong. But you know, that was what was going through my head.

Screen Rant: Did you have any kind of strategy socially to kind of to make those connections and really form bonds there?

Jonah: Yeah, I mean, I wasn't trying to play too strategically. It's hard for me in a game like that, that's very social oriented, because I can't lie or backstab, everyone would know. I'm so bad at it that like, everyone would see right through me. So I had to kind of come forward in during my time on the bus and just be very authentic. I know that an attempt to do anything otherwise would have ended up with people not trusting me or not, like being like, this guy's got to go, you know.

I also just don't like doing that stuff. Like, it's just not who I am. So I was just trying to be myself. And yeah, I mean, I do think I made friends on the bus. But that wasn't, I didn't, it wasn't a strategy. It was more of just me being myself. And I kind of just wanted to play and win by knowing where I am. And they don't know or lose by not knowing where I am. And they do like that, that just felt more real to me.

Screen Rant: I'm very curious, everyone at this point in the game seems to have an issue with Rick [Szabo], where did you stand with Rick?

Jonah: [laughs] I liked Rick! I honestly, I felt bad that he was at that point, kind of made to be an antagonist in a lot of ways. I feel a little vindicated having seen it. Now, I did think that he had told Josh [we were in] Milan, which is what our group actually thought. I mean, that was like kind of the conclusion we'd come to. I had my own ideas, but like our group as a whole, I'd kind of come to that. So he was being like, honest when he told Josh that, but like to be left with like that note of like, oh, you're a snake. I did feel bad for him, but I also didn't want to be like allying myself with him either, because it was like everyone else's kind of against him. I would be putting myself in a weird position there, so I did kind of feel bad for him - like this poor guy, everyone turned against him on episode one.

Screen Rant: I feel like he's getting an interesting edit, I'm curious to see where that goes. In of the map room, how did it feel going in there?

[Jonah: Well, I was already so nervous before I went in there, I was terrified. And then you go in there. And honestly, it's kind of, it's a little bit freeing, because the every other moment that you're there, you're around people, there's like no privacy, you know, you're on that bus all day with other people, you sleep in a, like a room, literally with other people. Then you go in the map room, it's like the first time you're really alone. And you're only in there for a little bit., but it's like that, that one moment where it's just you and a screen, right? It was intimidating. But I tried to go in there and just be like, this is the idea I have, this is kind of what I'm thinking I'm going to do. So I tried to just go in and out as fast as possible, because I am a textbook overthinker, and if I had been in there for too long, I might have like been like, well, actually, I'm going to put it somewhere completely different. That's like 1000 miles away.

Screen Rant: I get that. You obviously did not pick Geneva, but seeing how close your guess was to the next guess, I was gutted for you.

Jonah: Oh, man. Yeah, that was painful. That was painful. I was so I knew going out that it was like less than three miles or whatever the heck and I was like, and I was like, there's no way I'm going out like this. But that was part of why I had such a large reaction when I went out. I was like the margin there, you know, on that map on a huge map like that. That's like I move my finger like this and I stay in the game like, you know, it's just so crazy.

Screen Rant: And the fact that Mack [Fitzergald] was the one that had that guess that she's such a strong competitor, I was shocked. When you were talking to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, were you surprised to hear that Mack's guess was that close to yours?

Jonah: I was. I think you can kind of see it on my face when he says who it was, because I thought it was going to be Ali that was like that close to me. But also I was like, Mack, really? I thought she was going to be like I knew exactly where we were the whole time. I was shocked because she is like so smart. She's so crazy smart. And I was like, wow, I can't believe we almost had the same guess there.

Screen Rant: What were you feeling in of realizing that Ally had given you bad information?

Jonah: I was very surprised because I mean, I don't think it comes across very much in the show that we were like pretty close on the bus, which is this is fine. But I guess, yeah, it was surprised more than anything. I was like, dang, because in my head, I was like, it didn't even make sense that way. I don't know. I kind of see that now that she had like her and Tai [Lowry] were like working more together. But at the time, I really thought that we were tight and that we were going to try and get through this game further like that, especially when her and Shayne came to me like that. Now, I'm not angry about it, like Ally and I are friends still. I mean, it's a game. I get that like, you know, at that point, I was kind of being gamed there, which is fine. That's just not how I was doing it, you know?

Screen Rant: If you could do everything over again, what would you change about your gameplay?

Jonah: Honestly, I don't know if I would want to change how I played the game. I'm really happy with. For me, the most important thing going into this game was to be myself. I guess I didn't want to be someone that was gaming the game and that was trying so hard to win that they'd be willing to step on anyone else. I guess if I had to do it all over again, I probably from the start would have wanted to just like immediately be like, I'm working with these people. We're going to go through this game together instead of being a little bit more with everyone, I guess. That's maybe the only thing I would have changed. But honestly, I have no regrets. I'm sad I went out early, but I was never anything but myself and I have no regrets about that.

Destination X airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EDT on NBC.

Source: NBC/Instagram