S03.E03: Hearts of Darkness

[ramble]

Two survivalists (Carrie & Tom) continually butt heads in the Cambodian jungle. In the face of extreme heat and crocodile filled waters, will their lack of teamwork be their downfall?

[ramble]

Ugh that wasn't much fun to watch. I try to remind myself that editing can make a huge impact, but you can't edit in that much bitchiness, some of it was real. Tom seemed determined to dig in & wait things out. It seemed he was thinking the goal was to survive 21 days, period. Carrie seemed to want action & adventure & the lack of that meant her entire plan was shot & she couldn't regroup mentally.

She complained enough to make me want to smack her multiple times. I couldn't believe how much she talked about Tom only being concerned with fire & water. Um, hello anime eyes? Those are the survival biggies. She also kept saying he wasn't cut out for the show, but he seemed to do fine. Granted it was boring & not a lot happened but what was she looking for?

When I was looking for a description of this episode I read a snippet where Tom said they fished & ate that, but it wasn't shown. Maybe Carrie wanted rainstorms or wild animal attacks. When she walked off in a snit on extraction day I felt like she was enjoying the drama. I'll end this the way I started... Ugh!

[ramble]

Yes she did say "diluted" & more than once. It made me laugh at her. Since it was at the end I didn't even feel bad for laughing at her because she has used up any good will I might have had.

[beagletime]

 

And did she refer to him as "diluted," as opposed to "deluded?"

She sure did! At first I thought I heard wrong, then she repeated it.  Maybe Carrie wanted a wild animal attack or something.  Since the goal is to survive for 21 days, if you have clean water. fire and shelter there isn't much else to do but wait it out and forage for food. And what did she want Tom to do? She complained that she wished she was out there with a real man with survival skills.  Carrie seemed to have a bit of a princess attitude. I guess she wanted a man who would do everything and build her a little cottage in the jungle or something.  Like Carrie was like seriously annoying.  

 

Listening to Tom's concerns about snuggling up to a naked woman had me thinking.  It's a survival situation so sharing body heat makes sense.  What does a man do if he has an uncontrollable reaction meaning an erection.  I could imagine annoying Carrie freaking out about something like that. 

[Neurochick]

I think Carrie wanted to be on TV more than she wanted the challenge. The sad truth about reality TV is that you have to be memorable, even if it's for being a bitch, at least people remember you; the more memorable you are, the more camera time you get, the more camera time you get, the more you have a chance to be on another reality show.  Everybody wants a villain, someone that people can talk about. 

 

However if that's what she wanted, she should try out for a Bravo show more than a show on the Discovery Channel. 

[ari333]

Mr. Ari fake-sneezed, "What a bitch" and wow was she ever. I was so wishing he would stop placating her and talking to her the way he did, but he's a nice man so there's that. A normal person would have said, "I respect and understand his concern about naked body heat, but it's just for the heat, nothing else." But she was saying, "I don't give a fucking fuck" or whatever she said. Wow. Diluted! And her verb tenses were driving me insane.  When she took off in a hissy, I hated it that he went after her. Fuck her. She said she was ok alone.

[PityFree]

Carrie is ridiculous and if I see her wandering around Denver, I will be sure to kick her in the shin just for using the word "diluted." If the poor deluded girl wants a modeling career, Denver may not be the best market. I mean, it's nice here and everything, but it is not known for modeling agencies.

[Dagny]

I caught that her rating went down to 4.8 (the judges really hated her), but what happened to his rating? My DVR cut off.  It almost looked like he bulked up for the show to wait out the 21 days.  There wasn't even the normal hint of grub hunting.

[Lisin]

His rating went down too @Dagny I can't remember where to, but it wasn't as low as hers. 

[beagletime]

I don't understand why Carrie was so bored. She had a big knife and there was plenty of bamboo. She could have filled her time making some really cool Gilligan's Island type stuff.  A dining room set, fancy huts, washing machine, a stage to put on shows for each other. If there were coconuts she could have baked up a yummy coconut cream pie.

 

Much as I love Denver, it isn't a mecca for fashion or modeling. Poor diluted Carrie.

[crazycatchick]

The complaining got on my last nerve. What was her reasoning behind saying that her partner wasn't cut out for this? Someone had to tend the fire and make sure they had clean water considering it was so hot. I mean I feel like the survivalists who were in the Amazon or Malyasia or the Louisana Swamp would have gladly hung out on the Cambodia jungle. It was like the Ritz compared to a zillion mosquitos and TRENCH FOOT!!!

 

If she wanted her partner to take care of her so badly or wanted something other than clams, she should have asked him. Nicely. Like she could have watched the fire while he want to search for snakes and other food. 

[PityFree]

I don't understand why Carrie was so bored. She had a big knife and there was plenty of bamboo. She could have filled her time making some really cool Gilligan's Island type stuff.  A dining room set, fancy huts, washing machine, a stage to put on shows for each other. If there were coconuts she could have baked up a yummy coconut cream pie.

ROFL!!!! EXACTLY!! My parents have always used the saying:"Only boring people get bored." I think it fits Carrie well. She wanted someone to entertain her. If she was so bored, well, I am sure there were plenty of things she could have done to make their living situation more comfortable. 

[BusyOctober]

I try my best not to comment on a person's looks, especially women.  As a female I know there are crazy and unrealistic expectations for women to meet or try to achieve in regard to their outward appearances.  However sometimes I can't control myself. Carrie may have a great body (her butt looked amazing), but the face...not seeing "model" material in the classic sense.  She's attractive (on the outside), but I don't think she's really stunning.  Her attitude was horrible. Very passive aggressive and bitchy. She seemed very entitled to me.  I also think she was a little pissed that her partner didn't cuddle up to her the first night beyond the body heat issue.  I think she was mad he didn't find her irresistible.  I'm sure she's used to guys doing her bidding. 

[pagooey]

Everyone's, like, already said, like, all the things there were to like, dislike about Carrie, so...
 

Listening to Tom's concerns about snuggling up to a naked woman had me thinking.  It's a survival situation so sharing body heat makes sense.  What does a man do if he has an uncontrollable reaction meaning an erection.

I wondered about this too, in a slightly different way. Tom implied that his wife would be furious if he got physically close to his partner, to the point that I figured it was some kind of uber-conservative "naked equals sex equals FILTHY SINNING" thing. I mean, if my spouse was insane enough to attempt this kind of challenge, my first priority for them would be "DON'T DIE." Snuggle if you need to, for crying out loud! If neither Tom nor his wife believed that he could contain himself from Immediate Sexing, there's a lot more weird subtext going on, methinks. (Granted, Carrie's attitude quickly countered any conventional hotness she might have possessed. I don't understand the people who can even think about sex under these circumstances anyway. Hey there, you dehydrated, filthy, stinking to high heaven pitted moonscape of bug bites...how you doin'? )

[Dagny]

I could have sworn I read about the NOT hook-ups that go on and a previous guy that had the same hang ups on previous episodes. I think it was addressed on Discovery's website and most of them put the kibosh on it.  I think the only one that might have gotten close was Puma and Julie, but drinking bad water did him in.

 

Were there any other episodes where both people went down in their scores while still finishing the task? I know others went down because of eating mushrooms or drinking bad water, but usually scores go up no matter how stupid the people were and how bad they worked together.

 

I think we can put a fork in the "I have military experience, I can do this" rational.  The way they cut it, they just waited it out until they were rescued.

[Bryce Lynch]

 

I wondered about this too, in a slightly different way. Tom implied that his wife would be furious if he got physically close to his partner, to the point that I figured it was some kind of uber-conservative "naked equals sex equals FILTHY SINNING" thing. I mean, if my spouse was insane enough to attempt this kind of challenge, my first priority for them would be "DON'T DIE." Snuggle if you need to, for crying out loud! If neither Tom nor his wife believed that he could contain himself from Immediate Sexing, there's a lot more weird subtext going on, methinks. (Granted, Carrie's attitude quickly countered any conventional hotness she might have possessed. I don't understand the people who can even think about sex under these circumstances anyway. Hey there, you dehydrated, filthy, stinking to high heaven pitted moonscape of bug bites...how you doin'? )

 

A few thoughts on this:

 

1) I don't think there is anything "uber conservative" about a spouse not liking the idea of their partner cuddling up naked with a member of the opposite sex.  I would think that if either the Tom or his wife were "uber conservative" about nakedness, they would not approve of him romping around naked with a naked woman for 3 weeks, even without any physical contact. 

 

2) In a TRUE emergency survival situation, I think a reasonable spouse would understand the naked cuddling.  But this was a contrived situation.  The choice wasn't "cuddle or die" but "cuddle or tap out and fail on the show and immediately be safely extracted". I would not be nearly as unreasonable to expect a spouse to tap out rather than cuddle as it would be to ask them to die rather than cuddle. 

 

3) I believe it was about 57 degrees, so the choice was really, "cuddle or be rather cold and uncomfortable" rather than "cuddle or tap out" (much less die). They both survived the night, and 20 more, after Tom refused to cuddle.

 

4) While it is possible for a man to cuddle naked all night with an attractive woman and not have anything sexual happen, it is not the optimal fidelity strategy. :)

 

5) I believe the cuddling dispute took place on the first night, so Carrie wasn't  much of a  "dehydrated, filthy, stinking to high heaven pitted moonscape of bug bites." (love that description, btw) at that point.  Actually, compared to most teams, the two of them seemed to escape relative unscathed physically, even after the 21 days.

[ElleryAnne]

Did they mention that Carrie was also in the Marines for a while?  I find that hard to believe.  Her attitude was so immature.

 

As for the cuddling to keep warm, I can't get past one simple fact.  Tom said he didn't want to.  Therefore, no matter how cold you are, you don't snuggle.  Carrie's "I don't f-ing care" attitude annoyed the hell out of me.  I don't care how cold you are, you don't have the right to violate a person by engaging in physical contact that they don't want.  Carrie was vile.

[niklj]

So...interesting...on the Facebook Q&A both Carrie AND Tom said that editing created a lot of the drama. For example, he says he did not refuse the body heat and they actually did huddle the first two nights but found it was warmer near the fire. And they also managed to catch a lot of fish and stuff where they were, so it wasn't like they were simply settling somewhere horrible and were too lazy to search for anywhere else.

 

I am disappointed in you, show :( I thought you were above such shenanigans.

 

(Although to be fair, some of that stuff they said could not be edited like when Carrie said something along the lines "We are not each other's favorite people." Though to be fair to THAT, they are also hungry, cranky, and probably tired of seeing the same person for 24 hours, 21 days straight...)

Edited July 15, 2014 by niklj

[JennyMominFL]

As an ex WM, woman Marine, I can tell you there are a lot of immature people there.

 As to being prior military being a boon in this case, I'm not sure. I learned how to survive combat, but I did not spend a lot of time learning the sort of survival skins the people on this show did. I could see someone who spent serious time in Vietnam being helped, because he may have picked up those skills.

Basica Military service? I just don't see it being much help beyond  having intestinal fortitude

[Neurochick]

A few thoughts on this:

 

1) I don't think there is anything "uber conservative" about a spouse not liking the idea of their partner cuddling up naked with a member of the opposite sex.  I would think that if either the Tom or his wife were "uber conservative" about nakedness, they would not approve of him romping around naked with a naked woman for 3 weeks, even without any physical contact. 

 

2) In a TRUE emergency survival situation, I think a reasonable spouse would understand the naked cuddling.  But this was a contrived situation.  The choice wasn't "cuddle or die" but "cuddle or tap out and fail on the show and immediately be safely extracted". I would not be nearly as unreasonable to expect a spouse to tap out rather than cuddle as it would be to ask them to die rather than cuddle. 

 

3) I believe it was about 57 degrees, so the choice was really, "cuddle or be rather cold and uncomfortable" rather than "cuddle or tap out" (much less die). They both survived the night, and 20 more, after Tom refused to cuddle.

 

4) While it is possible for a man to cuddle naked all night with an attractive woman and not have anything sexual happen, it is not the optimal fidelity strategy. :)

 

5) I believe the cuddling dispute took place on the first night, so Carrie wasn't  much of a  "dehydrated, filthy, stinking to high heaven pitted moonscape of bug bites." (love that description, btw) at that point.  Actually, compared to most teams, the two of them seemed to escape relative unscathed physically, even after the 21 days.

I'm sorry but if they felt that way about cuddling, then don't go on the damn show.  

 

I got a right wing nutjob vibe from that guy though, so probably he's married to a shrew like Elisabeth Hasselbeck who thinks everything is a "gateway to cheating" or some shit like that. 

[ChristmasJones]

I was thinking if the guy (and/or his wife) were so paranoid about him being with a naked woman, then WHY did they have him audition and then agree to be on a show where he would be naked with a naked woman for three weeks?????

 

The stupidity defies......

[Bryce Lynch]

I'm sorry but if they felt that way about cuddling, then don't go on the damn show.  

 

I got a right wing nutjob vibe from that guy though, so probably he's married to a shrew like Elisabeth Hasselbeck who thinks everything is a "gateway to cheating" or some shit like that. 

 

The idea a man cuddling naked with an attractive young woman could be a "gateway to cheating" is not "right wing nut job thinking", it is common sense, based upon a basic knowledge of biology and sociology.  It is extremely naive to think otherwise.  It won't necessarily lead to cheating, just as juggling live hand grenades won't necessarily lead to death or injury, but the risk is certainly there. 

 

Men generally don't stay faithful through heroic acts of self control, after they have found themselves naked, with attractive women.  They usually do it by avoiding such situations. 

 

I do agree that if someone has a legitimate concern about sharing body heat in that manner, they should probably not go on the show, or at least not in a location where the temperature drops low at night.   Trying to survive, for 21 days, in the wilderness, with no supplies, with a member of the opposite sex...naked, is certainly not for everyone.  In fact I'd say less than 5% of the population (possibly even lower) are well suited to it. 

In defense of Carrie (somewhat anyway), Tom was a total jerk when she came back from clam beach with a bounty of clams and instead of thanking her, he whined about her not bringing back any kindling. 

Edited July 15, 2014 by Bryce Lynch

[Neurochick]

The idea a man cuddling naked with an attractive young woman could be a "gateway to cheating" is not "right wing nut job thinking", it is common sense, based upon a basic knowledge of biology and sociology.  It is extremely naive to think otherwise.  It won't necessarily lead to cheating, just as juggling live hand grenades won't necessarily lead to death or injury, but the risk is certainly there. 

 

Men generally don't stay faithful through heroic acts of self control, after they have found themselves naked, with attractive women.  They usually do it by avoiding such situations. 

 

I do agree that if someone has a legitimate concern about sharing body heat in that manner, they should probably not go on the show, or at least not in a location where the temperature drops low at night.   Trying to survive, for 21 days, in the wilderness, with no supplies, with a member of the opposite sex...naked, is certainly not for everyone.  In fact I'd say less than 5% of the population (possibly even lower) are well suited to it. 

 

 

That's pretty scary about men.  So basically it's normal for a man to cheat if he finds himself with a naked woman?  Meaning men have no self control at all?  To me that's like saying if a man sees an attractive woman in a sexy outfit, he can't help himself from harassing her, which to me is a cop out.  I don't think a man should get away with, "what could I do?  I'm just a man."

 

But we both agree that the guy probably shouldn't have auditioned for the show if he felt that way.  I mean would he lose it if he even SAW a naked woman who wasn't his wife?

[Bryce Lynch]

That's pretty scary about men.  So basically it's normal for a man to cheat if he finds himself with a naked woman?  Meaning men have no self control at all?  To me that's like saying if a man sees an attractive woman in a sexy outfit, he can't help himself from harassing her, which to me is a cop out.  I don't think a man should get away with, "what could I do?  I'm just a man."

 

But we both agree that the guy probably shouldn't have auditioned for the show if he felt that way.  I mean would he lose it if he even SAW a naked woman who wasn't his wife?

 

That is not what I said.  If a married man finds himself naked with an attractive woman (doesn't happen much in real life, unless he is trying, of course) his best course would be to remove himself from the situation.  That is essentially what Tom did, to the extent he could, by minimizing the cuddling.

 

There is a big difference between merely seeing a woman in a sexy outfit and rubbing your naked body against her naked body.  To me, the best self control means avoiding the the naked body rubbing in the first place.  Once naked people are rubbing their genitals against one another, self control has a way of going out the window. :)  I think this is true of both men and women, but probably more so with men.

 

In the case of a man seeing a woman in a sexy outfit is his responsibility to look away or keep his mouth shut and his hands to himself. 

 

Now, in a true life or death survival situation (man and woman stranded in freezing conditions in a blizzard, for example) sharing body heat could be necessary.  Of course, there is a 99.9% chance that one or both of the people would have some sort of clothing, so proper precautions could be taken (e.g., keeping underwear on) to minimize risk of inappropriate behavior.

 

The scenario on N&F is one that would likely never happen in real life, as people generally always have clothing on or access to clothing.  While the "naked" angle makes adds a large degree of difficulty to the challenges on the show, it also creates situations and problems that would never happen in real life survival. 

[Neurochick]

But it still doesn't explain why, if he and his wife knew that would be an issue, would he go on the show?  In that case, why would any married or person in a relationship go on a show where you'll be around another naked person not your SO?

[pagooey]

Thanks, Neurochick, for the "gateway to cheating" reference, which summarizes the weird vibe I was getting from Tom better than I managed to. I think there are multiple layers of cultural expectation slathered onto this show, and that there are finer degrees of...well, cuddling and nakedness and sexuality, that aren't holding up to even our snarky scrutiny, and it puts us in a weird spot.

 

The very title of the show front-loads this: t's NAKED and Afraid, so the titillation premise is built in: ooh, nekkid! This is the sexy survival show! In that light, I can kind of see where candidates might worry about this beforehand: not just that it's going to be awkward, but that nakedness with a member of the opposite sex means that you're expected to be physically, sexually attracted to them. And yeah, I suppose being chilly is the least of their worries in a survival scenario, so snuggle or don't, whatever...

There is a big difference between merely seeing a woman in a sexy outfit and rubbing your naked body against her naked body.  To me, the best self control means avoiding the the naked body rubbing in the first place.  Once naked people are rubbing their genitals against one another, self control has a way of going out the window. :)  I think this is true of both men and women, but probably more so with men.

 

...but Bryce, I think that this paragraph leaps over a lot of middle ground in the same way the show's premise does. There are many degrees between "sexy outfit," NO outfit, huddling for warmth, and sudden genitals-to-genitals action, Inevitable Erection or no. This is what unsettled me about Tom: he implied that both he and his wife assumed he could barely resist the temptation, that naked (even bug-bit, thirsty, and huddled on a bamboo mat in front of a camera crew) was a direct road to boinking. The title of the show, and possibly the producers' hope for a little tumble-in-the-jungle, makes us all complicit in it somehow...the context has been super-sexualized.

 

Or am I just "diluting" myself? ;)

[Bryce Lynch]

Thanks, Neurochick, for the "gateway to cheating" reference, which summarizes the weird vibe I was getting from Tom better than I managed to. I think there are multiple layers of cultural expectation slathered onto this show, and that there are finer degrees of...well, cuddling and nakedness and sexuality, that aren't holding up to even our snarky scrutiny, and it puts us in a weird spot.

 

The very title of the show front-loads this: t's NAKED and Afraid, so the titillation premise is built in: ooh, nekkid! This is the sexy survival show! In that light, I can kind of see where candidates might worry about this beforehand: not just that it's going to be awkward, but that nakedness with a member of the opposite sex means that you're expected to be physically, sexually attracted to them. And yeah, I suppose being chilly is the least of their worries in a survival scenario, so snuggle or don't, whatever...

 

...but Bryce, I think that this paragraph leaps over a lot of middle ground in the same way the show's premise does. There are many degrees between "sexy outfit," NO outfit, huddling for warmth, and sudden genitals-to-genitals action, Inevitable Erection or no. This is what unsettled me about Tom: he implied that both he and his wife assumed he could barely resist the temptation, that naked (even bug-bit, thirsty, and huddled on a bamboo mat in front of a camera crew) was a direct road to boinking. The title of the show, and possibly the producers' hope for a little tumble-in-the-jungle, makes us all complicit in it somehow...the context has been super-sexualized.

 

Or am I just "diluting" myself? ;)

 

Yes, you are totally "diluted"! *LOL*

 

Again the whole "naked survival" scenario that the show sets up is rather contrived and has little or no relation to real life, so applying normal moral standards to it is difficult. 

 

That said, under normal circumstances a married man hanging out naked with another woman would be considered "cheating" by a very large percentage of the population, and spooning naked, would be considered cheating by the overwhelming majority.

 

This is sort of like lying, backstabbing your "friends" and swearing on your children's lives and dead father's grave in "Survivor".  In the real world, most people would find those things abhorrent, but in the context of the show there is a debate as to whether they are still wrong or just "part of the game". 

 

I guess what I am saying is I could understand the wife being OK with it and Tom being comfortable with it, but I can also understand them not being comfortable with it.  I just think it is odd that anyone would think his wife is totally "nuts" for having a problem with the nekkid spoonin'. :)

 

 

[AZChristian]

Maybe Mrs. Tom just didn't want him to be spooning with a woman who is younger, who has an amazing backside and what appears to be enhanced "boobage" (as best we can tell from the size of the blurs).  Had the woman been one of the older, not-as-thin, wacky earth-mother types, it might have been okay with Mrs. Tom.

[PityFree]

All of the snuggling erection issues can be fixed easily with one small adjustment: MAKE THE WOMAN THE BIG SPOON!!!! Ugh! It isn't that difficult, Naked People.

[Biosynth]

I kind of wonder what would Joe Teti's reaction be to Carrie had he been there instead of Tom.  I'd actually pay to see that.

[ElleryAnne]

I kind of wonder what would Joe Teti's reaction be to Carrie had he been there instead of Tom.

 

 

It would depend on whether or not she could fashion something into sandals.

[ari333]

Maybe Mrs. Tom just didn't want him to be spooning with a woman who is younger, who has an amazing backside and what appears to be enhanced "boobage" (as best we can tell from the size of the blurs).  Had the woman been one of the older, not-as-thin, wacky earth-mother types, it might have been okay with Mrs. Tom.

 

THIS. Initially I didn't want to say it, but her breasts, even with the blurs, looked like they pointed straight out and didn't move. I had posted something to that effect and thought.... I didn't want to invite tomatoes toward my head. But that would have been presumptuous  of me regarding my fellow posters. :) Or maybe I'm jealous because my boobage does not stand up by themselves. ("They're real and they're spectacular!" - but they don't point straight out, never have) [/first part - Seinfeld]

 

I thought Tom was sweet and actually giving her too much attention. "Is this ok?" and his chasing after her made me barf a little. I was screaming, "fuck her, let her go wandering off."

Edited July 17, 2014 by ari333

[PityFree]

I kind of wonder what would Joe Teti's reaction be to Carrie had he been there instead of Tom. I'd actually pay to see that.

He would have killed her and cooked her for dinner so he could get enough calories.

Then he would have harvested her implants and used them to signal for rescue.

Edited July 19, 2014 by PityFree

[panthergirl13]

I was pulling for the crocodiles.

[Biosynth]

LOL, Pittyfree!  I would hope he'd have called her an idiot first before using his Special Forces combat skills to kill her. 

[blackwing]

I didn't think either of them were prizes.  She was a bit of a princess, but he was a bit of a passive aggressive jerk.  If he had an issue with cuddling naked for warmth with a stranger, then he shouldn't have signed up for a show called Naked and Afraid.  It's not like this was the first season.  He would have seen the show and known that he could possibly be put in an environment that got cold at night.

 

I did feel bad for her when she came back with clams and was so proud, and he's all, "you were supposed to get kindling".  Seemed like all he cared about was getting firewood.  When he came back with 7 clams she was so excited and happy.  Then he knocked over the water and made her feel bad about it, and wouldn't even help her when she was trying to fix it.

 

I'm curious if there were actual crocodiles in that water they waded through near the end.  She said she heard something big splash into the water.  That'd be unsettling.

[Art Vandelay]

Yep, she was annoying. But I think she probably succeeded in getting attention from it and now being a "reality TV star". Ugh.

 

I wondered about the crocodiles too. We never saw them in the same shot as the contestants, just as random cutaways so I'm doubtful that they were as imminent as they were made out to be.

[Neurochick]

I'm watching this one again. I don't like Carrie, but Tom came off very passive aggressive and manipulative, like he's the type that will make you feel guilty even if he was the one who was wrong.

Is Carrie racially mixed? She looked it to me.

I don't think you should go on a show called Naked and Afraid if you don't want to be naked with someone you don't know. Sharing body heat is fine if you're freezing. Tom just bugged me.

As I'm watching again, I am feeling for Carrie. I've known men like Tom, passive aggressive douchebags.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Neurochick

[tv-talk]

Carrie was hoping for a hot guy she could hook up with and add to a drama filled 21 days. She probably would have been willing to have sex at some point if Tom wasn't such a dud (not that he should cheat on his wife). She was ready to be a couple out there and was without question the hottest woman who has been on show as far as extent to which her body held up and how she looked overall by the end.

 

Expect more of this as the show goes really down hill from the low point it started. This episode was BARELY about any survival and all about the tension of this 'couple' instead. I thought they were both quite annoying but I would have handled being out there with her a helluva lot better than he did.

Also he may have been correct about numerous things regarding importance of water and fire, but the guy was a total wimp. One thing these shows tend to prove is that being in military isnt what civilians tend to assume it is.

Edited August 2, 2014 by tv-talk

[Neurochick]

She was in the military as well (Marines) and I she said something about him being an officer and that officers "do nothing except give orders."

 

I'm surprised Carrie was even on that show; I've seen her Facebook and Twitter page and she seems like more of a party girl.  Nothing wrong with that, but I was kind of surprised a party girl would go on a show like N&A.

[LAgator77]

I'm surprised Carrie was even on that show; I've seen her Facebook and Twitter page and she seems like more of a party girl.  Nothing wrong with that, but I was kind of surprised a party girl would go on a show like N&A.

N&A is just another step in becoming the next Kim Kardashian for these people. All these fame whores bounce around from show to show and their need to be on TV is so great that they'll take anything no matter the premise. 

If you didn't know, sun-poisoned Jonathan also appeared in an explicit Playboy reality show where he was rejected by 2 women. Luckily the producers had 2 back-up skanks  who were willing to have sex with him on camera. 

[JackKnife]

In defense of Carrie (somewhat anyway), Tom was a total jerk when she came back from clam beach with a bounty of clams and instead of thanking her, he whined about her not bringing back any kindling. 

 

Yeah. I think they were both bad teammates but for different reasons.  Carrie was spot on in her assessment that Tom was an officer who couldn't cope with his orders being ignored and his plans altered. Survival requires a degree of flexibility that doesn't jibe with a by-the-book military approach.  But Carrie was just childish with her complaints about boredom and her wandering off in search of adventure... even if that did occasionally yield results like the clams.

[Rosetwist]

I LOVE this show and just saw this episode again as a rerun. As an Army vet I was ready to back Tom all the way but found him to be an insufferable jackass. Understanding that editing can skew things I still strongly agree with Carrie when she says she would have been better off without Tom. SHE built the shelter (no matter how they botched the end of show summary), she was the only one to find food and HE wasn't even willing to share his oh so sacred officer's body with someone who works for a living. Without her machete they wouldn't have had a chance at survival. His only contribution aka obsession was the fire, which most pairs on the show consider to be just a small part of the day's duties. Carrie kicked Cambodia's butt and Officer Tom's too. That PITA do nothing ego maniac had me so furious I was swearing at my TV and and having severe flashbacks. I don't know how she kept from using that machete ON TOM!