S08.E03: Chewed Up

[Quilt Fairy]

Quote

The participants test new strategies to get hold of food as the predators pose a serious threat: someone is concerned they consumed a poisonous plant. 

Air date: Thursday, June 17, 2021.

[ProfCrash]

Rose is not inspiring confidence. She has done nothing on her shelter. Her fishing rod was interesting and she is already shooting off bangy things to scare away bears.

Biko is making bad choices. Lets swim across cold water barely dresses and see what might be over there. Oh and remove sleeves from a shirt. Not sure what else he accomplished. Oh, his shelter looked decent. Not sure that the bark sheets will really help with wind prevention because there were gaps. 

Matt caught the field on fire. His shelter looks compact and well insulated. But he has massive issues with mice. 

Michelle has a nice little shelter and is harvesting lots of plants. But then the plants end up being hemlock and not parsnip and she is eating charcoal. Glad she didn’t tap but I can see why she was worried.

Was it Jordan with the log house? It looked great.  I got worried when he said he was OCD as a contractor while building his house. Nice fish catch on his part. 

Skinny dude who is worried about losing too much weight in week 2 is in trouble.  Is that Colton? The pink undies for storing fish was cute. And the berries buried in the pit was a good idea. 

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Biko is making bad choices. Lets swim across cold water barely dresses and see what might be over there. Oh and remove sleeves from a shirt. Not sure what else he accomplished. Oh, his shelter looked decent. Not sure that the bark sheets will really help with wind prevention because there were gaps. 

I agree with you about the long swim for what ended up to be no gain, but strangely, I liked Biko a lot more in this episode than when he was introduced.  Maybe he was trying too hard for the camera before?  

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

And the berries buried in the pit was a good idea.

But I have to wonder, wouldn't the bear still smell them?  Especially if they start to ferment.  

Regarding Michelle, if you say "This is the worst tasting thing I've put in my mouth, ever", maybe, I don't know, take it out of your mouth?  I have the greatest admiration for our ancestors who tried all these weird things for the first time, but maybe if it tastes that bad, it wasn't actually something they continued to eat? 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Quilt Fairy

[ProfCrash]

I thought the rule with trying a new plant that you are not sure of was to eat a small amount, wait a bunch of hours to see if you react. If you don't then eat a little bit more, wait a bunch of hours and see if you react. It looks like she was following that practice so she had some negative reaction but nothing that was too dangerous. She knew that the "parsnip" looked like the hemlock and appeared to be cautious in her approach. 

Biko still annoyed me, I don't know why. It seems like he is making decisions based on being entertaining and not thinking his actions through. I don't get cutting up shirts fo a fashion statement when the colder weather is coming sooner rather than later and he is going to need those extra inches of fabric. 

At least he took the bone out of his nose.

[LennieBriscoe]

Too bad there are no wild monkeys around! I learned as a kid reading "Swiss Family Robinson" that a human can safely consume anything a monkey eats.

What was it again Biko hoped to find across the lake? Greener grass? Better he should have waded in to catch some fish! Cutting the sleeves off his shirt for no purpose (unlike the pink underwear)? Doesn't  he know of the concept "rolling them up"? Prediction: The first strong wind will carry away his unsecured bark shingles. 

Loved the screen statement that Jordon's fish would last him three meals. WHAT?! A hungry adult man with no other "side dishes"?! And why didn't he immediately try to catch another?

Yep, those buried berries are gonna go the way of the bow string. And any food a man can hang at a height (even in pink underpants) a grizzly bear can easily  reach. 

Love this show! Person against Nature. No "tribes," no "votes," no silly contests. True survival. 

Question, though---How could they have been saved if:  that bear had decided to attack Rose; Michelle had eaten a lethal amount of hemlock; Biko had been swept away by a current?

I guess the obvious  answer is---they wouldn't  have been!

[ProfCrash]

I don't know, people have buried food like that for ages and not had too many issues. I have seen it on other shows and there is evidence of humans doing this thousands of years ago. I would guess that there are easier places to go for food that take less effort than digging up what is in the ground. 

I think Biko was hoping that the area on the other side would be better for hunting, that it would be less dense forest that would allow him to set traps and hunt. It isn't an awful thought but I am not sure swimming across to check it out was the best idea. Build a raft and pole over, then you have a raft for fishing as well as exploring. 

Mind you, I would be punching out 5 minutes after they dropped me off so I really am talking out my ass.

[humbleopinion]

Matt Gnarly Teeth and Michelle are both already too thin less than 2 weeks in.

Meanwhile Biko looks like he’s maintaining his bulk weight by eating plants sez him…okay, pal.

Biko, you are no Ethel Merman…stop belting out in song…STFU and show us what you are secretly eating….your shelter is coming along nicely, your bark side paneling will be flying projectiles in the first big wind.

What has Rose been doing? Brushing her hair and….? The rod and reel was for show only….it was ill conceived and nonfunctional.
Her flimsy tarp shelter sez it all…I’m outta here first big wind storm or snow dump or mud slide. 

Jordon’s notching is beautiful, can’t wait to see the final product.
Nice bull trout but smoking one fish? How about eating it all to replace your depleted fat stores in your starved body?
Is Jordon another Sooty Dave in the making?

Clay’s tall and narrow cabin with the stone hearth looks well constructed but would feel better if he found some metal on the beach to make flashing, worry embers flying around and starting his cabin on fire.

His berry hole will be nice refreshing treat for a bear to dig up. How neighborly of him….

Edited June 18, 2021 by humbleopinion
.

[Auntie Anxiety]

3 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Loved the screen statement that Jordon's fish would last him three meals. WHAT?! A hungry adult man with no other "side dishes"?! And why didn't he immediately try to catch another?

This is a question I ask myself just about every episode. The conditions are right on a certain day for catching fish, so why wouldn’t you stockpile as many as you can before the weather changes? 

Even if the hunting was better on the other side of the lake, how would Biko transport his catch back to his camp? Made no sense to me.

[LennieBriscoe]

Maybe a bear won't bother the berries, but burrowing rodents might! Didn't look like even a squirrel's ration, though! 

Speaking of squirrels, are there none? Last season some got themselves caught and et! 🙂

[ProfCrash]

53 minutes ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

This is a question I ask myself just about every episode. The conditions are right on a certain day for catching fish, so why wouldn’t you stockpile as many as you can before the weather changes? 

Even if the hunting was better on the other side of the lake, how would Biko transport his catch back to his camp? Made no sense to me.

I think Biko would have moved his camp to the other shore if there was better hunting. We have seen people do that before. 

7 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Maybe a bear won't bother the berries, but burrowing rodents might! Didn't look like even a squirrel's ration, though! 

Speaking of squirrels, are there none? Last season some got themselves caught and et! 🙂

Didn't a squirrel steal someones mushroom this year?

[humbleopinion]

3 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Didn't a squirrel steal someones mushroom this year?

Yes, Nate got a Bolete mushroom stolen when he was drying some he had foraged.

[iMonrey]

I predict Biko will win this season. He's got the most bulk to lose and he's just crazy enough to stick it out. Matt and Jordan might be in the running but they don't have the bulk. Also, which one was already pining for his family at only day seven? Was that Jordan or Clay? Early tap-out. Nobody is getting enough protein at this point, I don't think anyone is going to break a record this season. Terrain seems especially tough, even for this show.

[humbleopinion]

Clay was the crier missing his boys.

Nathan has 5 kids so must be relishing the peace and quiet.

Jordon is the one who had a daughter that died.

Matt misses his wife….perhaps another Mike who was out of his mind missing his Barbara…

Edited June 18, 2021 by humbleopinion

[HurricaneVal]

Biko is 100% playing for the camera.  Cutting his sleeves off was so we could all admire his tattoos during his cabin footage.  Swimming to the distant shore was also 100% a calculated move, nobody has done that before, so it was a guarantee it would make a broadcast episode.  Just looking across the lake, it was pretty apparent there were no meadows or large clearings.  We have only his word for it that he'd tried to get there overland, we certainly hadn't been offered any footage to show that.  It seems to me if production had scenes of him struggling and cursing through the underbrush, we would have been shown that.  Because it is funny.

Sooo...  I'm certainly no outdoorsman, but if there were wildlife around, wouldn't there be game trails through the forest and underbrush?  It seems to me a wise hunter would find a few likely locations where a straight shot would be possible, and set up a blind.  His funky chunks of bark would come in handy there.

I will agree that he was less annoying in this episode.  And his voice isn't bad.  But it still seems to me that he's cosplaying survival.  Didn't he refer to his shelter with some Viking name?

[mlp]

3 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

Even if the hunting was better on the other side of the lake, how would Biko transport his catch back to his camp? Made no sense to me.

Exactly.  Even if he found game or wild foods, he had no way to kill game or carry anything back not to mention no way to defend himself or call for help if he got into trouble.  As for relocating his camp, how would he carry all his supplies and camera equipment while swimming?  Or did he plan to swim back and forth all winter?  He seems like an OK guy, a little dumb maybe, but he's rather revolting to look at and he sure can't sing.

I felt really bad for Matt when he found his bowstring chewed through.  I'm glad he was able to fix it because he wouldn't have lasted long without it.  

The woman who ate the possibly toxic root isn't going to last long.

[rmontro]

38 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

Cutting his sleeves off was so we could all admire his tattoos during his cabin footage.

That's exactly what I thought, Biko cut his sleeves off so he could show off his tattoos.  I've been trying to think what his voice reminds me off.  Kind of a cross between Axl Rose and Ronnie James Dio, but I'm sure his influences are younger than that.  

I just can't shake the feeling that the History Channel is trying to get someone killed by a predator.

[ramble]

Ugh. I was on the fence unsure if I was amused by Biko’s intentional play toward the camera or annoyed, but he shoved me off hard onto the annoyed side of things. The singing narration didn’t help nor did the feeling that he was playing a character. As y’all have said… cosplay guy.

There are some nice shelters being worked on this season. I’d like it if they did a little side by side comparison of everybody’s. 

I know this is completely superficial but seeing the back of the guy from the Virgin Islands’ hair made my scalp itch and I kind of wanted to go wash my hair three times and then cut it off. I wonder if his statement about his wife keeping him in the right mental space was a throw away line about how he prefers her to be around or if he really needs her for balance. 

Has everyone seen a grizzly at this point? If you haven’t do the Alone producers mark you as a dud? To be one of the cool kids do you have to say, “Hey bear!” when you see one? Inquiring, indoor-loving, chicken-hearted people have questions. 

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, ramble said:

Ugh. I was on the fence unsure if I was amused by Biko’s intentional play toward the camera or annoyed, but he shoved me off hard onto the annoyed side of things. The singing narration didn’t help nor did the feeling that he was playing a character. As y’all have said… cosplay guy.

I can't hate the guy just because he's an oddball.  Not saying I want him to win.  Although he reminds me a little of Sam, who won season five.  Sam was a lot more grounded, but something about Biko's statement about being too stubborn to quit reminded me of him.  Well, we'll see, talk is cheap.  I think the competition this year looks pretty strong.

[Quilt Fairy]

Speaking of Matt and his bowstring, why would you only bring one?  Or aren't you allowed a spare?

[madmax]

5 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Biko is 100% playing for the camera. 

Oh yeah.  He wants that screen time so his heathen folk/death metal band can get some exposure.  

2 hours ago, rmontro said:

I can't hate the guy just because he's an oddball.  Not saying I want him to win.  Although he reminds me a little of Sam, who won season five.  Sam was a lot more grounded, but something about Biko's statement about being too stubborn to quit reminded me of him.  Well, we'll see, talk is cheap.  I think the competition this year looks pretty strong.

I don't see Sam in him.  He seems to be a contestant unto his own.

I was dozing during this episode, so I totally missed Michelle eating the charcoal, but good move.

Did I see a chyron saying they couldn't kill the grizzlies?

[Tango64]

These folks have some really good shelters and some shelters that look like just the thing you would throw up on day one and then they stopped.

But in both cases I keep wondering why don’t they pile tree boughs on the outside of them to a really deep thickness. It would provide more insulation from the wind and the rain and it seems like it would be a good benefit for relatively little calorie expenditure. 
Every time they go out they could bring another bough and throw it on the cabin.

But at this point some still have some shelters that are just a tarp basically on a frame. That’s going to hurt when it gets cold and wet and windy. 

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, madmax said:

Did I see a chyron saying they couldn't kill the grizzlies?

It said they're not allowed to hunt grizzlies.

[madmax]

11 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

It said they're not allowed to hunt grizzlies.

Thanks.  Like I said, I was dozing a bit during the episode. 🙂

[iMonrey]

Quote

Biko is 100% playing for the camera.

I find this criticism to be rather unfair. Aren't they all playing for the camera? Isn't that what they are supposed to do? They all have cameras and they are all instructed to record their every move. To say Biko does things just to be on TV is sort of a no-brainer. All of these competitors are sitting around trying to think of stuff to do they can record. Nobody is going to watch someone cut logs for a solid hour or stand by a lake with a fishing rod or trample through the woods. They are also alone and bored off their asses, The cameras are literally the only thing they can talk to besides themselves. 

This show has a lot in common with those House shows PBS used to do (Colonial House, Frontier House, etc.). Participants are given cameras and asked to narrate their experience. They are living under such primitive conditions the cameras become their only entertainment. Whether Biko or anyone else is doing something they think will amuse the audience or whether they are simply trying to amuse themselves is anyone's guess. I dare say this is the kind of thing the producers want to see, and I for one will not damn anyone for giving it to them. 

I never understand when viewers complain about reality show contestants mugging or playing to the camera. It's a reality show. There are cameras. It's what they're supposed to do. If they pretended the cameras weren't there and they weren't on TV it would strike me as disingenuous and downright silly. And possibly quite boring. 

[TVbitch]

In most seasons, it takes about a month before "playing to the cameras" fully wears off and the contestants are just too damn worn out/hungry/sick/etc. to do it. That's when it really gets good for me.   

The few times I've eaten something and started to feel food poisoning, I made myself throw up and felt a lot better. I wonder why no one does that on this show. Eating charcoal was smart, though. 

No people with accents this episode. I still haven't made my cheat sheet on who's who.

 

[ProfCrash]

My mild issue, so far, with Biko is that much of what he is doing appears to be planned. I get that they are suppose to be recording themselves and that it can turn into their form of entertainment but his feels more calculated. We have had the comb our hair in the camera thing and other similar comments this season, and every season, all normal. 

Things like ripping off the sleeves to his shirt don’t feel like a natural move but a calculated move. I expect him to sing, he sings as a part of his regular life, I just don’t like his particular genre. (Grins) The bone in the nose thing was still gross and I think is what made me less excited by Biko. That was just yucky…

I don’t have a problem with going to scout a new location, his method was questionable but looking for a better place to live and hunt is what they should be doing.  I don’t think it was for show and that he would have moved his gear over there if it turned out to be a better location. 

He just feels less natural about his moments then some of the other contestants. Like he developed a character in his head and that is who he is trying to be. It doesn’t help that he mentioned the cosplay thing because it reinforces the idea that he is acting something out instead of trying to survive and win. 

I did love his observation of the scenery and how amazing it was. I guess I want to know that I am watching Biko and not “Biko”, if that makes sense.

[rmontro]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Things like ripping off the sleeves to his shirt don’t feel like a natural move but a calculated move. I expect him to sing, he sings as a part of his regular life, I just don’t like his particular genre.

It feels like he's self promoting.  But I don't have a problem with him.  They're all self promoting to some extent or other, many try to convert their Alone exposure into survival careers, streaming or otherwise.  He just does it a more quirky way, and I do think anyone who swam that lake in that situation is genuinely quirky.  

[Chit Chat]

11 hours ago, madmax said:

Like I said, I was dozing a bit during the episode. 

I hear 'ya!   It's been raining all day (tropical storm), so it's been dark most of the day, and I find these people rather boring, especially when most of them aren't catching food.   I do like some of the shelters though.  I'm anxious to see Biko's once he gets it done.   

Edited June 20, 2021 by ChitChat

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I find this criticism to be rather unfair. Aren't they all playing for the camera? Isn't that what they are supposed to do? They all have cameras and they are all instructed to record their every move. To say Biko does things just to be on TV is sort of a no-brainer. All of these competitors are sitting around trying to think of stuff to do they can record. Nobody is going to watch someone cut logs for a solid hour or stand by a lake with a fishing rod or trample through the woods. They are also alone and bored off their asses, The cameras are literally the only thing they can talk to besides themselves. 

This show has a lot in common with those House shows PBS used to do (Colonial House, Frontier House, etc.). Participants are given cameras and asked to narrate their experience. They are living under such primitive conditions the cameras become their only entertainment. Whether Biko or anyone else is doing something they think will amuse the audience or whether they are simply trying to amuse themselves is anyone's guess. I dare say this is the kind of thing the producers want to see, and I for one will not damn anyone for giving it to them. 

I never understand when viewers complain about reality show contestants mugging or playing to the camera. It's a reality show. There are cameras. It's what they're supposed to do. If they pretended the cameras weren't there and they weren't on TV it would strike me as disingenuous and downright silly. And possibly quite boring. 

I agree with you in general and about Biko, but only up to a point.  A little intentional playing to the cameras is to be expected and is often a part of this show, but when it looks like a contestant is putting aside or deliberately foregoing common sense toward that end, that's another matter altogether.  And that's what concerns me about Biko.  I don't care if he shows off his tattoos, so what?  But how's that going to help him in a few weeks or so when it gets very cold?  He might not have used the best judgment there.  Or swimming across the water - even I could see from my couch that it was no different on the other side and not worth the extra energy and risk to do it.  If not for stuff like that I would agree with you that Biko has better odds of winning due to his weight and attitude.  If he continues to do stuff like that he will decrease his odds of winning.  Perhaps he'll settle down somewhat when the newness wears off and he realizes he needs to conserve his energy, but right now he's not inspiring much confidence in me.

[LittleIggy]

3 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I hear 'ya!   It's been raining all day (tropical storm), so it's been dark most of the day, and I find these people rather boring, especially when most of them aren't catching food.   I do like some of the shelters though.  I'm anxious to see Biko's once he gets it done.   

I want to see the academic’s pit house. I also agree that this episode was a tad on the dull side.

[LennieBriscoe]

And here I was a tad disappointed (okay, miffed) that TPTB sped up the video of some shelter-building. 

[Melina22]

On 6/18/2021 at 5:19 PM, rmontro said:

That's exactly what I thought, Biko cut his sleeves off so he could show off his tattoos. 

Maybe my favorite part of the episode was when Biko cut off his sleeves, then pondered what to do with them, saying "Arm cozies?" Yes Biko, arm cozies. Otherwise known as SLEEVES! 

UO... I really like his voice. 

Over a week in and almost no one is eating or finding any food. And this is the NICE weather! This could be a very short season. 

On 6/18/2021 at 10:38 AM, humbleopinion said:

What has Rose been doing? Brushing her hair and….? The rod and reel was for show only….it was ill conceived and nonfunctional.
Her flimsy tarp shelter sez it all…I’m outta here first big wind storm or snow dump or mud slide. 

I don't see how she lasts much longer. She's very brave though. All alone in a tarp, scaring off bears... then saying "I'm not so much scared, as cautious". After which she presumably slept. Nerves of steel. But without a decent shelter or food, she'll still be gone soon. 

[dranelittle]

On 6/18/2021 at 3:03 PM, mlp said:

Exactly.  Even if he found game or wild foods, he had no way to kill game or carry anything back not to mention no way to defend himself or call for help if he got into trouble.  As for relocating his camp, how would he carry all his supplies and camera equipment while swimming?  Or did he plan to swim back and forth all winter?  He seems like an OK guy, a little dumb maybe, but he's rather revolting to look at and he sure can't sing.

I felt really bad for Matt when he found his bowstring chewed through.  I'm glad he was able to fix it because he wouldn't have lasted long without it.  

The woman who ate the possibly toxic root isn't going to last long.

you can make a pontoon outrigger raft in one day, use a 5 ft long handle in the shovel to make a paddle.  That will suffice to move your stuff. Another day tho, lets you make a raised platform to keep  you and your stuff dry, make oars, oarlocks and tripods that mount the oarlocks. and then use the raft to deploy and check the 2000 sq ft of netting that you can make out of the cotton rope hammock

[NW1]

I just started watching this show on Netflix so I'm pretty new to it and not sure about all the rules. I noticed this episode that Clay has a big plastic footlocker. You can see him using it around the 17 min mark. It seems strange to me that production would allow something like that and that no one else would bring one. I searched all over the internet and I couldn't find any mention of it in his gear list. I also saw on the history channel website that food storage boxes are prohibited items. I know a footlocker is not technically for food but it could very easily be used for that. How/why does he have it? Is the show staged? Was it a production error? Was he picked ahead of time by production to be the winner so they gave him better stuff to increase his odds? This is driving me crazy! Someone please explain! 

[meep.meep]

It's probably the big box holding his camera equipment.  It has to be waterproof and pretty rugged.  They try hard not to include them in the shots, but sometimes they sneak in.  Some contestants have used them as stools.