S03.E06: Playing With Fire

[blackwing]

I find it hard to believe that Chris didn't get at least some decrease in his PSR rating for alienating his partner. They did nothing but praise him for making it alone. But he alienated his partner and drove her away by being such a controlling ass.

He was controlling and dismissive of her and disagreed with everything and anything he said. He said in his intro that he was an alpha male and always in charge. He clearly was able to make fire by himself. But he made the tandem bow just to force her to do some and to have her to blame when he failed.

Why couldn't they eat raw crabs? There were plenty.

[LAgator77]

Wow, totally thought I'd hate Chris, but he turned out to be okay. Compared to some of the other "alpha males" on N&A, I thought he handled her temper tantrums and psychotic attitude really well. She was worthless. Sad to say, she seemed like a typical California fruitcake. 

[ramble]

I can't belief Chris turned out to be the non-idiot. Was Corinne expecting room service & a partner hand picked for her enjoyment? When she refused to talk to him more than once I was over her & her wandering off was juvenile. Sure go take a breather if you need a mental break from your partner, but she just seemed unprepared & flighty. I muttered something about Corinne acting like a 12 year old & my 12 year old pointed out that she was simply acting stupid & I shouldn't age limit it. Good point. I think this was the first episode I've seen where a contestant was required to carry something with them to the extraction point.

[patty1h]

Corrine came off like a passive-aggressive whiner.  She just gave up and put up an invisible wall to the guy who is at least trying to get food, start fire, etc.  Giving someone the silent treatment is not the adult way to handle things - she came off looking a bit unstable.  She needed to leave.

 

QUESTION:  Was it ever explained what would happen if the Nakeds don't reach the extraction point on the appointed day?  Some extra time on the island?  We know they get picked up eventually, so what's the damage?

Edited August 4, 2014 by patty1h

[blackwing]

I do agree that she didn't come across well, especially when she was doing her childish "I said I didn't want to talk to you, that means NO TALKING" bit.  But I do think he drove her to that point.  That last attempt at fire was her breaking point.  He didn't fully explain why he needed her to hold that rock or top piece of wood or whatever it was.  Then when she said she was tired and exhausted, he just snaps, "fine, let me know when you're not tired".  I don't think he was a prize either.  He came off as a huge douche and his idea of working as a team was "my team member does everything I say, she's just an extra pair of hands".

 

Most of the people on this show seem to be married or in a stable relationship, but he is clearly single, and in his comments at the beginning, he made it sound like he was Leisure Suit Larry Looking for Love.  He was flirting with her, telling her that she didn't even have to buy him dinner to get him naked, etc.  Then when it all went wrong, he talked to her like he was God's gift to women, saying that he knew plenty of girls that would kill to be naked with him on an island for 21 days.  He's a misogynistic ass.  There's a reason why he's 38 and still single.

 

It would have been nice of him to at least give her some credit for the things she did.  She seems to have been the best palm frond weaver since Alison (?) from the first season.  She made multiple mats and walls, clothes for herself and a practical hat to keep her face shielded from the sun.  He never acknowledged what she did, and I think that lack of acknowledgement and support, and the constant barking of orders, drove her to tap out.  Then he had the gall to act all put out about her abandoning him.

 

I call shenanigans on the conveniently placed rope/twine just stuck in the rocks like that.  Looked fairly new and useable.  I guess it was one step short of him finding a fire starter or someone's glasses on the beach.

[Neurochick]

Most of the people on this show seem to be married or in a stable relationship, but he is clearly single, and in his comments at the beginning, he made it sound like he was Leisure Suit Larry Looking for Love.  He was flirting with her, telling her that she didn't even have to buy him dinner to get him naked, etc.  Then when it all went wrong, he talked to her like he was God's gift to women, saying that he knew plenty of girls that would kill to be naked with him on an island for 21 days.  He's a misogynistic ass.  There's a reason why he's 38 and still single.

 

 

I do agree that he was a douche, but I disagree with this comment.  There are scores of people who are 38 and older who are single.  Everybody does't want to get married and/or couple up by age 40.  There are many people who are married and in stable relationships who are unhappy as anything.  To me someone's worth shouldn't be defined on whether they are married, single or in a relationship.  BTW, was Corrine in a relationship?  

 

Also, if he "drove" her to a bad place, then maybe she shouldn't have been on the show.  I mean even Carrie and Tom got through the 21 days without either one of them leaving.

[nottopbravo]

 

he was Leisure Suit Larry Looking for Love.

 

Oh, that brings back memories!

[Dagny]

I think we have our answer to "What happens if you don't pick a fire starter". Twelve days of cold and drove one person over the edge and out.

[PityFree]

Both of the "survivalists" in the episode should have been left on the island. They were both annoying.

 

I have to admit that as someone who also needs time alone to regroup after getting upset, I disliked the guy much, much more. He bragged about being able to make fire in under an hour... but then needs *her* to help him make the fire after two weeks of not having it? What happened to an hour, Cocky a-hole? Women want to spend time with you alone on an island? Only so they would not have witnesses when they pushed him off of a cliff or something. 

 

That said, the girl was WAY too passive. Speak up. Not saying anything is dumb and you get to suffer for delegating the decision making. Maybe he was hoping you had another idea or some input? Stop being a wet noodle and think, Lady.

 

I wanted to throw something at my TV when his PSR went up. 

Edited August 4, 2014 by PityFree

[blackwing]

There are scores of people who are 38 and older who are single.  Everybody does't want to get married and/or couple up by age 40.  There are many people who are married and in stable relationships who are unhappy as anything.  To me someone's worth shouldn't be defined on whether they are married, single or in a relationship.  BTW, was Corrine in a relationship?

True.  I didn't mean to imply that everyone who wasn't married by age 38 had something wrong with them.  I just meant that this guy seems to actively want a relationship.  He seems to be one of the only people on this show that were actively hoping they could form a relationship with their partner.  His whole attitude seemed to be that if a girl doesn't like him, then something is wrong with them.  Because apparently, he has a big penis (based on his comment about "I'm completely comfortable being naked and with what I've got and have to offer" or something like that) and if a girl doesn't like him and his penis ("plenty of women would kill to be naked with me") then they don't know what they are missing.  When it's fairly evident to me that it's really him that is likely the problem.

[LAgator77]

Giving someone the silent treatment is not the adult way to handle things - she came off looking a bit unstable. 

 

 

Unstable would be the perfect word to describe her... Possibly off her meds? Why would anyone who owns their own business risk going on a reality show and being portrayed (rightly or wrongly) in a negative light? Who would hire this nutjob to be their dietitian? 

 

All that being said, this show is getting a little stale. I actually think it'd be kind of interesting to switch up the dynamics a bit and maybe do a guy/guy and girl/girl episode. Would 2 cocky alpha males kill each other Lord Of The Flies-style or would they work together to survive? Would 2 weepy passive ladies die of dehydration from crying too much or would they weave the most dynamic fish trap of all time? 

[blackwing]

I wasn't sure if she had her own business or if she is just employed by a company.  Either way, she appears to have regular clients who look to her for advice ("I tell people what to eat all day long.")  I agree that if you interact with people for a living and if your reputation could possibly be impacted by a negative portrayal, that you'd be crazy to go on a reality show and risk it.  But people seem to do it all the time, one recent example is Kass McQuillen, a self-employed attorney, from the most recent Survivor.

 

All that being said, this show is getting a little stale. I actually think it'd be kind of interesting to switch up the dynamics a bit and maybe do a guy/guy and girl/girl episode. Would 2 cocky alpha males kill each other Lord Of The Flies-style or would they work together to survive? Would 2 weepy passive ladies die of dehydration from crying too much or would they weave the most dynamic fish trap of all time?

I don't think there's any way we would ever see a 2 naked dudes pair.  What would they do at night to stay warm?  His penis touched my butt!  Unfortunately, there'd probably be homophobia issues, both with the participants and the viewers, even though there's no reason to believe anything untoward would happen any more than anything appears to happen with a man and a woman.

 

What I think would be interesting is if there were 2 guys and 2 girls all working together as a team.  I missed the episode "Double Trouble".  Did those two pairs ever interact with each other, or were they completely acting independently?

[Dagny]

What I think would be interesting is if there were 2 guys and 2 girls all working together as a team.  I missed the episode "Double Trouble".  Did those two pairs ever interact with each other, or were they completely acting independently?

 

That was Double Jeopardy. They dropped the mixed pairs on different parts of the island. One lady decided it was a good time to spend on the beach, didn't eat food when offered and overplayed her ability to start fire. Both teams moved camp about the same time and encountered each other at a river/waterfall.  They decided to stay together.  It was the episode with Manu and she dubbed the lady "casualty of war". Everyone considered her dead weight. There was serious talk about leaving her behind.

[jnymph]

Chris was an annoying macho "dude", but Corrine didn't assert herself one iota with him (that we were shown). How can you possibly rectify the situation as a team if you REFUSE TO TALK!

At least he showed initiative in that dept & tried to sort out their differences.

Couldn't stand her accent. She sounded like a Kardashian. Yuck.

Edited August 5, 2014 by jnymph

[LAgator77]

I don't think there's any way we would ever see a 2 naked dudes pair.  What would they do at night to stay warm?  His penis touched my butt! Unfortunately, there'd probably be homophobia issues, both with the participants and the viewers, 

Exactly! Drama and conflict... Isn't that what we're looking for in our entertainment?

[tv-talk]

Why couldn't they eat raw crabs? There were plenty.

 

 

It's dangerous to eat raw crabs, tons of parasites and whatnot in them. They'd have most likely gotten severely sick though he didn't realize that as he mentioned he was going to eat them raw if he didnt start a fire soon.

[ElleryAnne]

I started off the episode disliking him based on the impression I'd gotten from the commercial/tease the week before, which showed him saying that "lots of women would like to be naked on a beach with me" comment.   I should know better than to let myself be influenced by those things, though.  Within the context of the episode, I got a different impression of that scene.  It seemed like he was reacting to her obvious dislike of him, and he was saying it more as a, hey, I'm not that bad, not everybody would hate to be around me kind of thing.   His earlier "hey, you don't have to buy me dinner to get me naked" comment also seemed more light-hearted.  I imagine a number of the people who go on this show try to come up with some cute line to get past the awkwardness of being naked with a stranger. Sometimes the lines sound good in the mind but fail in the execution.  So in general, I found that I liked him much more than I expected to.  

 

I'm less sure how I feel about her.  On the plus side, I was super impressed with the palm-frond clothes and blanket.  On a sympathetic level, I could understand her wanting to be left alone for an hour or so, because I also sometimes like to be left alone when I'm trying to adjust to a situation or new people.  But ultimately she defaulted to being unhelpful and uncommunicative at times when it was necessary.  I think she was probably just a bad fit for the show, especially if not paired with exactly the right partner.  Where she lost me, though, was at the end when she talked about how she knew she could survive and didn't need to prove it to anyone.  There's either a lack of self-awareness or some general defensiveness there, but when you tap out you're proving you can't survive the particular circumstances (however artificial) the show is putting you in.  A simple, "It's not worth my sanity to put myself through this," would have sufficed.

 

actually think it'd be kind of interesting to switch up the dynamics a bit and maybe do a guy/guy and girl/girl episode. Would 2 cocky alpha males kill each other Lord Of The Flies-style or would they work together to survive? Would 2 weepy passive ladies die of dehydration from crying too much or would they weave the most dynamic fish trap of all time?

 

 

I would love to see them try this.  I don't think's necessarily risky, either.  As long as the guys know how to build a fire, they can work out ways to keep warm.  Sleep in shifts while the other tends the fire or something.  But it would be interesting to see the variations in dynamics in two guys or two women working together to make it through twenty-one days.

Edited August 5, 2014 by ElleryAnne

[greyhorse]

This was one of the worst episodes ever in terms of showing any actual survival skills.  They didn't have fire for THIRTEEN days?!  And the only thing we saw him eat was the one crab that he caught towards the end.  I guess if you're put on an island with coconuts, then you really don't need to be able to catch anything to eat and survive.

 

The dude was pretty much an ass through the whole show.  I think it's hilarious that he thought he was going to form some sort of relationship with him.  He may think he's a gift to all women of the world, but even putting aside his hard face and big paunch, his personality is just a disaster.

 

The girl was no peach either.  Cute girl, but she's got issues.  There's two people on the island.  You can't give the other the silent treatment.  Walking away may be her way of dealing things but it's not productive on the island when you have to work as a team.

[tv-talk]

The funny thing is that she was correct, he could have (and did) start the fire without her help on the tandem drill. If he had just done that, she would have perked up (fire does that to humans) and things may have worked out.

 

However....it's inexcusable the way she didn't even really try to help him with the fire drill. I mean that was utterly PATHETIC and just passive-aggressive nonsense on her part. She's the worst person I've seen on the show.

[panthergirl13]

This seemed like the most benign environment of any episode in the series thus far. It was basically "Camping On the Beach without Conveniences".

[CherZ]

Watching it now and that guy isn't so bad. He at least spoke about trying to build trust and friendship with his partner etc.

 

SHE was a whiny neurotic mess who clearly was in over her head. At times complaining that he was too macho, then whining that he wasn't using his manliness to help. I wanted to punch her. And I'm a pacifist!

 

You don't whine about your partner burning calories by doing something to help the shelter, then go of for a "swim" so you can expend your calories. You don't whine about your partner not doing something that you yourself aren't doing. And you don't blame him for everything that goes wrong when you yourself aren't doing a damn thing.

 

Geesh, she was the most annoying yet. "I don't want to play survivalist woman anymore". You're on the SHOW! "I don't have to prove that I could do this. because I could do it." NO YOU COULDN'T.

 

Argh, she pissed me off.

[Neurochick]

I watched this episode again, yes she did piss me off.  

 

I think this show is interesting because it shows how people can work together, or can't.  Last night the episode they showed before this one was the vegetarian and the hunter.  Despite them having different beliefs, they were able to work together.  I think the people who do best on this show, are the ones who are open to whatever nature throws at them.  I remember Billy and Kai in the swamps of Louisiana; though Billy was the one with the skills, Kai was the one who encouraged him when Billy wanted to tap out.  

 

The woman in Playing with Fire confused me because at first, she seemed upset that her partner was macho, and then she seemed upset that he wasn't macho enough to build a fire, then she went swimming (WTF?) and then she just ran off.  IMO, something was seriously wrong with her, perhaps she was dealing with unresolved issues from childhood or something.

[tv-talk]

the woman was a narcissist, only person I've seen on the show who could not possibly care less about their partner. The reason I am positive I'd never tap out no matter what was actually expressed by the guy on this episode- if you tap out, you're abandoning someone else who then has to go it alone. Many/most of folks on this silly show at least have some inkling of that and keep their partner in mind. This woman cared not one iota about anything other than HER feelings....guarantee she is an annoying mess in real life too. 

[djlynch]

I can give you a one-word reason why they don't do two-man or two-woman teams: conflict. They're assuming that, because men and women tend to communicate in different ways, which heightens any argument that they get into, that two men or two women will get along too well, and without conflict, the show is just a home movie from someone's really awkward camping trip. Ensuring that conflict happens why they cast sexist men and independent women every single week on top of the combinations of devout Christians and pagans, hippies and ex-military, avid hunters and vegetarians, and so on.

[wovenloaf]

When I watched this episode, I couldn't help but thinking that Chris and Corinne boned when they first got there and it just caused all sorts of drama. He was totally the type to try get with her in the beginning, before they got all dirty and smelly. And those weird fights they kept having didn't seem like "you're not helping me collect sticks" fights, they seemed like "we are having sex-related drama" fights. And had they not let that drama get to them, they could have just been kicking it by the fire eating crabs for 21 days. 

[JackKnife]

 

QUESTION:  Was it ever explained what would happen if the Nakeds don't reach the extraction point on the appointed day?  Some extra time on the island?  We know they get picked up eventually, so what's the damage?

 

Basically, they knock points of their final PSR.  It happened in the episode with Tom and Carrie when she wandered off without him, went two miles upstream before he found her and figured out they were supposed to be heading downstream. And then they wound up on the wrong side of the cove they were meant to be extracted from.  So the chopper was sent to where they were and they both got points taken off despite completing the challenge.