S09.E02: Consequences

[Quilt Fairy]

Quote

As hunger rapidly sets in, the remaining participants rush to get familiar with the land and do whatever it takes to secure food; one survivalist thinks outside the box for dinner; one participant struggles and makes a costly mistake. 

Air date: June 2, 2022

[patty1h]

Teimojin seems to have the skills that should keep him in the game for a long time, as long as he's fortunate getting food/doesn't get hurt.

[LeighAnne]

I just wanted to note that Jacques tapped out on Day 15.  In nine seasons, this is the longest we've had to wait for the first tap out. 

It's still early in this contest, but the remaining nine contestants all seem really strong to me.

[iMonrey]

Damn. Jacques was one of my faves. Oh well, one down, eight to go.

Ordinarily I would have pegged Jacques as the winner, because he was the only participant to be featured in both the first and second episode. That usually means they're the winner. Not this time. Now it's anyone's game. 

They were leaning pretty heavily into how broken Jacques' childhood was, so I started suspecting something was up early on. So many of these people end up tapping out because they miss their families, and it occurs to me how unsuited some of them actually are for this type of experience because of that. The people with the best chance of lasting through this are going to be loners. I personally wouldn't have any problem with the Alone part. I live alone and I'm used to being alone. (It's all the other parts I'd be unable to do.)

Adam crossed the Pacific by himself in a sailboat and it took him 90 days. Wow. So he'll be able to survive the Alone part.

Have they always been allowed a photo? I don't remember seeing any photos before but maybe I'm just forgetting.

Pretty clever of Tom to dye his hair different colors to make more flies for fishing. That's a sneaky way of bringing along items.

I notice that so far nobody is really making elaborate shelters. I'm guessing they've all watched previous seasons and have learned not to expend that kind of energy. A lot of the past winners had only the most rudimentary of shelters, basically just tents.

[AZChristian]

I usually don't have much sympathy for the "miss my family" tappers, but I'm feeling a little kinder towards Jacques.  He's still pretty young, and trying to figure out what - in an adult world - will help him to overcome a bad childhood.

He has a good relationship with his girlfriend (hoping that survives his referring to her as "farty").  He was hoping that being on the show would help him put another brick onto his wall of developing strength.  But he found out - after giving it a decent try - that the "Alone" experience wasn't what he needed right now to continue to develop into a strong person.

It's not like some of those folks who tapped out on day 1 after hearing a bear in the woods.  

[Cobb Salad]

I was expecting a tap out in last nights episode but I wasn’t sure who would decide to leave.  The first one after 15 days - this is a hearty bunch, I’m glad that we didn’t get anyone who taps out at the first sight of a hint of potential danger.   Now I’m wondering how long the winner will be out there.  Several of them appear to be pretty good at catching fish, that brook trout looks pretty tasty.   Usually on these survival shows I’m cringing at what the survivalists are eating - bugs, snakes and worms are a big no from me but my mouth was watering at the thought of the taste of that trout.  

15 days out in the wilderness must have given Jacques some more of an idea of what he really wants.  Time alone with only your thoughts will do that to you.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

 Now I’m wondering how long the winner will be out there.  Several of them appear to be pretty good at catching fish, that brook trout looks pretty tasty.

Yes but that's going to change very quickly once everything freezes. The fish and game are always more scarce once winter comes. And I expect it to hit hard and fast.

[madmax]

Seems to me that a lot of the participants this time have spent a considerable amount of time alone already on their own journeys.  Adam, Juan Pablo, Teimojin, Terry (who for some reason reminds me of Colter from last season) and I think one other.  I would think it would give them a bit more staying power.

Sucks that Adam already lost 2 arrows.  He should have brought really bright ones like Jacques did.

They all seem to be doing well, not expending too much energy on shelter.  

I don't think Jacques put on too much weight beforehand if he was that thin.  He was actually eating pretty good.  Better to go early than drag it out.

[Jeanne222]

I'm watching Tom and Adam.   Both have endurance and are clever.  90 days alone on a sailboat Gives me the willies and I love the water!

Dying your hair to make fishing flys!  Wow!

They all need the money due to the lifestyles they have chosen!

Good luck to all.

[Yeah No]

I feel like the people in the first episode showed the most promise, but I'm keeping my eye on Adam.  He's right that being bullied as a kid toughens you and that the thing that separates a lot of the winners from the losers on this competition is toughness.  Being bulled also makes you used to feeling alone and more comfortable not being around people for longer periods.

It looks like a lot of these people aren't accustomed to the hideous Winter weather in the Northeast.  I think that's going to be their biggest challenge this season.  I agree with @iMonrey that the weather is going to hit hard and fast and some of them may not be prepared for it or up to it.

Before I realized how young he was I thought Jacques was being immature and should have known himself better, but I'm willing to give him somewhat of a pass given that he's only 23.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

90 days alone on a sailboat Gives me the willies and I love the water!

On second read of Adam's bio, it wasn't a 90-day stretch all at once, he had stops along the way. The longest stretch was 22 days. Still, that's damn impressive. As is the rest of his resume. 

Has anyone ever caught a bear before? Can you eat bear?

[meep.meep]

I think the largest animal any one on the show has taken was a moose.  You can eat bear, but getting one with arrows is a very risky undertaking.  It will also result in an enormous amount of meat so you'll have to be wary of the lesser predators (wolverines, foxes, wolves) who will come after that.  These bears are not only big, but they are bulking up to hibernate.

Doesn't look like anyone is drying fish or caching berries for later in the season.

[jackjill89]

Jacques stayed long enough to figure out that he really didn't need to be alone. It was a pretty cool arc for him. Hope he and his mini family are happy at home. 

[diebartdie]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Has anyone ever caught a bear before? Can you eat bear?

I've eaten bear meat.

4 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I think the largest animal any one on the show has taken was a moose.  You can eat bear, but getting one with arrows is a very risky undertaking.  It will also result in an enormous amount of meat so you'll have to be wary of the lesser predators (wolverines, foxes, wolves) who will come after that.  These bears are not only big, but they are bulking up to hibernate.

Doesn't look like anyone is drying fish or caching berries for later in the season.

Oh lordy, did you miss the season of the musk ox? Killed with a knife. Every bit of it consumed. King Roland, killer of musk ox.

[Blackie]

7 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Doesn't look like anyone is drying fish

I think it was Adam that was smoking his large fish, he ate all the little ones.  He looked like he had a nice Alpaca wool sweater on, so warm!!

At least no one is starving so far, but that could change.

I watching for Juan Pablo, I think he really knows how to suffer, did that long winter challenge before and also Teimojin, he is smart and has good training(we didn't see him get any food yet though). I'd like to see a Canadian win for once, or one of the women.

I thought Jacques was quitting 2 soon but I guess it was 2 weeks already. He's young and not as "hungry" for the win as the others.

Edited June 5, 2022 by Blackie
spelling, I didn't believe spell check

[HurricaneVal]

I don't know the names yet, but I'm pretty impressed with a few from the batch shown on this episode.  Not so much with others....

The kid who started maudlin weeping over the squirrel and who eventually quit?  I knew he wasn't going to be here for long. And yep, gone.

The tall bald guy?  Who goes into a cold weather endurance survival competition with a shaved head?  I would think you'd want to maximize the insulation up there, to keep as much heat as possible.  I'll give him a genius pass, though, if he did that on purpose to foil any timeline shenanigans in editing.  "See!  That didn't happen before that, look at my hair....it was long here then short there."  But then I would have to take away the genius pass, because after a certain point he's going to want to wear his warmest hat, 24/7, and nobody will see his hair.

Coloring your hair before going in, so you have multicolor fly-tying material in a stealth move to gain an advantage over the rules?  Genius pass, hands down.  Not taking the time to research and see how quickly the color fades...that chips a bit away, but if you don't have that experience, you don't know it fades.

Did anyone notice, after ol' Chrome Dome gave up on his fire making and turned out the lights to roll up pathetically under the miserable tarp of shame that glowing coal showing in the camera view?  I think he had it, but didn't realize it because maybe he thought it would be more dramatic than that.  I think he thought it would just spark and voila!  fire!  He never worked it by giving it air to grow.  That lack of technique makes him appear to be less experienced than he should be.  I could be wrong, but I don't think he's going to last long.

I'm encouraged by all the great skills and experience levels we've seen these last two episodes.  The next several episodes are usually my favorites because the introductions are out of the way, and they're not starving, emaciated, irrational, whiny, or boring yet.  The middle episodes are where the action happens: they explore their land, they make boats or camp chairs, a lot of food gathering and preservation goes on, someone will get some amount of biggish game--or BIG game--and then spend energy trying to protect it.  This is when story sticks get carved, silly songs get invented, and squirrel skin scarves get fashioned and modeled.  There may be an injury or two.  Some will gut it out and go on, some will have to tap.

After that, they start dropping like flies from the darkness, the cold, the wet, the snow, and the loneliness.  

[ramble]

9 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

The next several episodes are usually my favorites because the introductions are out of the way, and they're not starving, emaciated, irrational, whiny, or boring yet.  The middle episodes are where the action happens: they explore their land, they make boats or camp chairs, a lot of food gathering and preservation goes on, someone will get some amount of biggish game--or BIG game--and then spend energy trying to protect it.  This is when story sticks get carved, silly songs get invented, and squirrel skin scarves get fashioned and modeled.  There may be an injury or two.  Some will gut it out and go on, some will have to tap.

This is a great description of the middle section  and what makes it so enjoyable! The exploration and the inventiveness that can happen is part of what makes this show so fun to watch.

When the standard # of days / # of people left appeared and it said two weeks and everyone was left I was surprised. Usually we’re down a couple by then. Sweet young Jacques sounds like he’s gone through a lot and is trying to figure things out. I hope his girlfriend is understanding and he gets what he wants out of life. 

[TVbitch]

I think the show gave us a better introduction of each participant this year. (That or I am just able to retain more since I am watching the episodes in the morning versus at night.) Seems like a lot of strong contestants. 

Jacques has been through a lot and maybe just needs to feel safe and loved for some years before enduring more brutal hardship. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity/experience, though, so I just hope he doesn't regret his choice someday. I barely even remember the relationship I was in when I was 23 ~and it was a long, serious one! 

Uh oh, did purple hair guy just set a precedent. Are we going to see a lot of clown hair in future seasons.  

[AZChristian]

5 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

Uh oh, did purple hair guy just set a precedent. Are we going to see a lot of clown hair in future seasons.  

Contestants on these survival shows are getting smarter.  One guy on Naked & Afraid XL ate a bunch of tomatoes the day before he was dropped off.  Pulled the seeds out of his poop, and he now has tomato plants growing.  (That probably wouldn't work on Alone, though.  It gets too cold soon after they're dropped off.)

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Contestants on these survival shows are getting smarter.  One guy on Naked & Afraid XL ate a bunch of tomatoes the day before he was dropped off.  Pulled the seeds out of his poop, and he now has tomato plants growing.  (That probably wouldn't work on Alone, though.  It gets too cold soon after they're dropped off.)

Suddenly wishing we had a barf emoji!  🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

[HurricaneVal]

7 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Are we going to see a lot of clown hair in future seasons. 

We can only hope!  I think it would be hilarious, especially when paired with one of those truly ultra-macho, deadpan, grim types.  Could you imagine how giggle inducing it would be to see someone like Roland grumpily espousing on whatever his woodcraft lesson of the day is with lovely rainbow hair?

[tljgator]

On 6/6/2022 at 12:25 PM, AZChristian said:

Contestants on these survival shows are getting smarter.  One guy on Naked & Afraid XL ate a bunch of tomatoes the day before he was dropped off.  Pulled the seeds out of his poop, and he now has tomato plants growing.  (That probably wouldn't work on Alone, though.  It gets too cold soon after they're dropped off.)

It wasn't quite as gross as that, lol...he pooped (homemade fertilizer), the seeds were in it, he covered it over with soil, he watered it, tomatoes started to grow (and he was witty enough to give a talking-head about moving N&A beyond the hunter-gather stage into fixed agriculture, lol). I thought it was fairly brilliant.

As for Alone, in addition to the dyed hair for fishing, I also thought using the grommets from the tarp as weights on a fishing line was great repurposing from materials on-hand. 

[mlp]

I don't understand why so many of them waited so long to build/complete shelters.  Have they been sleeping on the ground in the open and the rain for two weeks?  I'm looking forward to seeing Jessie's when it's finished.  It makes sense and looks very complicated.  I like her and I'm a bit concerned about all the energy she's expending on little food.  I am also impressed by the chimney the guy with the moss house made.  

On most of the competitions I watch, eliminated contestants have to stay in the hotel or wherever until filming is completed.  Alone contestants must be allowed to go home after they tap.  They all seem to live rather isolated lives so maybe all they have to do is stay off social media and not give anything away.

[Rebky]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:09 AM, iMonrey said:

Damn. Jacques was one of my faves. Oh well, one down, eight to go.

Ordinarily I would have pegged Jacques as the winner, because he was the only participant to be featured in both the first and second episode. That usually means they're the winner. Not this time. Now it's anyone's game. 

They were leaning pretty heavily into how broken Jacques' childhood was, so I started suspecting something was up early on. So many of these people end up tapping out because they miss their families, and it occurs to me how unsuited some of them actually are for this type of experience because of that. The people with the best chance of lasting through this are going to be loners. I personally wouldn't have any problem with the Alone part. I live alone and I'm used to being alone. (It's all the other parts I'd be unable to do.)

Adam crossed the Pacific by himself in a sailboat and it took him 90 days. Wow. So he'll be able to survive the Alone part.

Have they always been allowed a photo? I don't remember seeing any photos before but maybe I'm just forgetting.

Pretty clever of Tom to dye his hair different colors to make more flies for fishing. That's a sneaky way of bringing along items.

I notice that so far nobody is really making elaborate shelters. I'm guessing they've all watched previous seasons and have learned not to expend that kind of energy. A lot of the past winners had only the most rudimentary of shelters, basically just tents.

Myself as well. This show has been on for how many seasons now? When will people learn that the name of the series is ALONE, and you will actually be ALONE. If you are not capable of that, then don't sign up!!!

[Auntie Velvet]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:38 AM, Rebky said:

Myself as well. This show has been on for how many seasons now? When will people learn that the name of the series is ALONE, and you will actually be ALONE. If you are not capable of that, then don't sign up!!!

I know what you're saying, but realistically, few people can afford to be off salary for months at a time to even know how good they'd be at the long solitude component. It's amazing how much from the past rises up to conk you on the head when there aren't any of life's usual distractions around.

[qtpye]

On 6/13/2022 at 5:46 PM, Auntie Velvet said:

I know what you're saying, but realistically, few people can afford to be off salary for months at a time to even know how good they'd be at the long solitude component. It's amazing how much from the past rises up to conk you on the head when there aren't any of life's usual distractions around.

Yes, every season there is an early tap-out from someone with excellent survival skills who can not stand being haunted by their inner demons.