S11.E11: Collapse / S11.E12: Into the Dark

[Quilt Fairy]

Collapse:

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The Arctic's frozen landscape continues to push the remaining survivalists to the brink. One participant finds themselves at-risk for frostbite, while another is convinced the end days are near.

Into the Dark:

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With the competition in its final stage, only one survivalist's resolve can secure them the $500,000 prize. As the temperature dips well below freezing, the river stops paying dividends. The three participants are forced to weigh tapping out versus a lifetime of regret.

Season finale, double episode.

Air date: August 29, 2024

[humbleopinion]

My favorite finale and winner of all the seasons.

[wait.what]

I felt sad for Timber and Dub, but I am so happy for William! I am so glad he won. They were all deserving. I hope they recover quickly. Dub really looked like a skeleton. 

[rmontro]

This season felt brutal, even though I think food was scarcer in previous ones.  Any of the last three would have been deserving.  I didn't think William was going to win after he convinced himself he was the winner for the med check, but he looked strong in the end.

I don't feel too bad for Timber, since it didn't sound like he wanted the money for himself anyway.

[mlp]

I was very happy with the ending.  William and Tinder were both deserving and my favorites from early on but I was a little bit more invested in William for some reason I can't explain.  I got a huge kick out of his joyous reunion with his excited wife.  Those two really love each other.

Tinder is an interesting guy.  He seemed to me to be quite intelligent but without the benefit of a good start in life and some higher education.  I think he was more concerned about his feet and other health concerns than he wanted to admit.  I wish him well.

I wonder if there will be a reunion show.  I'd love some follow up on some of them.

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

I wonder if there will be a reunion show.  I'd love some follow up on some of them.

I think the US version abandoned the reunion shows long ago.  And not to be that guy, but it's Timber, not Tinder.  Tinder's a cool and appropriate name too though.  His complaints about the deer jerky made my teeth hurt.

[Quilt Fairy]

5 hours ago, mlp said:

wonder if there will be a reunion show. 

There is none listed in next week's TV schedule. 

[mlp]

3 hours ago, rmontro said:

And not to be that guy, but it's Timber, not Tinder. 

I knew that.  I normally proofread before I hit Send and somehow missed that typo.  Sorry Timber.

[Red Bridey]

I am happy that William pulled it off. At first, I was terribly annoyed with Timber's performative commentary, but for the last few episodes, I really appreciated the way he played, keeping his spirits up and passing the long boring hours with creativity and games. Especially as he didn't seem to be all that talented at actually finding food...terrible at fishing, no fowl, one hare...luckily he had that moose jerky. 

Dub was a big old softy after all. I figured he'd last a long time because he was a good angler and seemed really comfortable alone, but he had been cracking for a few weeks and he just realized he wasn't happy anymore.

And William, my adorable Labradorean! Comfortable in the cold, skilled at getting food and using the environment wisely. I live him and his pretty wife! I legit teared up when he saw her for the first time. Listening to him, granted with closed captioning, made me so happy. And humming "I'se the bye (boy)" every time he was featured. Love him!

[Skooma]

Timber remained my favorite but I'm okay with William getting the money too.

And thank you, Timber, for that funny take on "Survivor."  "Fire represents death" hahahaha!

[PaperTree]

Surprised Timber let the homesickness get to him, but we all have our breaking points.  He had plenty of food.

Good on William

[ChristmasJones]

I would have been ok with any of the final three as winners. Sometimes I don't feel that way.  It was fun to see William win. I love how they have the loved one sneak up behind them.  They seem like a family who will make that money go far. I couldn't believe he lost over 70 lbs. He was only 183 when he started. that is super skinny.  I wonder if they have to be careful about how fast they put the weight back on. I loved how he said he would be talking about this experience for the rest of his life. 

I also appreciated Timber talking about how much his experience out there impacted him. I can see it being somewhat like a long meditation retreat, which gives you a chance to reflect on your life in a very deep way that isn't really possible when living in the normal world.  It seems it was healing for him. 

There is an official Alone podcast which features interviews with each person as they leave the show, in case anyone is interested.

[Yeah No]

I just wanted to say I haven't read any of the posts here yet because I haven't watched the second episode yet and don't know who the winner is and don't want that spoiled. I wish this had been done as two separate episode threads because they were shown separately and I don't have time to watch two 1.5 hour episodes back to back, and I'm retired and don't even work! And this is not the only show I watch currently airing two marathon episodes per week right now which makes it even worse!

That said, I am currently on the edge of my seat going into the final episode. I'm amazed that it looks like none of them got pulled, especially Timber and his frozen feet. At this point it would be quite a let down if his feet did him in in the end and a big part of me hopes that doesn't happen. William looks to be thriving more than the other two and I would not be sad at all if he won as he has earned my respect. I have grown to like and admire all three of them and it's going to be hard to watch two of them be disappointed. I think all of them deserve a prize at this point. I know once they get to be one of the last people left they do benefit from their achievement in some ways but I wish all of these guys could get a cash prize.  I found this season to be one of the best so far, and I've seen all of them. 

Hopefully I'll be able to finish the next episode tomorrow.

[Quilt Fairy]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I wish this had been done as two separate episode threads

That was my decision, and I did agonize about it. Ultimately, I decided that having individual threads when the episodes were aired one after the other would lead to one thread being ignored and/or people posting in the wrong thread. YMMV.

ETA: Sorry it didn't work for you. 

Edited September 2 by Quilt Fairy

[Yeah No]

I'm very happy that William won. When I found out that Timber was going to give away the money I somehow didn't like that as much as knowing it would go to a deserving contestant that would use it to better his and his family's lives. No disrespect to Timber because I do respect what he does but the "rags to riches" ending for this show feels more satisfying, especially after all they achieved out there and all they endured.

I agree with @humbleopinion that this was the best finale and perhaps the best winner of all the seasons, although I've liked others as much too. I think the final 3 this season were all exceptional and that really hasn't ever happened on this show that I can recall, anyway. So that made it all the more interesting and satisfying to watch. And it wasn't just about their amazing skills either, but their insightful and meaningful comments. I appreciated all of their attitudes and rooted for all of them. I'm just sad that only one of them could have won. But I'm very happy in the big picture for William and his family. 

Too bad we won't get a follow-up. Maybe there'll be something online? Podcast or something? I really wish we had that this time.

7 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

That was my decision, and I did agonize about it. Ultimately, I decided that having individual threads when the episodes were aired one after the other would lead to one thread being ignored and/or people posting in the wrong thread. YMMV.

ETA: Sorry it didn't work for you. 

Thank you, I appreciate that, but no worries, I'm over it. It's more about the fact that other shows I watch are also doing back to back long episodes at the same time. I hate it when they compress seasons that way and even worse when a few of them do it together.

[humbleopinion]

Anyone else taken aback that Dub spent $300 on a coat?

He probably should have spent a few dollars more on a sturdier pair of glasses and fashion paracord to hang them around his neck instead of pocketing and breaking his only pair of spectacles.

Always a pleasure to post season after season on this thoughtful forum with dedicated viewers who enjoy Alone as great teevee.

If you want more William, his youtube channel is Bigland Trapper.

About 15 minutes of listening to his Labradorian with no captions was plenty for me.

Peace out until next season folks.

 

Edited September 2 by humbleopinion

[Yeah No]

I think Dub is going to regret not checking that box to allow the show to inform him of anything important going on in his family more than he will regret tapping out. I think if he knew that "no news was good news" he'd have been psychologically able to tough it out a few more days. But even so, in the end I don't think there was any way he would have beat William if they had been the final two.

1 hour ago, humbleopinion said:

Anyone else taken aback that Dub spent $300 on a coat?

Not really. A really good weather coat can cost a shocking amount. If I went to spend time in the Arctic outdoors I'd spare no expense either.

1 hour ago, humbleopinion said:

Always a pleasure to post season after season on this thoughtful forum with dedicated viewers who enjoy Alone as great teevee.

If you want more William, his youtube channel is Bigland Trapper.

About 15 minutes of listening to his Labradorian with no captions was plenty for me.

Peace out until next season folks.

It's always a pleasure to see you again, rare though it is these days!

I can't understand William without captions either so as much as I love him I don't think I'll put myself through that.

One thing I predicted is that Dub and Timber were sympatico and would likely become friends. It turns out that Dub has said on Reddit that if the only thing he got out of the experience was his friendship with Timber, it was all worth it.

Anyway as Dub would say, "peace out, dude"!!

[Quilt Fairy]

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

About 15 minutes of listening to his Labradorian with no captions was plenty for me.

FYI, you can turn captions on in YT. 

[Yeah No]

Just now, Quilt Fairy said:

FYI, you can turn captions on in YT. 

Yup, I know, I do it all the time. (That was not my quote, BTW, but @humbleopinion's). And I thought we were talking about William's personal website, not a YouTube channel, although I see now that it is on YouTube. I'll have to look into it.

[Cosmocrush]

I was confused when Timber was talking about giving the money away.  I thought earlier in the season he talked about building a house for his family, something his kids didn't have because of the families traveling/nomadic humanitarian life. Did I just imagine that? 

[Quilt Fairy]

On 9/3/2024 at 9:44 AM, Yeah No said:

Yup, I know, I do it all the time. (That was not my quote, BTW, but @humbleopinion's). And I thought we were talking about William's personal website, not a YouTube channel, although I see now that it is on YouTube. I'll have to look into it.

Yes, when you quote an already quoted quote Primetimer gets confused. 

I checked out Williams YT channel, he's got a new video up where he describes the 10 items he took on Alone.  And let me say, the close captioning is not up to William's accent. But it is funny.

[aussieinsydney]

I'm so happy that William won. He is an absolute master at survival. Big congratulation to him and his family.