S03.E10: Dunes of Despair

[VioletNevermind]

I've enjoyed this show quite a bit since it started, but this was the first episode that made me genuinely uncomfortable.  I realize that this is a game and the participants are there willingly, but I feel like the producers set them up to fail.  This was the most inhospitable location yet.  Where was the food?  Was there food available and we just don't know that because there were so few efforts made to find it?  I was almost on Honora's side until her ugly rant against Matt halfway through the episode.  "You f*cking stink, dude, and you're fat, lazy and stupid!"  Really?  This is coming from someone the announcer described in the beginning as 'highly intelligent?'  Sure, he seemed like a schmuck from the beginning and didn't do much besides work on the shelter, but her comments were mean and unnecessary, not to mention totally counterproductive toward someone she was depending on so much for survival.  Matt impressed me by the end of the episode, especially when he allowed her to use his machete and made sure to grab her magnifying glass on the way out so he could return it to her. 

 

I have to wonder if the crew is really as hands-off as they claim.  My bullshit meter has gone off a couple of times during this series.  Unless Matt's body relied completely on his extra body weight to survive without food for so long, I really don't see how he completed the extraction with as much energy as he did.

[Megan]

I feel kinda opposite. Matt did everything and all Honora did was pass out and examine a small cup of water with her dumb magnifying glass.. He did the majority of the shelter and got her that bug.

 

She was a gross asshole.

[ramble]

I thought Matt played it smart. That environment would not reward you for being active during the hot daily sun. He conserved energy, made sure to eat his cactus daily & drank water. I agree the water drinking was risky but with the heat & sun I think not drinking it may have been more risky. His TH where he went through how long he'd been there (Day 72, I've learned to speak the language of the spiders) cracked me up!

Honora seemed determined to do what she wanted regardless of the conditions. Why wouldn't she stay out of the sun more? I just didn't get it. Would Matt not share the cactus or after her vile rant was she too embarrassed to ask for anything? And didn't they find some fruit initially? Was she simply burning through anything she got by trekking around in the sun? She could've held her magnifying glass & coconut cup out in the sun without sitting her entire body out in it. Then again after seeing that Matt didn't get sick she could've just starting drinking the water too & that would definitely have made it easier to avoid the worst of the heat. Matt was much nicer than I would've been to her even as he quietly ignored her.

Edited September 22, 2014 by ramble

[lvndrldy54]

I have not seen all of this last episode of this season. However, it seems like this is about the third episode in a row where people have dropped out for illness and/injury. I agree with the lady who suggested that they seem to be setting them up to fail. I enjoy seeing how they cope with difficulties, but in a situation where they have at least a chance of survival. What is fair or truly competitive about dumping them in a bunch of sand dunes with the cards already stacked against them. Do not keep setting them up to fail!

[niklj]

Too bad they couldn't have trekked the five miles to the green area near the river--I wonder if that would've been any better to live in.

 

She was horrible and took up too much screen time. I wanted to see how Matt was surviving. I can't believe her score didn't go lower.

 

When she was crying over her coconut, Matt was way more generous than I would've been at that point. I probably would've said "Go cut it with your magnifying glass." But even that wouldn't be as petty as her saying, "I'm taking all these fronds except that one, I think you carried that one." WTF.

Edited September 22, 2014 by niklj

[henripootel]

Too bad they couldn't have trekked the five miles to the green area near the river--I wonder if that would've been any better to live in.

That made me wonder if these guys were under some restrictions as to what they could and couldn't do, this being a national park and all.  Did we once see them start a fire?  The one thing the magnifying glass would have been good for and they never did it?  Made me wonder if they weren't allowed to, not to mention that those close thickets of vegetation and the driving wind would likely have made it dangerous.  If so, then this location seemed tailor-made for a boring 'sit around eating nothing for 21 days' episode.  

 

If they were committed to loafing around anyway, kinda wonder why they didn't spend their days half-submerged in the ponds.  I also would have seriously considered burying myself in sand at night to escape the mosquitos and cold.

[jackjill89]

Didn't the guy dig himself a hidey hole? I thought he did. I would totally do what he did. Hang out/sleep during the day and only do stuff early morning and way later in the afternoon. She was just an odd duck. A mean odd duck. Maybe he did smell, but at least he had basic decent manners. He seemed like a nice guy.

[ari333]

Wow. What a full-of-herself, whiny, insulting little twat. Her marching around in the heat of the day is not super smart, imo. And she was introduced as "extremely intelligent" or whatever the announcer guy said. What? And frankly, I doubt she smelled like flowers either.

 

Also, don't some of these folks put on extra weight on purpose before they get there? IIRC, some of the men have lost 30 or 40 pounds.

[PityFree]

The woman lost me when she started the show by proclaiming that since she was "cute and blonde" no one would believe she was a survivalist. Ugh. Not as cute as you *think*, sweetheart.

 

Like some of you, I had also assumed that the magnifying glass was there so they could build a fire. I was puzzled because it seems like there are more effective fire starters that she could have brought. Why not start a fire? It would have been a ton easier to cook that grasshopper, that's for sure.

 

Although Matt had the superior strategy for surviiving, I will never understand vegans going on this show. You need to make every option for nutrition available to yourself if there are very few options. Veganism is probably a ton easier with a Whole Foods nearby.

 

ETA that I think her PSR should have been set to ZERO since without medical intervention and rescue, she would be dead thanks to her lack of sense (insisting on being in the sun all day, fighting with a person you need to depend on for survival, not drinking water after she saw that Matt didn't get sick, etc.) I think that if you need to tap out or be rescued, you should get a final PSR of 0 - for all contestants.

Edited September 22, 2014 by PityFree

[AZChristian]

Well isn't she a special snowflake?  You can badmouth your partner behind his back and to his face, nearly kill yourself due to stupidity, and still get your magnifying glass and a hug when it's all over.

 

It sure looked like she was in bad shape when she got to the hospital, but bounced back very quickly (3 hours and she's walking out smiling?).  Something's rotten in the State of Denmark.

[henripootel]

It sure looked like she was in bad shape when she got to the hospital, but bounced back very quickly (3 hours and she's walking out smiling?).  Something's rotten in the State of Denmark.

 

That part I actually believe.  She was dehydrated, and it's amazing to see how fast folks pop back up (from looking like grim death) if they just get some fluids.  And it can be pretty serious so best they drove her to the hospital. 

Edited September 22, 2014 by henripootel

[panthergirl13]

I loved this guy at the end "Day 72... " LOL!! I thought he was amazingly tolerant of her and rather than argue with her ridiculous 'strategy', he just left her to her own devices.

 

Next season on Naked and Afraid, two survivalists will be dropped on the moon. Good luck, bitches!

[jackjill89]

She was a brat and a half, but I think her going on this show so close to her father's death was a bad idea and made things so much worse for her. She brought the magnifying glass because of him. Not an effective tool but sentimental to her.

Edited September 22, 2014 by jackjill89

[tv-talk]

This was one of those episodes where I'm so jealous of the guy because he's out there with a hot bodied woman who wants to have fun and adventure, how these guys dont manage to do better with such a situation is beyond me- dude really was a slug.

 

However her tantrum towards him was horrible and truly hurtful, she should be completely ashamed of herself. 

 

The problem with the show in general is that laying around starving and conserving energy has become the default way to 'survive' the challenge. Well that's generally boring to watch, if she wasnt attractive and with such an obviously great body I wouldnt have bothered watching this whole episode- they really need to integrate more challenges into show.

[gaPeach]

Liked him not her.  He may have only carried one frond but he proceeded to build the entire shelter and find them fruit and that starchy vegetable while she laid in the hot sun with her magnifying glass to purify water.  Only to come back to the shelter and say he is too lazy and she is doing everything.  I can't think of one thing she did other than look for stuff to make the shelter that helped him.  Everything else she did was for herself.

 

And I too thought she should have been rated much lower than what she was. 

[Biosynth]

I'm not quite sure how some people go on this show with very little body fat and think they can survive just fine.  I'm sure a lot of them have seen this show.  There are long stretches of time, sometimes the whole time, where you don't eat at all.  A lot of the women especially look skeletal at the end.  This is an instance where a little weight is a benefit to you if you are starving.

 

As for Honora, I liked her at first but then the rant really irked me.  I chalked it up to being desperate and in mourning and it wasn't something that she would normally do. 

 

I liked the guy.  He was so calm. 

 

I kind of wonder if Honor was faking a little bit with the passing out like that.  It was a way to tap out without really tapping out and admitting she couldn't do it.  I know she was in dire straits but it seemed a little fishy to me.

[AZChristian]

One thing I did notice when the medics were with her at the campsite.  They did what's called a "sternal rub" to check her responsiveness to stimuli - and she didn't respond.  So she was probably out cold.  But I've been treated for sunstroke and dehydration, and did not bounce back as quickly as she seemed to.  I'm torn as to whether she was in as bad shape as she seemed to be.  Leg falling listlessly off the stretcher; head in producer's lap for the ride to the hospital, etc.  Then BOOM - she's walking out looking chipper 3 hours later.  Just odd to me.

 

But no doubt about one thing - she was NOT very nice to St. Matt.  And I also LOVED his sense of humor . . .

[ari333]

biosynth

I kind of wonder if Honor was faking a little bit with the passing out like that.  It was a way to tap out without really tapping out and admitting she couldn't do it.  I know she was in dire straits but it seemed a little fishy to me.

 

THIS! I can understand anyone being dangerously dehydrated, but I just didn't buy her passing out and being unresponsive. It just looked fake.  Also, this is bitchy of me, but while I was watching, ( before the passing out episode) she seemed to put herself in position where her legs were apart (while resting on her stomach with her legs in an open ... IDK... frog position)  anyway - more than what seemed necessary to me. And again on the stretcher... naked... and her legs fall apart. All I could think of was the SYTYCD, (So You Think You Can Dance)  "HMV" move (Here's My Vagina)  Alrighty then.

 

 Some patients require up to 30 seconds of continuous hard knuckle pressure on the sternum for the sternal rub to elicit a response to pain. If only a few seconds of pressure is applied, in some instances the patient may not respond to the pain. However, this lack of response may not be due to poor brain integrity, but from an improperly applied sternal rub (ie not long enough) (imo). Anyway....

 

Her rant to the dude was insulting and over the top.

 

Very sweet of him to return her mag glass to her. He didn't have to do that. Sweet.

Edited September 23, 2014 by ari333

[PityFree]

I'd really like to know exactly how effective using a magnifying glass is for purifying water. It seems like a really inefficient and ineffective way to get the job done. There was no boiling going on. Even if the tiny amount of water she was focussing on got hot, the rest of the water wasn't and there is no way she could move the light around to get every bit of water hot. 

 

I think she was one of the people who go on this show because they think they look good naked and want to be on TV.

[fib]

It is really unusual on this show for there to be one gem of a human and one utter jackass and the gem is the male participant.  (Not to say that we haven't had horrible women, (I'm thinking of the woman in Cambodia and the crazy lady on one of the beach episodes who wouldnt let her partner talk to her) but that their partners havent seemed particularly likeable either).  The gentleman on this episode was so reasonable and level-headed, which you never would have guessed from his intro about pot and cocaine use in his teens.  He was so so great.  

Honora on the other hand seemed like she's not cut out for a show where the goal is to limit energy consumption.  I agree that her final PSR should be much lower, because her dehydration was really a result of her not thinking through the task of purifying the water intelligently, or whether that was needed after her partner managed 1 week drinking the water without getting ill. 

[gaPeach]

I forgot to mention that I thought his PSR should have gone up more than it did just for keeping a cool head when his partner lost hers.  He was so smart to stay out of the sun.  For an overly intelligent women she was pretty dumb.  Some people can be book smart but lack any common sense.  That would be her.

 

I too thought his TH were pretty funny with the "day 182 I no longer know my human name...".  He is the kind of person you want to be with during a zombie apocalypse.  The boy was seriously chill the entire 21 days.

 

And even though she thought he looked out of shape he actually was in the right shape for what they were going to do for the next 21 days.  They do like to put skinny women on this show or maybe women with some body fat don't try out for the show.  All I know is if the ZA hits I will live much longer on no food then the skinny chicks! 

[jnymph]

I too thought his TH were pretty funny with the "day 182 I no longer know my human name...".

 

Seriously.... that was funny stuff in his TH's

 

Can't understand why these people can't communicate on this show.  How hard is it to say: "I do not feel you're pulling your weight to get things done."

Answer "Well, my approach is to conserve energy and stay out of the sun"   

Reply "Oh. OK my approach is to bust my ass while I have the energy"

Reply "How can we compromise on this?"

Etc etc you get the idea.

 

Also, why didn't they go cover themselves in mud (water source nearby) to protect themselves from the sun ?   

 

She was only 120 lbs going in  (5'-6")  ... that's pretty thin to begin with.... as a poster upstream mentioned .. why wouldn't you bulk up prior to the show?

I believe they said she lost 18 lbs total. Wow.  That's skeletal.

 

Also, once she saw he didn't get sick from drinking the water, why didn't she drink it as well ? Or did she?  Ugh - they leave out too many pieces from this show.

 

I thought she genuinely passed out... don't think it was a game maneuver or anything like that.   I believe you can bounce back pretty quick after getting some fluids.

[fib]

Can't understand why these people can't communicate on this show.  How hard is it to say: "I do not feel you're pulling your weight to get things done."

Answer "Well, my approach is to conserve energy and stay out of the sun"   

Reply "Oh. OK my approach is to bust my ass while I have the energy"

Reply "How can we compromise on this?"

Etc etc you get the idea.

A number of people on this show seem to be survivalists because they don't/cant seem to get along with people.  Not all of them, but certainly a portion. 

 

 

Also, why didn't they go cover themselves in mud (water source nearby) to protect themselves from the sun ?

 

I didnt see anything to make mud with.  Sand on your skin can amplify the sun, so covering in sand wouldnt be beneficial. 

 

 

 

 

She was only 120 lbs going in  (5'-6")  ... that's pretty thin to begin with.... as a poster upstream mentioned .. why wouldn't you bulk up prior to the show?

I believe they said she lost 18 lbs total. Wow.  That's skeletal.

Well, I think her normal weight is 120, but honestly she didn't look 5'6 120 when she stripped the first time.  I'm 5'7 and at 120 I looked pretty skeletal.  At 135 I looked like she did when she first stripped: fit with a little extra weight.  But yeah, if she dipped to 5'6 102? terrifying! Though I'm wondering how much would have been water loss due to her dehydration? Like, after she got an IV would her weight have gone up to 110? 

[henripootel]

I'd really like to know exactly how effective using a magnifying glass is for purifying water.

 

Far as I know, it isn't.  Somehow these guys (and the guys last week) seem to think that the UV component of sunlight is good for sterilizing water.  Well, UV can be (although it's usually done with artificial UV, and it doesn't sterilize microorganisms so much as shut down their ability to reproduce effectively) but that doesn't mean that exposure to sunlight will do it.  Also, if her magnifying glass was actual glass, that'd knock out a good proportion of that part of the spectrum anyway. 

 

I guess in theory you could use a magnifying glass simply to heat water directly but it'd take forever, so slow that the heat you apply would probably just make it evaporate.  Far better to use the glass to make a fire, which we didn't see them do.  I wonder why.  My guess is that they weren't allowed to, although even if they were they'd have needed some sort of vessel for boiling.  

[blackwing]

If the guy with the roll of duct tape was allowed to make clothes and everything else with it, I didn't understand why they would restrict someone from using the magnifying glass to make a fire.  Wouldn't that be about the only use for a magnifying glass in these situations?  Did she think she was going to fry ants with it?  I get that it was sentimental, but come on.  On "Survivor" I recall in the early seasons that they would use someone's eyeglasses to make fire, and then TPTB said it was an unfair advantage and wouldn't let them do it anymore.

 

But on this show, I would imagine that should have been allowed.  It's no different than bringing a firestarter.  If there was no restriction on it, and these two just weren't bright enough to make fire with it, then I have no words for the stupidity.

[henripootel]

Wouldn't that be about the only use for a magnifying glass in these situations?

I can think of reasons why they might not let them.  They filmed this in a national park, yes?  There may be restrictions on open fires there.  Place also looks like it's pretty dry for much of the year, else the sand dunes would be more verdant.  Dry, close stands of stunted trees + driving wind + open flame = conflagration.  I've seen range fires in Utah, driven by wind, sheen along the ground faster than you'd believe.  

[blackwing]

I suppose. But in the same way they have producers standing 10 feet off camera with guns to protect Michael from lions and whatever they do to ensure that snakes and caimans don't take a bite out of people walking through water, couldn't they have people standing off camera with fire extinguishers at the ready?

We all know the naked people aren't really alone.

[henripootel]

... couldn't they have people standing off camera with fire extinguishers at the ready?

 

In a word, no.   When I ran survey crews out in the Utah desert (which is full of scrubby brush and grass), standing orders was that if anybody smelled smoke, they were to drop their shit right now and run for the truck.  Smelling smoke means the wind is blowing it right at you, and once we actually had to flee a grassfire moving about as fast as you can trot.  It's wind that makes fires especially dangerous and hard to put out, and these guys looked like they were getting pretty consistent wind.

 

Might be a moot point anyway if the production team agreed to no fires in the national park as a condition of filming there.  I mean what else could account for the fact that they knew they were in for cold nights, had a magnifying glass, and never used it to start a fire?  Out there, a magnifying glass is good for pretty much one thing and nothing else.

[PityFree]

If the producers put them in a place where fire was not allowed, they are a-holes. Fire would have helped keep bugs away at night and sanitize water. And if the producers knew for a fact that the water was drinkable straight out of the ground with no boiling, then not telling the participants that fact was evil. Of course, if the producers didn't think the water was drinkable right out of the ground, then choosing a "no fire allowed" location is doubly evil. 

 

If the participants didn't have a pot to boil the water in, they could have tried the "putting heated rocks into a container of water (like a coconut shell or stalk of bamboo)" method of heating the water - so the magnifying glass could still have come in handy for starting a fire. 

 

What is up with the producers for choosing that location??? Hey producers: we want to see survival skills, not you actively trying to kill people. Could they have intended for the two of them to stay somewhere else? Like in the episode with the blue holes - the participants moved to the beach and were much better off. Were these two supposed to camp closer to where those rivers (that we say when the guy went to the extraction point) were and staying where they did was their dumb mistake?

[AZChristian]

Did anyone else think it was a little fishy that when Honora was crawling through dense foliage crying, "If I just had a coconut!" . . . all of a sudden, she found a coconut?  Kind of like that "abandoned" pot Michael found in his episode.

 

I think the producers think we all have the word "GULLIBLE" tattooed on our foreheads.

[henripootel]

What is up with the producers for choosing that location?

Well, it was pretty, although pretty desolate.  If you're looking to simply sit around and wait for 21 days, you could do worse.  It was a nice substrate for walking around, and the water there was probably less riddled with parasites that usual (although not free) because it was ephemeral and there weren't other large-bodied mammals about.  If you were smart you'd have two camps, one where the wind blows through (to confuse the bloodsucking bugs who might not be able to find you), and one with no wind (for the cold nights).  I personally love the desert myself, and everybody I know who works in tropical areas has horror stories about pests and diseases.  I may have to truck in my water but at least I haven't had malaria or dengue.  

 

Not for nothing but that brown water Matt found in that river at the end - might have been the safest for drinking (although not preferable to boiled).  It looked to be full of tannins from the forest, and tannins do have antimicrobial properties.   I recall that back in the days of sailing vessels, folks used to fill up long-term water storage barrels with water from the Great Dismal Swamp.  It tasted a bit funky but it kept longer, as the high tannin levels (stuff looks like tea) would discourage bacterial growth.  The things you learn from reading roadside signs.

Edited September 25, 2014 by henripootel

[farmgal4]

I had never watched this show until yesterday and there was some kind of marathon on so I watched back to back episodes all day/night. I have a question: Do the people that choose to participate in this show win money if they can make it for 21 days without tapping out? I saw one episode where the producer was bitten by a snake and damn! That guy's entire foot/leg looked like it was rotting off! It was horrible and I can't believe the guy didn't have to have his lower leg amputated. WTH would anybody want to risk their life to be on this stupid show unless there was mega-millions involved?

[PityFree]

Hi, Farmgal14 - There is no prize other than not dying and pride. No money, no nothing. I have no idea why they would subject themselves to the torture of going on this show.

[henripootel]

I have no idea why they would subject themselves to the torture of going on this show.

There're weird folks out there.  I read about an endurance race where folks start by crawling up a muddy ditch for a few hundred yards to a hillside full of stumps.  There they hack a stump out of the ground and then carry it with them for the rest of the day, through obstacles and over miles.  These folks pay money to do this.

 

The folks on this show, them I pick out as fame whores.  Somehow I think that if this wasn't shown on tv, very few of them would bother.  Just my guess.

[PityFree]

Honora - please tell us if fire was allowed or not permitted. If it was allowed, why didn't you start one? Also, why did you decide to do the show? It seems like so much torture for no payoff to me. How much do the producers tell you about the location beforehand?

[Kelda Feegle]

and we all know where you can find a vessel - camel herding nomads probably left one in the bushes 'accidently a long time ago'

I guess in theory you could use a magnifying glass simply to heat water directly but it'd take forever, so slow that the heat you apply would probably just make it evaporate.  Far better to use the glass to make a fire, which we didn't see them do.  I wonder why.  My guess is that they weren't allowed to, although even if they were they'd have needed some sort of vessel for boiling.  

[henripootel]

Meanwhile, I was on Malarone for malaria.

That might explain some of your unhappiness out there, Honora.  Malarone is pretty evil (for some folks anyway) - I spent a week lying in a hut sick as sick, with the locals making book that I was gonna die.  If you don't mind me asking, what did the folks at the emergency room say was wrong with you?

 

Also, interesting that one of the chief complaints by viewers here (that each episode is the same because contestants tend to sit around doing nothing) is actually a result of editing by Discovery.  Sounds like you guys did plenty of stuff but they left that part out.  Wish I could say I was more surprised.

Edited September 26, 2014 by henripootel

[fib]

People telling me I deserve to die is way too far. 

 

Wow.  Sorry Honora - that is clearly across the line.  Thanks for enlightening us about how much bullshit the show can be.  We've been discussing that for some time, but your insider's insight is 100% times better than our guesses. 

 

I agree with Henri on Malarone - a good friend of mine went a little batty on Malarone in PNG and lost his job because of his reaction.  

Amphetamines? Do you mean i guess adderall?  Why would anyone need amphetamines in the wild?

[PityFree]

Honora you went on the show while recovering from malaria? Or did you get it during the show? I'm confused.

[henripootel]

Honora you went on the show while recovering from malaria? Or did you get it during the show? I'm confused.

Malaria drugs are taken to prevent you getting malaria, they don't protect you from being infected by the parasite.  Nothing can really - you get bit by an infected mosquito, you've been infected.  What you can do is take drugs beforehand that turn your blood into a toxic environment for the parasite, more accurately, its babies.  Bug gets in and tries to reproduce inside you but the cycle is interrupted by the drugs.  Bam, no malaria.  (Just to be complete, there is a new drug you can take after you get malaria but they don't advise people to take it to simply ward off malaria).

 

Problem is that the drugs are extremely powerful and way more dangerous than people think.  I took malarone in africa and honestly felt like I was dying.  Lariam (chemically similar to malarone) was even worse for me - I was stuck on a remote island and soon grew paranoid that my hosts were bugging my grass hut with little thin wires and mics.  Soon got full-blown panic attacks - got to a larger island, was afraid to go across the street to get a burger cuz I thought I wouldn't be able to find my way back.  I honestly didn't feel like myself for several years, and find it very easy to believe that the army guys who took Lariam in Iraq and came home and killed their wives - should be cut some slack.  It's that bad.  

 

Drug of choice now is Doxycycline, powerful antibiotic but it gives some folks hyper-sensititivy to the sun.  Thank god, not me.  But if Honora had taken that she might have burned to a crisp in that sun in like an hour.  On the good side doxy also fights off several other diseases at the same time (like typoid and some other parasites) so that's a plus.  People I know who take it in the field also tell me it clears up their acne.  Less happy-making is what it does to your intestinal flora.

Edited September 26, 2014 by henripootel

[PityFree]

.thanks for clarifying!

Edited September 26, 2014 by PityFree

[KidHorn]

I hope Honora doesn't get in trouble for posting. I guess there's not much Discovery could do anyway.

 

Did they eat uncooked birds? or was it cooked with the magnifying glass? How does one do a toxicity test on cactus without a laboratory?

[henripootel]

How does one do a toxicity test on cactus without a laboratory?

The same way rats do it - eat a little, wait a while and see what happens.

[tv-talk]

You look amazing for a homeless person Honora, so at least you've got that going for you. I didnt think you were that terrible other than when you berated the guy for his smell etc, in hindsight an odd thing for a homeless person to do. Chalk it up to stress I guess?

 

Overall I thought you just seemed very inexperienced and without comprehension of how strong the Sun truly is i.e. the extent to which it can and will completely wreck ANYONE. Matt came off as a bit of a slug I think, not necessarily the guy you'd want to be stranded with, however that could have been editing too. It's one thing and smart to basically rest in shade for large parts of day like all the animals do, but then you can forage and hunt at the other hours to improve your situation rather than just lay around. Granted it was a desolate locale to the extreme, but there is night activity just about everywhere.

 

Why no fire?

[peaceknit]

That's weird, for some reason this epi didn't record and it's not on demand.....

[panthergirl13]

Would be a shame if Honora did a "hit and run" on this thread. I think it's so interesting when contestants respond here (like Angela on this season's Project Runway did after she was auf'd).

 

Found her FB page: https://www.facebook.com/honora.bowen

 

She mentions that she tried to start a fire with her shirt (?) so I guess that was not forbidden.

Edited September 30, 2014 by panthergirl13

[Spiderella2]

Allow me to enlighten you as to how Discovery is so full of shit. They edited the crap out of this episode. I built that shelter with Matt, moved 30 cubic feet of sand under it, spent 24 hours doing a toxicity test on the cacti before we deemed it safe to eat, shared buriti and coconuts that I'd found with him, made a fish basket, killed and cleaned two birds with my bare hands, made us blankets, and shared treated water with him. Now I have a constant stream of hate messages thanks to the editing process. As a homeless person with no security blanket, I'm pretty devastated with this whole thing. I agreed to let them portray me in a false light,but people telling me I deserve to die is way too far. Not to mention, what I said to Matt was provoked by an argument which they didn't air and began with me approaching him and asking if we could talk and work things out.

They took out the fact that I made a shade device that I used while I was treating my water. My one "big mistake" of falling asleep in the sun was on day 2, after Matt and I worked together to build the shelter and then I used my legs to move the 30 cubic feet of sand to flatten the shelter's floor while he napped.

Furthermore, that locust was thrown at Matt after it fell on the cameraman. And lastly, the real reason why everything was so difficult was because Matt told me on night one that he couldn't believe they let him take amphetamines (2x/day) out there. Meanwhile, I was on Malarone for malaria.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. Why are you even on here? Sure we don't want you to die, but your actions keep pointing to the fact that you have very little common sense. Your whole spiel...what was the intention there? To garner more sympathy points? Not buying it. I understand that there is a level of producer involvement, but they can't show what you did not do. You behaved horribly and acted stupidly. Just own it.

For a highly intelligent person, you showed a lot of ineptitude in real survival skills. Any putz would realize after day 1 that traipsing around in the sun all day in a desert is not a good idea. Even if you had to forage for food, you should have done it when the sun wasn't at its peak. Your sun shade device (the hat and palm frond) was ineffectual because you still ended up with massive sunstroke and dehydration. There were several times when you went out and didn't take it with you! You could have placed your magnifying glass on the bowl, used something to keep it in place, and gone into the shade. You could have sat in the water while using your magnifying glass, conserving energy, wetting your skin, and cooling off. Matt wasn't dying from drinking the un-magnified water a week later, but you were too stubborn to concede that magnifying was a waste a time. You didn't hydrate enough. That's why you fell sick. And that's why you should have lost PSR points.

The 24 hr toxicity test is not that big of a deal. You are making it sound like you used an actual lab or did some work. Did you never eat the cactus, even when you were near death from starvation? Cactus has many of the minerals you were crying that you desperately needed. Why not make use of that resource? Because it was on 'Matt's side? Because of your pride and stubbornness?

The argument in which you eviscerated Matt could have been because of a fight or your heightened emotional state, but you struck below the belt----when he had helped with almost everything you did. He carried 2 palm fronds, not 1! He built most of the shelter. He shared his fruits and foraged food with you. Even his machete. Sure he's not the go-getter type, and maybe he has a BO problem, but I'm sure you didn't smell Ike roses either. Your approach was an epic fail, and he was nicer than me not to point that out to you. Once the basics are covered (shelter, water, fire, food), there is not much else to do. SInce you weren't allowed to build a fire, you bossing him around to 'help' with whatever you are doing ---running around like a chicken with your head cut off, doesn't make sense. And thanks for sharing your coconuts you selfish a!.

If the producers let Matt take amphetamines, it's probably because he had a medical condition that required it. It helps with ADHD to level you out. Usually with amphetamines, if you miss several doses, you are setting your health backwards significantly. I'm sure they've done so for many other people with chronic health issues. It's not a special perk... but here you are making it sound like one? How does him taking his ADHD meds make it 'oh so difficult' for you? Cry me a river. I'm sure if you were on Prozac they would have let you keep taking them too. You taking malaria pills is another excuse, you should have drank water to replete what you were losing, and you guys were surrounded by water. That would have helped more than crying puddles of tears (and losing more sodium in the tears). After the break up you never re- built your own shelter, why not? If you were that skilled at shelter building, why didn't you make your own?

Honestly I was rooting for you to win the challenge and kick ass, but you lost me between your rants against Matt (not just in that 'fight' but in several other interviews), your lack of common sense, and your stubbornness. And when asked what you would have done differently, you could only state one thing. As for you being homeless, that sounds like a personal problem. What does that have to do with the show? Just another reason to garner sympathy. Got it. Maybe you shouldn't have signed up for a show that intense if your life wasn't in order. Makes me once again doubt your intelligence.

It's a free country and if you can dish it you should be able to take it. People are jumping down your throat because of your actions and words. That's the universe striking a karmic balance. Put on your big girl panties, learn from it, and move on. Maybe get off the internet and social media since you can't handle it. In 15 minutes your time will be up anyway, and you can go back to your normal life. Next time, be a good person and don't be a bully no matter the circumstances.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Spiderella2

[farmgal4]

Thank you, Spiderella 2! I don't care what issues and/or excuses Honora had for tapping out. Personally, I'll always remember that episode AND her because of the way she treated Matt. Her cruelty towards him was both unforgettable and unforgivable IMO. He's a much, much better person than I could ever be after being treated like that. I would have handed her that magnifying glass and told her to shove it up her ass sideways. After seeing her in action, I'm really not too surprised that she's homeless.

[Spiderella2]

That's weird, for some reason this epi didn't record and it's not on demand.....

I think it's going to repeat this week. Via Directv that it will play again 10/1 at 7pm PST. Brazil.

[thetree23]

This is the first person I've ever seen set and whine like a baby, begging for magnesium, " I want sugar, boohooboohoo! Why did this stupid bitch go on this show ? I think she was the stupidest contestant on here! Matt was stupid for forgiving her, shows how weak he was! These two definitely wasn't doing the show fairly! There is no way this weak girl was a survivalist! What is "Naked and Afraid" trying to pull? An over weight dude and a brat from Beverly Hills! That's all you can say when this chick is laying with sand all over her face while she cries for sugar and magnesium! Stupid! They stupid chick shouldn't be on " Naked and Dizzy " right along a show about survival!