Season One Talk: Wolves And Cougars And Bears, Oh My!

[cooksdelight]

Yes, we find out tonight who wins. :) I will miss this show until the next season.

[Quilt Fairy]

Is tonite the last epi? So waiting for tonite's show! I've not been looking at the spoilers either. Woohoo!

Yes, tonight's the finale. And according to interviews Alan has given - I don't consider this a spoiler  - neither he nor Sam know who was the last man standing.

[cooksdelight]

There is also an "Inside Alone" special right after the episode airs. I suspect we'll have more of the guys on to talk about the entire experience.

[rainsmom]

If they don't know who won, then EITHER the producers left the last guy out there until he tapped (which seems horribly cruel), OR they tapped close together -- so close that the producer just hadn't gotten to the winner yet, so they decided to leave them both in suspense.

 

I hope the latter, which actually would be super cool.

[cooksdelight]

The wind whipping Sam's tent would drive me over the edge. Why didn't he build something up under the trees?

[Bubbacat]

Man, Sam psyched me out there. "I . . . I think . . . I think I'm . . . I think I'll . . . I think . . . I'll . . . go . . . to . . . bed." I just want to hug him right now.

 

And now may I add . . . ALAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited August 21, 2015 by Bubbacat

[riverheightsnancy]

Man, Sam psyched me out there. "I . . . I think . . . I think I'm . . . I think I'll . . . I think . . . I'll . . . go . . . to . . . bed." I just want to hug him right now.

I thought he was having some type of psychotic break. Sam looks better with the lost weight IMO.   Not surprised at all. Well deserved! 

[cooksdelight]

Alan looks like death warmed over.

[riverheightsnancy]

Alan looks like death warmed over.

Remember, I had said about 2 weeks ago that I thought that one of the commercials was a spoiler regarding who stayed the longest (based on beard length), and I really do believe it was. A couple of weeks ago they had Alan on a commercial with the way he looks in this episode. To me it was obvious that he had stayed out there longer than the current episode that was showing at the time. He really did lose a lot of weight. Sam too. Happy for him. I thought that he might cry, but no. I liked his two looks back at his shelter. Like he wanted to take a final snapshot of it, because suddenly it was over. 

[CN42]

A fabulous ending to a great show. Don't do anything to ruin season 2, History Channel.

[Bubbacat]

I'm a bit choked up right now . . .

[cooksdelight]

They're using Ingles grocery store bags to collect the mushrooms! :)

[riverheightsnancy]

Yeah, the ending made me cry, ONLY to be ruined by having to see Chris making comment on the inside edition. Why aren't we getting all of the guys! Hrumpf. 

[cooksdelight]

I hope Sam's OK now that he's home. I was worried about him for a while there.

[riverheightsnancy]

This show makes the wimps on Survivor REALLY look like wimps!  (And I like Survivor!). 60 pounds wow. 

[cooksdelight]

That creepy shot of Alan with the light on his one eye.... that should be the opening logo shot for this show.

[riverheightsnancy]

That creepy shot of Alan with the light on his one eye.... that should be the opening logo shot for this show.

It kind of made me think of Blair Witch Project. Scary. Have you gotten the go ahead on the interview questions yet Cooksdelight? Now that Alan has won, it makes the interview even more exciting. I wonder how long he would have really stayed out there?

Edited August 21, 2015 by riverheightsnancy

[cooksdelight]

Haven't heard back about the Q&A yet.

[rainsmom]

I finally figured out who Sam reminds me of. He looks like Eric Millegan, who played Zac Addey on Bones in the first 3 seasons. Sam is totally Zac!

 

Alan! Yay! Sam did a GREAT job, but I'm glad Alan won.

 

I, too, loved the looks back at his shelter. I think the last one was a "Thank you."

 

60 pounds! Holy cow, I'm heading to the woods.

[riverheightsnancy]

Seems like Alan had a spiritual/existential experience (not that he isn't like that in life), but it highlighted it for him.  I really hope that this experience helps him and his oldest son come back together because he talked about that with a small bit of sadness. I really hope that for him. He seems like a great person. 

[LittleIggy]

Hooray for Alan! I'm can't believe my fave actually won. He totally rocked the psychological aspect of the challenge.

[cherry slushie]

Hooray for Alan, and way to go, Sam!  He almost made it, but his tent shelter and the occasional mouse for dinner had finally taken its toll.

 

That said, did the show have them fake Christmas morning so Alan's homecoming would be more dramatic - like a gift?  Other than the Christmas tree, there were no other decorations in the house, and you could see it was clearly Fall, not Winter, by the leaves and the Fall like wreath on their door. Hmmm.

[walnutqueen]

Alan's response when told he was the last man standing was classic : "So soon?".

[ClareWalks]

Woohoo Alan! Sam was amazing though. What a trooper. If you watch the extra videos on History.com and see Sam's homecoming, you see how much weight he lost: 

over 80 lb!!! And that's AFTER he gained about 10 lb of water weight and double cheeseburgers back!

Edited August 21, 2015 by ClareWalks

[ProfCrash]

I found that episode highly anti-climatix. I was fine with either man winning but shocked to see how mentally gone Sam was a few days before he tapped. You could see how gone Alan was when they told him that he had won. It barely registered and he looked flat out beat when his wife came out to hug him. He clearly was not all there.

 

I liked that they showed the crew getting ready to go out and tell Alan he had won and that they brought his wife. I liked that they showed the well check that they did on a weekly basis.

 

I guess I found the end part at Alan's home a bit long. I think I would have prefered if they had shown the shots from each man returning home and a bit on how people responded to the length of their journeys.

 

I really think that I wanted Mitchell or Lucas to be the last to tap. They both seemed to be more tied to the land and better prepared, physically at least, for long term survival. Alan mentioned how small his hut was and how isolating it was. Sam and Alan had the mental toughness to go longer but I don't feel like they were really ready to survive, just outlast.

 

I don't know. I guess that I found Lucas and Mitchell to be more invested in building something that would work long term and that once they had done that, they got bored and decided that the real world things that they had to deal with were more important then outlasting other people. Alan and Sam didn't seem to build something that would really allow them to thrive and get through the winter and bad weather. They were more determined to outlast the others, which they saucceeded in, but in the end it was as much fun to watch. Alan was more interesting and fun in many ways but I just prefered the approach that Lucas and Mitch had.

 

So maybe that is why last night felt blaaaahh.

[cooksdelight]

I was hoping for a reunion show with everyone present to relate their stories to each other, and the viewing audience. Maybe that's still coming, I hope so.

[ClareWalks]

Hooray for Alan, and way to go, Sam!  He almost made it, but his tent shelter and the occasional mouse for dinner had finally taken its toll.

 

That said, did the show have them fake Christmas morning so Alan's homecoming would be more dramatic - like a gift?  Other than the Christmas tree, there were no other decorations in the house, and you could see it was clearly Fall, not Winter, by the leaves and the Fall like wreath on their door. Hmmm.

 

I don't think they claimed it was Christmas, just the kids were playing with gifts around the tree. Based on the other homecoming videos too I am guessing it was early December, and the decorations were just already up.

[Bubbacat]

I did love Alan's son's reaction. "Oh, you're home, Dad. Look! Presents!"

[Neurochick]

I really think that I wanted Mitchell or Lucas to be the last to tap. They both seemed to be more tied to the land and better prepared, physically at least, for long term survival. Alan mentioned how small his hut was and how isolating it was. Sam and Alan had the mental toughness to go longer but I don't feel like they were really ready to survive, just outlast.

 

 

I think that's the point of the show though.  You can be prepared physically, but if you're not there mentally, you can't survive.  A lot of survival experts say that a large part of survival is mental.

[Ocean Chick]

I was so happy that it was Alan that won.  I enjoyed Sam and thought he was great, but Alan won my heart with his attitude.  Plus the Julia Child impressions.  I was really worried for Sam when he had problems forming a simple sentence, or trying to decide what to do.  Glad he seems okay now.  Losing 60 or 80 pounds in less than 2 months is no joke.  Hope neither one of them has long term consequences.

[Timetoread]

I didn't watch this show live, but caught alot of it on reairs.  Funny that from the first episode I thought it would either be Alan or Sam, though I gave the edge to Alan.  Both crazy in their own way, both strong in their own way, and both had a mental determinism that I thought would make the difference. 

 

The scene with Sam was one of the scariest things I've ever seen not involving actors.  It was like Vincent D'onofrio time travelled and based his Full Metal Jacket character on Sam.  His goofy fat kid in the beginning, to that crazy eyed, monotone in the end.  Sam really scared me and I was screaming at them to go take him out of there, he's not well.  I was happy to see that he found the mental strength to push the button himself.  If I was his wife, the woods would be off limits from now on.  Man is not supposed to live alone.  It is not natural and it is not good for him.  Staying alive is not the point, living is the point.  Which leads me to...

 

I was glad that Alan won, but I think he too suffered psychological damage.  He just doesn't seem right.  His reception for his wife and the fact that he'd won was off..  His looking back at the camp wistfully.  His lack of joy being home with his kids.  You could see he was forcing it.  I watched it on the "inside edition" and the very last words of the show was Alan saying, "I think a part of me is still there."  Again, somebody wise once told me that the reason our eyes face forward is that we are not supposed to look within, we are supposed to look out and cherish what is around us.  Alan went in too deeply and at some point shut the door behind him.  He was blessed with some beautiful children and an understanding wife.  I really hope they kick down that door and bring him back.

 

You can be prepared physically, but if you're not there mentally, you can't survive.  A lot of survival experts say that a large part of survival is mental.

 

A lot of people confuse enjoying being in the woods with being a survivalist.  Sure camping/buschcrafting can give you lots of SKILL to survive but what makes the difference is the WILL to survive.  A few years ago I watched a show with Michael Hawke and he told the story of a man who got lost in the Amazon.  He had no experience with "survival" and according to Hawke, he did every single thing wrong - the opposite of what the experts suggested, but he lived.  Why?  Because as he laid down and prepared to die, he remembered that he'd forgotten to change his life insurance policy after an acrimonious divorce, and that upon his death his ex-wife would get EVERYTHING.  And with that he was deteremined to live, and live he did.  You'd be surprised at how strong a motivator spite is!

[Neurochick]

The scene with Sam was one of the scariest things I've ever seen not involving actors.  It was like Vincent D'onofrio time travelled and based his Full Metal Jacket character on Sam.  His goofy fat kid in the beginning, to that crazy eyed, monotone in the end.  Sam really scared me and I was screaming at them to go take him out of there, he's not well.  I was happy to see that he found the mental strength to push the button himself.  If I was his wife, the woods would be off limits from now on.  Man is not supposed to live alone.  It is not natural and it is not good for him.  Staying alive is not the point, living is the point.  

 

 

THAT is exactly who Sam reminded me of, Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket.  And I agree that man is a social creature and not supposed to live alone.  That's why I don't blame anybody for tapping out when they did.

[rainsmom]

Alan got home ~a week before Christmas. When showing his wife his counting stick, he said they had been dropped on October 22, and he lasted 56 days. That means he was pulled on Dec. 17. I expect it took a day to get home.

 

They probably just aren't big decorators. We aren't. My husband puts a wreath on the door. At my parents' house, we used to stick presents under the Christmas ficus. And Georgia tends to not have a big winter. He probably has a yard full of oaks, which explains trees with leaves.

 

I don't fault Alan his shelter at this time of year. He has to heat it. A small confined space is easier to heat -- especially diring those times he didn't have a fire because he couldn't go out for more wood. If he'd been there come spring, he might have built something larger. Note that Sam and the others spent their time in their shelters lying down, bundled up anyway. Lucas did sit up in his yurt and build his instrument, but Alan noted in the commentary that such a thing didn't interest him.

[Neurochick]

I was glad that Alan won, but I think he too suffered psychological damage.  He just doesn't seem right.  His reception for his wife and the fact that he'd won was off..  His looking back at the camp wistfully.  His lack of joy being home with his kids.  You could see he was forcing it.

 

 

I'm not sure it's psychological damage.  When Alan left the woods and was on the plane, he mentioned how loud everything sounded to him.  I even said that this show is much quieter than most shows on TV today.  I think Alan left a very quiet and silent place in the woods and was suddenly back home, with three small children and small children can be very loud, I think Alan even mentioned how loud they were.  

 

I didn't see it as psychological damage, I saw it as trying to adjust to a very different environment.  It's like a person whose lived their entire life in a small town and then moves to a large city; they will be shell shocked for awhile and it will take time to adjust.  Alan didn't just live in a small town, he was isolated in the woods for nearly two months.  I think he just needed time to decompress.  

 

Sam stayed out there almost as long as Alan, but when they showed Sam's return home,  on the extra video, it was just to his wife and dog, so it was probably a lot quieter.

[DropTheSoap]

A small part of me was cheering for Sam. He seemed so unlikely at the start to be there at the end.

Not saying it would have changed the outcome, but it appeared Alan was in a more protected spot than Sam. Not sure how many options Sam had for a site, though. Sitting around with nothing but that wind would make me feel extra claustrophobic.

Alan's talk about what to do with the money just got me. Taking care of his parents.

[ProfCrash]

I am sure that the return was jarring. Returning from living in total, well near total, solitude in the middle of the woods to TVs, phones, lights, other peoples voices and conversations. Yikes. Talk about overload. Hopefully it didn't take too long to get readjusted.

 

I laughed at the kids response. The eldest daughter was excited, the son was showing off gifts and the youngest seemed oblivious. I am guessing that the camera crew in the house was a tip off that Dad was coming home.

 

 

I think that's the point of the show though.  You can be prepared physically, but if you're not there mentally, you can't survive.  A lot of survival experts say that a large part of survival is mental.

I agree and I think that the difference, for me, is that Lucas and Mitch did everything they needed to do to survive and thrive. Once that was done, they decided to go home. If this had been a real time survival situation, I think Lucas and Mitch would have plowed on and been just fine. They knew it was not a real life survival situation, they did what they wanted to do, and got bored/distracted so they tapped out. I think Alan and Sam were aiming to do everything they needed to do to win and out last the others. But there is no way Mitch or Lucas let themselves get to the point that Sam was at, with the vacant stare and the total listlessness. Neither of them entered with Alan's strategy of hanging around and conserving energy.

 

They took a different approach and I prefer the "lets build things and make this work and be comfortable and see what we can do." to the "What do I need to do to outlast everyone?"

 

Honestly, I would rather be stuck out in the woods with Lucas and build useful stuff that gets me an OK amount of food and provides some comfort (boat, floats for fishing, yurt) then Alan who was fine living in a very small shelter and on much less food because he did not want to waste energy building something larger or get wet to go out and check fish. Lucas had a larger, warmer, place to dry off if he went out to gather some food during a rain storm, Alan didn't.

 

Alan's stratgey paid off for the show and I think his survival strategy in a real world situation would be totally different then what we saw out there. But I was far more interested in what Mitch or Lucas would do then I was Sam or Alan. Alan had the best quotes and a great attitude, which I enjoyed.

[LittleIggy]

Alan made those great minnow traps out of bottles and that awesome fish trap basket. He didn't do nothing at all.

I found mopey Mitch boring to watch.

[Neurochick]

I agree and I think that the difference, for me, is that Lucas and Mitch did everything they needed to do to survive and thrive. Once that was done, they decided to go home. If this had been a real time survival situation, I think Lucas and Mitch would have plowed on and been just fine. They knew it was not a real life survival situation, they did what they wanted to do, and got bored/distracted so they tapped out. I think Alan and Sam were aiming to do everything they needed to do to win and out last the others. But there is no way Mitch or Lucas let themselves get to the point that Sam was at, with the vacant stare and the total listlessness. Neither of them entered with Alan's strategy of hanging around and conserving energy.

 

 

But this was NOT a real survival situation.  I shook my head at both Mitch and Lucas because both of them did thrive and had an attitude of, "well I did all I wanted to do, time to go."  I felt that was strange; I mean Lucas built an awesome shelter and then he just decided to leave?  

 

I think that neither Mitch nor Lucas could stand the solitude.  I think for some people, when it's just you and nature and nothing else, the committee inside your head begins to meet.  If you have a lot of regrets in your life, if you've done a lot of shit and you haven't made peace with it, well all of that will weigh on you, when you're alone with no TV, phone, other people or anything to distract you.  

 

Alan said something interesting, that in this culture there are no more rituals, no more rites of passage that young people have to go through in order to become an adult.  Today you turn 18 or 21 and BOOM, there you are, an adult.  

 

That was one of the reasons I liked Sam.  In some ways, he was a goofy kid, but in a lot of other ways he was mature.  When he talked about his wife being pregnant and how he was excited to see how much larger she was going to be.  I don't know a lot of 22 year olds today who have his attitude.  Most 22 year olds that I have seen are on their smart phones, hooking up with folks on Tinder.   Not all 22 year olds but a lot.

[holly4755]

I think what we know now, Mitch being mopey is understandable, I was so glad to see how healthy his mother looked when he got back. 

[riverheightsnancy]

I don't think Mitch's situation is the same as Lucas though. In videos leading up to his sudden reveal of his mom, he seemed fairly upbeat about finding the seal pelt and (for Mitch) how excited he was to skin it, etc... I think he just had a "gut feeling" that he needed to leave. And for people who believe in that, it can really just eat at you, that you are ignoring an important cosmic/internal message. Once Mitch had that feeling, I think he (cognitively) came up with valid reasons to leave. 'I did everything that I can do here", yada, yada, yada. Mitch is pretty pulled back in respect to the emotions that he shows. I have watched some of his Youtube videos, his level of excitement is NOT going to be a Lucas, Sam, or Alan level at all. His meet with his mom was very sweet, plus he knows that it is terminal, so I think that he just could not ignore his gut feelings. (quick sidebar-for anyone interested in interesting research and first-person accounts of gut feeling/intuition, try Gavin DeBecker's work on this, called The Gift of Fear-fascinating stuff, and as humans we tend to ignore our feelings due to social norms and other constraints.) If what Alan said is true about being out there, I think that one would be MORE in tune with one's feelings and when you get one, maybe you choose not to ignore it? 

 

Regarding Alan, I actually thought that he would be way over the top about winning, but I think (in hindsight) that he said it, he was disappointed. He actually wanted to really test his limit. He hadn't reached it yet and I think that he wants to know what it actually is. With that in mind, they should let the last person be out there until they tap themselves out and THEN learn that they won. I think that would have worked better for Alan because he would have reached his limit AND taken himself out on his own terms. Like Alan talked about on the show, there was no lead up for him to leave. Most of the guys had a day or several days (with the exception of Josh, he had 10 seconds and then knew he would tap) to adjust to the idea of tapping out. It was suddenly "Surprise" you won, let's leave now. He actually seemed shocked and not excited about it. He didn't have time to say goodbye to the island and honor it in his own way. I feel kind of sad about that for him. Even when he watched it last night, I thought he looked the most sad about the end when he was talking about our lack of rituals and when he said a part of himself is still there. 

[cherry slushie]

I don't think they claimed it was Christmas, just the kids were playing with gifts around the tree. Based on the other homecoming videos too I am guessing it was early December, and the decorations were just already up.

Ahh, okay, thank you.  But, where can I watch the other homecomings?  I didn't see any listing for that during the season or after last nights episode.

[ClareWalks]

Ahh, okay, thank you.  But, where can I watch the other homecomings?  I didn't see any listing for that during the season or after last nights episode.

 

If you go to History.com you can find some of them! They didn't show them on the actual show, they just had a little caption in a few eps that said "go to History.com to see Mitch's homecoming" and such.

[cherry slushie]

If you go to History.com you can find some of them! They didn't show them on the actual show, they just had a little caption in a few eps that said "go to History.com to see Mitch's homecoming" and such.

 

Thank you so much, ClareWalks!  Heading over there now!

[ramble]

I'm sad this lovely show is ending. It has been the quietest surprise. I didn't expect to love this show like I have. I've looked forward to it & then spent time thinking about it afterwards. I want to give it a giant hug & watch it all over again.

I cried the last half of the final episode. It was bittersweet. Alan continued to speak in ways that moved me. Listening to these guys & how they seemed to be truly changed by their experiences was powerful. When Alan started talking to his wife about how he'd like to spend the money I may have cried a little harder.

What a difference this was from most competitive reality shows. The quiet peacefulness, the soul searching, the feeling of the competition being an inner discovery. This truly was lightening in a bottle. Beautiful.

Edited August 22, 2015 by ramble

[riverheightsnancy]

I'm sad this lovely show is ending. It has been the quietest surprise. I didn't expect to love this show like I have. I've looked forward to it & then 

What a difference this was from most competitive reality shows. The quiet peacefulness, the soul searching, the feeling of the competition being an inner discovery. This truly was lightening in a bottle. Beautiful.

I agree. I think that the cinematography was one of the things that got me. It was beautiful, quiet and still. The macro shots were awesome.  They deserve an award for that. 

[cooksdelight]

Alan said on his Facebook fan page that his inbox runneth over, and he'll answer every one. :)

[LittleIggy]

Alan said on his Facebook fan page that his inbox runneth over, and he'll answer every one. :)

A mensch indeed! :-)

[GreyBunny]

From his FB page, I love his post:

 

Thank you all for accompanying the 10 of us on our journeys. This has definitely been one of the most rewarding, educational experiences of my life. I'm grateful for the support, encouragement, and friends made along the way. I thank each one of you for sticking it out with us. More than anything, I hope you have learned something and you have reevaluated some aspect of your daily life. I would also like to express my love and appreciation for my beautiful wife. Without her support none of this would have been possible. Life is good. God is good. Be the Limpet!

 

"Be the Limpet!" - haha!  Someone has to register that as a username.  That's too good to not use!

Edited August 22, 2015 by GreyBunny

[allthatglitters]

yeah Alan won!

I would have been ok with either of the final four winning. But Alan was a favorite from the beginning.

 

Still some nagging questions:

 

1. I'd like a better explanation on the drastic drop in predator sightings, or even sounds...after the first one or two episodes presented us with a situation, in more than one camp, which implied an ongoing problem, even danger, on a daily basis.  I'm sure a lot of it was hyped by the producers, but then either they equally under-hyped the big animal sightings after those initial episodes, or they actually did drop off.  I'd just be curious, if that was the case, was because the local population just became more accustomed to the strange human creatures presence, and had decided they weren't worth risking attacking? or had enough other food anyways etc... and those first encounters were just a matter of "lets check out this new weird creature camping out in our back yard."?

 

2. I hope Mitch never regrets leaving when he did. IMO his isolated and stressed mind was probably looking for any excuse to leave, and so produced a kind of fantasy where his mother was going to turn for the worst and die before he got back. Of course no matter how long she lives, he can say he was able to spend at least 10 more days than he would have if he had remained, and that isn't anything to diminish. But his mother wanted him to stick it out for his family and future, and alhough she no doubt would be touched by his reason for returning early, it wasn't something she would have prefered. Also maybe some of that half million could have gone for specialist cancer treatment for her.

 

3. I did not like Lucas at first, but he soon grew on me. His ambition, ingenuity and his creativity were amazing. And even creating that musical instrument to help with his mental state...to be able to express himself in some way. His Yurt was great. I was looking forward to him completing the roof with the homemade umbrella roof top.  I also appreciated his honesty and bravery in sharing his soul-searching. But while I can understand the concept of "having done all you could do" in rediscovering yourself, I'm sure he will look back one day and regret not sticking it out for the money. Because making it in the forest you need things like shelter, food gathering, fire...but in the other world one of the base survival elements is money. And $500,000 can buy a lot of clams.

 

4. Sam. I don't know why you chose to set up your tent right in the open like that. Or that you did not see fit to tie down that flapping tarp.  Didn't it have gromet holes, or did he not have anything to tie it down with? Or was he just plain too weak? It also seemed like a very rudimentary shelter. One that he may use for the first week while he would build something more substantial. The other final four had much more sheltered structures, and were reinforced with wood better. Alans was set into a cave I think.

 

All in all, a great series. I can't wait to see where they go for season 2. although I'd be ok with the returning there. Its so awesomely gorgeous and with such deceptively dangerous challenges with weather, animals, etc... But what we found out in this premier season, is that it is more about the isolation and mental fortitude to live through it that is the key to winning this "game".

[cooksdelight]

To answer your first question, most of the big animals would have gone into hibernation for the winter. I think someone posted above that Alan was airlifted out on Dec. 17, and they were all dropped off on Oct. 22.