S01.E09: 40 Days Filth and Fury

[peach]

I think maybe in the moment, they didn't take Dani because they didn't fully know what was going on in that group, and didn't want to get involved in whatever it was.  When they took Shane, they LEFT.  This time the other group was right next door, and might have continued whatever BS was going on with her.  They really couldn't know for sure if she was telling the truth, or if she really was the problem.  In hindsight, it's obvious they should have taken her, and I think it's nice that he admits that was his worst mistake in the challenge.  Not just "a" mistake, but the worst decision he made.  The other group won't admit they did anything wrong, and can't even Jeff credit for keeping them in the game.  They are just awful.  Anyway, a group of 8 people managed to capture a lot of what's wrong with society.

 

As has been mentioned before, Jeff and EJ deserved a much higher score.  They took on the challenge as if they really had to survive, as if there was no boat coming on day 40.  The others just waited it out.  If you really HAD to survive, that wouldn't work.  So color me not impressed that they were lazy enough to lie down for 40 days and just not die.  I probably couldn't do it, but then again, I'm not much interested in destroying my metabolism to be on a stupid TV show, where you don't even win anything.
 

[BkWurm1]

Jeff's post restored a lot of my faith in the show and his regret over not taking Dani in is enough for me to move past it. It will always be a shame they didn't offer her shelter but people mess up and Jeff owning that is enough to take the sting away for me.

His whole post was wonderfully written. Such a carefully crafted explanation of the truth without vilification or judgement on the other group's action other than letting their actions speak for themselves.

I don't entirely agree with he and EJ's dominate philosophy, there were times especially early on where their need to be doing something translated to mixed up priorities and wasted effort but I admire their attitude of treating their forty days like it did not come with an extraction date.

I have to wonder if Eva and Laura and Luke might have reacted to Alana's seditious whispers and philosophy of lazy differently had they bumped into her earlier before they were so weary. Go on, be lazy, it's good for you must have been a very tempting mantra.

[peach]

The most angering thing about Jeff's post, to me, is that he says most of them did as little as possible, and several laid there all day.  Yet they ganged up on Dani for doing just that.  No wonder she was so confused by their attacks.

[BkWurm1]

It wasn't even laying around during the day, it was sleeping through the night!

[Cobb Salad]

It wasn't even laying around during the day, it was sleeping through the night!

Sleeping through the night is pretty easy to do when you're out hunting and walking around all day vs laying around all the time, day and night, being able to keep the fire going, etc.

If Discovery continues with Naked and Afraid I hope we see less of the laying around type - it's not interesting to watch. In the interests of making it challenging it looks like some people just don't know what they're doing.

[Neurochick]

I don't fault Jeff for not taking in Dani, I fault Dani's team for bullying her.   Dani was more introverted than the others; some people don't understand introverts and wind up suspecting their motives.  I used to not understand introverts either; now I realize that they're people who need their alone time, no biggie, nothing sinister there.

 

I think the PSR scores are bullshit and have thought that for some time now.  This past season there was a pair who were on an island that was so hot, the guy got a bad sunburn, they had fire and managed to do okay.  But about seven days before their extraction, it started to rain, hard and the temperature went down a lot.  Their fire went out, they couldn't start another one because the logs were all wet.  One thing I liked about the pair is they made a pact that if one tapped out, the other would as well so no one would have to complete the challenge alone.  They held out for as long as they could, but being naked in 50 degree weather, when it's raining and windy isn't very good and both tapped out.  Their PSR scores went down because they should have gotten more wood for fire, the announcer said.  I was like WTF?   Even if they had enough firewood, it would have gotten wet and their fire would have gone out anyway.  Sometimes nature throws you stuff you can't handle.  People's PSR's have been lowered for being sick, which I think is stupid too, especially if they didn't have anything to do with getting sick, sometimes you just get sick and it's nobody's fault.

 

I think the producers didn't like that Jeff and EJ wanted to be by themselves.  I think they wanted to have one large group of naked people to see how they survived together.

 

I have a general question about this show.  On the Discovery channel, body parts are blurred, to me, that makes the whole "naked" thing silly.  Does this show air in parts of the world where body parts aren't blurred?  

[haydensterling]

I can't believe I didn't comment all season because I love this show, but:

 

Jeff is an awesome guy.  I'm not religious at all, but he seems like a very honest, likable person as well as being a man of his word.  Good on him and really, screw the lazy six.  They all showed themselves to be horrible people in the way they treated Dani.  Blaming editing doesn't cut it when the plain and simple truth is that you're being either an active asshole or a follower who goes along to get along.  

[Crazy Bird Lady]

Dani J probably *saved* the other two women in her original group from tapping out, by going out walking and discovering Chris and Luke's camp with all its abundant nuts and fruit. She could have joined with Luke and Chris right at that moment, without saying anything about it to Laura and Eva, and the other two women would have been on their own. But she went back to her original group, and when they were desperate for food, she took the other two women to Luke and Chris' camp, and introduced them, and was the primary force in forging a combined group.

 

But how did Laura and Eva "thank" Dani for that? ...They turned on her and pretty much forced her to tap out!

I will never look at either of those two women the same again.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Crazy Bird Lady

[BkWurm1]

Eva at least finally recognized what she'd done but Laura?  She still seems to think she behaved in the only manner possible.  Like she understood it was a shame, but there was no alternative.  We also find out that Dani was totally unaware and blindsided by it all and we find out she had been trying to find out what else she could do to help but even her reaching out was twisted around to a slam against her.  It's just as we thought, this group now of life long friends (I so wanted to smack someone when they said that) sat around and bitched and moaned and magnified any issues into mountains and then dropped it on Dani and acted like it was her fault for not knowing and fixing it before hand. 

 

It was very satisfying when she finally called the group on it.  Her reaction was so what I've been feeling. 

 

I'm still more than a little flabbergasted that only two of the six made any apology.  I wish Eva had figured it out before that moment but at least she did figure it out.  It's so telling of who did and who did not apologize.  

[Auntie Anxiety]

Honora really appears to have embraced the homeless persona thing, dog and all.  Would it have killed her to maybe put a comb through her hair for the occasion? What a poseur.

 

Dani, who looked lovely btw, let them off easy.  I don't think I'd ever talk to those assholes again.  

 

Chris is a tool.  Alana sucks the wad.  Laura seems to have rationalized her horrendous behavior.  I don't care how tired and hungry and terrible someone is feeling.....you do NOT treat a teammate like crap and try make excuses for it after the fact.  Those extreme conditions show who you really are, including being a douche to someone who doesn't deserve it.

[forum4idiots]

at the reunion....really sickening how they made the alphas guilty for their behavior....what the fuck was that about?  they have the audacity to criticize their social actions when they themselves ousted dani?  wtf?  and their actions regarding the stingray?

 

what a joke....

[forum4idiots]

omfg.  eva.  stfu.  you hypocrite.  we get it....u love the camera ad the attention....it's the result of being "an only child".  stop justifying your nastiness with your empty apologies.  the deed is done.  you do the deed and apologize for it later as if it will make it all better......you're like alana except you are trying to cover your tracks with an apology that is not even sincere cause you began with the intent of hurting and thinking you can apologize for it later.

[Caria]

I think the only one who appeared to be genuinely sorry that extreme duress prevented basic human kindness is Luke.  The others I think are not sorry and probably don't care. That's fine for them, but I guess if I'm in that situation I'd be embarrassed and sorry for all my friends and family who probably told a lot of people they know that I'm  going to be on this show.  Those people are now probably busy explaining about the poor job of editing the show has done, and I'm sure everyone nods in understanding while inside, they can't help but feel amazed at the petty meanness displayed.

[Neurochick]

I think the issue was that EJ and Jeff really took the show seriously and decided that they wanted to thirve, not just survive.  The other six decided to just survive, knowing they had to last only 40 days, they didn't take it seriously.  

[HZAnita]

I can't believe that Jeff and EJ felt the need to apologize, but the biggest, meanest assholes of that group felt the need to *accept* those apologies without offering their own.  I have never felt so negatively toward reality contestants than I feel about every one except Jeff, EJ, Shane, and Dani.  And maybe Luke.  The rest?  Can disappear from my tv screen forever.  SMH!  Gah!!!!

[Neurochick]

I think the only reason Jeff and EJ apologized was because, as I said before, the producers probably wanted to have a big group and EJ and Jeff weren't for it.  In other words, they went against the "storyline."  

 

I didn't like a lot of the behavior I saw, but I don't want to judge them too harshly because I don't know how I'd react in the same situation.  I mean I'd like to hope that I would be kind and considerate, but I don't know how kind and considerate I would be if I was hungry all the time, and getting bitten by bugs and constantly uncomfortable, and had a lot of idle time; they were in each other's faces 24/7.  

 

Many decades ago I saw a movie called "Threads" one of the most frightening movies about nuclear war I've ever seen BTW.  The first shot of the movie is a spider weaving its web and the narration is something to the effect of, "our society is as fragile as the threads a spider weaves."  My interpretation of that was, society is delicate, and if you throw a wrench into it, people might act all kinds of ways.  

[CherZ]

Could the "Hateful Six" be any more disgusting? The way they treated Dani  was horrible. Blonde Danielle's smirk "like oops!" after they showed the clip of the girls trash-talking Dani was particularly obnoxious. And Chris was just a flat-out douche. Eva apologized to save face - you could tell she wasn't being genuine. Nobody else bothered to even try. What a bunch of jerks. All I learned is that the group was toxic and I loved Dani even more (if that was possible)

 

And thanks for posting Jeff's Facebook post. I loved how he called out the Hateful Six but in the best possible way. He's a sweet guy and it shows.

 

 

.

Edited September 8, 2015 by CherZ

[holly4755]

Let me say this first, I have heard a lot of the magic of editing, having met some amazing racers once and learning the back stories that were not included that made people into hero and villains when they were just plain people on camera having good and bad days. That they stressed and this what appeared to be contentious group, really liked each other, But what they also said, is why they can push you to say thing in confessionals that can be used out of context, no one falsifies what you say, those words came out of your mouth.

I assume that talking about the show is now allowed in more than general words. So hopefully the truth will out. I don't know EVA, but at least she knew enough to save face by apologizing, if no one else besides Luke apologized it is on them how they look on TV, I am hoping Discovery would have shown it as a good TV moment, and they did not.

In general, this is a feel good show for me, I would find it hard to believe that Discovery would want more people to be shown in a positive light and not deliberately sandbag someone unless they made it difficult for the film team. I do feel the production does try to help some of the survivors but pushing food toward them. 

and finally, this particular show reminded me of lord of the flies. 

 

[BkWurm1]

I tend to believe Eva was genuine with her apology to Dani. It came far too late but I will give her credit for making it and doing so without any caveats. I think I believed it because she made sure to stress it came without her trying to justify her behavior anymore.

It doesn't change her behavior in the past and I believe until the apology she was actually still trying to justify her behavior but I don't think her emotional flip was as calculated as Alana's hug to Shane. That she did without any admission of guilt. It was all for show and meant nothing.

I still think Eva was awful but at least I don't think she was trying to be and she was able to see she was wrong. That IMO matters.

I see her and Laura succumbing to being emotionally manipulated by Alana and brainwashed by Chris who shouts his opinions loudly and frequently and always expects the worst from women. And the cracks were already there since Laura and Eva had been alone together for four days. Dani was always the outsider to them. Alana with her sly insinuations, Danielle her echo chamber and Chris immediately latching on to something that let him feel superior validated old worries that I think Eva and Dami and Laura had worked out and brought them all back up but this time they just nurtured their perceived slights in secret until they couldn't tell what was real anymore.

Danielle often gets a pass I don't think she deserves. She wasn't sitting in passive silence. She was an active participant in slicing and dicing Dani. She seemed to enjoy herself too. Same with Shane. She isnt a confrontational person but she looked very comfortable in what was being said and I did not read any remorse for her actions. She looked uncomfortable in them being exposed but she made no expressions of remorse either verbal or as a silent expression.

Now Luke did often sit in passive silence and his regret and remorse was noticeable from the start. Danielle either is a lot more like Alana than we want to admit or she's one of those people that morph into a different person depending on who they are with. Either way, I don't hold her in high regard.

[spaceghostess]

Insightful comments here, and I agree with so much, particularly that the PSR standards are bogus and need to be revised. My main beef with this show is the pervasive and persistent idea it conveys that there is some difference between surviving and thriving. To my mind, the big group wasn't "surviving" at all--they were waiting. Waiting for rescue. And EJ and Jeff's Alpha Team wasn't "thriving"--they were surviving. The idea behind true survival is that, as far as you know, no rescue is coming. There's no end in sight, so you learn to adapt and to live in your environment. You find ways to signal for rescue, but beyond that, you MUST learn to obtain food, because you can't mark a date at which time someone will arrive to bail your ass out. The "passive", lying-by-the-fire-strategy is slow death by starvation; not remotely sustainable.

 

I thought Eva's apology was sincere, but maybe that's just me wanting to see the best in people. At least she looked Dani in the eye and offered a straight-up apology, no excuses. I wasn't super-impressed with Luke's hemming and hawing, even if he was taking some responsibility for not stepping up when he should have, and Laura (who was once a favorite of mine) and Chris (who never was) made no recompense.  Alana's "hug me" to Shane, I found suspect. I'm related by marriage to a narcissist, and that's just the kind of shit she pulls after doing something horrible and realizing she needs to repair her image in the family. She never properly apologizes, just tries to grab people for very public hugs. It works with everyone . . . except my husband and me.

 

Dani J. and Shane were great--both held on to class and dignity and came out smelling like roses. Points to Jeff and E.J. for continuing to act like the basically decent human beings they are, and especially for apologizing for not taking Dani in when they should have.

 

And finally, I'd like to properly call out Vegetarian Dani, who squandered any goodwill I had for her from her original episode by being one of the absolute worst of XL. I actually dislike her more than Alana now, because Dani's one of these people who flies under the radar by being a "quiet type": not appearing overtly bitchy, but instead letting the more vocal bitch take the heat while she shit-stirs and maintains a wide-eyed, "innocent" persona. She was every bit as nasty in her muttering about Shane and Dani J., but she got away with it because people like Alana and Chris attracted more attention with their more obvious bullying. She sat there, watched the video, heard the exchanges, saw the tears, and never apologized for a goddamned thing. All she seemed able to do was congratulate herself for getting through on fruits and nuts. 

 

[Edited to correct egregious crimes against grammar.]

Edited September 7, 2015 by spaceghostess

[Auntie Anxiety]

 

My main beef with this show is the pervasive and persistent idea it conveys that there is some difference between surviving and thriving. To my mind, the big group weren't "surviving" at all--they were waiting. Waiting for rescue. And EJ and Jeff's Alpha Team weren't "thriving"--they were surviving.

Couldn't agree more, spaceghostess.  I think that was Shane's problem with the witch coven from the get-go.  He wanted to embrace the experience, push himself, do whatever possible to survive while those two harpies acted as if they were sitting on a bench waiting for the bus to arrive on Day 40.  And Danielle (who couldn't wait to get her "name" back, as if she had trademarked and copyrighted it), it's really time to stop patting yourself on the back because you were able to maintain your vegetarianism.  I value acting like a mensch far more than not eating meat for 40 days.  Get over yourself, dear.

 

I'm pretty good at reading people, have a fairly high emotional intelligence and I found Eva's apology hollow and phony.  Hope it made her feel better about herself.  Alana hugging Shane was profoundly ridiculous.  You could tell by her face that she was thinking about how she was going to get herself out of that situation.  It seemed quite clear that she hadn't given her actions a second thought up until the time the camera was focused on her reacting to the video.  I mean, didn't the group have at least five seconds to speak to each other before being filmed at the reunion? Even if they hadn't yet seen the episodes, wouldn't a normal person rethink how s/he treated someone else and, I don't know, maybe apologize before being shamed into it?  I've heard a rumor that there are things like phones and emails that one can use to communicate.

 

And how dare EJ not be the leader of the entire group!  [/sarcasm]  Was that supposed to be in his contract, Laura?  To play daddy to that woeful group of do-nothings?  Last time I checked, you were all adults, all signed on to be on the show, all KNEW or should have known what it took to survive (since they were all veterans of the show) and no one should have expected to be provided for by anyone other than themselves. It wasn't EJ's job to make the 40 days into Club Med for all the hangers-on.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Auntie Anxiety

[Jenkins]

Insightful comments here, and I agree with so much, particularly that the PSR standards are bogus and need to be revised. My main beef with this show is the pervasive and persistent idea it conveys that there is some difference between surviving and thriving. To my mind, the big group weren't "surviving" at all--they were waiting. Waiting for rescue. And EJ and Jeff's Alpha Team weren't "thriving"--they were surviving. The idea behind true survival is that, as far as you know, no rescue is coming. There's no end in sight, so you learn to adapt and to live in your environment. You find ways to signal for rescue, but beyond that, you MUST learn to obtain food, because you can't mark a date at which time someone will arrive to bail your ass out. The "passive", lying-by-the-fire-strategy is slow death by starvation; not remotely sustainable.

 

Dead on!

 

If this were a TRUE survival situation (where you don't know when or IF you will be rescued), the High School Six most likely would have been in BIG trouble. Possibly losing a few members...

 

Whereas Jeff and EJ would have continued to SURVIVE indefinitely.

 

As far as Honora. I personally believe everything she did on the show and everything she has said on social media since is an attempt at creating a "villain" persona in the mold of a Jonny Fairplay or Russell Hantz. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize that people "love to hate" characters like JP and Hantz (I can't stand him, but some people like him), while they just don't ever want to see Honora on their screen again. Big difference.

 

I am glad that Jeff said he regrets not taking in Dani. I wondered at the time why they didn't, but also thought (as someone else in this thread did) that maybe they were just trying to distance themselves from the bullshit as much as possible.

 

And on a final note, if any casting people from Discovery read this, PLEASE don't put Alana back on our screen! Thank you.

[ClareWalks]

And finally, I'd like to properly call out Vegetarian Dani, who squandered any goodwill I had for her from her original episode by being one of the absolute worst of XL. I actually dislike her more than Alana now, because Dani's one of these people who flies under the radar by being a "quiet type": not appearing overtly bitchy, but instead letting the more vocal bitch take the heat while she shit-stirs and maintains a wide-eyed, "innocent" persona. She was every bit as nasty in her muttering about Shane and Dani J., but she got away with it because people like Alana and Chris attracted more attention with their more obvious bullying. She sat there, watched the video, heard the exchanges, saw the tears, and never apologized for a goddamned thing. All she seemed able to do was congratulate herself for getting through on fruits and nuts. 

 

That is a really good point. The best example I can think of is when Shane climbed that tree to bring her fruit (because she was feeling really sick), and her response was a practically under-the-breath "well, they're not gonna be ripe for 3 days anyway, sooooo..." I just thought, fuck YOU, lady, the guy risked his ass to bring you fruit and you bitch about it not being ripe? Just eat it in a few days and be grateful. One of many occasions where Shane went above and beyond and their response was "you suck."

[spaceghostess]

That is a really good point. The best example I can think of is when Shane climbed that tree to bring her fruit (because she was feeling really sick), and her response was a practically under-the-breath "well, they're not gonna be ripe for 3 days anyway, sooooo..." I just thought, fuck YOU, lady, the guy risked his ass to bring you fruit and you bitch about it not being ripe? Just eat it in a few days and be grateful. One of many occasions where Shane went above and beyond and their response was "you suck."

Yup, perfect example. To me, the difference between this instance and the similar debacle with Honora is that, although Chris acted equally ass about the fruit H. brought, H. hadn't made any contribution to her team, whereas Shane was always trying and getting nothing but bitchface in return.

[Ocean Chick]

Alana, Honora and Chris did nothing to redeem themselves in my eyes in this session.  I still count them as horrible people I would NOT want to be stranded with.  I think I'm on the fence as far as Eva and Veggie Dani are concerned.  They seem more like followers than leaders, so maybe if they weren't stuck with Alana and Chris, they'd be better teammates.  I appreciate Luke's apology - I think he was sincere.  I'm not sure about Eva's though.  I'm a loner like Dani and Shane, and just hated the way the others went about their whispering campaign.  And I wish the producers had focused on the fact that EJ and Jeff had shared their food with the other team, but the other team didn't share their ray with them.  I thought that was so telling about their personalities.

 

EJ and Jeff were great, and I'm glad Jeff admitted that they should have taken in Dani, and explained why they didn't at the time.  I could understand their decision making and it made sense.

 

Alana, Chris and Honora need to go hide under some rocks until we forget who they are.

[ClareWalks]

Alana, Chris and Honora need to go hide under some rocks until we forget who they are.

 

It looks like Honora crawled out from under a bridge to come to the reunion, so I think she has her finger on the pulse of the viewers!

[XPac]

Edited September 7, 2015 by XPac

[anonymiss]

I did like when Honora called Chris an asshole and chauvinist pig to his face. Amazing how his face really embodies "dickhead" too.

[Caria]

With regards to the two huge eel feasts that were shared, who of the six was it that said on this episode that in effect, two meals in a 40 day stretch didn't make a difference in whether she made it or not?  Are you kidding me?  That's like giving a person who's about to pass out from lack of water a good long drink and then saying that a single drink didn't make a difference. Ungrateful idiots totally lacking in introspection and grace.  I suspect the ones who've been excoriated online got together and as a group decided, no, we're not going to apologize because they made us look back and plus, we had cause.  As I've stated previously, even if every one of their causes was justified (which I really do not think is the case), I still cannot get over how ugly these people are.

 

As for vegetarian Dani, whatever respect I had for her sticking to her beliefs is totally negated by her respect and love towards animals while treating fellow human beings with such unkindness.  Save us all from these types of nature lovers.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Caria

[XPac]

Dead on!

 

If this were a TRUE survival situation (where you don't know when or IF you will be rescued), the High School Six most likely would have been in BIG trouble. Possibly losing a few members...

 

Whereas Jeff and EJ would have continued to SURVIVE indefinitely.

 

As far as Honora. I personally believe everything she did on the show and everything she has said on social media since is an attempt at creating a "villain" persona in the mold of a Jonny Fairplay or Russell Hantz. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize that people "love to hate" characters like JP and Hantz (I can't stand him, but some people like him), while they just don't ever want to see Honora on their screen again. Big difference.

 

I am glad that Jeff said he regrets not taking in Dani. I wondered at the time why they didn't, but also thought (as someone else in this thread did) that maybe they were just trying to distance themselves from the bullshit as much as possible.

 

And on a final note, if any casting people from Discovery read this, PLEASE don't put Alana back on our screen! Thank you.

 

Course, you can argue the simple fact that Alana made such a good "villain" makes her a more appealing choice for the producers.

 

Though this is a survival show, let's face it... they WANT the drama. I feel bad for people like Dani and Shane who had to suffer on the show because of people like her, but it also make for compelling TV. Rooting for the underdogs was probably the most emotional aspect of the show.

Edited September 7, 2015 by XPac

[ari333]

So Veggie Dani got all the fruits and nuts?

[XPac]

I think the only reason Jeff and EJ apologized was because, as I said before, the producers probably wanted to have a big group and EJ and Jeff weren't for it.  In other words, they went against the "storyline."  

 

I didn't like a lot of the behavior I saw, but I don't want to judge them too harshly because I don't know how I'd react in the same situation.  I mean I'd like to hope that I would be kind and considerate, but I don't know how kind and considerate I would be if I was hungry all the time, and getting bitten by bugs and constantly uncomfortable, and had a lot of idle time; they were in each other's faces 24/7.  

 

Many decades ago I saw a movie called "Threads" one of the most frightening movies about nuclear war I've ever seen BTW.  The first shot of the movie is a spider weaving its web and the narration is something to the effect of, "our society is as fragile as the threads a spider weaves."  My interpretation of that was, society is delicate, and if you throw a wrench into it, people might act all kinds of ways.  

 

I do think being hungry, tired and in a pack sort of enviroment will likely bring out the worst in pretty much everyone. It doesn't excuse anyone's behavior... but I almost think it's to be expected. Almost.

 

I honestly believe if Luke for example on his own or in a smaller group probably would have come off better. Again not trying to excuse the guy... just making the argument that the situation they were in would likely bring out the worst in anyone.

 

It's why I don't fault EJ and Jeff one bit for trying to seperate themselves, or even for not allowing Dani into their group even though that was the right thing to do. The enviroment they were in was toxic, and they were seeking to stay above it anyway they could. Though I'll give EJ and Jeff the benefit of the doubt and assume they would rise above it even if they were in that sort of situation.

[Auntie Anxiety]

All it would have taken is if one of those douchebags had stood up to the others and said that they should be willing to give Dani the benefit of the doubt and, since it was only a few more days, they could just grin and bear it.  Instead, they decided to emotionally beat her up and make her out to be Public Enemy #1 for not waking up enough to put wood on the fire?  

 

And let's think about the wood on the fire for a minute.  Six people, 8-9 hours of sleep at night if you're lucky and Dani was the one who shirked her responsibility? About how many times a night do you think the fire needed to be tended?  More than once an hour?  Did she miss one rotation?  It's so ridiculous and petty.  What if someone wanted to call out Chris, the fisherman, for not being capable of catching one friggin' fish?  Talk about a major league fail.

 

The only reason I find this show more palatable than other reality shows is that they don't ply the contestants with liquor. 

[XPac]

I did like when Honora called Chris an asshole and chauvinist pig to his face. Amazing how his face really embodies "dickhead" too.

 

The funny thing about Chris and Honora is that I kind of agree with both.

 

I think Chris is kind of an @$$ hole (though unlike some people he at least wears it on his sleeve for everyone to see), but I also think Honora clearly has issues and frankly shouldn't be out there in a survival situation if that's the way she's going to act. So I can't entirely disagree with either one when they started taking shots at each other.

[Dobian]

Crap, I missed that reunion episode and figured it would be on demand like the other episodes but it wasn't.  Sounds like watching it would have just pissed me off anyway based on some of the comments here.

[Watcher0363]

After reading many post today. I think I have figured out how to make this show better and more compelling. After the couples are dropped off the producers reach into a bucket and pull out a number between 21 and 40. The couples going in know the shortest amount they will have to survive is 21 days and the longest being 40.

[rlc]

Thoughts on the reunion:

Eva really, really likes herself. Thanks for teaching all of us how to walk. Glad she at least apologized, though.

Alana- ugh, what a smug and hateful shrew. So she hugged Shane, but no apology, just an 'I didn't realize you felt that way'.

Vegetarian Dani- nope. Smug glances at Alana, and no apologies for her awful behavior towards Shane and horrible words about Dani.

Dani- you deserve so much better than these people!

Luke- wish you had apologized more, but can't hate him.

Chris- blech. Lazy, big-mouthed, misogynist. That is all.

Laura- what a disappointment after being so awesome on her original show.

Shane- oh Shane, I kind of want to hug you, too.

Honora- I'd rather not waste words on her.

Hakim- I wish you had been around longer. What a kind and centered man!

Jeff and EJ- you have nothing to apologize for.

[Faitu]

The flashbacks with Shane being nice to the girls and them turning on him only further reinforced how bitchy they were. I hope vegetarian Dani had the sense to apologize to Shane off-screen, since I think she's a bit shy on camera. Alana showed some decency at least. Still the only reason she couldn't see Shane's side is because she had zero empathy.

I still feel sorry for brunette Dani, because it seems like they didn't even change their minds about what they did to her. I din't even think she held any contempt for Luke, he was the last person who needed to apologize. Eva's apology seemed sincere, but we got nothing from Chris and Alana, even after they saw the video of Alana calling her a psychopath.

Honora is like a child and her attitude was somewhat predictable. I didn't expect her to behave any differently, so none of this is surprising.

Jeff actually wants to go back to Colombia! It's hard not to like this guy.

[XPac]

For what it's worth, I do think Alana genuinely developed SOME degree of empathy for Shane. I don't think for a second she's exactly beating herself up over how she treated Shane, but I think if they were to work together again hypothetically they would be much cooler. I think with Shane in the end (not necessariy at the time) they at least respected him as a survivalist even if they don't agree with him.

 

But with Dani I think they essentially pretty much everyone who disliked her probably still dislikes her. I think part of the problem is that she didn't bring as much to the table as Shane did, and for survivalists in that situation that's probably how they guaged respect. If she had been the work horse than Shane at least tried to be prior to going down they might have still been mean to Dani but they probably would have eaten their words a LITTLE more in hindsight. Which isn't to say the majority of people who were getting on Dani's case did anymore than she did. Honestly the majority of that group didn't do a whole lot once they got together.

[Dobian]

I think the issue was that EJ and Jeff really took the show seriously and decided that they wanted to thirve, not just survive.  The other six decided to just survive, knowing they had to last only 40 days, they didn't take it seriously.

Exactly. They were trying to win a tv show, not demonstrate that they could actually survive in the wild. Most anyone could do what they did. Show up, find a water source, make a fire, then lay ther and eat bugs until it's time to leave. Jeff and E.J. set out to prove that they could survive long after the 40 days was up, and they did.

[ramble]

Eva teaching us how to walk cancelled out her half-hearted apology for me. I agree that she seems to really believe she's pretty amazing

I tend to like Luke but his silence during the bullying puts him in the creep group for me. Being quiet is not the same as not participating in my opinion.

I never would have thought, in the beginning, that I would end up liking Shane. The new footage made it even more obvious that he was trying, to the best of his ability, to figure out how to work with & connect with the lazy layers.

Alana & veg-Dani smirking back & forth during the reunion when they were shown being the mean girls made me want to punch them both in their stupid, smug faces.

EJ & Jeff proved, yet again, at the reunion that they would attempt to stay above the drama. I couldn't believe they got called out for not joining in on the high school clique mentality. I agree with y'all who are saying their goal was not just to prove they could wait, but instead survive to the best of their ability. That is so much more entertaining!

Sweet girl Dani (no tm needed) seemed so uncomfortable & out of her element. I felt sorry for her. How could that group of creeps hear their mean group speak & not be embarrassed & ashamed? What nasty, nasty people.

[BkWurm1]

But with Dani I think they essentially pretty much everyone who disliked her probably still dislikes her. I think part of the problem is that she didn't bring as much to the table as Shane did, and for survivalists in that situation that's probably how they guaged respect. If she had been the work horse than Shane at least tried to be prior to going down they might have still been mean to Dani but they probably would have eaten their words a LITTLE more in hindsight. Which isn't to say the majority of people who were getting on Dani's case did anymore than she did. Honestly the majority of that group didn't do a whole lot once they got together.

 

From what I picked up, the complaints about Dani not contributing were only based on a few days. Chris flat out said in the last few days and he brought up the wood, so she kept getting up the next night and putting on wood (of course no one else was up so she may not even have got credit for that. )  Beyond that their complaints weren't you never contribute or help get food, but you have a wall up and your not meshing with the group and haven't learned to go with the flow.  Dani wasn't only out there taking walks, she was looking for food too.  She told a story about catching several fish with just a lizard head on a stick and flinging them out of the water.  I thought it was implied that happened at Parana Lake but even if it was at the other camp sites, she was contributing. 

 

She's the one with the bug net that they used to get all the little fishes all the time before.  If she was less able to provide as much as she had been at the new site, well, why shouldn't the others step in and do more to pull their weight in the new environment? 

 

No, I don't think it is coincidence that once Shane left, that a few days later they were eviscerating Dani.   And I'm pretty sure that Alana and Danielle never appreciated anything that Shane did. 

Edited September 8, 2015 by BkWurm1

[ari333]

I felt kind of bad for Shane when he was talking about his shells and walking on them at home to toughen his feet.

He was laughing and everyone else was just ********* crickets ********** and staring at him.

 

Eva with her  bare feet theory.... ack. Good for her, but I can see how their feet would be torn up. And her word, "lizarding" was a little annoying for me.

 

I wish Hakim had been able to be a part of this more.

[Neurochick]

Insightful comments here, and I agree with so much, particularly that the PSR standards are bogus and need to be revised. My main beef with this show is the pervasive and persistent idea it conveys that there is some difference between surviving and thriving. To my mind, the big group wasn't "surviving" at all--they were waiting. Waiting for rescue. And EJ and Jeff's Alpha Team wasn't "thriving"--they were surviving. The idea behind true survival is that, as far as you know, no rescue is coming. There's no end in sight, so you learn to adapt and to live in your environment. You find ways to signal for rescue, but beyond that, you MUST learn to obtain food, because you can't mark a date at which time someone will arrive to bail your ass out. The "passive", lying-by-the-fire-strategy is slow death by starvation; not remotely sustainable.

 

 

I think had this been a true survival situation, EJ and Jeff eventually would have begun to thrive.  But the sorry six would have died off.

 

I don't think Alana and Chris should have been on this show.  As I recall, both of them lost their partners early on and finished the challenge alone. It made me wonder if either of them even knew how to survive in a group.  I think Chris was kind of weird in his original episode and I think his partner tapped out because she felt uncomfortable around him.  I don't remember what happened to Alana's partner, but I think he got sick.  

 

I would have preferred to see a woman from the first season, I can't remember her name.  I remember that she was born in Hawaii, was a bit of a free spirit and had more skills than the man (I think she told him off too).  

Edited September 8, 2015 by Neurochick

[XPac]

I think had this been a true survival situation, EJ and Jeff eventually would have begun to thrive.  But the sorry six would have died off.

 

I don't think Alana and Chris should have been on this show.  As I recall, both of them lost their partners early on and finished the challenge alone. It made me wonder if either of them even knew how to survive in a group.  I think Chris was kind of weird in his original episode and I think his partner tapped out because she felt uncomfortable around him.  I don't remember what happened to Alana's partner, but I think he got sick.  

 

I would have preferred to see a woman from the first season, I can't remember her name.  I remember that she was born in Hawaii, was a bit of a free spirit and had more skills than the man (I think she told him off too).  

 

Honestly though, I think the producers picked and paired people with the intent of creating drama.

 

Pairing Shane with 2 women and Honora with a guy like Chris is just asking for trouble. I think they wanted the drama for TV purposes, and they got it.

[mostlylurking]

Watched the reunion special last night.  It seemed the people who had the least to apologize for (Jeff, EJ) were the ones who were apologizing most sincereley.  I thought it was nice that Eva and Luke also offered apologies, although maybe not being asshats in the first place might have been a good idea.  Also was Eva pregnant?  Not being mean but she looked like she had a little baby bump.

 

Veggie Dani looked like she was on something.  Just staring blankly at Shane and Nice Dani.  She was acting very odd.

 

I think Alana realized she was looking like an asshole so she tried to do some damage control.  I still dislike her the most.  I felt bad for Shane all over again.

 

I missed the very beginning so did they explain why Honora had a service animal with her?  Also, how was she allowed to go on this show alone if she requires a service animal (if that's what that dog was)?

Edited September 8, 2015 by mostlylurking

[ari333]

Shane doesn't need to announce to people that he thinks he is unstable or whatever word he used bc then people will look for and see instability. He seems damaged, but like a sweet person.

Laura kind of made me sick with all her, "I really value the group and the support" - paraphrased. Yeah, Dani didn't get any of that.

I feel bad for hating a person I do not even know, but I loathe Chris and Alana. Eva and Veggie Dani too, for that matter. Laura comes in at a close second on the loathsome scale.imo

I felt really super disappointed in Luke. He could have said something in Dani's defense.

Eva really comes across to me as thinking she is hot shit.

And don't get me started on Chris throwing that fruit. If he didn't want to eat it, give it back to Honora. Throwing it in the dirt was a real dick move and then he blamed Honora for finding that rude. Chris' "Im sorry that you felt that way. " is not an apology. Honora shouldn't have reacted to it, but Chris was an ass.

Is it me or did anyone find it odd the sitting positions those women were using? Their vah jayjays just on display. Being naked is one thing, but having your legs open while sitting around the fire and chatting....IDK... Im not pearl clutcher either.  

[ari333]

Shane doesn't need to announce to people that he thinks he is unstable or whatever word he used bc then people will look for and see instability. He seems damaged, but like a sweet person.

Laura kind of made me sick with all her, "I really value the group and the support" - paraphrased. Yeah, Dani didn't get any of that.

I feel bad for hating a person I do not even know, but I loathe Chris and Alana. Eva and Veggie Dani too, for that matter. Laura comes in at a close second on the loathsome scale.imo

I felt really super disappointed in Luke. He could have said something in Dani's defense.

Eva really comes across to me as thinking she is hot shit.

And don't get me started on Chris throwing that fruit. If he didn't want to eat it, give it back to Honora. Throwing it in the dirt was a real dick move and then he blamed Honora for finding that rude. Chris' "Im sorry that you felt that way. " is not an apology. Honora shouldn't have reacted to it, but Chris was an ass.

Is it me or did anyone find it odd the sitting positions those women were using? Their vah jayjays just on display. Being naked is one thing, but having your legs open while sitting around the fire and chatting....IDK... Im not pearl clutcher either.  

I keep getting multi posts and try to edit and it gets stuck. Apologies.

I keep getting multi posts and I try to edit and it gets stuck. Apologies.

[XPac]

I think Luke didn't speak up in Dani's defense for the same reason that Jeff and EJ didn't want to take Dani into her group... he wanted to avoid the drama. Which isn't an excuse... helping Dani would be the right thing to do. But it's sort of understandable.

 

If you're already tired and hungry, I'm not sure you necessarily want to jump into the highschool drama on top of all of that. It's the nice thing to do for Dani, and the right thing to do morally speaking... but it just makes the already difficult situation tougher. It's easier to just stay silent and avoid the drama if possible.

[gaPeach]

Its just so amazing that the ones I did not think needed to apologize or explain themselves did and the ones I thought needed to show some sort of reflection in their behavior did nothing but further my opinion they are just not nice people.

 

I felt for Danie when she said that she was hurt by the groups actions and comments more than anything else.  I really do believe she was totally blindsided by their dislike for her and it totally messed her up and that is why she tapped out.  I doubt she plans on seeing any of them again other than EJ and Jeff.  And I don't blame her. 

 

Luke redeemed himself somewhat for acknowledging his part in ganging up on her.  Or should I say his lack of speaking up when it was happening.  The rest with the fake apology and the even more fake "I just want to give you a hug" crap, um no.  Not so much. 

 

I just glad the reunion show ended up being so civil and there was not shouting or finger pointing.  I credit that to Jeff and EJ not the Stupid 6.