S01.E09: 40 Days Filth and Fury

[CherZ]

KKKHHHHHHAAAAANNNNN!

[gaPeach]

And this to a degree is where the shows editing makes it difficult for us to judge. They did show that one scene where Dani didn't take care of the fire, and I believe Chris mentions or at least implies that she didn't pull her own weight. But it's hard for us to really know. Maybe she for the most part didn't do jack. Or maybe she did a ton of stuff at Chris is just being a jerk. It's hard to say, because we weren't there.

 

They did show she did not wake up to stoke the fire which is hard to give her crap about because she was like sleeping.  I have camped with others and we sleep by the fire to keep warm and I very rarely woke up but one guy in the group was on a mission every trip to keep the fire stoked so he usually was the one that did it all night long.  In fact usually what woke me up was the huge blaze he would get going and it was so bright I thought it was morning. But that was his thing and he did not care if we didn't set our watches to wake up and keep the fire going.  So I thought that was kind of a lame example from Chris.  And its not like they couldn't restart the fire if they needed to.

 

And even if she did not "pull her weight" does that mean she didn't lay around enough with them during the day saving calories?   And the level in which the girls did not like her was disturbing.  Its one thing to not think a person is helping out its another to talk so ugly about that person.  None of what the girls said down by the river had anything to do with Dani helping out but had everything to do with women being catty and mean to someone that did not drink their kool aid.  That's what makes them so awful. 

 

And being hungry and cold and naked just stripped them down to basics and showed their true hearts. 

[gunderda]

Does anyone know why Honora had what looked to be a service dog with her? 

[ClareWalks]

They did show she did not wake up to stoke the fire which is hard to give her crap about because she was like sleeping.  

 

Exactly, that's why it's so weird to me that they bitched her out about that. She probably gets so tired during the day that at night she passes out cold and doesn't wake up at all. How can you fault her for that? It's not her fault. I myself would probably wake up constantly because I cannot sleep outside on the ground, but that's just me. I'm sure if Dani woke up she would put wood on the fire if it needed it. I mean, duh. And how would BG6 even know that she hadn't put wood on it? The whole fire thing was so bizarre to me.

[XPac]

They did show she did not wake up to stoke the fire which is hard to give her crap about because she was like sleeping.  I have camped with others and we sleep by the fire to keep warm and I very rarely woke up but one guy in the group was on a mission every trip to keep the fire stoked so he usually was the one that did it all night long.  In fact usually what woke me up was the huge blaze he would get going and it was so bright I thought it was morning. But that was his thing and he did not care if we didn't set our watches to wake up and keep the fire going.  So I thought that was kind of a lame example from Chris.  And its not like they couldn't restart the fire if they needed to.

 

And even if she did not "pull her weight" does that mean she didn't lay around enough with them during the day saving calories?   And the level in which the girls did not like her was disturbing.  Its one thing to not think a person is helping out its another to talk so ugly about that person.  None of what the girls said down by the river had anything to do with Dani helping out but had everything to do with women being catty and mean to someone that did not drink their kool aid.  That's what makes them so awful. 

 

And being hungry and cold and naked just stripped them down to basics and showed their true hearts. 

 

I recall a similar thing happened in Naked and Afraid Double Jeopardy when Cassie fell asleep watching the fire and they rest of them got mad at her for it. In Cassie's case I think it was likely more a cummulative thing where a lot of things contributed to them getting upset at her over it. In that case we at least saw a lot of it though. In this one it's largely left to the imagination.

 

For what it's worth I do buy them getting more upset over something like this happening in a survival situation than in a regular camping trip. It's just a much more physically and emotionally difficult situation. I assume that many days in, you're potentially going to blow up over just about anything.

[blackwing]

So Luke says that "we don't know what happened with the large group and why they failed to interact with Dani" but that "contractual obligations" prevent him from talking about it.  Yeah, nice excuse.  So now I'm curious, he's kind of suggesting that production manipulated things?  So production wanted the drama so they told the large group of asswipes to ostracise her, because they wanted "t3h DRAMUHHHZZZ"?   Pffftttt.  

 

If production really did encourage them to freeze her out for the sake of the show, then that sucks.   I guess I wouldn't put it past them.  It's much the same as how people "fortuitously" find a pot or electric blue underwear just when they need it most, or how all groups decide to go to Piranha Lake, or how the asswipes happened to stumble upon Jeff, EJ and Shane's camp just as the eel was done cooking.

[XPac]

So Luke says that "we don't know what happened with the large group and why they failed to interact with Dani" but that "contractual obligations" prevent him from talking about it.  Yeah, nice excuse.  So now I'm curious, he's kind of suggesting that production manipulated things?  So production wanted the drama so they told the large group of asswipes to ostracise her, because they wanted "t3h DRAMUHHHZZZ"?   Pffftttt.  

 

If production really did encourage them to freeze her out for the sake of the show, then that sucks.   I guess I wouldn't put it past them.  It's much the same as how people "fortuitously" find a pot or electric blue underwear just when they need it most, or how all groups decide to go to Piranha Lake, or how the asswipes happened to stumble upon Jeff, EJ and Shane's camp just as the eel was done cooking.

 

It doesn't necessarily mean they were told to ostracise Dani. I guess that's one way to interpret that, but really it could mean a lot of things. I think more than anything it's an indicator that some stuff happened on there which Discovery might not want people to know about. Social media is being lit up these days with all sorts of vague accusations from Honora and Danielle and even that Charlie guy, so who knows.... if I were Luke unless I was directly involved in any of it I'd try and just silently move on too.

 

I do think at times production gets involved and maybe helps out. One a couple occasions people were lucky enough to find pots. Beware the Bayou and Botswana breakdown for example. Though I suppose it's not beyond the realm of possibility that a pot can be found, it does make you wonder.

[Neurochick]

But guys.... it WAS real in the sense that Dani... in real life ... got very hurt. That was real. imo. Calling her a sociopath is pretty out there. And saying they dont trust her. Don't trust her to do what? She was not a violent person that we saw or heard of in the whisper-fest.  They said that she was "Showboating" (their word) What the hell doe that even mean? If she was.... what? Weren't all of them trying to use their skills and let everyone know when they had success at whatever.".lizarding" whatever... How was Dani picked out for "Showboating?" I just want to understand.

 

When I said it wasn't "real" I meant they were not in a real survival situation.  They were on a TV show and they knew it, they knew they had to get to day forty.  

 

I don't want to watch reality TV shows where everybody has to walk on eggshells for fear of pissing off FB, Twitter and PTV.  I think Alana and Chris were nasty people, period, end of story.  

[Auntie Anxiety]

 

Does anyone know why Honora had what looked to be a service dog with her?

I just saw it as yet another attention seeking device for Honora.  She's an immature child who always wants to play the victim and what better way than a service dog to play up that aspect of her neediness?  Service dogs do have a purpose, don't get me wrong, but I am suspicious of anything having to do with Honora.

 

Seeing the way Shane was treated by Alana and Danielle and seeing the way Dani was treated by Alana, Danielle et al., the common denominator is the Mean Girls.  My guess is that Dani wouldn't have had to do anything for them to be nasty toward her.  I was very impressed with the way Dani spoke to the group in a very grown-up, direct way.  She accepted what they said, she didn't make excuses, she apologized for her shortcomings and pledged to do better.  Guess that wasn't good enough for the adolescents.

[XPac]

When I said it wasn't "real" I meant they were not in a real survival situation.  They were on a TV show and they knew it, they knew they had to get to day forty.  

 

I don't want to watch reality TV shows where everybody has to walk on eggshells for fear of pissing off FB, Twitter and PTV.  I think Alana and Chris were nasty people, period, end of story.  

 

Because of how things turned out here, I wonder if survivors won't be more fearful of POing people on social media from this point on. Obviously this sort of thing can have repercussions, both positive and negative.

 

Though I suppose it's possible some reality people want to come off looking like "villains" to get their 15 minutes of fame. Who knows.

[Faitu]

All the XL cast Facebooks are a mess. Honora posted a text supposedly from Shane where he says he found peanut butter and oreos, and that his whole group was surviving on it. Why he had to tap and looked so skeletal if he was eating peanut butter is beyond me, but...Chas, from Veggie Dani's episode keeps threatening Jeff to 'tell the truth or he will' on Twitter, and Veggie Dani keeps telling people that someone was sexually harassed but refuses to say who it was.

The relevant facebooks and twitters to look at are Honora Bowen and Dani Beau.

Russell Sage, who was on the first season, is saying that Shane was the harasser, but Honora says very firmly that she would love to do a N&A episode with Hakim, Dani J, and Shane and that she really likes all of them.

Who knows. It's crazy town over there.

I don't even know what to say, this is some crazy stuff. It really makes me wonder whether Dani and Shane really did something bizarre and unusual bizarre the scenes to justify their treatment.

[peach]

All the XL cast Facebooks are a mess.  Honora posted a text supposedly from Shane where he says he found peanut butter and oreos, and that his whole group was surviving on it.  Why he had to tap and looked so skeletal if he was eating peanut butter is beyond me, but...Chas, from Veggie Dani's episode keeps threatening Jeff to 'tell the truth or he will' on Twitter, and Veggie Dani keeps telling people that someone was sexually harassed but refuses to say who it was.

 

The relevant facebooks and twitters to look at are Honora Bowen and Dani Beau.

Russell Sage, who was on the first season, is saying that Shane was the harasser, but Honora says very firmly that she would love to do a N&A episode with Hakim, Dani J, and Shane and that she really likes all of them.

 

Who knows.  It's crazy town over there.

 

That just sounds like rumor mongering from Honora.  She and Shane were never together, why would she be privy to a text from him?  After the remaining 8 were extracted, they showed Jeff on the boat eating....oreos and peanut butter.  So this sounds like twisting something that happened after extraction to make it look like they were cheating.  If Shane were eating Oreos and peanut butter I doubt he'd be lying in the dirt and then tapping out.

 

Then Chas who wasn't even THERE is threatening Jeff to tell some kind of "truth" that he supposedly got second-hand from V-Dani?  Then Russel Sage, ALSO not there, is spreading shit about Shane.  So it sounds like V-Dani has been running her mouth off to people who seem happy to get some more attention by talking shit FOR her.  Just more crap from Little Miss Innocent "can't consume an animal" but can treat humans like garbage.

 

The high school drama continues.

[Faitu]

So Luke says that "we don't know what happened with the large group and why they failed to interact with Dani" but that "contractual obligations" prevent him from talking about it. Yeah, nice excuse. So now I'm curious, he's kind of suggesting that production manipulated things? So production wanted the drama so they told the large group of asswipes to ostracise her, because they wanted "t3h DRAMUHHHZZZ"? Pffftttt.

If production really did encourage them to freeze her out for the sake of the show, then that sucks. I guess I wouldn't put it past them. It's much the same as how people "fortuitously" find a pot or electric blue underwear just when they need it most, or how all groups decide to go to Piranha Lake, or how the asswipes happened to stumble upon Jeff, EJ and Shane's camp just as the eel was done cooking.

I don't know, Luke has shown himself to be pretty sensible/reasonable over the show. This is a reality show after all, and we know that there is always some stuff behind the scenes they don't show.

[XPac]

I don't know, Luke has shown himself to be pretty sensible/reasonable over the show. This is a reality show after all, and we know that there is always some stuff behind the scenes they don't show.

 

Yeah, I do take it at least a LITTLE more seriously because it came from Luke (as opposed to say Alana or Chris who have more reason to hide their actions). I'm not saying anything about it justifies what happened witeh Dani... but I do think there's another side to the story that we don't know and likely never will know.

 

Heck, given all the face book drama we're getting now I'm not sure I even want to know.

[Faitu]

I don't even know what to say, this is some crazy stuff. It really makes me wonder whether Dani and Shane really did something bizarre and unusual bizarre the scenes to justify their treatment.

I found Honora's blog, in which she whines the show was unfair to her since the first challenge. Funny she came back for more.

https://honorabowen.wordpress.com

[XPac]

I found Honora's blog, in which she whines the show was unfair to her since the first challenge. Funny she came back for more.

https://honorabowen.wordpress.com

 

I can sympathize with a lot of what she said, and if it's true then I do think she has legit complaints about Discovery.

 

But I still think she handled it like a 5 year old. Throwing their survival tools in the water just makes her look like a 5 year old... there's no reason in the world anyone watching should take her seriously after that. If Discover uses that to make her look bad she has no one to blame but herself because she gave them the tools to do it.

 

Same thing with Matt in her first N&A espisode. If they treated her unfairly that's wrong on their part. But she gave them all the ammunition in the world to make her look bad with her 5th grader out burst over how fat and lazy Matt is. Even if the editing made her look bad, she gave them all the ammunicion in the world to do it.

[Faitu]

I can sympathize with a lot of what she said, and if it's true then I do think she has legit complaints about Discovery.

But I still think she handled it like a 5 year old. Throwing their survival tools in the water just makes her look like a 5 year old... there's no reason in the world anyone watching should take her seriously after that. If Discover uses that to make her look bad she has no one to blame but herself because she gave them the tools to do it.

Same thing with Matt in her first N&A espisode. If they treated her unfairly that's wrong on their part. But she gave them all the ammunition in the world to make her look bad with her 5th grader out burst over how fat and lazy Matt is. Even if the editing made her look bad, she gave them all the ammunicion in the world to do it.

I admit she seems a lot more reasonable in her blog than she seemed on TV, and I don't really doubt all she's written. But it's still just her side of the story, so I'm still taking it all with a grain of salt. I still don't understand why she did some of the crazy stuff she did, like sleeping under the sun in her first challenge and throwing the survival tools underwater (if she knew they were going to misrepresent her, why did she give them such ammunition as you said yourself? And why did she come back for XL?).

She also says the magnifying glass thing was something the Discovery people gave her, but she still seemed to rely a LOT on that, as well as reprimand Matt for drinking water without using it to purify it, I don't know, I don't buy that. She also treated him very poorly by calling him names and telling him he smelled really bad, and I doubt that's made up. I do believe they could be exploiting her father's death though.

[Faitu]

Also still confused by the service dog thing, and she refuses to say anything on it.

[XPac]

I admit she seems a lot more reasonable in her blog than she seemed on TV, and I don't really doubt all she's written. But it's still just her side of the story, so I'm still taking it all with a grain of salt. I still don't understand why she did some of the crazy stuff she did, like sleeping under the sun in her first challenge and throwing the survival tools underwater (if she knew they were going to misrepresent her, why did she give them such ammunition as you said yourself? And why did she come back for XL?).

She also says the magnifying glass thing was something the Discovery people gave her, but she still seemed to rely a LOT on that, as well as reprimand Matt for drinking water without using it to purify it, I don't know, I don't buy that. She also treated him very poorly by calling him names and telling him he smelled really bad, and I doubt that's made up. I do believe they could be exploiting her father's death though.

 

I have a bit of trouble with the whole notion that they gave her the magnifying glass simply because they don't seem to treat everyone else that way.

 

The gear everyone else brings is pretty standard... some combination of knife, pot, and fire starter (though I believe recently they've been supplying those). It just seems randon that in her case they'd give her something. Maybe it's the same thing with the guys who brougth duct tape and goggles, I don't know...

 

If she's the only person who got an item forced on her, that's wrong. But it's just weird and random that they would do that. If it's true. Sadly I'm not certain I can believe what she says, because editing or no editing she acts like a 5 year old.

[ari333]

That's the thing, though, she wasn't looking to be coddled for feeling "left out." She was just looking to be left alone for a good amount of the day, because she is an introvert (which she could have said at some point, it certainly would have helped this group of idiots to "get it"). Coworkers need to be able to work together, but they don't need to be friends. It seems like Bitch Group 6 had messed-up expectations that they'd all be so similar and be besties, and anyone who didn't fit perfectly into that perception was useless.

THIS !! ^^^^

 

That is all.

[ari333]

Good grief. Dani took some walks to clear her head. So what? Those folks were together 24/7 and she spent a couple of hours exploring? IDK how that is alienating herself.  

Edited September 10, 2015 by ari333

[XPac]

Good grief. Dani took some walks to clear her head. So what? Those folks were together 24/7 and she spent a couple of hours exploring? IDK how that is alienating herself.  

 

Based on Chris' comments I presume the MAIN criticism is that she wasn't bringing anything to the table. Maybe the issue is that she was going on walks instead of doing any work. or something like that.

 

Obviously that doesn't make her a psychotic or a lyer or a show boat or anything like that... all of that was likely just mean girl bs.

[Jenkins]

Well, it is pretty obvious Honora has learned nothing.

 

I read that blog and she could have made her point with dragging her old partner under the bus.

 

"Twice a day, a PA would give him his amphetamine pill, and then he would proceed to sit in the shade and talk excessively with the crew members, like he was on speed."

 

To me, that is unnecessary. She could have made her point about her partner getting whatever medication he was prescribed without stating it like that. It is VERY obvious she is just throwing shade on him with that statement. Bad enough she degraded his appearance during that show (which for someone who said they had an eating disorder, you would THINK she would be a LITTLE more sympathetic towards body types), but now she is basically saying "hey, I was partnered with a meth head". Because lets be honest, her tossing out the "amphetamine"  word multiple times instead of using "Adderall" is meant to invoke that thought...in my opinion anyways. She even USED the word "speed".

 

We saw right through her on both shows. She is someone who acts like a petulant child and when she is called out on it, she plays the victim. And that is what she is continuing to do, play the victim. I have a VERY hard time believing that the producers were willing to take care of everyones medical needs but HERS...classic victim mentality of "the world is against me".

 

Lets even assume what she said was true (I believe there may be SOME truth, but I think she is embellishing, if not outright lying), why in the WORLD would you go BACK on a show where you feel you were severely misrepresented the first time?!

 

My opinion of her as a person went down when she decided to make fun of her partners weight. It went down even further when she threw survival tools in the water. And it has went down even further with this whole "woe is me, it was bad editing" blog entry. I just can't muster up any sympathy for her.

 

I still firmly believe she is trying to create a reality TV villain persona. If she isn't...well, I think she could possibly need psychiatric help.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Jenkins

[holly4755]

I think I read Honore's stuff,  facebook or blog or what ever, after the first time she appeared on N&A, at that time she claimed she was beautiful and wanted to be on a show naked so people could see her beautiful body and she could get a role in films. Sher was not off on her being abused and on the show she said quite clearly the magnifying glass was her fathers and meant a lot to her, she said that several times. Since it was obvious she was a self absorbed person who saw the world through what could it get her, I have no reason to believe anything she says and I don't plan to start believing her now. 

We all are experienced reality watchers and know the show can edit things out, but it can't add in stuff that didn't happen, it can also rearrange stuff out of order. that is it. I give most people the benefit of the doubt unless they pretty much prove themselves useless. 

 

With Shane, I am kind of all over the place, especially after he said something about he should have been a serial killer. So,I can see someone being nervous with him in the night when the production staff leaves. Doesn't mean I would be rude to him, just careful, some people just don't have a way with words and can appear scary. With Dani, I don't know, they have said they ate lizards a lot, maybe she never caught lizards. we just don't have enough information. I wonder how many of them knew her story about watching her roommate killed? 

[Liberty]

... With Dani, I don't know....I wonder how many of them knew her story about watching her roommate killed? 

 

Eva thinks growing up as an only child was a greater burden.

[haydensterling]

That just sounds like rumor mongering from Honora.  She and Shane were never together, why would she be privy to a text from him?  After the remaining 8 were extracted, they showed Jeff on the boat eating....oreos and peanut butter.  So this sounds like twisting something that happened after extraction to make it look like they were cheating.  If Shane were eating Oreos and peanut butter I doubt he'd be lying in the dirt and then tapping out.

 

Then Chas who wasn't even THERE is threatening Jeff to tell some kind of "truth" that he supposedly got second-hand from V-Dani?  Then Russel Sage, ALSO not there, is spreading shit about Shane.  So it sounds like V-Dani has been running her mouth off to people who seem happy to get some more attention by talking shit FOR her.  Just more crap from Little Miss Innocent "can't consume an animal" but can treat humans like garbage.

 

The high school drama continues.

 

 

Agreed with pretty much everything.  Honora is batty as fuck, and how she would even get her hands on anything of Shane's feels dubious to me.

Someone named Russell Beauchemin is also all over the FB pages and is threatening to 'tell all'; either Dani's dad or some other male relative.  Alana said Shane didn't give her any problems, so just who is it that was the supposed sexual harasser?  Dani J the sociopath?  Every single person from the lazy group is acting a fool.  This is the kind of ish that bratty fifteen year old girls pull.  If they don't like their edit, fine.  They seriously need to stop flinging shit at the wall to see what sticks.

 

I don't know if this kind of drawn out drama has happened on any other reality show (if it has I've no clue as I don't watch that many) but this leaves such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm not all that interested in watching any longer.  The show itself went from an interesting idea to drama llama fest pretty quickly.  

 

I hear Alone over on History Channel is a great one and watching a few of the episodes it was refreshing to see just how little drama you can have on a reality show and still have it be a fascinating program.

[ClareWalks]

 

I hear Alone over on History Channel is a great one and watching a few of the episodes it was refreshing to see just how little drama you can have on a reality show and still have it be a fascinating program.

 

Alone is AMAZING. Highly recommended for people here who want to see actual survival skills and not a bunch of assholes bickering. 

[XPac]

I think I read Honore's stuff,  facebook or blog or what ever, after the first time she appeared on N&A, at that time she claimed she was beautiful and wanted to be on a show naked so people could see her beautiful body and she could get a role in films. Sher was not off on her being abused and on the show she said quite clearly the magnifying glass was her fathers and meant a lot to her, she said that several times. Since it was obvious she was a self absorbed person who saw the world through what could it get her, I have no reason to believe anything she says and I don't plan to start believing her now. 

We all are experienced reality watchers and know the show can edit things out, but it can't add in stuff that didn't happen, it can also rearrange stuff out of order. that is it. I give most people the benefit of the doubt unless they pretty much prove themselves useless. 

 

With Shane, I am kind of all over the place, especially after he said something about he should have been a serial killer. So,I can see someone being nervous with him in the night when the production staff leaves. Doesn't mean I would be rude to him, just careful, some people just don't have a way with words and can appear scary. With Dani, I don't know, they have said they ate lizards a lot, maybe she never caught lizards. we just don't have enough information. I wonder how many of them knew her story about watching her roommate killed? 

 

The thing about XL is that it was frankly more a social experiment than a survival show. In a lot of instances they were placing people with social quirks (Honora, Shane, Dani) into situations where they're almost certainly going to struggle. Drama was pretty much guranteed.

 

I do wonder if we're ever going to see that sort of raw drama ever again on XL. I'm sure the next batch of contestants going in are fully aware of what might happen if they give the producers the proper ammunicion. I'm certain no one can put a happy face on for 40 straight days when you're tired, hungry, and dehidrated... but nonetheless the potential fall out for their actions has to be on their minds.

 

I do also wonder if some of the guys on the next show will prefer staying on their own rather than forming a large group with the females given the relative sucess of the Alpha Males vs the other group. Granted editing likely played a role in one group looking better than the other... but I can't help but think most make contestants would find being in the Alpha Male camp a better experience. Though that probably has less to do with gener and more with the specific people that made up that group.

[XPac]

Agreed with pretty much everything.  Honora is batty as fuck, and how she would even get her hands on anything of Shane's feels dubious to me.

Someone named Russell Beauchemin is also all over the FB pages and is threatening to 'tell all'; either Dani's dad or some other male relative.  Alana said Shane didn't give her any problems, so just who is it that was the supposed sexual harasser?  Dani J the sociopath?  Every single person from the lazy group is acting a fool.  This is the kind of ish that bratty fifteen year old girls pull.  If they don't like their edit, fine.  They seriously need to stop flinging shit at the wall to see what sticks.

 

I don't know if this kind of drawn out drama has happened on any other reality show (if it has I've no clue as I don't watch that many) but this leaves such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm not all that interested in watching any longer.  The show itself went from an interesting idea to drama llama fest pretty quickly.  

 

I hear Alone over on History Channel is a great one and watching a few of the episodes it was refreshing to see just how little drama you can have on a reality show and still have it be a fascinating program.

 

I personally am not a huge fan of the drama aspect... I find it uncomfortable to watch. That being said, I think it's a draw for a lot of viewers. It became less a story about survival and more a story of Shane and Dani dealing with this seemingly cruel mob. It created heroes and villains and lots and lots of drama. That drama is still spilling over as we speak all over social media. So while it's a bit of a turn off for me personally, I do think it suceeded in making the show something people are talking about at the water cooler at work the next day. It got people emotionally invested in the characters in a way the regular format seldom if ever did. So like it or not, the producers new what they were doing.

 

I'm actually okay with XL focusing on being more a social experiment as long as the regular show stays closer to it's roots of being a survival show.

[BkWurm1]

With Shane, I am kind of all over the place, especially after he said something about he should have been a serial killer. So,I can see someone being nervous with him in the night when the production staff leaves.

 

My frustration with this is that Alana and Danielle stopped listening to what Shane was saying.  Shane had a HORRIBLE childhood.  It very much sounds like he was abandoned and kept in an institution by quack doctors that were making crap up about him to fit their theories and expectations.  Shane said that according to what the "experts" were saying about him he should be a serial killer but he was saying it in the context of it being crap and his life proving them wrong. 

 

If he was some total stranger I was completely alone with I too would keep a part of my attention on him just in case, but he's a known entity, that has already gone 21 days alone with just one person during the nights and that person survived and even said good things about him at the end of it.  And he was being filmed and followed around all the time during the day.  They manufactured the drama, purposely reacting in a way that didn't match up to what they really knew.  It's classic mean girl behavior, to pluck out the most exploitable bit of information without worrying about context.  Instantly makes them feel superior. 

 

 

 

I personally am not a huge fan of the drama aspect... I find it uncomfortable to watch. That being said, I think it's a draw for a lot of viewers. It became less a story about survival and more a story of Shane and Dani dealing with this seemingly cruel mob. It created heroes and villains and lots and lots of drama. That drama is still spilling over as we speak all over social media. So while it's a bit of a turn off for me personally, I do think it suceeded in making the show something people are talking about at the water cooler at work the next day. It got people emotionally invested in the characters in a way the regular format seldom if ever did. So like it or not, the producers new what they were doing.

 

I'm actually okay with XL focusing on being more a social experiment as long as the regular show stays closer to it's roots of being a survival show.

 

I think the only reason they had drama with Shane was because Alana stepped up and created it for them. And then once he was off with the boys, they sent them running after to keep messing with his head, so yes, Discovery did fan the fires with Shane.  But Dani, I think was an accident. 

 

I think they intended or expected the Alpha males and the Alpha females to thrive while they set up drama bombs in the other two groups.  They took a passive personality like Danielle that probably could have rolled with Shane's ups and downs but by making sure to also include Alana, who besides being intolerant and judgmental had the exact opposite approach to survival than Shane did (and a chip on her shoulder about men thinking she needed help), they were sure to get some friction but they may not have been known who would side with who. 

 

In the other group we have Luke who normally is extremely patient and is basically trained to deal with conflict paired with Honora, and just the two of them MIGHT have made it.  No promises since that chick is seriously off, but I do believe she was trying and so yeah, if she hadn't emotionally felt attacked, this time she might have held it together.  But with Chris who was opinionated and blunt and kind of a known ass towards women, they KNEW that bomb was going to go off but again, not knowing the depth of Honora's instability, they couldn't have known for sure who would have been run out of the group. 

 

With EJ, Jeff and Hakeim, they all shared the same sensibility toward surviving and were all basically stable personalities.  Would they have had a clue that too much of a good thing would conspire to make them mess up priorities (finding water first and then building a kick ass shelter)?  I think Hakeim tapping out was very much a surprise as was Dani not meeting up with her intended group for four days. 

 

I think they intended for Eva, Laura and Dani, all contestants that seemed level headed and worked hard and were hunters, to be one of the super groups but with Dani not being there at that start of the group, the dynamics were messed up and those 4 days alone took a high mental toll on Dani that she had trouble rebounding from.  I can't imagine how traumatic those nights alone must have been. 

 

Still, even though there was always something just a bit off in the Alpha female trio, I think the producers were as shocked as the viewers at what the lazy6 did after Shane left.  I sincerely believe that had there been any lead up to the nasty backbiting and lies being spread about Dani (or any truth to it for that matter) the cameras would have focused on building up that narrative but instead it went from Dani and Eva and Laura all seemingly great and then great again after adding Chris and Luke to just a explosive meltdown in the matter of a few days. 

 

I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that while yes, Discovery did clearly try to create drama in a couple of the groups, I don't see anything that points to them planning drama with Dani J and her group.  Which on the bright side would mean that the show process while not free from shenanigans, isn't ruled by them as many "reality" programs are.  

 

 

I

Edited September 10, 2015 by BkWurm1

[XPac]

My frustration with this is that Alana and Danielle stopped listening to what Shane was saying.  Shane had a HORRIBLE childhood.  It very much sounds like he was abandoned and kept in an institution by quack doctors that were making crap up about him to fit their theories and expectations.  Shane said that according to what the "experts" were saying about him he should be a serial killer but he was saying it in the context of it being crap and his life proving them wrong. 

 

If he was some total stranger I was completely alone with I too would keep a part of my attention on him just in case, but he's a known entity, that has already gone 21 days alone with just one person during the nights and that person survived and even said good things about him at the end of it.  And he was being filmed and followed around all the time during the day.  They manufactured the drama, purposely reacting in a way that didn't match up to what they really knew.  It's classic mean girl behavior, to pluck out the most exploitable bit of information without worrying about context.  Instantly makes them feel superior. 

 

 

 

 

I think the only reason they had drama with Shane was because Alana stepped up and created it for them. And then once he was off with the boys, they sent them running after to keep messing with his head, so yes, Discovery did fan the fires with Shane.  But Dani, I think was an accident. 

 

I think they intended or expected the Alpha males and the Alpha females to thrive while they set up drama bombs in the other two groups.  They took a passive personality like Danielle that probably could have rolled with Shane's ups and downs but by making sure to also include Alana, who besides being intolerant and judgmental had the exact opposite approach to survival than Shane did (and a chip on her shoulder about men thinking she needed help), they were sure to get some friction but they may not have been known who would side with who. 

 

In the other group we have Luke who normally is extremely patient and is basically trained to deal with conflict paired with Honora, and just the two of them MIGHT have made it.  No promises since that chick is seriously off, but I do believe she was trying and so yeah, if she hadn't emotionally felt attacked, this time she might have held it together.  But with Chris who was opinionated and blunt and kind of a known ass towards women, they KNEW that bomb was going to go off but again, not knowing the depth of Honora's instability, they couldn't have known for sure who would have been run out of the group. 

 

With EJ, Jeff and Hakeim, they all shared the same sensibility toward surviving and were all basically stable personalities.  Would they have had a clue that too much of a good thing would conspire to make them mess up priorities (finding water first and then building a kick ass shelter)?  I think Hakeim tapping out was very much a surprise as was Dani not meeting up with her intended group for four days. 

 

I think they intended for Eva, Laura and Dani, all contestants that seemed level headed and worked hard and were hunters, to be one of the super groups but with Dani not being there at that start of the group, the dynamics were messed up and those 4 days alone took a high mental toll on Dani that she had trouble rebounding from.  I can't imagine how traumatic those nights alone must have been. 

 

Still, even though there was always something just a bit off in the Alpha female trio, I think the producers were as shocked as the viewers at what the lazy6 did after Shane left.  I sincerely believe that had there been any lead up to the nasty backbiting and lies being spread about Dani (or any truth to it for that matter) the cameras would have focused on building up that narrative but instead it went from Dani and Eva and Laura all seemingly great and then great again after adding Chris and Luke to just a explosive meltdown in the matter of a few days. 

 

I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that while yes, Discovery did clearly try to create drama in a couple of the groups, I don't see anything that points to them planning drama with Dani J and her group.  Which on the bright side would mean that the show process while not free from shenanigans, isn't ruled by them as many "reality" programs are.  

 

 

I

 

Yeah, I agree that they probably didn't see the Dani thing coming... the conflict seemed to stem from people who weren't in Dani's initial group. I suppose to some small degree they might have assumed there COULD be an outside in the female group since Laura and Eva seemed to already be friends... but it's not like any of those 3 really had a history of drama prior to this season to any large extent.

 

One has to almost wonder if Dani would have even been on anyone's radar had Honora not left, or if Shane hadn't grouped with the Alpha Males instead. It's obviously impossible to know one way or the other... but they potentially were easier more obvious targets.

[Spiderella2]

Whoever recommended Alone was so spot on. Great filler until N&A Original comes back in October.

[XPac]

Whoever recommended Alone was so spot on. Great filler until N&A Original comes back in October.

 

Yeah, Alone is cool. Feels a lot more real and less produced than a lot fo the Discovery survival shows.

[Neurochick]

That's the thing, though, she wasn't looking to be coddled for feeling "left out." She was just looking to be left alone for a good amount of the day, because she is an introvert (which she could have said at some point, it certainly would have helped this group of idiots to "get it"). Coworkers need to be able to work together, but they don't need to be friends. It seems like Bitch Group 6 had messed-up expectations that they'd all be so similar and be besties, and anyone who didn't fit perfectly into that perception was useless.

 

I agree with this.  I think that sometimes people are suspicious of those who don't act the way they "think" they should act.  

 

As for Honora, I don't get her at all.  If she felt the show was SO fake, why did she come back for XL?  

 

My frustration with this is that Alana and Danielle stopped listening to what Shane was saying.  Shane had a HORRIBLE childhood.  It very much sounds like he was abandoned and kept in an institution by quack doctors that were making crap up about him to fit their theories and expectations.  Shane said that according to what the "experts" were saying about him he should be a serial killer but he was saying it in the context of it being crap and his life proving them wrong.

 

This is totally true.  I HEARD what Shane was saying too.  He was abandoned and institutionalized.  He did say that according to the "experts" he should be a serial killer.  That would have meant nothing to me as I know that a lot of these "experts" are full of shit and will say anything as long as the insurance or government money keeps rolling in.  To me, Alana and Dani being afraid of Shane proved how stupid and ignorant they were.  

Edited September 13, 2015 by Neurochick

[XPac]

I agree with this.  I think that sometimes people are suspicious of those who don't act the way they "think" they should act.  

 

As for Honora, I don't get her at all.  If she felt the show was SO fake, why did she come back for XL?  

 

This is totally true.  I HEARD what Shane was saying too.  He was abandoned and institutionalized.  He did say that according to the "experts" he should be a serial killer.  That would have meant nothing to me as I know that a lot of these "experts" are full of shit and will say anything as long as the insurance or government money keeps rolling in.  To me, Alana and Dani being afraid of Shane proved how stupid and ignorant they were.  

 

I think the problem with having groups of 3 is that in almost every group ended up canibalizing itself (I think those were Honoras works on the reunion) with 2 people grouping and the last being a third wheel.

 

Shane was the outside with Alana and Vegi Dani. Honora was the outsider with Chris and Luke. Dani was an outsider with Eva and Lauren (though that didn't really get too bad until the super group formed). The only group where this didn't happen was the Alpha Males, though they did lose one person for entirely different reasons.

 

As a sociological experiment it's just interesting that in 3 out of 4 groups, there was one person which became an outsider. In the case of Shane and Honora, I frankly think that was almost by design since anyone in theory could have seen potential problems there. But it even happened in the female group to some degree. The alpha males seemed the only group immune to that for some reason.

[ClareWalks]

 

As a sociological experiment it's just interesting that in 3 out of 4 groups, there was one person which became an outsider. In the case of Shane and Honora, I frankly think that was almost by design since anyone in theory could have seen potential problems there. But it even happened in the female group to some degree. The alpha males seemed the only group immune to that for some reason.

 

I totally agree with you! I think the only reason it didn't happen to the alphas is because Hakim almost immediately got sick, and he left on day 3 or 4, so there just wasn't enough time to form a clique. 

[Liberty]

Watched the reunion show again.

 

Any idea what they are paying these people that motivates them to make the trip to wherever the show was staged?  There would be absolutely no reason for DaniJ or Honora to attend this otherwise.  This may be reinforced by one of the participants mentioning upholding a "contract".

 

It also became clear as they were talking, that there is really no question about survival.  Everyone on the show will survive, barring some unfortunately fatal accident.  It is about enduring the hardships and challenges of making it to extraction.  Maybe I do not understand the meaning of the work survival.

 

Also the exposure of how the camera crew is "strictly instructed" not to interact with the characters, hurt their franchise.  The more we find out the less authentic the show becomes.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Liberty

[XPac]

Watched the reunion show again.

 

Any idea what they are paying these people that motivates them to make the trip to wherever the show was staged?  There would be absolutely no reason for DaniJ or Honora to attend this otherwise.  This may be reinforced by one of the participants mentioning upholding a "contract".

 

It also became clear as they were talking, that there is really no question about survival.  Everyone on the show will survive, barring some unfortunately fatal accident.  It is about enduring the hardships and challenges of making it to extraction.  Maybe I do not understand the meaning of the work survival.

 

Also the exposure of how the camera crew is "strictly instructed" not to interact with the characters, hurt their franchise.  The more we find out the less authentic the show becomes.

 

I imagine they are contractually obligated to attend the reunion. I know on Honoras face book Q&A she said she flat out didn't want to be there and was stoned. And I still wonder if she pass whatever she had to Vegi Dani because she looked pretty darned stoned too the whole reunion.

 

And certainly the show is designed for everyone to survive. Anytime a survivalist is in any sort of life endangering situation, the crew will of course attempt to intervene. I think the survival aspect is that these "experts" are supposed to educate viewers on survival tactics should they find themselves in situations like this in the wilderness. Course, XL in particular did a pretty terrible job of that. It was more a social experiment than a survival show.

[BkWurm1]

I totally agree with you! I think the only reason it didn't happen to the alphas is because Hakim almost immediately got sick, and he left on day 3 or 4, so there just wasn't enough time to form a clique. 

I don't know.  I think a couple things might have worked in their favor for them not getting clickish had Hakim not tapped out.  I think the big thing is that the guys pretty much went their own way during the day and had Hakim not been forced to leave so early, he too probably would have been going out alone so just being apart that much would have kept issues to a minimum. Plus, frankly, some guys are good at keeping it ever from being personal thus skipping the drama.  I think EJ, Jeff, and Hakim just might have managed that.  They were all different yet similar enough that I think they might have been very balanced.  One thing I appreciated is once they took Shane in, they didn't whisper behind his back with each other.   

[XPac]

I don't know.  I think a couple things might have worked in their favor for them not getting clickish had Hakim not tapped out.  I think the big thing is that the guys pretty much went their own way during the day and had Hakim not been forced to leave so early, he too probably would have been going out alone so just being apart that much would have kept issues to a minimum. Plus, frankly, some guys are good at keeping it ever from being personal thus skipping the drama.  I think EJ, Jeff, and Hakim just might have managed that.  They were all different yet similar enough that I think they might have been very balanced.  One thing I appreciated is once they took Shane in, they didn't whisper behind his back with each other.   

 

The one thing working on the Alpha Males favor is that all of them seemed to have the same mentality and survivor philosophy. It's why Shane ended up fitting in well. They seemed to be on the same page, so there may not have been as big a difference between having 2 or 3 or even 4 people.

[Liberty]

Poor Shane,

 

Here the guy received all sorts of criticism from his original group, then on the "Re-Union Show" he says, "I'd give up a tool for some shoes".

 

Eva then explains how is is walking incorrectly.  The poor guy cannot even walk correctly in the eyes of those participants.  At the beginning of XL he was criticized for climbing trees, and at the end he is criticized for walking incorrectly.

 

Those people are really unpleasant.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Liberty

[Vicky8675309]

The reunion seemed like a PR stunt and none of the apologies seemed genuine--neither did Alana hugging Shane (she knew she looked like a bitch in that episode). Alana and vegi dani still smirked mean girl style and disgusted me as did Chris and everyone who said anything bad about non-veg Dani (the wanderer/loner and not the mean one).

I still dislike all of them except Shane, EJ, Jeff, and Dani the introvert. The black guy seems cool but he wasn't on the show long enough to see if he had a bad side.

One thing about this XL version is it exposes some of the "survivalists" raw personality when stressed and in group situations.

Shane came across on the reunion as very raw and genuine--not afraid to own up to his weaknesses and to show his emotions and how they had hurt his feelings. I think that took a lot of courage, especially for a guy who seems to be tough and independent. I shouldn't be surprised since even on the show he swallowed his pride and went back to the mean girls and even said he couldn't do it on his own. I really think he came across very well imo.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Vicky8675309

[Gregory101]

Well, looks like nothing changed. Alana and her crew are still scum. 

[stephiexxoo]

Wow talk about drama u guys went out of your way to ostracize Danni what a bunch of jerks all that was was a bunch of gossip the girls needed some entertainment so you made your own well iy only made u all look like a bunch of high school girls you should all be ashamed of yourselves I mean really????i see no women here bunch of babies who wouldn't of made it at all without the men who were not even apart of your own group chew on that B******