S02.E01: XL 2 Sneak Peek - Mission Impossible

[Auntie Anxiety]

LittleIggy, the item that Darren brought (that he found in his bag) was chamois/a deerskin and he used it for shoes and a loincloth. Kim used the leftover chamois for her bikini.

[BlueJayFan]

Does anyone else notice that none of the women have any inflection in their voices? Is it fatigue, or are they just all very flat?

[Diane M]

Starvation and exhaustion would probably do that.

[Diane M]

Last night was one of the most dramatic episodes with all the sickness and fear of the lions.  I know the crew is out there with rifles to use on the lions if needed, but I'm surprised the lions haven't attempted an attack.  They seem more curious about these two-legged creatures than hungry.  I guess we just aren't in their food change.....unless the warthogs leave the area.

[Talky Tina]

I wonder what they're supposed to do if a lion does come near their shelter.  Are they supposed to make a lot of noise to scare it away or stay quiet and pretend they aren't there? 

[Whyyouneedaname]

I felt bad for them last night, especially Phaedra, with their system already in a weakened state there was nothing left to fight off the sickness. She had a look of pure terror on her face, like she was hurting so bad that death couldn't feel any worse. I hope Jake can bounce back but it looks like its taking a toll on all of them. 

[JennyMominFL]

18 hours ago, realitytree said:

I thought Stacy was sneaky.  She decided not to eat the fruit because she had been sick  after eating the cucumber fruit.  She just sat there watching without saying a word.   

 

I just rewatched, and Stacy talks about the computer on camera,with the others right behind her watching.

[pigs-in-space]

I did love how Darrin called everyone lazy this time, and Kim pointed out to him that he'd done so.  Guess that earlier incident was part projection on his part!

I think it's good he stood up and said no, this isn't a good place for a shelter and went to find a better one, but the way he expressed himself was harsh, considering that they'd just finished hiking and Jake was starting to get sick.

[ramble]

This is becoming a chore to watch. Just one more episode so I guess I'll finish it out. Seeing people grow increasingly skeletal & drop out due to excessive pain & far too much on-camera vomiting is not entertaining tv. I don't want more of the nasty mean kid stuff like last year, but there has to be a middle ground. This people are so boring. If they are so weak & hungry they can't do anything then it's not a tv show it's just killing time until the end comes. 

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, Diane M said:

Last night was one of the most dramatic episodes with all the sickness and fear of the lions.  I know the crew is out there with rifles to use on the lions if needed, but I'm surprised the lions haven't attempted an attack.  They seem more curious about these two-legged creatures than hungry.  I guess we just aren't in their food change.....unless the warthogs leave the area.

The lions took one look at them and realized there wasn't enough meat to make it worth the effort. ;-)

15 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

LittleIggy, the item that Darren brought (that he found in his bag) was chamois/a deerskin and he used it for shoes and a loincloth. Kim used the leftover chamois for her bikini.

Oh, that was smart of him.

[Shimmergloom]

Only 1 more episode?  Than I'm assuming that no one makes it to day 40.  Cause we spent this entire episode on Day 29 and lost half the group(unless Jake returns).  I wouldn't think they would skip through 11 more days in just 1 episode.

[ClareWalks]

I was wondering why the hell they didn't all make themselves throw up when Jake came back screaming DON'T EAT THE FRUIT at them. If I knew the fruit had potentially/probably taken out another contestant, I'd be throwing it up before it made me throw up.

[LocimusPrime]

The lions aren't going to attack them.  They are smart and by now I bet the figured out that large groups of two legged mammals that walk erect and have opposable thumbs also have long sticks that go BOOM. These boom sticks hurt animals. Lions no likey Boom stick. 

[niklj]

I said it before and I'll say it again...these producers set these guys up for failure by putting them in an untenable situation. Freaking 100+ degree Africa in a drought!! What did they think was going to happen? How did they really expect these guys to survive with the lack of edible plantlife and small game? 

I wonder if the producers planted Ryan's camera as a way for them to tell the contestants to stop eating the fruit.

Sad Kim is gone. Save Jake!!!

Also WTH is the purpose of Dual Survival? Is it just Naked and Afraid minus the Naked and the Afraid?

[mamadrama]

I was really excited waiting for this to start this summer. So far, though, it's just been...boring. Perhaps if they had spent time showing their actual survival skills (Darrin making the clothes, them making the tools, etc) rather than focusing on the "drama" it might have been more interesting. 

[ghoulina]

This was the worst episode yet. So depressing. Who wants to watch people vomit and writhe in agony for an hour? That is not compelling TV. I just felt awful for them, I really liked Kim. I hope she and Phaedea are okay. Poor Phraeda, who was thin to begin with, looked like a walking corpse. I hope Jake makes it! 

Honestly, I was shocked so many people ate that fruit. You could tell that many of the pieces had little cracks or punctures in them. For me, that's a big no-no. Anything could get inside and contaminate it. I have a garden, and if one of my tomatoes or melons splits, I don't use it, because I don't know what might have gotten into that little crack. I get that they're hungry. But still.....

[riverblue22]

Well, I guess they told us how this would go from the very beginning since the title is Mission Impossible.

Yesterday I watched the first season of Naked and Afraid XL--what a difference!  They lost a bunch of weight, but they did eat eels, sting ray, fish, cayman, mangoes, pecans, and other stuff.  They had so much food compared to the current group.  I feel bad for this summer's batch because I think they have tried very hard but have failed, and it's not their fault.  The producers should have picked a better location.

Do these folks get paid anything for being on this show?

[AZChristian]

They are paid a stipend because they have to leave their jobs during the filming.  There is no prize.

[piequinn35]

Or maybe they are not allowed to say that there is a prize???

[AZChristian]

I based my statement on a published interview with one of the production crew members.  THEY said there's no prize - just a stipend.  

[LittleIggy]

Yeah, they were set up for failure in that environment. At least put participants somewhere where they have a fighting chance.

[stillhere1900]

I read online at the INQUISITR, that the ones who completes the challenge gets $5,000

[Fallacy]

What a nightmare of an episode. Are we sure everyone made it out alive? I'm starting to wonder if those who ate fruit are going to need surgery or something. 

I didn't know there was only one episode left, so I guess I now know that none of them make it to Day 40. I wonder if it's the fruit that takes out all of them until the one who didn't eat the fruit just quits too. 

[mamadrama]

I am friends with one of the participants. I don't know if NONE of them made it to the end, but I do know that this participant stayed in South Africa for the entire time, and only flew home 2 days after the 40 days ended. (Others were sent home right after they tapped out.) So unless they kept the remaining members around for another 2 weeks, just to hang out, I'd say at least 3 of them make it until the end. 

[Charlesman]

The only part of this season I enjoy is when that know-it-all jerkface with the swirly tattoos makes one of his holy pronouncements from his expert high-horse, only to be shown completely wrong.

 

"Naw, the monitor lizard wasn't cooked, so that's why he got sick. The fruit is fine. Eat up everybody!"

 

/faceplant

[AZChristian]

14 hours ago, mamadrama said:

I am friends with one of the participants. I don't know if NONE of them made it to the end, but I do know that this participant stayed in South Africa for the entire time, and only flew home 2 days after the 40 days ended. (Others were sent home right after they tapped out.) So unless they kept the remaining members around for another 2 weeks, just to hang out, I'd say at least 3 of them make it until the end. 

Maybe N&A has something like Survivor's Ponderosa for ousted contestants.  They want everyone to go home at the same time so no one knows who tapped out early.

[mamadrama]

10 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Maybe N&A has something like Survivor's Ponderosa for ousted contestants.  They want everyone to go home at the same time so no one knows who tapped out early.

They don't send them all home at the same time, though. They send them home as they tap out. 

[roctavia]

What a downer of a season... I was so looking forward to this year, thinking it had to be way better than the mean girl/crazy antics of last season... but nope, it was just boring and people waiting around for 40 days to end... plus a bunch of puking.

I know we saw them try and hunt the whole time, but it was so boring to watch them fail again and again. They wasted tons of time on smoking out animals in the beginning and in this last episode, but then never followed up. I'm gonna go away so the critter comes out and then we'll never speak of this again.

I agree with those upthread who said they producers should have picked a different destination. Once they knew the drought situation and that there wouldn't be anything to find and eat, they should have kept looking for places to put the contestants. Hubby even mentioned like a larger  tropical island or something... then we could actually see them do things to survive instead of just sitting around and wasting away.

It was too bad that Jake had to get taken out, though once he was taken to the medic tent and given IVs and stuff, that should have been a tap out right there... he was getting outside assistance. He was by far my favorite contestant this season, though. Level headed and not a jerk.

Lackluster ending to a lackluster XL.

[niklj]

The only thing I can say is: good job, Steven.

And wish Jake could've made it.

[LocimusPrime]

How is the bow working out for the group?  I know they made a big deal about it. Lol. I grow tired of these contestants. 

[Diane M]

I thought that the last day in their camp seemed staged.  They had been in that location for about three weeks, and it didn't occur to anyone to carve some spears to fish?  The net wasn't working, but they knew there were fish in that pond.  All of a sudden:  success and three (four?) big fish to save them so they could do their four-mile hike.  How convenient.

As for Jake (also my favorite man), he really looked sick with those swollen eyes.  I know he's okay now because I've checked his Facebook page.

[ClareWalks]

I could not BELIEVE Steven left that net there by the warthog hole overnight. I thought he was going to wait nearby and stab the thing when it came out, then they show him checking the net 15 hours later! What the fuck? He thought it would just hang out there or something? Good thing he caught those fish, otherwise I'd call him an irredeemable moron.

[Auntie Anxiety]

Thank goodness that hot mess is over. Would have been nice to have seen them actually put some survival techniques into use. 

Question: Did Steven listen to Darren, fishing in a deeper area of the river just like he (Darren) had suggested? You know, the idea that Steven balked at?

I was happy that Stacie redeemed herself. I always thought that her burns were caused, at least in part, by her partner in her first N&A experience. 

[EVS]

I rolled my eyes when they showed the "XLR" (or whatever it's called) segment.  I could not care less what arbitrary number the group had earned. I just wanted to see them make it through to extraction.  The XLR score seemed so insignificant compared to everything they had been through. It never bothered me on the non-XL episodes, but for some reason it just seemed so pointless here. 

[SRTouch]

10 hours ago, roctavia said:

What a downer of a season... I was so looking forward to this year, thinking it had to be way better than the mean girl/crazy antics of last season... but nope, it was just boring and people waiting around for 40 days to end... plus a bunch of puking.

I only watched bits and pieces and never really connected with the different contestants. That said, too bad Jake had to drop out.

This final episode was, to me at least, staged. People sit around and starve for a month, then suddenly remember they have stuff they've been hauling around that might prove useful in getting food. I can't believe they had that slingshot all that time. As far as I know it was only used once, killed a bird with one shot, then put away again and forgotten. OK, I probably couldn't come close to hitting anything at first. Thing is though, I think I would have spent some of that sit-around-camp time playing with it. After a week of practice I might just come close to hitting something. And the fish hooks!?! Isn't that how that one group (way back when Clarence was still around) caught a catfish before merging? Why were they concentrating on using a net, which is a lot of work, when they had line and hooks, a lot less work? What else did they have but never used? Course, that said, maybe they were practicing the atlatl and slingshot every day and the editors thought it was boring to watch.

Course, when I talk about not using their available resources wisely, no conversation would be complete without a shout out to bow and arrow hog Darrin. Even if the bow was his (and IIRC from an earlier discussing it was actually something Kim started with) why couldn't the others use it? Good grief, I wanted to throttle him through the TV when he comes ambling along after the others chased that lizard and comments that lizards are faster than humans.  Way back when, I thought he was something when he managed to shoot a lizard. Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't that his only successful hunt.

10 hours ago, roctavia said:

I know we saw them try and hunt the whole time, but it was so boring to watch them fail again and again. They wasted tons of time on smoking out animals in the beginning and in this last episode, but then never followed up. I'm gonna go away so the critter comes out and then we'll never speak of this again.

I found that whole segment with Steven Lee Hall, Jr trying to smoke out a warthog contrived. First off, why the hell did he need to crawl in the hole? He's even telling the camera how dangerous it is, and it makes no sense when he could just start a fire near the opening and throw on some green leaves for smoke. Far as that goes, why use smoke at all if he was going to try to use the net? What was with using the net anyway? I could see a snare or dead fall trap, but a fishnet? Just lucky he didn't actually net a 300 pound male which could have shredded the net. 

I also had to laugh at their reactions to nightly visitors. I could be all wrong, but I think the thing to do would be to make as much racket as possible when you hear large critters on the other side of your boma. The lions know exactly where you are, so cowering in the boma whispering is sending the wrong message. Throw wood on the fire, jump up and yell, bang on the pots, make enough racket that everything within a mile knows you're there and aren't afraid to let them know it. Just tell Stacy you're going hunting and let her yell it's lunchtime.

Once again, our intrepid adventurers are pretty much starved, hardly able to stand without blacking out, and at the last minute, just as they are about to set out on that final march to the pick up, miraculously a big meal appears to give them that last bit of needed energy... Yeah right...

[Auntie Anxiety]

Quote

Once again, our intrepid adventurers are pretty much starved, hardly able to stand without blacking out, and at the last minute, just as they are about to set out on that final march to the pick up, miraculously a big meal appears to give them that last bit of needed energy... Yeah right...

I know, right? How lucky can you possibly be?

I think I need to put this XL season behind me and stop regretting all the hours I wasted watching it while I could have spent my time watching something that is much more plausible, like KUWTK. <sigh>

[lidarose9]

The whole ending felt staged, along with a little redemption arc for Steven Lee Hall Junior -- all of a sudden there are multiple massive fish in that water hole? The way he announced it ("going to go get some food to put on the table to feed my people"), and then the little moment with the others being grateful and Darrin giving him props. This episode was painful; even just Martha Plimpton's voice sets my teeth on edge, all her whining, Know-It-All Darrin was wrong about everything, Steven's stupid warthog adventure, that other woman (whose name I can't remember) seemed more or less normal, but the rest of them I wanted to slap every time they opened their mouths. And the repeated shots of the lions, the same night footage shown over and over. It was obvious there was nothing going on so they just padded things out.

Question: Didn't they ALL eat that fruit except Martha? I wonder why only some got sick. My DVR cut off before the end; did they ever say what exactly was wrong with those people who got sick?

[Cobb Salad]

Every time they showed the lions roaming around at night I couldn't help but think about the Geico ad with the antelopes and their night vision goggles teasing Carl the lion.

This season was painful to watch.  I guess what kept me tuning in was the lack of the clickish mean girl behavior from last season.  You're always going to have some conflict within a group this size, it depends to what degree.  I wish they had some more capable people though.  I'm not sure if I'd tune in for another round next year if they did it again. 

[Auntie Anxiety]

9 minutes ago, Cobb Salad said:

I wish they had some more capable people though.  I'm not sure if I'd tune in for another round next year if they did it again. 

I was surprised that Ragnar wasn't invited (or declined the invitation) as well as Stacie's partner from her first Naked & Afraid experience.  

If they have a reunion like they did last year, I'm not sure I would tune in. Because who even cares?

[piequinn35]

Just curious, what's the name of the fruit they ate that was contaminated?

On 8/27/2016 at 5:46 PM, stillhere1900 said:

I read online at the INQUISITR, that the ones who completes the challenge gets $5,000

I believe there is a prize (and not allowed to say it) if they finished the 40 days coz why would they say "I want to stay" (if it is just stipend they get) when they were suffering from horrible pain...

[riverblue22]

I enjoyed the season although I felt they were screwed by being stuck in that environment.  I was very disappointed in Darrin who was all show and no go.  I realize it is hard to hunt with a camera crew around, but I'm sure they had opportunities to go without the crew.  And since he did hog the bow and arrow, there really is no excuse for not coming up with something.  I was no Steven Lee Hall, Jr. fan to start the season but I like him better than I did after his original adventure.  Really though, it took 39 days to come up with the idea of fishing in the deeper water with fresh bait?  Duh!

Stacey getting burned in her episode was all her partner's fault IMO and I think she did fine this time around.  I would have liked to have seen Kim take her own bow and arrow out hunting.  I don't know why that had to become the special tool of select males, all of whom failed.

I'm glad they pulled Jake.  He looked like crap even before we knew about the jaundice.

[SRTouch]

54 minutes ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

If they have a reunion like they did last year, I'm not sure I would tune in. Because who even cares?

Speaking of which..... I was just looking at my DVR to delete some shows which are scheduled to record. Lo and behold, I see a reunion show Wednesday at 9 and 11. Oh, those are Oklahoma times.

Only reason I'll watch is to see what happened to the folks the medics pulled. Jake and his jaundice makes me wonder, because I don't see gastritis as a cause. I read that the more severe cases of african tick fever can cause liver and kidney damage, even death if left untreated. Just speculating now, but if it turns out to be tick fever the bad fruit may have been a lucky break. Tick fever is treatable, but causes more damage the longer you wait for treatment. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6687765

[riverblue22]

Phaedra and Kim both had liver problems when hospitalized and they both had tick fever as well.  Apparently Darrin ate the most fruit but wasn't affected.

[Cobb Salad]

If I remember I'll tune into Wednesday's reunion show.  I'd like to see how everyone is doing too. Not sure how long I'll watch as I don't find those types of episodes very interesting to watch for an hour.  

I wonder how closely the people with tick fever were being monitored before eating the fruit if what you say is true SRTouch. 

[Zung Li]

4 hours ago, lidarose9 said:

The whole ending felt staged, along with a little redemption arc for Steven Lee Hall Junior -- all of a sudden there are multiple massive fish in that water hole? The way he announced it ("going to go get some food to put on the table to feed my people"), and then the little moment with the others being grateful and Darrin giving him props. This episode was painful; even just Martha Plimpton's voice sets my teeth on edge, all her whining, Know-It-All Darrin was wrong about everything, Steven's stupid warthog adventure, that other woman (whose name I can't remember) seemed more or less normal, but the rest of them I wanted to slap every time they opened their mouths. And the repeated shots of the lions, the same night footage shown over and over. It was obvious there was nothing going on so they just padded things out.

Question: Didn't they ALL eat that fruit except Martha? I wonder why only some got sick. My DVR cut off before the end; did they ever say what exactly was wrong with those people who got sick?

They said the fruit was contaminated by monkeys and bats so I think some of the fruit was probably fine and it was just luck whether they ate a contaminated piece or not.

[riverblue22]

They also said the producers staff had eaten the same kind of fruit with no ill effects.

[AZChristian]

They said the fruit may have been contaminated by monkey and bat urine and/or feces.  Which would explain why some people got sick and some didn't; it would have depended on where the animals above had relieved themselves.  And it's likely that that production staff WASHED their fruit first.

I, too, am confused as to why they didn't make fishing poles sooner.  Steven couldn't keep up with the poles once he baited them and threw the lines into the water.  Something was kind of hinky with that whole scenario.

And - sorry to say this - Darrin looked and acted like someone I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.  He carried around that bow, but EVEN WHEN THE ANIMAL WAS STANDING STILL 15 FEET AWAY, he didn't use it.  He waited until it ran off and then bemoaned the fact that it had run off.  

[Liberty]

Quote

I always thought that her burns were caused, at least in part, by her partner in her first N&A experience.

Quote

Stacey getting burned in her episode was all her partner's fault IMO

How was that?  

It looked like she was napping down-hill from the fire, and the water pot was in the fire.  A piece of wood in the fire cracked after burning, or while burning, and the pot fell over, sending the water down-hill to Stacey.

It must he horrible to be scalded in a hot, dirty environment.  She really wanted to continue, but it was just too much.

[pigs-in-space]

I believe her partner place the water there after she was already asleep, but I can't find a clip online, so I'm not 100% sure.

[riverblue22]

She was already sleeping there and I think Lee put the water on the fire carelessly--it looked tilted and unstable to me.