S05.E07: Desperate Measures

[Drogo]

Season 5 of the country's boldest and longest survival experiment ever captured for television.

[roamyn]

Ewwww.... Leeches?!  I really didn’t need the graphics on how leeches cling to the inside of your throat.  I don’t think anything can induce me to eat a leech.  A slug, maybe (w/some wine excrement, of course), but never a leech.  The juxtaposition of Britt & Randy’s struggles for fish, and Sam just starting to fish, showed the latter’s lack of experience.

Lack of fish as it gets colder is what worried me abt Britt’s longevity, but next week shows he’s eating mouse, so hopefully he’s finding other sources.

Now apparently Dave has no problem killing.  Shows that he’s been playing to the camera.  But if he gets a deer, he’s probably gonna win.  Unless he falls off that unstable perch.  It seems dangerous to me that in a weakened state, he’s climbing small trees and sitting on a log perch 20ft in the air.

Nice net Larry.  And good on you to actually catch something with it.

Sam’s my bet to next tap.

[LittleIggy]

I was impressed with F*cking Larry’s net. That took patience to make. 

What has Sam been doing the past few weeks?

[HurricaneVal]

Uh-oh.  Looks like Randy is exploring his sexuality and appears to be getting elk-curious.

[mlp]

I'm sick of listening to Dave whine about his pangs of conscience.  He's clearly an experienced hunter who is expert with a bow and arrow.  He didn't get to that level of expertise watching videos.  I understand that he doesn't want to hurt animals but he seems to be dramatizing his angst.

Those leeches make mice sound almost yummy.

[cooksdelight]

Dave is so clearly screwing with us. Overly dramatic ass.

Why is Sam there? He has zero clue on what to do. That gill net looked like something a five-year-old could have made.

”Just fucking stop it, will ya??” Larry talking to the weather.... you need to join Dave and get a show together.

[TVbitch]

Not much too say about this episode, but I don't mind having episdoes where nobody taps. Keeps it interesting. 

Britt, Sam, Randy... don't you dare tap on me! 

Larry... won me back (a little) by making a net to secure his fish.

Dave... Van't believe I'm saying this, but I hope you do score a deer ... ... and then don't have a mental breakdown afterwards. 

[Ina123]

I'm not counting Sam out. He came in second in the very first season behind Alan by eating a lot of mice. Producers manipulate what we see.

I won't count out anyone who will eat a leech.

[rmontro]

Apparently I'm the only one who thinks Dave is sincere about not wanting to hurt animals, and not just playing to the cameras.  He's never said he was against hunting, he just wanted to make clean kills.  I don't understand why that is so hard to believe.

The info box was what really skeeved me about the leeches.  It said you could eat them live, but it's not a good idea because they tend to attach themselves to your throat.  Wonder who found that out the hard way.  

Looks like the fishing is running dry, and the weather is turning cold.  My guess is we don't see a record set this season for length of stay.  Nothing would surprise me though.

You can't say Larry isn't courageous.  "Hey, there's a predator outside in the dark, let's go look for him".

Thinking back on Brooke, her husband David was probably better deserving of a spot this year, because I believe they only tapped out last year because she had lost too much weight.  I imagine they wanted more females on the show though.

[humbleopinion]

One fish trap Sam?

 Maybe a second one would have doubled your chances of a fish swimming into them?

Dave slings a spear and kills a deer...but the momentum throws him out of his tree stand....

The animals gather Disney style to laugh and dance around him as he lays crumpled on the ground...Karma, she's a b*tch...

Larry's beautifully knotted net is a reflection of Larry's attention to detail he must have as an electrician.

Some people whistle while they work...Larry curses....

Randy's stout shelter looks like it can handle the fierce winds blowing and the rain and snow dumps coming...cut to Sam's shelter wall that looks like a Tiki bar.

Randy's hut rivals Brooke and Dave's shelter and they are pro builders.

Britt magical fishing hole finally stopped producing...ruh roh....

No need for Mellow Yello to come rumbling across the Mongolian terrain....

Edited July 27, 2018 by humbleopinion

[ClareWalks]

Fucking Larry screaming at the entire country/climate of Mongolia to "CALM DOWN!!!" was the highlight of the night for me.

[Quilt Fairy]

8 hours ago, rmontro said:

You can't say Larry isn't courageous.  "Hey, there's a predator outside in the dark, let's go look for him".

I was thinking more stupid than courageous.

 

8 hours ago, rmontro said:

The info box was what really skeeved me about the leeches.  It said you could eat them live, but it's not a good idea because they tend to attach themselves to your throat.  Wonder who found that out the hard way. 

I wonder if that's more likely if you slurp them down whole like an oyster, to avoid what must be a nasty taste.  If you chew them, wouldn't that solve the problem?

 

12 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Why is Sam there? He has zero clue on what to do. That gill net looked like something a five-year-old could have made.

 

4 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Randy stout shelter looks like it can handle the fierce winds blowing and the rain and snow dumps coming...cut to Sam's shelter wall that looks like a Tiki bar.

Sam can go any time, as I said several times during this episode.  I thought the gill net was a decent effort, but it looked like he tried it for 2 minutes, decided it wouldn't work and gave up.   And that shelter, WTF Sam????

 

14 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

What has Sam been doing the past few weeks?

This is something that really bothered me about this episode, the editing.  Instead of doing a straight sequential timeline like they used to, now they're going back in time to show what the guys have been doing.  Now we see what Sam has been doing for the last week, what Larry has been doing for the last week, etc., things we have been wondering about for several episodes.   I think the only activity we saw in real time was Dave carving the atlatl (which I only know about because I watched Top Shot).  Are they suddenly afraid that the viewers are too stupid to connect someone making a fishing net in one episode with them using it in the next?

Half the people gone at less than 30 days, I don't think we're going to see any records broken this year, except maybe the record for the shortest stay that wins.

[cooksdelight]

4 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Sam can go any time, as I said several times during this episode.  I thought the gill net was a decent effort, but it looked like he tried it for 2 minutes, decided it wouldn't work and gave up.   And that shelter, WTF Sam????

I know nothing about fishing, but that gill net looked like crap.

[humbleopinion]

Agreed.

The editing is choppy and annoys the long time viewer who remembers what made this show charming in the first few seasons.

 Want Dave and Randy to each have a large kill with their bows or spear.

Larry to get a  wild boar in his dead fall.

Britt to snare a boar.

Sam to catch a tiny grayling....just to taunt him....

[rmontro]

47 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I was thinking more stupid than courageous.

Quite possible, but I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.

48 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I wonder if that's more likely if you slurp them down whole like an oyster, to avoid what must be a nasty taste.  If you chew them, wouldn't that solve the problem?

Or cut them into tiny bits.  There may be some reflex that causes the pieces to still attach to the throat, who knows?  But I don't want to be the one to try it out.

[Auntie Anxiety]

Looks like Sam didn’t even think about using the leeches as bait. I’m convinced that he’s a halfwit.

I have a very tough time with people like Larry. He has some poor coping mechanisms and screaming because you are frustrated makes me uncomfortable. Larry, you can yell about the weather in Mongolia all you want, but it’s not going to change because you scream. Grow the hell up.

It sucks that there are no women left. 

[humbleopinion]

If he chomped on the leeches live they would have released a defensive mucous secretion that causes vomiting...wasn't that a pop up on the screen?

[raven]

11 hours ago, rmontro said:

Apparently I'm the only one who thinks Dave is sincere about not wanting to hurt animals, and not just playing to the cameras. 

No, I agree with you.  He talks enthusiastically about hunting and obviously is skilled at it and enjoys it.  He is probably used to cleanly killing the animals and twice now he hasn't that I recall (the squirrel and the bird); I believe that he doesn't want his kills to suffer, even for a few minutes.  I enjoyed watching him make the tree stand, though I was nervous watching him climb that high, though he's obviously comfortable doing it.

I was impressed with Fucking Larry's attention to detail in making his net and how happy he was that it worked.  I'm immune to his rants and find him amusing so I'm glad he's still around.  The editing is weird; we see him dramatically going outside to check the noise - cut to commercial - then we cut back to him in his shelter in the daytime with nothing mentioned about his nighttime excursion. 

I'm kind of indifferent to Sam and I like Britt but was a little surprised that they both were still so dependent on fishing.  I think they are both thinking/hoping that everyone else will tap before they have to make any real forays into hunting.  The colder it gets, the deeper the fish go.   Randy at least realizes he has to try to hunt. 

Weird editing aside, I like this episode, we got to see everyone and how they were doing.  Since they were showing increments of 2-3 days again, I was waiting for someone to tap.

Oh!  Eating leeches GROSSS.  Sam's reaction to the whole thing was funny.  I'm probably going to have nightmares about a leech attaching itself to the inside of my throat ewwwwww.

[humbleopinion]

I am surprised no one has a trapping pit if there are wild boars around.

Larry is the only person to put up a heavy duty fall trap big enough to kill a good sized critter?

 Large snares?

We need to see more interesting stuff...not night vision shots of bushes.

[Salzmank]

Now, apparently, Crying Dave is Killing Dave! ;) 

Strange episode. Larry’s in need of anger-management skills, to say the least (the Wind! Yell at the Wind, Larry!), and Sam’s so annoying that I can never fathom how he’s still there—or deals with life on a day-to-day basis (dear God, he’s actually a father?! He’s so useless). Love what @Auntie Anxiety wrote: “Looks like Sam didn’t even think about using the leeches as bait. I’m convinced that he’s a halfwit”! 

I agree with @rmontro that Dave’s sincere, but I think that’s even more troubling: he seems genuinely bipolar or something, going from one emotional extreme to another. I’m always in awe of his talent, though.

My favorite of them all is Britt, but I also like Randy a lot and think, of my favorites, he has the best shot. 

[AZChristian]

I am a proud city-slicker.  I don't camp.  Ever.

But even I was wondering why Sam didn't make his fishnet contraption more like Larry's . . . with a circle at the top, not almost flat.  So the fish could - oh, I don't know - actually swim into it?

[ClareWalks]

15 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

I am a proud city-slicker.  I don't camp.  Ever.

But even I was wondering why Sam didn't make his fishnet contraption more like Larry's . . . with a circle at the top, not almost flat.  So the fish could - oh, I don't know - actually swim into it?

With a gill net the general purpose is for fish to get caught in it - they swim along in the current and get their gills trapped in the net so they can't wiggle out. But once Sam realized the river was too fast (which may explain why he can't line-fish either) he should have repurposed his net like Fucking Larry did and make that kind, so he could use it maybe as a fish trap-style gill net.

[humbleopinion]

Fu*kin' Larry's landing net was fashioned  to bring fish onto land safely when he caught them with a rod and hook.

Fish flip around as a survival mechanism hoping to release the hook from their mouth.

Carleigh would probably still be in Mongolia if she had a landing net since her fish was able to get off the hook and unfortunately the hook landed deep  in Carleigh's hand.

Sam's  sad project was supposed to be a gill net.

A gill net is a  vertically hung netting, floating at the top and  weighted at the bottom to make a barrier trap for fish that swim into it and get their gills tangled in the woven net.

Nicole's abundance of fish was a good example of success with her gill net in her first season.

 Sam's poorly constructed gill net was tiny, not equipped with flotation on the water surface,not long enough to be properly weighted at the bottom, not long enough since fish had 95% of the river width to swim around his sad attempt.

Edited July 28, 2018 by humbleopinion

[Quilt Fairy]

8 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

Looks like Sam didn’t even think about using the leeches as bait.

I've never caught a fish in my life and even I thought of that.  Does anyone remember the Dirty Jobs episode where Mike caught leeches on a lake in Minnesota?  The men he was with made a decent living out of catching leeches (pounds of them) and selling them for bait.  The lake was their secret special leech lake and they actually blindfolded Mike so he wouldn't know where they went.  Now that I'm remembering more about that episode, I think maybe they did grill some of them at the end, although I think they did it more as a "Prove you are a real man" type of thing rather than something done on a regular basis. 

[Yeah No]

My favorite line of the episode came from Britt, when he poked his mug into the camera at night and said he looked like an "Old, blind, albino coal miner".  I split my sides!  He is an interesting guy and I'm finding I like him more this time around than in his original season.

I wish I could say that for the rest of them that are left.  Although I have new respect for Larry, despite his camera induced drama-king tendencies, for making that fishing net and catching a whopper.  Go, Larry!

Losing points with me this week was Sam.  He's one guy that succeeds in spite of himself.  We've seen him starve before.  I don't think he's ready to give up.  I believe him that he doesn't want his kids to think he gives up after one or two setbacks.  But his combination of laziness/lack of vision can only go on for so much longer before he must "pull a rabbit out of a hat" so to speak.  I know next to nothing about fishing, but even I could tell that gill net would not work in fast moving water.  I can't believe he didn't know that.

I believe that Dave does have a real conscience about killing with minimal suffering, but I'm with @mlp that he's amping it up for the cameras.  I said that last week and the week before too.

[cooksdelight]

9 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

But once Sam realized the river was too fast (which may explain why he can't line-fish either) he should have repurposed his net like Fucking Larry did and make that kind, so he could use it maybe as a fish trap-style gill net.

You can fish in a fast river. The Nantahala River, near where I live, is always full of guys standing along the banks fishing. No idea what line or bait they are using, but a friend of mine posts pics of his catch on Facebook every week. Never seen anyone using any type of net contraption.

[rmontro]

For some reason, I like all the contestants better this time around.  Even Larry.  I really didn't want Larry to win last time, because I thought he had a negative attitude.  But if he ends up winning this year, I will be fine with it, because if he wins he will have deserved it.  In fact, I'm beginning to think he might be a front runner.  But whoever wins, I will be fine with it.

Britt and Randy have talked about being big guys who need a lot of calories, we'll see if that helps or hurts them now that the food is getting scarce.  Love their shelters.

Sam probably didn't want to use the leeches for bait because he doesn't have any faith in the fishing there, because the water is so fast.  I don't know if he is right or not, but he doesn't have any faith in it.  When they showed him fishing, you could see a bend in the river in the background.  I wondered if there were any eddies around there where the water made the turn.  Might have made a better fishing spot.  It's probably too late in the year now anyway.  It's hard for me to see Sam winning, because even though he is young and stubborn, you can see that he's lost a lot of weight, and everyone else seems to be doing better.

[AZChristian]

Thanks for the info about nets.  I tried to re-watch the "Sam making and using a net" portion of the show, but my DVR box is cranky (being replaced today).  If I remember correctly from the other night, it looked like he was making a net shaped like Larry's (roundish), rather than a single flat portion that one would expect for a gill net.  But Larry had made a really open loop at the top to dip the caught fish with . . . Sam looked to have a flat opening, but appeared to be trying to put it into the water in a way that fish would swim into (via the opening) and get caught.  That's why I was confused.  If he was making an actual gill net, shouldn't he have used the same amount of paracord to make the net larger, but single ply?

[Subrookie]

Larry's yelling doesn't bother me. He's there and I'm not. Whatever helps him get through the day is fine my me. I wouldn't want to go camping with him though. He'd break my camp stove if the food was overcooked. 

[humbleopinion]

Sam is getting the inept, dolt edit...I'm inclined to believe he wins...ugh.

[roamyn]

8 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Sam is getting the inept, dolt edit...I'm inclined to believe he wins...ugh.

You might have a good point.  Dave 1.0 was made out to be a clumsy loser before his redemption in S2, so we’re the Butt Brothers of S4 (tho they were always idiotic).  Alan wasn’t, and I don’t recall if Fowler was.  I don’t think so.

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Sam is getting the inept, dolt edit...I'm inclined to believe he wins...ugh.

I agree.  I have already said I don't think he should be underestimated based on appearances.  He has already shown that he's willing to keep going beyond the point that most people would throw in the towel no matter how much he has to endure.

[ClareWalks]

Sam is not looking like a genius right now but the kid can gut it out. We have seen people with tons of skills (Mike, Jose) throw in the towel immediately, while Sam keeps plugging away. That's a great quality for this show.

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Sam is not looking like a genius right now but the kid can gut it out. We have seen people with tons of skills (Mike, Jose) throw in the towel immediately, while Sam keeps plugging away. That's a great quality for this show.

 

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I agree.  I have already said I don't think he should be underestimated based on appearances.  He has already shown that he's willing to keep going beyond the point that most people would throw in the towel no matter how much he has to endure.

 

13 hours ago, roamyn said:

You might have a good point.  Dave 1.0 was made out to be a clumsy loser before his redemption in S2, so we’re the Butt Brothers of S4 (tho they were always idiotic).  Alan wasn’t, and I don’t recall if Fowler was.  I don’t think so.

The butt brothers actually redeemed themselves in the reunion and made a very valid point about the real challenge is being able to endure unending misery.

[Charlesman]

On 7/28/2018 at 3:57 AM, cooksdelight said:

You can fish in a fast river. The Nantahala River, near where I live, is always full of guys standing along the banks fishing. No idea what line or bait they are using, but a friend of mine posts pics of his catch on Facebook every week. Never seen anyone using any type of net contraption.

 

Sam didn't bring fishing line, nor fishing hooks, so his options are limited. 

[pagooey]

On 7/27/2018 at 9:55 AM, ClareWalks said:

Fucking Larry screaming at the entire country/climate of Mongolia to "CALM DOWN!!!" was the highlight of the night for me.

Yeah, shrieking "Calm the fuck down!!" at THE WIND is pretty much peak Larry.  I give him major props for having the patience to make that net, though. (Maybe he does needlecraft in his spare time, to mellow out? I don't care if he does, actually--I want him to take it up, and for that to be a show, Fuckin' Larry embroidering a sampler.)

[cooksdelight]

3 hours ago, Charlesman said:

 

Sam didn't bring fishing line, nor fishing hooks, so his options are limited. 

Was fishing line or hooks an option? I guess not... because that would be the first thing on my list.

[ClareWalks]

They were an option but Sam didn't bring any. He explained a few episodes ago why - apparently he can (and did) make fishing line and hooks from other items he brought.

[Charlesman]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

Was fishing line or hooks an option? I guess not... because that would be the first thing on my list.

Everyone else picked them. Sam picked paracord and trapping wire, because he thought they were more versatile: he could cut the paracord and pull out the smaller inner strings to use as fishing line, and he could cut and bend some trapping wire into hook shapes. And still have the rest of the paracord and wire to use for other stuff. He used the 10th slot for a second set of food rations instead of the fishing line & hook set.

That plan didn't work.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Charlesman
edit: ClareWalks explained it

[humbleopinion]

I think he miscalculated the uselessness of his self made hooks... fish are strong and his hooks probably didn't catch anything that couldn't get itself released...

We all wonder how he used his flour ration.

[cooksdelight]

He’s probably using that flour as a pillow.

[humbleopinion]

Or to keep his boots fresh and dry.

[Tighthead]

Sam is tough and great at Bushcraft, but he really has blinders on the hunting and gathering thing. 

Not taking fishing equipment seems like a terrible idea. His gill net was useless and was made at a time when the fish are starting to disappear. That should have been a day one project. The fish trap seemed like a long shot. 

I really liked Sam in S.1, but I’m finding it hard to root for him now. I find his video personality a little on the “cute” side. 

Larry is also tough as nails. I’m not sure of having pushed it so far as he did before is and advantage or not. Again, I find his hamming it up for the cameras annoying. Just not my style. “Squishie selfie mousie!” “You people want to see a fishy dance!!!”.  I don’t mind contemplative Larry, but hammy Larry and angry Larry don’t work for me. His fish net was great, I’m surprised he is the first to do it.

I think we are about to enter the starvation mode of the show.  I suspect Randy and Dave have the best odds of sourcing food, but who knows with the editing.

I don’t think Dave is being dramatic.  I think the isolation makes everyone a little nutty.

[MostlyContent]

After watching this episode again, I'm afraid that Britt will be the next tapper.  He's saying the whole, "OMG, my family" thing.  Hope I'm wrong as I really like his sense of humor this season.  It's becoming cold now though.  If one isn't ice fishing on a lake (vs a river) during the winter?  A few smoked fish halves are not going to get him very far.  He didn't take a food ration.  

I hope the tapper is Sam.  :)  He's such a snooze with his pathetic little straw house when he knows how low the temps will go.  The only hunting choice he choose for his ten items was trapping wire.  Wow.  He sucks at that.  It makes me embarrassed for the NE boy.  Perhaps his TWO food rations are gone.  

Larry also took two food rations.  His paracord  was used to weave his fishnet, obviously.  He's had basically no luck with his trapping wire (that we've seen).  Has he?  Please remind he if he has.  

 

20 hours ago, Tighthead said:

I suspect Randy and Dave have the best odds of sourcing food, but who knows with the editing.

Right?  The editing has been odd.  Who knows what's really going on.  

It's been a joy to see three people actually bring down kills with a bow and arrow this season.  Never been done before on 'Alone'.  Randy, Dave, and Jesse.  

Jesse is gone.   Randy and Dave remain as the guys who actually eat red meat this season vs a squished mouse or leeches.  One has a great shelter, and one does not (yet).  I hope neither one of them is the next Mike, or......whoever.   I think they both took one food ration.  They both took the same things except Randy took a saw and Dave took a gill net (I think?).

I am soooooo tired of Fucking Larry and his histrionics.  Bye' boy.   

[Ken S]

Anyone else also following this site?:

 

https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/alone-season-5-redemption.204351/page-10

 

In the latest video Larry revealed some interesting facts such as they were resticted on the size of trees they could cut down for shelter. Also some details on the size and kind of snare wire allowed. It would be nice if all of these rules and restrictions were disclosed somewhere. 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Ken S

[Token]

Dave is fast entering that emaciated, maniacal look he ended up with in his previous season.  I won't be surprised if, in the next episode, he starts showing us his massive stash of dried food that he's refusing to eat.  

I can't fault Larry for screaming irrational things.  I've done the same thing a few times.  Sometimes you just need to scream out the crazy and then you feel better!

Sam needs to just not be on my screen.  Annoying.

Love Britt and Randy.  Hope one of them wins.

I feel like this is going to be a short season and we're going to have a bunch of one-after-the-other tap-outs soon, once the cold weather really sets in.

[Token]

Also, I did enjoy Sam's monologue about starving and having lost a lot of weight being broadcast at the same time the camera shows him from a side-on view and all you see is this big pot belly and moobs.  Either those two things were recorded at very different times or Sam doesn't understand what starving actually means.

[Quilt Fairy]

I've noticed that no one is talking about any plant food resources at all.   And this episode reminded me of one of the things I've been missing this season: the "crafting" part of bushcrafting.   Being on an in-land river with little to no man-made debris floating in it where the findee says "Hmm, what can I make from this?" makes for a more boring show, IMO.  

[ChristmasJones]

I laughed when Larry was yelling at the wind. I hate wind for some reason too, so I could appreciate his annoyance.

[ramble]

16 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

I hope the tapper is Sam.  :)  He's such a snooze with his pathetic little straw house when he knows how low the temps will go.

Now I’m picturing Sam as one of the Three Little Pigs. The one that built the straw house was the laziest. Sounds kind of right. The Big Bad Wolf would be the windy cold weather. Also, Sam does have a sad beard going on so the hair on his chinny chin chin sounds spot on too.