S05.E09: Starvation's Shadow

[simplyme]

As food sources disappear, hunger drives the remaining participants to a new low; one attempts a risky climb into wolf territory in search of food and another contends with a potentially game-ending health issue.

 

First aired August 9, 2018.

Edited August 10, 2018 by Drogo

[simplyme]

Still love Britt's sense of humor. Sam is still boring. He literally put my mother to sleep.

The surprise of the episode for me was discovering that apparently Larry has grown on me, enough that when he said he was going to climb a mountain, I sat straight up and yelled, "No! Don't do it, Larry! Don't go up the mountain!" like he was heading towards the light or something. But he hasn't tapped... yet.

Was relieved to see Dave go. Partially because his pontificating annoys me for some reason and definitely because I was relieved he didn't get medevaced for starving again. Thank you for learning, Dave.

[roamyn]

At the end, I was pleasantly surprised at how much sturdier Sam’s shelter was.

If it was anyone but F*g Larry, I would say he’s the one going next.  I remember he kept talking abt going home on VI, but then his mood would lift.  His ruminating was more abt missing things (and yes, Larry, we knew you missed sweets by the stop at the bakery b4 seeing your family in S2) and family/friends vs. Sam & Britt talking abt persevering for their families.  And he wasn’t the camera queen he’s been.  His story abt the smart female mouse was funny.

So was Britt’s “Day 620,000+ and I’ve died 3x...nope 4x”.  I was bummed that fishy got away w/his lure.  The sled is a smart idea.  Have we seen anyone do something like that yet b4?  I don’t think so.  Thank goodness he didn’t spend a damn month making it aesthetically pleasing.

Dave actually came across very smart and deep this episode.  Glad he realized when his teeth started getting loose that he was close to his limit.  And he seemed happy w/his decision.

Today’s episode was brought to you by Crafter’s, Hobby Lobby, Santa’s Workshop, and Lumber Liquidators.

[cooksdelight]

I am so fricken sick of hearing these guys talk about ...... I don’t know.... they aren’t talking about anything interesting. I was so bored. 

You guys knew what you signed up for, you’ve been there before! I expected more from everyone. Damn..... this season is killing me.

Larry expending all that energy to climb a mountain was just stupid. Sam is talking stupid. At this point, Britt is the only one left with enough brain cells to outlast the rest. I’m glad Dave left, he was starting to scare me.

[mylesdogga]

Ahhhh Davo,, bittersweet to see you go, it's a real shame that we didn't get to see you successful in your hunting ventures,  but you were a good contestant (apart from the bipolar behaviour)  and you left for one of the better reasons than other contestants this season..

I instantly thought Larry would be the one tapping out after his mission to the top of the mountain, great to see that the curse has been broken. He has earned my respect throughout the season, keeps things interesting with his shenanigans, wouldn't be mad if he ends up winning, (but am still rooting for britt). loved the sweet & sour real talk

 

britt better not lose to sam due to sams fat reserves, hes still looking big, with a lot to loose, and the fact that he hasn't done anything (still unsure if this is due to editing or he's actually useless) really gets on my nerves!! your roof is still useless even after your renovations, why aren't you trying to find food instead of carving cups and spoons when you apparently haven't eaten for over a month???    I would really hate it if he wins.... hopefully his constipation gets the best of him next week

[Auntie Anxiety]

I hope Sam’s Squatty Potty works because, like him or not, constipation is a silent killer.

In the first shot of Dave, he looked like a dark-haired version of James Franco, hopefully minus the perv.

Finally an episode in which F’ing Larry didn’t start screaming at some inanimate object or weather pattern. He seemed remarkably mellow.

Carving Christmas tree decorations was a good idea. Keeps you busy, something meaningful for a gift and good for an upbeat attitude. Am all in for Britt.

[roamyn]

ETA. I seriously doubt this season goes longer than 50 days.  Even F*g Larry admitted he wouldn’t be able to last as long as he did on S2.

[Yeah No]

You know what gets me about this season?  We're only what, like 37 days in and we're already down to 3 people??  And these are people that in their first seasons lasted 20+ days longer than that?  WTF?  You would think that they'd last longer this time.  I don't think any season has seen this many tap outs so soon, and I don't think Mongolia has been that much worse than anywhere else.  So far, Britt is the only one impressing me with a desire to win.  Making that sled tells me he fully intends to deal with snow.  Even Sam and Larry have already bitched about missing their families or starving or whatever.  I'd expect that from them maybe after 50 days, but it all started happening at less than 35 days!  Sam ate nothing but mice last time too, so it's not like he didn't know what he could potentially end up eating.  So again, what is their problem this time?  I get the feeling the show probably enticed a lot of them to come back when that was not their idea.  That would explain the lack of determination in a lot of them.  The problem with that is that it doesn't make for good TV.

[roamyn]

I think it has mostly to do w/when they were dropped off.   It was already end of autumn, so winter was closer than ever b4.  The resources were more, but w/less time to prepare.  Thie shorter season was probably planned out by TPTB to lessen expenses.

And S1 had more tap outs in a shorter period.

[ProfCrash]

21 minutes ago, roamyn said:

I think it has mostly to do w/when they were dropped off.   It was already end of autumn, so winter was closer than ever b4.  The resources were more, but w/less time to prepare.  Thie shorter season was probably planned out by TPTB to lessen expenses.

And S1 had more tap outs in a shorter period.

The season one early taps were people who had no business being on the show. People worried about bears and drinking rancid water did not belong on the show then or now. Season two had something of the same problem but that was not an issue in season 3. The season 4 early taps were mainly health related.

I watched up to Dave's tap and then went to sleep. I wake up at 5 AM so the 10 PM start time is a killer for me.

I am glad that Dave tapped. He saw the early signs of starvation setting in and decided to leave. He made a legitimate attempt at catching deer and other game and was not able to do so. You can't say he didn't make his best effort. He expended a ton of calories and work trying to hunt. I am sure he could have lasted longer if he took the Sam approach but I am glad that he made the play for something larger that would have lasted through the winter. It is far more interesting to watch then people sitting around doing nothing. I do wonder why he didn't put on 30 pounds before heading out to Mongolia, that would have extended his time by a week or so.

I kind of get why people complain about Larry and Dave's hunting. It expends calories and that is not good. But at the same time, at least Larry and Dave are doing something and working to find a way to last for the next few days and the entire season. I'll take Larry's hike for dwindling food over Sam's arts and crafts project any day of the week. Britt seems to have found a good balance. He is fishing and trying to gather food but not taking the longer hikes. He is making Christmas ornaments but at night time when he has to be in his shelter any way. He is the happy medium between Dave and Larry's more exploratory, risky ways and Sam's conserve every calorie ways. And his personality is easy to take. He doesn't sound like he is trying to hype up his experience or make good TV.

I am not 100% sure why Dave, and the others, did not max out the fishing and then smoke the fish. I get that there is still a limited window to eat the fish but I know that food can be preserved longer if it is stored in a cold environment. I doubt that the ground temperature a few feet down is all that warm, I wouldn't be surprised to find that it was close to freezing even in the summer. Why not dig down 3 feet, create a cold storage area and store the smoked fish there. Cover it with some wood in order to make it harder for an animal to dig up. I know, from watching TV of course, that Glenn has used this method on Living Alaska and it has kept food for him throughout the winter, why isn't it viable in Mongolia? If you are worried about your safety, dig the hole away from your camp.

It could be that there are rules that we are not aware about. I know that there was a limit on how they could fish (hence no gill nets) and that there was something about not shooting a deer in the river so it could be that there was a limit on the number of fish you could pull out. But I also know that we saw people say they were stopping fishing because they had enough fish for the day. That implies that they could have fished more. I am hoping that there were limits that we did not know about because watching a group of survival experts not do something that I have seen Glenn do is driving me a bit crazy.

I'll watch the rest of the episode tonight.

[humbleopinion]

Bet Sam wished he could switch out his ration of flour for some dried prunes.

[cooksdelight]

I was expecting two taps in this episode. But they showed a lot of boring footage, so Larry could have also tapped out but they are saving it for another episode. I have stopped keeping track of how many days it’s been.

[ProfCrash]

43 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I was expecting two taps in this episode. But they showed a lot of boring footage, so Larry could have also tapped out but they are saving it for another episode. I have stopped keeping track of how many days it’s been.

Are there 10 episodes this season? If that is the case, it made sense to hold off on a second tap.

[ramble]

I’m so glad Dave is gone. He was on my nerves and I think he looked like he was heading toward his crazy skinny stage. 

Is Sam using this show as his family’s main source of income? He kept talking about how he needed this to get a house for his family and a reliable car. Really? If he said the word poop much more I was going to scream. Normally I’d like his carving and object crafting but I worry he could win by outlasting others due to his starting body fat and that thought frustrates me. 

Larry’s mood swings are getting repetitive. I understand that they happen with this show and I am usually am not bothered by it. However I think, because it’s returning contestants, that I have less patience with them. I feel like I’ve listened to him moving back and forth from melancholy lows, to thoughtful observations, to abject defeat, to crazy cursing, to appreciation for his environment in a rotating cycle. It’s a retread of what he did last time and I’m over it. 

Britt still amuses me. His beginning monologue was enjoyable and goofy. He seems to have grown more from his last appearance than any of the others. He’s appears thoughtful but not maudlin and while he wants to win I don’t feel like it’s all about the money.  

Have I missed that one of the taps was made to look like the emergency looking one they’ve shown a zillion times? Has it not happened it, or is just a fake-out like the wolf from previous seasons? 

[ProfCrash]

6 minutes ago, ramble said:

Have I missed that one of the taps was made to look like the emergency looking one they’ve shown a zillion times? Has it not happened it, or is just a fake-out like the wolf from previous seasons? 

Nope, we have not seen it yet. We also have not seen the show shoes. It would be hard for me to believe that the emergency rescue was a fake out, that would be some serious BS. They would have to film a fake emergency rescue. At least the wolf could have been a pretty shot of the wolf tossed in to raise the threat level for the viewer.

[dgpolo]

5 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I do wonder why he didn't put on 30 pounds before heading out to Mongolia, that would have extended his time by a week or so.

I thought he must have put on some weight, one of the pop ups said he had already lost more weight than in his previous season.

When they showed Britt carving next to his groin, I was holding my breath.

[HurricaneVal]

When Dave tapped with a half hour left in the episode, I was very, very worried it was going to be a double tap show.  Then Larry took the hike up the hill....and.....  Whew!

I"m team Britt all the way.  He's doing all the right things by continuing to problem solve to get food (though the very glum reaction to losing his lure worries me, he might not have many more hooks to experiment with), working on tools to address winter survival issues by making the sledge, and keeping himself entertained by carving ornaments for his family.  That last one really gets him thinking of home and family, but in a constructive way, rather than in the self-destructive navel-gazing, "woe is me" way that got to Randy and Brooke.  I like that he's planning for the long-term, but I'm worried about his food supply.  Hopefully we'll see him back up to snuff next week and gleefully crafting fish hooks out of snare wire or animal bone.

And gawd help me, I don't hate Sam anymore.  I'm not fond of him, but he is thinking, and he's doing the right thing by keeping himself busy.  But, dude, you need to eat your vegetables to get some fiber (but not the tree bark fiber) to poop.  I will say his shelter looks much sturdier from the outside, but his interior shots still make it look like the walls only consist of some weeds desultorily and haphazardly woven between some willow sticks.  There's a lot of daylight coming through....  I'm going to be very impressed, and will eat my words if it turns out that he has somehow designed and engineered his shelter with double walls to make a sunlight atrium.  We'll see...  He still strikes me as being very young if his only plan for providing for his family is this show.  That seems....very shortsighted.  True survival in life requires the long view.

[ProfCrash]

57 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I thought he must have put on some weight, one of the pop ups said he had already lost more weight than in his previous season.

When they showed Britt carving next to his groin, I was holding my breath.

I thought the text box said that he had lost twice as much weight as he had at the same point in time in Patagonia. The box said he had lost 29 pounds at the time he tapped, so he would have lost 15 pounds at that time in Patagonia.  So Mongolia was that much harder then Patagonia. And we see that with pretty much all of the contestants. 

Sam’s ceiling didn’t look all that awesome. (Eye roll) He added 4-5 saplings and tied a few on. I am not sure what that is going to do. I found the idea that his ability to provide for his family was in jeopardy because he couldn’t poop a bit silly but then I put it in perspective that he is starving and isolated which makes everything that much more ramatic. $500,000 is a lot of money and would go along way for all of these contestants. But I would hope that Sam knows that he can provide a house and car for his family if he works. 

I liked Larry’s explination regarding his emotional volitility kind of endearing. He can let loose because there is no one around and he doesn’t have to censor himself. So he can be the crazy dude because, well, why not? 

[rmontro]

5 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I thought the text box said that he had lost twice as much weight as he had at the same point in time in Patagonia. The box said he had lost 29 pounds at the time he tapped, so he would have lost 15 pounds at that time in Patagonia.  So Mongolia was that much harder then Patagonia. And we see that with pretty much all of the contestants. 

I do think that Mongolia is harder than Patagonia (or Vancouver, for that matter).  But a lot of Dave's weight loss has to do with his strategy of hunting probably, it burned too many calories.  I'm not surprised he's gone, I figured if he couldn't get a deer he would be.  Glad he did it on his own terms, shows he did learn something.

I think Sam is next to go (constipation is a potentially lethal problem), followed by a long stand off between Britt and Larry.  If that is correct, Larry will have finished top two twice, that's a heck of an accomplishment.  And Sam has been top three twice.  Britt looks like they likely winner, but I can't count out Larry.  But if I had money, I'd put it on Britt, he seems to have more of a winner's edit, if there is such a thing.

Before this show is over, I want to share an observation.  I like to watch TV with the closed captioning on.  It helps me catch lines I would have otherwise missed or misunderstood.  And sometimes it's amusing how wrong they are, especially for live events.  But on Alone, when they play the background music, the caption will often say "(ominous music)".  And every time I see that, I think something bad is about to happen!  Because it's "ominous", you know?  But they're just describing the music.  They also like to put "pensive music", I think those are the only two I've seen.

[pagooey]

34 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

But I would hope that Sam knows that he can provide a house and car for his family if he works. 

 

3 hours ago, ramble said:

Is Sam using this show as his family’s main source of income? He kept talking about how he needed this to get a house for his family and a reliable car. Really?

I realized that I've fully aged into Judgy McJudgerson, Neighborhood Crank status when my response to this moment was "Get a job, manchild!" What is Sam, 25, 26? With two small children at home, but he can afford to dink around in the wilderness for 1-3 months? Hhrmmph. (I'm also both amused and irritated by Sam's very vocal pride in his half-assed craft projects, like the greatest spoon ever carved and the rickety wilderness Squatty Potty. Meanwhile, Britt's building a damn sled and whittling semi-intricate ornaments. I wonder if Sam has a lot of Participant trophies at home...?)

I worried for Fuckin' Larry when he climbed that mountain; completely shocked that he didn't follow that up with the traditional tap! I also laughed when he mentioned that last time, he craved and missed sweets, because you don't say, Mr. Tower of Bakery Boxes. I think Larry and I would get along in real life, with our sugar cravings and gutter mouths and jobs that are...just jobs.  I don't know if he's got it in him to win this thing, but dammit, I still like him.

Dave, good luck. You were always a little too deliberately kooky for my taste, but with a proper haircut and some meat on your bones you're a handsome dude. Do keep all your own teeth in your head if you can, please.

Britt is the most entertaining and interesting to watch, for me. I love that he experiments, thinks it through, makes mistakes and attempts to learn from them. I think his attitude might be the thing that propels him to the win. 

[Subrookie]

14 hours ago, mylesdogga said:

I instantly thought Larry would be the one tapping out after his mission to the top of the mountain, great to see that the curse has been broken. He has earned my respect throughout the season, keeps things interesting with his shenanigans, wouldn't be mad if he ends up winning, (but am still rooting for britt).

I have liked Larry from the beginning, although I would be happy with any of these 3 winning. Larry is an interesting guy and has some personality quirks that seem to turn people off. Admittedly, I personally can't stand him saying "man" after every other sentence, but as I've said before he's there and I'm not. He's alone and IMO can do whatever he needs too if it gets him through the day. 

I started to wonder, since we're around 40 days into this and only three of these "survival experts" remain what guys like Jim Bridger or any of the early American/Canadian frontiersmen would think of this effort. Are even these guys not made of the same salt their predecessors were?  

[dgpolo]

5 minutes ago, Subrookie said:

I started to wonder, since we're around 40 days into this and only three of these "survival experts" remain what guys like Jim Bridger or any of the early American/Canadian frontiersmen would think of this effort. Are even these guys not made of the same salt their predecessors were?  

The early American/Canadian frontiersmen did not have restriction put on them geographically (they could go to where the game/fish were) or what kind of game they could kill. They also had months to get ready for winter and were able to make/buy supplies to help them make it through.

 

ETA: this isn't a 'normal' situation in any way, shape or form. This is entirely contrived.

Edited August 10, 2018 by dgpolo
add more

[rmontro]

12 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

The early American/Canadian frontiersmen did not have restriction put on them geographically (they could go to where the game/fish were) or what kind of game they could kill. They also had months to get ready for winter and were able to make/buy supplies to help them make it through.

ETA: this isn't a 'normal' situation in any way, shape or form. This is entirely contrived.

Very good point.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, roamyn said:

I think it has mostly to do w/when they were dropped off.   It was already end of autumn, so winter was closer than ever b4.  The resources were more, but w/less time to prepare.  Thie shorter season was probably planned out by TPTB to lessen expenses.

And S1 had more tap outs in a shorter period.

As someone else pointed out, those season 1 tap outs were people that didn't know what they were getting into and had no business being there.  This season is not like that.  These people know exactly what they're in for and lasted a significant amount of time in their original seasons, so they should be even better prepared and determined to last longer than they did the first time around.  So far there's been nothing that unusual or worse about Mongolia than what some of them endured on Vancouver Is. or Patagonia.  Sam starved in season 1 and ate an occasional mouse back then too.  Same for Larry.  So why they are whining and tapping so early on (especially compared to their first time) is still a mystery to me.  Britt is the only one that has already lasted longer than his original season and still seems determined at this point.

[OoogleEyes]

I think Britt considers the camera his buddy. He just chit chats with us like we're sitting around the fire with him. Love it! Hopefully, that will keep him from tapping out due to loneliness. Wilson!

When Sam was carving his "cup", who else thought "bong"? 

Just me?

[ClareWalks]

I audibly gasped when Fucking Larry said he was going to climb Mount Doom.

[meep.meep]

59 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

I think Britt considers the camera his buddy. He just chit chats with us like we're sitting around the fire with him. Love it! Hopefully, that will keep him from tapping out due to loneliness. Wilson!

When Sam was carving his "cup", who else thought "bong"? 

Just me?

Not me.  I was just thinking how much I wouldn't want to drink out of something that was made by burning.  Getting rid of the charcoal taste will take forever.

The guy who won Patagonia made a lot of spoons and chop sticks.  Britt's Christmas ornaments are a step up.

Glad that Dave tapped out - feeling your teeth start to slide must have been a wake up call.

[raven]

4 hours ago, dgpolo said:

The early American/Canadian frontiersmen did not have restriction put on them geographically (they could go to where the game/fish were) or what kind of game they could kill. They also had months to get ready for winter and were able to make/buy supplies to help them make it through.

 

ETA: this isn't a 'normal' situation in any way, shape or form. This is entirely contrived.

Good points.   The contestants are plopped in areas roughly 8 miles from each other that were pre-selected.  Undoubtedly the show doesn't want people out there for 6 months so though they see bones and game trails, they may be old and the trails no longer used.  The contestants can't move too far so they scare away fish, grouse, etc. in their spot and the game are probably moving further away, since if they go 8-10 miles in any direction, they encounter another human. 

The contestants have to strike a balance between exerting themselves to do things to survive (build shelter, find food); conserve enough energy to do those things while eating at maximum half the calories (and that's generous) then what their body needs; do things to keep their minds occupied, all the while filming themselves and talking to the camera.

4 hours ago, pagooey said:

Dave, good luck. You were always a little too deliberately kooky for my taste, but with a proper haircut and some meat on your bones you're a handsome dude. Do keep all your own teeth in your head if you can, please.

He is a good looking guy all cleaned up and with a little weight on - I remember seeing him on the after show of his first season, what a difference.  Maybe he's one of those people who finds it difficult to gain weight and beef up.  I appreciate his efforts to find something to sustain him but I'm glad he tapped because he realized he needed to. 

I generally enjoy this show and am liking this season but TBH there's not much they can do with the format.  I'm sure the show doesn't want people out there for months and months so they have to put them in areas where they can sustain themselves minimally, so all we're really going to see is 1) build shelter 2) find food 3) complain about being hungry/the weather/being lonely and possibly 4) find someone who finds their zen and chills out.

I just don't want to hear about another contestant's poop issues.  

I'm actually considering Larry getting a winner's edit.  He morphs into Fucking Larry, the weather, the mice etc - then this ep he is beginning to chill, with his Mrs Mouse, he's being introspective plus he survives Mount Doom.    Sam is OK and I like Britt but I worry that Britt may decide that he lasted longer than his first time and he's ready to go home. 

[rmontro]

4 hours ago, OoogleEyes said:

When Sam was carving his "cup", who else thought "bong"? 

Lol, I did not think that.  But I was impressed by the way he used the ember to dig the cup out.  Does doing it that way accomplish some other task, like making the wood more waterproof?

2 hours ago, raven said:

I'm actually considering Larry getting a winner's edit.  He morphs into Fucking Larry, the weather, the mice etc - then this ep he is beginning to chill, with his Mrs Mouse, he's being introspective plus he survives Mount Doom.    Sam is OK and I like Britt but I worry that Britt may decide that he lasted longer than his first time and he's ready to go home. 

At this point a "winner's edit" is probably in our heads.  For instance, in the preview they have Britt talking about how much he misses his family.  I take that as a red herring the producers are throwing in there to make you think he is tapping out.  He seems the likely winner to me, but Larry is a tough customer too, so who knows.  Larry doesn't seem to miss civilization.  Whoever wins I will be happy with, and consider deserving.  Sam probably less so than the other two, but if he wins he wins.  I think he's first out though.  He said something like he had two days to poop, and then probably the medical team will be there, and I'm guessing he gets pulled.

By the way, did you see that commercial for "Alone top 10 animal encounters" or whatever it was?  They had the picture of the wolf running up to the camera, the one that everyone speculated about a few seasons ago, but then the wolf never appeared in the show.  I can't believe they showed it again.

The only bad thing about everyone tapping so quickly is I'm not sure if we will get to see the really, really harsh Mongolian winter they were talking about early on.  In the last episode the snow was still melting during the day, so it's not that cold yet.

[Kelda Feegle]

Random thoughts:

why is Sam making furniture and spoons instead of looking for food? Food would help poop happen?

why has Sam waited so long to make a halfway decent roof?

thank you Fkn Larry for breaking the climb the mountain and tap curse

thank you Britt for being my kind of funny - cool story about dying - just needed more zombies

bye Dave glad you learned something from last time, still won't miss you

bring on the actual snow!

[humbleopinion]

Sam is playing the smarter game when it comes to conserving energy/body fat...he pretty much played the same strategy his first time around...

 Do not burn energy to overbuild the shelter...

Wait until the snow comes to fortify the roof to hold the snow..IF SNOW comes

Stay fat...living off his fat stores...conserve by hunkering down...

But lack of activity means his bowels have locked down...sitting in a chair will make it easier to poop?

Think he is confusing that with childbirth...but whatever works...

[rmontro]

I just saw a commercial for next week's episode, and it has Sam walking around in the snow in snowshoes.  Someone else had mentioned before that he was the one who made some snowshoes, so I had forgotten that.  But does that mean that he survives his constipation crisis?  Maybe his potty chair helps after all?  Anyway, it looks like he might be around a little longer than I had thought.  I was thinking he was right on the verge of being removed.

[humbleopinion]

From folksy medicine file.....Isn't white ash from a fire good for constipation...black ash for diarrhea?

[Subrookie]

I still have a wooden spoon someone I guided on a canoe trip made for me 20+ years ago. Sam isn't some guy stumbling through this. He has real skills and I'd be fine if he won. 

[cooksdelight]

On 8/10/2018 at 4:42 PM, Yeah No said:

As someone else pointed out, those season 1 tap outs were people that didn't know what they were getting into and had no business being there.  This season is not like that.  These people know exactly what they're in for and lasted a significant amount of time in their original seasons, so they should be even better prepared and determined to last longer than they did the first time around.  So far there's been nothing that unusual or worse about Mongolia than what some of them endured on Vancouver Is. or Patagonia.  Sam starved in season 1 and ate an occasional mouse back then too.  Same for Larry.  So why they are whining and tapping so early on (especially compared to their first time) is still a mystery to me.  Britt is the only one that has already lasted longer than his original season and still seems determined at this point.

Thank you. Exactly how I see it. And why I hate this “redemption” season.

I was in a Facebook discussion with some people about this season, and they all agreed “They were losers before, they are losers now.”

[Kelda Feegle]

Additional thought - was that a book of 'Alone' that I saw in Dave's shelter?

[TVbitch]

Dave made a good decision. I think he tried his best. His biggest mistake was not pre-fattening which is just stupid, but I give him his redemption. 

I like Larry's Ms. Mouse story, too.

I don't know enough about survival shit to say whether they maybe just made it a little TOO hard this season and everybody is basically fucked with a starvation setting, or if the aloners have been incompetent. 

[GreyBunny]

I’m glad Dave made the right decision and tapped out. It was uncomfortable bordering on scary watching him in Patagonia.

I love Sam, he was my other favorite from season 1. He did fatten up and overall has maintained a pretty good attitude. I don’t fault him for making spoons, these kinds of activities keep the mind busy and morale up and can make a difference.

Edited August 12, 2018 by GreyBunny

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Additional thought - was that a book of 'Alone' that I saw in Dave's shelter?

I noticed that too!

12 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

From folksy medicine file.....Isn't white ash from a fire good for constipation...black ash for diarrhea?

I was wondering if there weren’t any Mongolian herbal remedies the contestant could have been told about.

[raven]

13 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Additional thought - was that a book of 'Alone' that I saw in Dave's shelter?

I didn't notice it but Dave McIntyre posts on the Reddit "Alone TV" forum and says this

Quote

I can't speak specifically to Mongolia but on the island we had printed material about the cameras and a guide to the archeological finds we might encounter. They didn't want us to disturb any Native heritage.

So maybe it was something similar.

[rmontro]

Quote

I can't speak specifically to Mongolia but on the island we had printed material about the cameras and a guide to the archeological finds we might encounter. They didn't want us to disturb any Native heritage.

Not very entertaining, but eh, something to read I guess.

[Tammee]

19 hours ago, Subrookie said:

I still have a wooden spoon someone I guided on a canoe trip made for me 20+ years ago. Sam isn't some guy stumbling through this. He has real skills and I'd be fine if he won. 

I would too.  He seems like the only one who bulked up (nicely put hah :)) and still seems somewhat sane.  He did scare the shit out of me though when he was whittling with the knife towards him!  Dude!

[Tammee]

On 8/10/2018 at 3:50 PM, OoogleEyes said:

I think Britt considers the camera his buddy. He just chit chats with us like we're sitting around the fire with him. Love it! Hopefully, that will keep him from tapping out due to loneliness. Wilson!

When Sam was carving his "cup", who else thought "bong"? 

Just me?

Hah thats so funny!   You made me almost choke hahahaha.  I had the same charcoal taste thought also.  Is next week the last ep?  I thought i heard them say that.  I bet they drop quick now, just like before boom boom boom.  I wouldnt mind any of them winning.  Hope Britt lasts, and glad for Larry conquering the mtn, but was dreading him pulling out the sat phone.  Bye Dave!  You made the right decision.  Would have been funny if Fuck'n Larry had run into Brooke on the mtn

Edited August 12, 2018 by Tammee
More

[rmontro]

11 hours ago, Tammee said:

Hah thats so funny!   You made me almost choke hahahaha.  I had the same charcoal taste thought also.  Is next week the last ep?  I thought i heard them say that.  I bet they drop quick now, just like before boom boom boom.  I wouldnt mind any of them winning.  Hope Britt lasts, and glad for Larry conquering the mtn, but was dreading him pulling out the sat phone.  Bye Dave!  You made the right decision.  Would have been funny if Fuck'n Larry had run into Brooke on the mtn

Yes, the next episode is the last one.  I notice there is no "after show" this year.  To be honest, I can do without it.  I feel like many of the shows who have these aren't really worthy of them (Fear the Walking Dead and Impractical Jokers, I'm looking at you.  Not that Impractical Jokers is a bad show, but a half hour comedy prank show doesn't need a half hour discussion following it).  

By the way, if you want Britt to win, maybe you should have been hoping that Larry pulled out that sat phone.

Regarding Larry running into Brook, I recall them saying in a past season that they have a protocol for that situation - if someone were to run into another contestant.  It's not an automatic disqualification, but they are expected to report the incident to the support team immediately.

[Eataton]

Rmontro,  Do you mean a reunion show? There is one on the 23rd after this week's finale.

32 minutes ago, rmontro said:

Yes, the next episode is the last one.  I notice there is no "after show" this year.  To be honest, I can do without it.  I feel like many of the shows who have these aren't really worthy of them (Fear the Walking Dead and Impractical Jokers, I'm looking at you.  Not that Impractical Jokers is a bad show, but a half hour comedy prank show doesn't need a half hour discussion following it).  

By the way, if you want Britt to win, maybe you should have been hoping that Larry pulled out that sat phone.

Regarding Larry running into Brook, I recall them saying in a past season that they have a protocol for that situation - if someone were to run into another contestant.  It's not an automatic disqualification, but they are expected to report the incident to the support team immediately.

[rmontro]

21 minutes ago, Eataton said:

Rmontro,  Do you mean a reunion show? There is one on the 23rd after this week's finale.

Oh well crap, looks like I spoke too soon.  Looks like I'll have to watch it.  Thanks for letting me know.

I had expected it to follow the last episode immediately if there was one, not wait until the next week.  Oh well.

[Tighthead]

Okay I just watched so this will be all over the place. 

Britt looks good. The three hooks loss was brutal, but I can’t really blame him. I’m not sure a lure is as effective with one hook. He seems perhaps the most sane. 

I like quiet contemplative Larry. I can’t stand angry loud Larry or camera ham Larry. He is a tough nut though. We know he can push himself deep. 

Dave’s tap was sensible. He exhausted all efforts to get food.  

Speaking of which, that is dead and hungry country.  It’s crazy how dead it looks now in the aerial shots. There is no food save for the odd fish. 

Sam bugs me. You are 25 with two kids and you’re occupation is YouTube bushcrafter and primitive skills teacher. Don’t whine about supporting your family. Winning a game show isn’t an entitlement, nor should it be seen as the pillar of your life plan. He reminds me of bushcraft video guys who say “hey guys, we did it” all the time and craft wooden spoons using a $400 knife. If he wins it’s because of all the lard he smuggled under his sweater, which continues to look like the best strategy for victory.  

[Yeah No]

I have a new theory to answer the mystery of why we saw so many people tap out sooner than in their first season.  Maybe it's because they knew what was going to happen to them and they wanted to avoid it.  They did the cost/benefit analysis in their heads and seeing themselves waste away that much wasn't worth it.  Like Dave admittedly tapped out just before he saw his body degenerate to the point of serious consequences.  This time he was super-conscious about when that would happen, and seeing that just around the corner was enough for him to know he should go.  Unfortunately this happened sooner than in his first season.  I'm sure that this was also the case to some degree with Brooke (although for her the loneliness was also  a major factor).  Why the two of them didn't bulk up like Sam, though, is my next question.   They probably didn't anticipate Mongolia being as challenging as it was, but I'm thinking that wasn't a wise assumption.  They probably also misjudged their own ability to weather whatever increased difficulty Mongolia threw at them, too.

[Yeah No]

On 8/11/2018 at 5:17 PM, Subrookie said:

I still have a wooden spoon someone I guided on a canoe trip made for me 20+ years ago. Sam isn't some guy stumbling through this. He has real skills and I'd be fine if he won. 

1 hour ago, Tighthead said:

Sam bugs me. You are 25 with two kids and you’re occupation is YouTube bushcrafter and primitive skills teacher. Don’t whine about supporting your family. Winning a game show isn’t an entitlement, nor should it be seen as the pillar of your life plan. He reminds me of bushcraft video guys who say “hey guys, we did it” all the time and craft wooden spoons using a $400 knife. If he wins it’s because of all the lard he smuggled under his sweater, which continues to look like the best strategy for victory.  

You know, I 'm of two minds about Sam.  I think if we just exchanged his personality for Alan Kaye's we'd all think his wooden spoon was cute.  Speaking of Alan, to some degree he also used the same "hunker down and live off your own fat" strategy, it's just that he was a far cooler individual in my opinion.  Sam seems like such a twit in some ways. 

Speaking of Alan, I wouldn't mind if down the road if the show continues long enough, they had a season of where only previous winners compete against each other for an even bigger prize.  I think that might be more interesting than this season if enough of them were interested in it.

[Tighthead]

32 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

You know, I 'm of two minds about Sam.  I think if we just exchanged his personality for Alan Kaye's we'd all think his wooden spoon was cute.  Speaking of Alan, to some degree he also used the same "hunker down and live off your own fat" strategy, it's just that he was a far cooler individual in my opinion.  Sam seems like such a twit in some ways. 

Speaking of Alan, I wouldn't mind if down the road if the show continues long enough, they had a season of where only previous winners compete against each other for an even bigger prize.  I think that might be more interesting than this season if enough of them were interested in it.

I don’t have a problem with the spoon per se. I do laugh when these guys on YouTube use a fancy knife to carve chopsticks or a spoon. It’s sort of incongruous.  The cynic in me says that If the mug is such an asset, why are you doing it in day 38 or whatever? You have basically just laid around.  It just felt promotional.  Twit is a good word - he is a nice guy, harmless, but I’m not sure he gets the big picture.

I don’t have a problem with the hunker strategy, although it is dull.  It’s really a starvation show more than a survival show. I believe Alan and Dave M didn’t even bother with fires other than for cooking or boiling water.