S05.E10: Cold War

[raven]

Aired 2018.08.16

[raven]

I realized I was rooting for Larry because I was a little bummed when he tapped but at least he went out better than he did last time.

I couldn't tell who was going to win towards the end.  Congrats Sam!  The editing is always suspect but he seemed in the best place mentally at the end.  I did laugh when we knew he won and he was talking about how much longer he was going to have to stay out there.   I got a teensy bit emotional when he was sobbing to his wife, I admit.  "Who has food" LOL.

Britt looked kind of gaunt.  I hope he at least feels good about how much longer he made it this time.

I'll be looking forward to the reunion special, though Larry still has that beard, yuck.

[Ina123]

Yay, Sam. Good job. Can't help it. I'm s Sam fan.

[zibnchy]

So basically the last 10 days or so was just two guys seeing who could starve to death slower? Riveting!

[roamyn]

Aw, Britt, my Ohio guy.  You fast became my favorite, along w/Jesse & Randy (aft Nicole of course).  But I knew when you mentioned not even dressing for 4 days, that you’d reached your end.  Here’s my salute for you:  OH-IO!  You did Buckeyes proud.

From the sad way Larry said “Here it is, I love you Rachel”, I figured that was his good-bye salute. And it appears he did tap w/in a day of taking his hike up the mountain, so the curse is still on.

Good on you Sam.  But may I suggest investing some of that money on a degree that will earn your family long term financial success.  Aft buying a house & a car, you’re not going to have much left to live on.  But yeah, I got teary eyed, too.

Sam was deeper than I realized.  The notch thing for his kettle was smart.  And I appreciated him telling his wife how pretty she was.

[dbell1]

Sam winning made this season for me. Quality man who took his original season and improved on it. I admit to a tear when his wife walked up. So much more satisfying than last season's bickering brothers. His asking "who has food" was pretty funny, in a "hey, I'm starving, toss a granola bar at me, at least" way.

Britt was my other favorite, after we lost Carleigh so early. Another awesome man who just learned from the past and applied it.

Dear producers: I don't want another redemption season, and I don't want another couples season. 

[cooksdelight]

No more redemptions, no more couples.... I agree. Boring season, for me. Sam out-fatted them all.

[peaceknit]

10 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

No more redemptions, no more couples.... I agree. Boring season, for me. Sam out-fatted them all.

Right? They need to go back to the original concept.

[LittleIggy]

59 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

No more redemptions, no more couples.... I agree. Boring season, for me. Sam out-fatted them all.

Yeah, this season fell flat for me. I wish they would put people in place before the resources started to dry up.

[piequinn35]

Meh. I would have liked it if Britt won.

[rmontro]

2 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Yeah, this season fell flat for me. I wish they would put people in place before the resources started to dry up.

They don't want to do that because then they would have guys staying out there too long, and that costs them money to keep the medical teams in place, etc.  Anyway, I enjoyed the season.

Larry was the last guy that I thought would do an "I miss my family" tapout.  Who would have thought he would be longing to return to civilization.  His attitude sure changed toward the end, he got very emotional.  He looked pretty funny in his birch tree snow goggles, like some sort of demented superhero.  Maybe he can get a spot in the next Avengers movie - Captain Mousekiller or whatever.

A little surprised to see Britt tap out, but he sure looked defeated at the end, standing there.  He definitely has no cause to hang his head.  It was nice to see him enjoying the snow.  Were those moose who were kicking over that hill?

I know a lot of people didn't want Sam to win because of his "conserve energy" approach to winning, but he seems so likable, I just couldn't care.  Dude has an iron will to stay out there that long without food.  Plus he finished second last time, so he's done well.  I just can't believe they left him out there four extra days before telling him he won!  I know flying his wife out was likely part of the delay, but still.  Touching moment when he saw his wife, of course.  But then when he found out he won and was begging for some food and nobody gave him any (that we saw), that was kind of crappy.

Then he was showing off his trap that he didn't catch anything with.  

I hope he can find himself some sort of good job or business, since he said he struggled to provide for his family.  There's not going to be much of that prize money left after buying a new house and car.

[endure]

I was really proud of Larry in his end.  I'm glad Sam won,  I do believe he possibly needed the money more than Britt but I don't know if thats even true.  Either one was deserving it was a gruelling task by the end with no food.  Does the runner-up get some financial reward too....I sure hope so.  Is there a reunion show, it was a bit of let down for me the viewer having it end like that.

Edited August 17, 2018 by endure

[GoldaVining]

Yay Sam! I'm so proud of you! I certainly would have been happy for Britt if he had won because he deserved it, but this game is about who won't tap. Sam is so young yet and seems like he can really out suffer us all. He still sounded happy and coherent when he was talking about his snowshoes. I love his attitude. I am so pleased for Sam and his family. If they can buy a house and be mortgage free at their age, that is awesome.

I would never slam any of these folks who tried to make it on this show for their survival skills or lack there of -- there is nothing normal about the situation. Our ancestors were not hobbled in their hunting by only being allowed to travel a few miles and no doubt they would have started trying to store supplies and provisions long before the tail end of summer, That said, I will never understand how our ancestors survived. It seems impossible, especially in some of these locations. I live near the location of season one and while I don't know if the dense rainforest is an easier location than Mongolia, dang that part of Mongolia looked barren.

[GreyBunny]

Yay Sam!

He was the other guy I was rooting for in season one (he and Alan are my two favorites ever), he's so plucky and likeable, and I'm very happy that he's now a winner too. 

Good on ya, Britt. I would have been happy with him winning too.

"Do you have any food? Who's got the food?!" Aw, they should have sent the missus in with a hot dog or something.

Vancouver Island really did a number on some of these people. They generally coped with Mongolia okay but VI left them traumatized.

Edited August 17, 2018 by GreyBunny

[Subrookie]

I'm happy for Sam. I know people like him who weren't cut out for college or for whatever reason just found something they had a passion for and pursued it. I don't see how his motivation for being there was any different than Britt's or some of the other contestants. 

I would have been happy with any one of these three winning. But, I really liked Sam's attitude and positivity. His wife showing up was one of my favorite moments of the series.

I do agree though. New people now and no couples. I did like the new location but I hope in the future they have some access to game. 

[Yeah No]

In the end, I'm happy for Sam.  He wasn't my first choice (I wanted Britt to win) but knowing how much he really wanted it and put into it, I feel good about his win.  Plus, I think it would have been awful if he came in second yet again.  He's young yet, I wouldn't give up on him.  He's actually accomplished a lot for someone his age, entitlement generation or no, and shows signs of maturing nicely.  I hope he uses these experiences (and the money) to make something of himself in the future.  I also hope he doesn't skate by on the "coast through life and live on your reserves" philosophy all through his life.  Although I've never underestimated him.  If someone would have asked me at the beginning of this season who I thought would win, my bet would have been on Sam.

[cooksdelight]

4 hours ago, rmontro said:

There's not going to be much of that prize money left after buying a new house and car.

Nor after the taxes he’ll have to pay. Does anyone know what he does for a living, or if he even has a job?

[mylesdogga]

am i the only one pi**ed at sam winning and pi**ed at this season

[cooksdelight]

20 minutes ago, mylesdogga said:

am i the only one pi**ed at sam winning and pi**ed at this season

No, come sit with me.

[roamyn]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

Nor after the taxes he’ll have to pay. Does anyone know what he does for a living, or if he even has a job?

According to Dave v1.0, the show pays the taxes (for both countries).  Unless they changed it.

[ClareWalks]

Say what you will about Sam being boring to watch, but that man has the best attitude in the face of suffering that I have EVER SEEN. That's why, although I loved Britt, I expected Sam to win. Really proud of Larry for tapping out when he did (I retired the Fucking part of his name) and then I would have been thrilled with either winner. 

There is a temptation with this show to get pissed at the contestants for making mistakes and not doing X Y or Z, but we have to remember that these people are literally starving and might not have the physical or mental energy or clarity to be trying extra survivalist stuff or putting on comedy skits or whatever else people think makes better TV. One of the bushcraft forums called those naysayers "armchair survivalists." It's hard for me to find fault with Sam's strategies since 1) I wasn't there and 2) I would last about 3 hours in the woods before tapping out to get some carbohydrates.

[cooksdelight]

50 minutes ago, roamyn said:

According to Dave v1.0, the show pays the taxes (for both countries).  Unless they changed it.

I’ve never heard of such a thing. Remember when the first winner of Survivor went to prison for not paying his taxes? He said he thought CBS would take care of it.

[ProfCrash]

1 hour ago, mylesdogga said:

am i the only one pi**ed at sam winning and pi**ed at this season

 

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

No, come sit with me.

I have a fire going with pudgie pies cooking and smores stuff ready. Feel free to join me.

Sam won the game as it is set up. The person who brings the most extra fat to churn on and is willing to wait out the starvation will win. I am sure Sam did more then what we saw, we know that the editing is creative and we finally saw him doing stuff in the last few episodes. That said, he won not because he was exceptionally good with his survival skills but because he brought in the most extra weight. He flat out said that he knew he would last long because of his extra reserves. His attitude was fine and he was in for the grind. But his strategy is boring, even if it is effective.

I wanted to see Britt win because we saw him working out there and trying to figure out the food and shelter. He had a great mind set but needed to put on another extra 20 pound before he headed out.

I have said this every season and I will say it again. This show would be far more interesting to me if the contestants had incentive to be more active. Something along the lines of bonus money for building a shelter that will survive the extreme weather. First person earns 5,000, second person 4,000 and down the line. The contestant is allowed to call in and let the team knows when his/her shelter is ready to be inspected. They have to take a video of what they built, explaining how they built it and why they chose that method within 30 minutes of making the call for inspection. The Med team can bring back the video for review and bonus money assigned if the shelter passes muster.

Set up a series of bonus challenges, say smoking shacks, functioning furniture, fire places in shelter. Assign them different value (shelter and fire place higher value then furniture). The benefit here is that we get better footage of people building survival stuff and the contestants have an additional incentive for doing something. Heck, come up with something for effective food gathering and storage.

We all know that the show isn't really set up to be a long term Survival show. They drop the contestants in at the end of fall because they don't want food storage and people lasting for 3 or more months. But it is frustrating as a viewer because I don't want to see someone like Sam win. I want a Larry or a Britt or even a Dave to win. I loved Fowler's win because he worked out there and made it a long time. Sam is a nice enough guy but he does not make for engaging TV. His strategy is effective but boring. The Bros who won last year were the same thing. Boring but effective.

So change it up so we can actually reward the people who are doing stuff and that we can learn from or at least be impressed with what they can do in the woods.

3 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I’ve never heard of such a thing. Remember when the first winner of Survivor went to prison for not paying his taxes? He said he thought CBS would take care of it.

And CBS said that Richard had the option of having CBS take out the taxes and he choose not to. And CBS said that they told him to take out the taxes. And Richard was found guilty because dude didn't pay his taxes.

So either contestants have the option of having the taxes taken out or the taxes are taken out now to avoid another Richard Hatch situation.

[qtpye]

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Nor after the taxes he’ll have to pay. Does anyone know what he does for a living, or if he even has a job?

 

16 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I’ve never heard of such a thing. Remember when the first winner of Survivor went to prison for not paying his taxes? He said he thought CBS would take care of it.

I think they explained that the actual award was around $800,000 and the $500,000 was the amount the winner received after taxes are taken out.

[Ina123]

Sam doesn't have to spend it all on a house and car. He just needs a down payment for the house. He can invest some. he has some kind of survival training school. He can in vest into his business or if he is working for someone he can start his own. His notoriety with the win is great publicity. Marketed correctly he will be in good financial shape. 

Sam didn't need to bulk up. He's just a natural doughboy. Did he make sure to chow down on some burgers before he left. Sure. I would too. I would be looking for every advantage. I never discounted his abilities. I've followed him on Twitter for some time now. He has good instincts and great ideas for survival.

That said, I liked Britt and would have been happy for a win.

[AZChristian]

I think there was a major hint in the channel guide "blurb" for this episode . . . I "called" Sam as the winner based on it.

Specifically, our channel guide said, "Only one winner will walk away with $500,000."  For weeks, we've all been saying that you can tell it's Sam who makes the snowshoes and is shown walking in them in the Intro for the episodes.  Snowshoes.  Walking.  $500,000.

[ProfCrash]

And Sam has had a commercial running for a few weeks so some product that I cannot remember.

[Tighthead]

I’ll give overall thoughts without quoting posts since I’m late to the game. 

I’ve never been a Larry fan but I respected his tap out. He seemed very self-aware. I think for people his (my) age it would be very tough to push it to the limits a second time. 

Britt was really just a likeable player. Easy to cheer for. His exit was very quiet, I suspect he was too far gone to do a navel gazing speech. 

Sam isn’t my favourite winner. We all know the fat thing kind of sucks, but it’s the game. I just get tired of the “my chance to provide for my family” refrain. Every day there are people pounding nails, sitting in cubicles, and working in kitchens providing for their families. You are 25. I don’t know how he and his family make a living but he has options beyond the windfall of a game show. It seemed a little self-congratulatory to keep talking about his role as provider. 

As for the show, in my opinion it gets much duller as fewer people remain.  The best episodes are likely the first 4 or so, then it starts to grind.  I do think the worst episode was the one where most of the footage was wasted on Brooke when it was obvious she was done.

I was surprised they included the blurb about Sam relying on his body fat.  I think fat reserves are as important as mental strength and food gathering skills to success.  Sam didn’t catch one fish as I recall. Were mice his biggest score? 

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

Sam won the game as it is set up. The person who brings the most extra fat to churn on and is willing to wait out the starvation will win. I am sure Sam did more then what we saw, we know that the editing is creative and we finally saw him doing stuff in the last few episodes. That said, he won not because he was exceptionally good with his survival skills but because he brought in the most extra weight. He flat out said that he knew he would last long because of his extra reserves. His attitude was fine and he was in for the grind. But his strategy is boring, even if it is effective.

I've said that myself.  Whatever works is what wins the game.  A great personality and high ideals are not required, and for me it includes a lesson about life.  Success in "the world" doesn't always go to the person we feel most deserves it.  That's why we have the expression "nice guys finish last", and to some degree, the entire Christian religion.  Although Sam is certainly nice, he's not someone that inspires people with his lofty ideals and wisdom.  

It's also a lesson on survival, and for me supplies a possible reason for why older people tend to gain weight.  Given their lessening ability to find food in the wild, they can last a little longer until they do on their reserves.  At least I can tell myself that my extra pounds have some kind of evolutionary advantage!  ;-)

[ProfCrash]

1 minute ago, Yeah No said:

I've said that myself.  Whatever works is what wins the game.  A great personality and high ideals are not required, and for me it includes a lesson about life.  Success in "the world" doesn't always go to the person we feel most deserves it.  That's why we have the expression "nice guys finish last", and to some degree, the entire Christian religion.  Although Sam is certainly nice, he's not someone that inspires people with his lofty ideals and wisdom.  

It's also a lesson on survival, and for me supplies a possible reason for why older people tend to gain weight.  Given their lessening ability to find food in the wild, they can last a little longer until they do on their reserves.  At least I can tell myself that my extra pounds have some kind of evolutionary advantage!  ;-)

heheheh

There is a reason why some cultures tend to be fine with people being over weight. Only people who have a lot of money or power were able to eat enough to be over weight. So being over weight was a sign of wealth and prestige. That and being over weight helped you when there was a famine or at least less food to be found. There is a scientific reason for putting on fat and where it was located.

I still think there are ways to improve the show that would at least encourage more activity. If Sam wants to conserve energy and be boring that is all fine and good. I prefer watching the Randy's, Brooke's, Britt's, Larry's and Dave's who are doing something. They might have personality quirks that annoy me but I far prefer watching Dave with his slightly crazy eyes trying to hunt and build a second hunting camp then Sam whittle spoons and make bowls. Dave was trying to last the winter, Sam was staving off boredom and conserving energy.

So can win the big prize because he is "conserving energy" and a dough boy but I would like more footage of shelters being built and fishing efforts and hunting efforts and people building a fire place. I would be fine with shows being themed around building shelters because they have enough footage of people building shelters. Or a vehicle theme as people build boats, sleds, snow shoes and the like. I am less worried about the chronology although I suspect that we would see the various build efforts occurring in predictable stages. Shelter week one, hunting/fishing contraptions in week two (rated on if they might actually work, location making sense and if the food they are trapping for is going to actually provide decent nutrition).

At least reward the people who make the show interesting as opposed to the dudes who do the bare minimum and win because they have more fat on them.

Let's face it, if the show was filled with Sam's it would not have lasted more then one season because Sam is, well, boring.

[rmontro]

4 hours ago, roamyn said:

According to Dave v1.0, the show pays the taxes (for both countries).  Unless they changed it.

Oh, well that helps.

[HurricaneVal]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 I also hope he doesn't skate by on the "coast through life and live on your reserves" philosophy all through his life.

Yeah, this.  I keep for forgetting how young Sam is.  But he's got to grow up now, he has a family to provide for.  I suspect he'll be able to milk his survival celebrity at appearances at outdoors shows and sports shops grand openings.  After that?  I wish him well.

Is Sam my favorite winner?  No.  But....  I will say I started this season hating on him (for no good reason other than he sounds like and looks like someone I absolutely canNOT stand in real life), and while he's not my favorite, he did grow on me.  I still think he didn't hone his fishing skills because he's a picky eater and doesn't like fish, so he didn't study up before coming out, and seemed to only make a few desultory attempts at fishing, and when he got no immediate results just gave up.  

I think Sam lucked out.  How many days was this season compared to last seasons?  It could be editing, but it seemed like he really didn't start preparing for winter until late in the game with the firewood and the snowshoes.  Britt, Larry, Dave, Randy and Brooke had way bigger woodpiles than Sam.  But maybe Sam's site had a lot of deadfall close to camp.

Speaking of the snowshoes...way to spoil if not the winner, at least a finalist.  How long have we been seeing clips of the primitive snowshoes with tan  Carhartt pants that we knew were Sam's? Yet we never saw the snowshoes until the very last show?  Which we knew was the finale?  Bad, show, very bad...

What did Sam do with all his flour?  We know he didn't dust up some fillets and have a fine fish fry...  

I would rather Britt won, but I think he was demoralized when his reliable fish supply dried up, and he lost four hooks at once with that lure.  

Not my favorite season, but not bad.  I'm in for a next time.  Just no returnees or couples, eh?

[ClareWalks]

43 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I still think he didn't hone his fishing skills because he's a picky eater and doesn't like fish, so he didn't study up before coming out,

What makes you think that? I don't think Sam's a picky eater. He ate LEECHES. 

[cooksdelight]

5 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I wanted to see Britt win because we saw him working out there and trying to figure out the food and shelter. He had a great mind set but needed to put on another extra 20 pound before he headed out.

Me too.

Sam can buy a very nice deluxe double-wide mobile home for around $100K, 3 BR, 2 BA, deluxe kitchen... find an acre lot to put it on. Hopefully he is wise with his winnings and banks a lot of it for later.

[TVbitch]

Wow, Sam REALLY doesn't want to have to get a real job. 

Oh Britt, when your sunny disposition turned to stone, it was heart-breaking. I'm glad he didn't suffer it long enough to do Larry-level damage to himself. Up until he hit the wall, you could have bottled his demeanor and sold it as the perfect anti-depressant. 

At the very beginning, I thought this had the makings of an amazing season. (Carleigh *sigh*) Didn't really turn out that way and hope the show can make needed adjustments. 

I suspect we see a lot of obese contestants next time. 

[HurricaneVal]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

What makes you think that? I don't think Sam's a picky eater. He ate LEECHES. 

OK....  I will totally give you the leeches.  :)  That was....completely unexpected, and wholly for the cameras, because there wasn't much food value left by the time he crunched the (gross, icky, yuck, blech) charred remains.

In his first season, Sam was pretty vocal about his dislike of fish--even though on VI that was going to the the biggest available food source.  He didn't seem to change that opinion for this season either.  It could be the editing, but he sure didn't seem to try very hard with the line fishing or the fish traps before giving up.  Again, it might be the editing, but he didn't seem to forage much for edible roots, plants, berries, or fungus.  He was all about the traps and trapping.  I also think he brought--by far--the most amount of emergency rations and foodstuffs than the other contestants, so it was apparent his strategy was the same as in VI: come in fat, hunker down, conserve energy, live off reserves and try to outlast everyone.

I can't argue that it isn't a successful strategy--after all Sam came in second in his first time, and won this time.  And the winner in his first season was our beloved Alan, who also employed a similar hunker down strategy, however Alan fished and foraged every day, but he lived like a troll under a rotten log and didn't expend any energy building shelters, furniture, hunting, etc.

Hunkering down and conserving energy is what you're supposed to do if you're lost in the woods awaiting rescue.  But I don't think that is the intent of this show....

[motroro]

It's simple:  Alone is my absolute favorite show...maybe of all time.  It is absolutely unique and makes wanna be shows like Castaway look childish in comparison.

That said:  I say after every season that winning comes down to a few things but the most important by FAR is coming in with as many extra lbs as you can pack on as possible.  If you're going to lose 50-70 lbs during the show, you must come in ready to lose that much. 

As much as I like the women competing like Carleigh, she should have learned her lesson in Patagonia when she got pulled by medical (yes, she got taken out by the fishhook this time).  I'm all for a woman winning but she's going to have to bulk WAY up before starting to have a chance.

THIS SEASON:  I honestly thought Randy was set up to win.  I'm surprised by how many folks left on their own this time around. I figure they knew what they were getting themselves into but still chose to participate....then they decide they'd had enough and quit?

F'in Larry's story was interesting last night in that he laid out that Vancouver basically broke him and Mongolia fixed him.  He got what he needed out of the 2nd time.  Good for him.

I'll just close my first post here by saying that what i find fascinating about this show, more than ANY other show ever, is how it changes the participants who stay the longest.  They push themselves way farther than they ever imagined and they do it alone.  In those dark days and weeks towards the end, they discover parts of their personality that they never knew existed.  This handful of people (collective winners and runners up from all 5 seasons) have a common bond that the rest of us can only imagine.  I have only the upmost respect for them all.

I agree with others.....no more couples (it's ALONE!) and no more redemptions.  It is completely different when you have a group that do it by themselves and for the first time.

[roamyn]

8 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I’ve never heard of such a thing. Remember when the first winner of Survivor went to prison for not paying his taxes? He said he thought CBS would take care of it.

I heard him say it on a podcast abt a year aft his win.  So this wasn’t something I read.  It was an interview w/him.  ETA. someone else further explained above, which makes sense if Dave v1.0 said the show paid them, he probably opted to have them taken out right off the top.

 I agree no more non-Aloneness.  It was interesting once.  That was enough.  But I don’t mind the redemptions, as long as you have the right people.  Brooke, Brad, and in retrospect Nicole, were the wrong ones to bring back.  Dustin, Lukas, Mary Kate, these are the type of people I want to see again.

Edited August 17, 2018 by roamyn

[ramble]

Meh. Apathetic, indifferent, yawning meh. I don’t dislike Sam I just find him to be a big, doughy bag of boring  

F*ing Larry got to me talking about his family and being healed. I hope he adjusts more easily when he gets home. I enjoyed Britt more than any of them and am disappointed for him. 

Did we ever see the medical evac teased multiple times? Was this another wolf situation? Because what the larrying larry is up with that?!

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, motroro said:

It's simple:  Alone is my absolute favorite show...maybe of all time.  It is absolutely unique and makes wanna be shows like Castaway look childish in comparison.

That said:  I say after every season that winning comes down to a few things but the most important by FAR is coming in with as many extra lbs as you can pack on as possible.  If you're going to lose 50-70 lbs during the show, you must come in ready to lose that much. 

As much as I like the women competing like Carleigh, she should have learned her lesson in Patagonia when she got pulled by medical (yes, she got taken out by the fishhook this time).  I'm all for a woman winning but she's going to have to bulk WAY up before starting to have a chance.

THIS SEASON:  I honestly thought Randy was set up to win.  I'm surprised by how many folks left on their own this time around. I figure they knew what they were getting themselves into but still chose to participate....then they decide they'd had enough and quit?

F'in Larry's story was interesting last night in that he laid out that Vancouver basically broke him and Mongolia fixed him.  He got what he needed out of the 2nd time.  Good for him.

I'll just close my first post here by saying that what i find fascinating about this show, more than ANY other show ever, is how it changes the participants who stay the longest.  They push themselves way farther than they ever imagined and they do it alone.  In those dark days and weeks towards the end, they discover parts of their personality that they never knew existed.  This handful of people (collective winners and runners up from all 5 seasons) have a common bond that the rest of us can only imagine.  I have only the upmost respect for them all.

I agree with others.....no more couples (it's ALONE!) and no more redemptions.  It is completely different when you have a group that do it by themselves and for the first time.

Carleigh did gain 25 pounds purposefully as her "cushion". She was in it to win it but alas, no multipurpose tool for fish hook removal.

[motroro]

9 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Carleigh did gain 25 pounds purposefully as her "cushion". She was in it to win it but alas, no multipurpose tool for fish hook removal.

Right idea for sure.  I just don't know if that would have been enough.

This season went by really quickly.  The last 13 days went by in 30 mins of TV time.....almost a quarter of the entire time they were there.

Who else is like me....and would really like to see way more about their first day or 3? 

How did they determine what to do first?  Where did they consider to put their shelter?  How did they scout out their area to see what was available?  How did they spend their first night?

Each season we get to see these details for just a couple of the participants......then we see the others on like Day 5 where they're already settled in.

And....is anyone else watching (or trying to watch) Castaway?  Two episodes in and I am really not a fan.  It's like a lazy person's Alone.....

[rmontro]

I think some of you are selling Sam a little short.  It's not like he has no skills.  He did catch mice in his traps.  He did build a functional shelter.  He might have done better at fishing if he had a better spot.  He has a number two and a number one finish on his resume.  It's true he wasn't getting any food in the end, but neither was anyone else.  The guy has some will power.  If it was simply a matter of survival of the fattest, why not throw a 400 pounder out there and see how they do?

When it came down to Sam and Britt at the end, I was thinking that it was going to come down to whoever caught an animal in their trap.  But the animals were too smart for them, I guess.

[motroro]

19 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I think some of you are selling Sam a little short.  It's not like he has no skills.  He did catch mice in his traps.  He did build a functional shelter.  He might have done better at fishing if he had a better spot.  He has a number two and a number one finish on his resume.  It's true he wasn't getting any food in the end, but neither was anyone else.  The guy has some will power.  If it was simply a matter of survival of the fattest, why not throw a 400 pounder out there and see how they do?

When it came down to Sam and Britt at the end, I was thinking that it was going to come down to whoever caught an animal in their trap.  But the animals were too smart for them, I guess.

There's something in that boy!  His shelter in his first round with Alone was the worst of anyone on that season....but he sat it out, at what mice he could catch and pulled out an unexpected 2nd place finish.

This time around, it seemed obvious that Sam's advantages were two fold:  Youth and an amazingly positive attitude.  While others were lamenting their situation or missing folks back home, Sam was saying "every day here is a gift that just makes this experience more special". 

The editing sometimes drives me crazy.... like at the end.  They were starving already, then F'in Larry taps out and Britt and Sam go almost ANOTHER 2 weeks with no other food? 

Definitely some tears shed when Sam's wife showed up....but then again, other than the doofus bros last year, that end-scene always gets me.

Edited August 17, 2018 by motroro
lazy

[Chit Chat]

20 hours ago, rmontro said:

I know a lot of people didn't want Sam to win because of his "conserve energy" approach to winning, but he seems so likable, I just couldn't care.  Dude has an iron will to stay out there that long without food. 

The mental aspect of this whole thing is extremely important, and kudos to Larry, Sam & Britt for making it as long as they did.  Sam said that this time he had a "thankful" attitude vs. a more resentful attitude towards his surroundings last time.  He also said that he knew that his wife didn't have a tap-out button at home, so he wasn't going to tap out either.  He had an awesome shelter, just as Britt did.  I would've been happy with any of the last 3 winning.  I was originally pulling for Carleigh, but even if she had a tool to remove that fish hook, there was tendon damage.  It might not have worked in her favor to stay, even if she got the hook out.

Congrats Sam and kudos on having the mental fortitude to soldier on everyday in those brutal conditions.  

[ChristmasJones]

I enjoyed listening to the personal, some might even call spiritual, insights that the final three all realized by the end of their journeys. I had the sense that for each of them, this round in Mongolia really did help them achieve some inner wisdom and that they will be able to apply this in their daily lives when they get back. I thought that was really cool and interesting. Sam's insight that when he was on the first time he was angry and frustrated about everything he didn't have and how this time he realized if he shifted to appreciation and gratitude for what he did have in the environment, it helped him cope better was neat to hear. Its a tool that can be very helpful in daily life.

Edited August 18, 2018 by ChristmasJones

[Chit Chat]

16 minutes ago, ChristmasJones said:

Sam's insight that when he was on the first time he was angry and frustrated about everything he didn't have and how this time he realized if he shifted to appreciation and gratitude for what he did have in the environment, it helped him cope better was neat to hear. Its a tool that can be very helpful in daily life.

That was the biggest take away for me.  His "glass half-full" attitude seemed to make a difference.  Britt seemed to be in a good mental place throughout his journey too.  I would've like to have seen all of them be able to get more food though.  

[cooksdelight]

Did I miss it ... or was that preview medical evac another fake-out? Who was it?

[mlp]

I kept waiting for the medical evac and never saw it.  In the last episode when Britt was standing in the water fishing, I was practically holding my breath because I was afraid he was going to slip and fall in and get hypothermia and have to be rescued.  He was my favorite so I'm glad he left on his own terms.

Ever since season 2, I've wondered if the scene at the end when a family member sneaks up on the winner isn't staged or recreated for the cameras.  The contestant is always just standing idly in one spot for no apparent reason.  More importantly, it seems to me that someone who had been living in isolation for many weeks would be attuned to any and all sounds and would be aware of a person or animal approaching long before they got that close.  Maybe the camera crew and medics who come to do a check up are enough distraction although I assume all the contestants have seen the show so I'd think they would be a bit suspicious at that point.

[roamyn]

3 minutes ago, mlp said:

I kept waiting for the medical evac and never saw it.  In the last episode when Britt was standing in the water fishing, I was practically holding my breath because I was afraid he was going to slip and fall in and get hypothermia and have to be rescued.  He was my favorite so I'm glad he left on his own terms.

Ever since season 2, I've wondered if the scene at the end when a family member sneaks up on the winner isn't staged or recreated for the cameras.  The contestant is always just standing idly in one spot for no apparent reason.  More importantly, it seems to me that someone who had been living in isolation for many weeks would be attuned to any and all sounds and would be aware of a person or animal approaching long before they got that close.  Maybe the camera crew and medics who come to do a check up are enough distraction although I assume all the contestants have seen the show so I'd think they would be a bit suspicious at that point.

I read somewhere that at each med check they interview them, so when it does get to that point, they are not tipped off.  

As far as the med evac, I’m convinced it’s for the person who got charged by the wolf in S2 previews.

[mlp]

Quote

As far as the med evac, I’m convinced it’s for the person who got charged by the wolf in S2 previews.

LOL!!!  I think you're right.