Alone Season 2

Very surprised at how quickly the first one tapped out, clearly his Arizona 'woods skills' didn't prepare him for Vancouver. Also how unprepared some of them seem to be for how wet it is and how dense the forest is, is a surprise.. Even if they've never been to the PWN, didn't they watch last season? Who brings a down sleeping bag to a place that gets 12" of rain / month (in winter)? I'd assume stuff was going to get wet and go as synthetic as possible.
 
So far we saw a guy scared off the show by bear poo (he knew going in about the fauna on Vancover Island) he didn't even spend one night. We saw a guy wasting energy and get himself wet trying to foolishly bush-wack up a steep hill in the rain. He could have easily injured himself. We saw a gal bring a down bag to an obviously VERY WET environment and get it and much of her other gear soaked on night one. In real like that could literally kill you.
Guess the producers wanted some contestants to fail for the story. Watching all three things I was like;?????
 
The main thing I disliked about this first episode was the pacing of it. I'm trying to remember how the first season was set up but I was thinking that they spent a little time getting us acquainted with each of them. If they didn't, I would think it would be nicer to get at least a couple of minutes with each person to get a bit of a "feel" for them. This first episode was all about just 4 of the 10. I felt like it would've been more interesting to see a bit of what everybody was facing instead of just concentrating on a select few and leaving out the rest. My suggestion for next season, if there is one, would be to have the first episode be a 2 hour one. That gives time for a bit of backstory and gets us acquainted with each of them. I guess they spent more time with Desmond since he was the first to tap out. That does make a bit of sense setting up why he tapped out. Other than that, I didn't really have a lot of problems with it. People make mistakes and it can be especially difficult in a place you aren't familiar with. I'll agree that I wouldn't have tried to climb the side of hill looking for a place for a shelter. However, I'm not a survivalist and my armchair thoughts don't really hold any weight.
 
I do not know what their instructions were but if I only had six hours to set up a camp, I would never pick up a camera. I would travel light and cover as much ground as possible to find a good spot. It is apparent that you are going to get most of your food from the ocean along with whatever useful gear that washes up. Why even look for a place that takes exhaustive climbing to get to. Maybe that is why there were few/no scenes of the other contestants.
 
My guess is that we get two eps of day one, they may have secured more time slots for this one, so it may be a longer season.
 
jcwagers said:
The main thing I disliked about this first episode was the pacing of it. I'm trying to remember how the first season was set up but I was thinking that they spent a little time getting us acquainted with each of them. If they didn't, I would think it would be nicer to get at least a couple of minutes with each person to get a bit of a "feel" for them. This first episode was all about just 4 of the 10. I felt like it would've been more interesting to see a bit of what everybody was facing instead of just concentrating on a select few and leaving out the rest. My suggestion for next season, if there is one, would be to have the first episode be a 2 hour one. That gives time for a bit of backstory and gets us acquainted with each of them. I guess they spent more time with Desmond since he was the first to tap out. That does make a bit of sense setting up why he tapped out. Other than that, I didn't really have a lot of problems with it. People make mistakes and it can be especially difficult in a place you aren't familiar with. I'll agree that I wouldn't have tried to climb the side of hill looking for a place for a shelter. However, I'm not a survivalist and my armchair thoughts don't really hold any weight.
Click to expand...

I'M really happy with the editing. The lack of repetition after commercials and the focus on individuals rather than jumping around is a huge improvement over last year. Admittedly this would be better as a Netflix series or binge watch, but that is where tv has gone (and all the better for it, I think). Jumping around all the time just makes for a chaotic experience where you cannot understand the individuals as well. Most of reality tv cuts around like soap operas.
 
HornyToad said:
I do not know what their instructions were but if I only had six hours to set up a camp, I would never pick up a camera. I would travel light and cover as much ground as possible to find a good spot. It is apparent that you are going to get most of your food from the ocean along with whatever useful gear that washes up. Why even look for a place that takes exhaustive climbing to get to. Maybe that is why there were few/no scenes of the other contestants.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've done tests like this setting up a shelter in a few hours or afternoon. I cannot imagine filming.
 
Figures the big talker taps out first. Not to sound sexist, but I'd be very disappointed in myself if I called it quits before all three of the women. And he's Army? Ouch, the guys in his unit are going to have a field day with him.

I too am baffled as to how Mary Kate could have possibly thought it was a good idea to bring a down sleeping bag to that environment. It would maybe make sense however if you paired it with a waterproof bivvy but it didn't look like she had one.

Larry may or may not have gotten the short end of the stick regarding starting locations, however, something tells me he's going to pull through and last a long time out there. In fact, here's my top three just going on gut feeling:

1. Justin Vititoe
2. Jose Amoedo
3. Larry Roberts
 
Final Option said:
Stabman, I was trying to be kind, however I'm in your camp, this guy should be ashamed of himself! When he was trying to throw a line over a tree limb to raise his food off the ground and failed I knew it was over for him. He talked a lot of bravado and how much the money would help, this challenge is way beyond monetary rewards as Allan the previous winner so eloquently described his experience.
Click to expand...

The rewards certainly do go way beyond money; money is not enough motivation to go all the way, and it should not be the reason to go in the first place.

I think Desmond wasn't honest with himself before going.
He knew there would be bears and other predators there, and should have taken the time to reflect honestly about how he would cope with them, beforehand.
You have to be honest with yourself about your fears, or they will screw you over big time...his experience sure shows us all that.
 
I think a lot of the decisions get made out of comfort, or familiarity with a certain way of doing things. And a lot of people think along the lines of "what am I supposed to take" rather than "what works for how I do things" Its one of the problems with following an expert. Cody does this, Les does that, Mors does a third thing, Ray is carving a pizza paddle out of a redwood. Without looking deeper into why they are thinking along that line, and what's brought them to that method, you don't have the full story. It will be interesting next ep to see what the guys who call themselves instructors do.

Most people don't start their planning from when things have gone wrong. They start with "It will be cold, I will take a sleeping bag" not "When I get soaking wet and its cold, what sleeping bag, that is also soaked, will do the best to keep me warm."

For my money if I knew I'd be relying heavily on fire I'd have a lot of canvas, wool, and synthetic insulation. But I'd also not plan to move far or fast. If I had to cover terrain, then its tech fabrics all the way, and heat would be provided by a very heavy calorie intake. When I camp, I try to keep as light as possible, but that means some compromises with my gear that I know I'll have to think about if things start going badly.

I think Larry is going to get the better of himself. He lets frustration get into his thinking. Frustration with himself, and with his situation. The fact that he was down in that little muddy puddle, just sort of baffles me.


But I'm not out there, and am very unlikely to be. So what do I know?
 
I'd be going with the mindset of an open-ended camping trip.
They can bring some food, so they won't starve right away; I'd double-up on rations, since I don't see myself finding tons of food all around me (look at how they cannot eat the shellfish this time around...that sucks :( ).

I think the ones viewing it as "survival" right off the bat are putting an additional burden on themselves.
Remember last year, how the youngest guy started out with a fun sort of mindset...and he almost won the whole thing!
 
gadgetgeek said:
I think a lot of the decisions get made out of comfort, or familiarity with a certain way of doing things. And a lot of people think along the lines of "what am I supposed to take" rather than "what works for how I do things" Its one of the problems with following an expert. Cody does this, Les does that, Mors does a third thing, Ray is carving a pizza paddle out of a redwood. Without looking deeper into why they are thinking along that line, and what's brought them to that method, you don't have the full story. It will be interesting next ep to see what the guys who call themselves instructors do.

Most people don't start their planning from when things have gone wrong. They start with "It will be cold, I will take a sleeping bag" not "When I get soaking wet and its cold, what sleeping bag, that is also soaked, will do the best to keep me warm."

For my money if I knew I'd be relying heavily on fire I'd have a lot of canvas, wool, and synthetic insulation. But I'd also not plan to move far or fast. If I had to cover terrain, then its tech fabrics all the way, and heat would be provided by a very heavy calorie intake. When I camp, I try to keep as light as possible, but that means some compromises with my gear that I know I'll have to think about if things start going badly.

I think Larry is going to get the better of himself. He lets frustration get into his thinking. Frustration with himself, and with his situation. The fact that he was down in that little muddy puddle, just sort of baffles me.


But I'm not out there, and am very unlikely to be. So what do I know?
Click to expand...

Exactly. You have to take what you know and have used well. And only then can you make little adaptations to the gear list for a specific environment.

WHy take a down bag if you are uncertain you can keep it dry? Why take a bow saw if you don't know the rules for safe felling and bucking hangups?
 
Consider that the guy afraid of bears may have been a ringer, paid just to play that role and tap out early. There is precedence for these 'reality" shows being scripted.
 
Codger_64 said:
Consider that the guy afraid of bears may have been a ringer, paid just to play that role and tap out early. There is precedence for these 'reality" shows being scripted.
Click to expand...
You may be right. Last year I thought this show was pretty authentic but not so sure now. I mean, out of all the (presumably) thousands of people that applied to participate for the show, this guy was one of the top ten most qualified?? He couldn't even hang a bear bag.
 
I don't think they need to pay ringers.

Don't forget this is new reality. In all the other shows there is a crew just outside of the lens with first aid kits and in locations with wildlife a shotgun or something else to dispatch bears & the like. You can go right past your personal safe space and they'll pull you back.

This is different and I don't think many of the contestants can grasp just how it's going to feel to get dumped somewhere.
 
After re-watching episode 1 other than the bushwacking part Larry seems like he will be fine.
 
The one thing I gathered most from the way contestants dropped out last year was where they were dropped off. I believe the last two never saw a predator the entire time they were there. Some of the first guys to drop out were seeing or hearing predators on the first night. It appears the luck of being dropped off into a mountain lion's, or bears living room might be a factor.
 
I do think luck has a lot to do with it. The bear scat thing just had me scratching my head. I didn't even know he tapped out until they said... there were nine. I want to watch this episode again as I probably missed some things as I typically am messing with my computer at the same time.

What's this about not being allowed to eat shell fish? The winner will likely be the most successful at catching fish to eat.
 
That red tide was a game changer, mussels are a great easy source of protein. There was a life time worth at Tracy's beach and there were even other shellfish thrown in. Clams were also visible on that beach.
I would like to see some people flourish out there instead of just a waiting game of attrition.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top