I can't help feeling that participants with stories to tell and fragile mental health are being cast because the producers know it will be entertaining.

Advertisers pay up, the contestants break down, and we all feel superior at home.

In particular, this dynamic is working against female contestants in this series. Meanwhile, the taciturn blokes are left to do the actual survival stuff in the background, almost as an afterthought.

Is this cool? I don't think so. I think we (okay, me included from now on) should be much kinder to contestants who tap out because of stress, and more critical of the casting decisions.

• Sad to see Perdosa leave, but his log cabin was way too big, and he didn't have the calories to sustain that build. I feel the medical pull was necessary as Pedrosa seems to have no quit in him.
• I'm surprised how little fishing is going on compared to other seasons, where candidates were having great success with nets. Now that the river is freezing, fishing will be even harder.
• Ziga is having an incredible run with that moose kill, but I feel he's going to have problems with that meat cache, and his shelter doesn't seem warm enough for winter. It still needs work, but he can focus on that now that he has plenty of food.
• The second beaver snare was really clutch, even though I feel Nero relies a bit too much on luck.
• Will seems to be stalling after a great start. He needs to find more food.
• All in all, this seems to be a really great season with very competent survivalists.

What are your takeaways?

For context, Lance Armstrong, one of the best endurance athletes ever, that was ALSO roided out of his skull, had a rhr of about 32-34.

The fact a normal bloke had one of 35 and was still alive is extraordinary.

I am teaching summer school, and we have a theme of The Great Outdoors. I wanted to watch a season of Alone with them, but most streaming services are blocked, and I am not going to buy a series that they may lose interest in immediately.

Is there an alternative on YouTube or Amazon that you would suggest? It's middle school, and it has to be "no adult language." I can explain and get away with some hunting because of where we are regionally.

Thanks!