Taking place in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness, 16 “lone wolf” survival experts are stranded and forced to survive. With a million dollars on the line, there is only one rule — they must be part of a team to win.
The survival reality competition series “Outlast” returned to Netflix for its second season on Sept. 4, and with it brings forth new players, dangers and dynamics.
Upon being stranded, the players must divide themselves into four equal teams: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. Each team is assigned to an area along an Alaskan riverbank to build their camp and must work together to survive the harsh conditions.
Unlike other reality shows, there is no voting out other players. The only way out is to quit the game by shooting a flare. Players can forge or break bonds between their teammates — having the ability to leave their team at any point — though it doesn’t come without its risks, as they must be accepted onto another team within 24 hours to continue the game. If all but one person on a team quits the game, leaving a sole member remaining, that player must be accepted onto another team, or they are forced to fire their flare.
The show’s no-rule format leaves players making the difficult decision: How far are they willing to go to win? Some opt for a fair and honest game, while others choose to play dirty by sabotaging or endangering other teams — as seen in the show’s first season. Players go as far as stealing sleeping bags from other teams, fully knowing the consequences of being exposed during the harsh winter nights. At points, it felt like contestants were competing in a non-murderous version of “The Hunger Games.”
The second season is no exception to these standards. While many decide to play with honor and morals, one player — Bayardo “Bayo” Hernandez from Alpha—immediately decided to take matters into his own hands, despite his team’s clear choice to play fair with their neighboring team, Bravo. When he and fellow teammate Zach Owens traveled over to Bravo’s camp, for what was intended to be a friendly introduction to hopefully gain new allies, Bayo opted to play dirty by stealing Bravo’s pot and cans. The move quickly put into perspective how far some players were willing to go to win the million-dollar prize.
Charlie team member and U.S. Air Force veteran Bri Walston also struggled to adapt to the new environment. Her team lacked a central leader and struggled for numerous days to make a fire — putting her and her teammates at severe risk of frostbite in the bitter Alaskan conditions. She faced a difficult decision: stay loyal to her team, or risk it all to join another.
However, some teams thrived better than others and managed to utilize their combined skillsets to build an adequate shelter, find fresh water, create a sustainable fire and, most importantly, find enough food. Players quickly realized they are not alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Threats of wildlife are more prevalent than ever as players find themselves in prime wolf and grizzly bear country. With the added threat of injuries becoming more prevalent this season, players are met with incredibly difficult conditions.
Though the show does many things right, I’m not the biggest fan of the game’s lack of clear rules. Anyone could technically raid another team’s camp — steal whatever they want, destroy anything they want and put the lives of others in danger, essentially forcing them to shoot their flares to quit. It puts many players into difficult moral dilemmas when deciding how they want to play the game. Despite this, the open-ended nature of the show does provide moments of entertaining and thrilling content, making every moment worth the watch.
“Outlast” is the perfect combination of popular survival shows “Survivor” and “Alone,” with its ability to force players to navigate social strategies, alliances and bushcraft survival skills all at once — creating a thrilling adventure for viewers.
Both seasons of “Outlast” are currently available to stream on Netflix.
Rating: 4/5 Stars