Alone Season 5 Episode 3 Review: The Serpent
Kim Russell
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On Alone Season 5 Episode 3, the contestants have been in Mongolia for a week and they're looking strong. That is until one of them has an attack that brings them to a point where they have no choice but to tap out.
This is the first episode we've seen Brooke. She was on Season 4 and she lasted with her husband for 49 days.
If you remember from Alone Season 4, the two lovebirds built their own little log cabin, complete with a fireplace and a hearth inside. Her husband carved their initials in the hearth and it really looked like a home.
The reason they left, like many other, was food. Brooke wasn't eating enough and lost a ton of weight, so her and her husband decided to tap out.
This time, she wants to prove she can do this by herself.
If I let my dip into the despair that my body is feeling, then I'm done, and I can't let myself go there.
Nicole
You'd think her concentration would be on food, but it's not. Her focus is on shelter, but she's not building a cabin this time. She's got a shelter with some logs and a tarp, but she's preparing for the cold. She's building a firepit with a chimney inside her shelter to keep the place warm.
Another person working in her shelter is Nicole. Last time we saw her on Alone Season 5 Episode 1, she was foraging for food and getting to know her surroundings.
She knows the cold is coming, so she's using her energy to build a nice warm place for herself. Unfortunately, she's starting to feel the effects of her MS. Last time she was on Alone, the herbals she uses to treat her MS were readily available.
In Mongolia, they're not.
Nicole is keeping her positive attitude and trying to power through, but you could see the MS getting the best of her.
She was taking breaks when needed and listening to her body, but when she started hobbling around with the gnarled stick in her hand to barely make it back to her shelter, I knew her time in Mongolia was running short.
So did she.
With tears running down her face, she reluctantly called for help on the walkie. It tore my heart out to watch her because it wasn't a lack of will, a lack of food, or a lack of skills that took her out. Her own body betrayed her, and that's the worst.
Damn. It's hard to eat snake. Tastes good. Got a lot of bones.
Jesse
Nicole made it nine days, and at least three of those days were spent in agony, pain, and increasingly heavy mental devastation.
I can't think of many things worse than being at the mercy of your own failing body. But Nicole was as positive as she could be until the very end of her journey.
Related: Alone Season 5 Episode 1: Redemption
Randy is another contestant we met for the first time this episode. He was on Season 2 and lasted 21 days.
This time, he's in for the long haul.
I know I said on Alone Season 5 Episode 2 Brad made a shelter that looked like Lincoln Logs. Well, that was before I caught sight of Randy's.
He's building a legit log cabin down to the notches in the individual logs to piece them together nice and neat. He's going to have some piece of real estate to list after he's gone.
Last time he was on Alone, he left because of the isolation. This time Randy has a plan to keep his mind occupied with projects to get him through. I'd say he's off to a hell of a start.
I was a little worry about Sam on Alone Season 5 Episode 1 because he was already crying on day one.
I can't believe I have to tap.
Nicole
Hey, I'm all about sharing your emotions, and I have no problem with anyone crying, but in a competition where the majority of the game is mental, crying on day one is not a good sign.
Sam was on day nine before he was able to get some protein in his body. Honestly, I can't imagine.
Related: Explore Hundreds of Hours of Curated Historical Videos with History Vault via Prime Video Channels!
He was having no luck fishing, so he turned to traps. He was down checking them, pointing to each, and announcing none of them had been tripped when he came across one where his deadfall was down.
GIggling to himself, he could hardly contain his excitement as he cautiously approached the trap. He slowly lifted up the rock, and there lies beneath was a little bird to give him much needed protein.
I thought he was going to do a little dance right there, and if he would've had the energy, he probably would've boogied down. Instead, he grinned from ear to ear as he plucked his bird and made the yummiest gravy in his cast iron pot.
It sounds almost maniacal out of context. Like something out of a horror movie.
Every ounce of food from the land is like a crazy blessing.
Sam
But the man is hungry, and he just might make it after all.
How about you, Alone fans? Were you as devastated as I was to see Nicole go? Who are you putting your money on now? Who's shelter do you think is the best?
Have you noticed everything they catch on Alone tastes like chicken?
Let me know what you think in the comments!
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Kim Russell was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in January 2019.
