Alone (2015–…): Season 5, Episode 1 - Redemption - full transcript

[dramatic music]

♪

[labored breathing]

♪

male narrator: For the first
time ever on "Alone,"

ten past participants return.

♪

They've come back
with one goal:

redemption.

- I deserve to be here,
and I'm back.

- I want to win more
this time



than I did last time.

narrator:
Now a fresh hell awaits.

- The cold is an incredibly
strong punch in the face.

narrator:
In the punishing wilderness

of Mongolia...

- We're in
the middle of nowhere.

- Mongolia's
a very unforgiving land.

narrator: They must survive
in complete isolation,

enduring as long as they can.

- I'm just gonna push
and push

and push till
there's nothing left.

narrator:
The last one standing wins.

♪

- [exhales] Ah!



[sniffs]

[ragged breathing]

Not sure what to do.

It's in really deep.

[sobs]

♪

I don't think
I can get it out.

♪

- This is gonna be
the toughest

season of "Alone" ever.

- Northern Mongolia?

We're about to be plunged

into the most insane weather
in the world.

- We're dealing
with temperatures

of negative 20 degrees
Fahrenheit

as a high on a regular basis.

It's gonna be very harsh.

- Mongolia is so unlike

any place
I've ever been before.

I feel so small here.

- Anything could take
anyone out at any time.

- I'm more remote
than I've ever been right now.

This is just way,
way out there.

- There's grizzly bears,
there's wolves,

there's pit vipers.

There's so many

potential dangers
of this environment.

- Welcome, everybody,

to my own personal apocalypse.

- All ten of us

have done this before.

There's some seriously skilled
competition.

They've already tasted it
and want redemption.

- Get to do it
all over again.

I'm feeling all sorts
of weird stuff right now.

- The bar
is definitely raised.

This season is bringing

some of the most skilled
and talented people

in this field together.

We're gonna be out there
for a long time.

- I'm back.

[breathes deeply]

♪

- [chuckles]

Oh, my goodness.

What have I gotten myself into
once again?

This place
is insanely remote.

This is treacherous,
treacherous territory.

It looks like

Vancouver Island

had a baby with Patagonia

while Colorado was watching.

♪

First thing I'm gonna do
is scout out the area,

just give it a look.

♪

The sheer remoteness
of this area,

combined with the wildlife

and the extreme temperatures,

makes this, by far,

the most intense and extreme
and really dangerous location.

♪

For today, my big thing is

I don't want to expend
any unnecessary calories.

All I want to do is

set up little
temporary shelter,

get a fire, stay warm,

stay dry,

and get my head in gear.

So I found a dead forked birch.

I think I'm gonna try to base
a shelter off of this.

I am the only person here
from season one.

It's a little bit
intimidating,

having to represent a--

a whole season
all on your own,

but I'm really excited
to take on

another really,
really tough challenge.

Yeah!

[sighs]

I feel like a mosquito
in a nudist colony.

So much work to do.

♪

What took me out of season one

was kind of threefold.

My wife was pregnant,

and that took an incredible

emotional toll on me...

[crying]

Combined with the weather,
which was horrible...

At this point,
I just want to go home.

Beyond that,
I think I had

an unwillingness to conform

to what the natural world
had in store,

and when you try to push
your agenda on Mother Nature,

you're gonna lose,

and I lost.

Alaska, how old are you?

- Two.

- Last time, when I was gonna
go on "Alone,"

I had a pregnant wife.

This time is much,
much different.

Right, Sydney?

- Nope, not different.

- My wife actually had
our second child 13 days ago.

- Ah, that's so nice!

- We have an incredible family

that has been
enormously supportive of this.

My wife just said,
"Take care of business,

and we'll be back in Nebraska
whenever you're ready."

[laughter]

After season one,

I went back to my cubicle,

got really depressed,

got out of that job,

and started becoming
an outdoor writer,

as well as
a teacher naturalist

and an independent guide.

It was a rough transition

while still trying to
provide for my family,

so having a second chance

to win the $1/2 million

is really awesome.

Whoo.

That's a little bit difficult.

When you open your pack,
and the first thing you see

is a picture of your family.

On day one.

Whew.

That's real difficult.

♪

I can see the potential
in this type of a situation

for those inner demons
to come out

and to say,

"You did this once.
Why are you doing it again?

"You know how much it hurts

when the days get long."

[sharply inhales]

♪

Wow, that's a...

[breathes heavily]

♪

Took me a long time

to get this emotional
last time,

but... [sighs]

[cries]

♪

It's gonna be a hard, uh--

this is gonna be
a hard season for me...

[sobs]

To get through, but--

[crying]
And, like...

[indistinct]

Just 'cause I'm--
a little bit...

little bit harder,

doesn't mean I'm gonna, like,

leave early or give up easy.

[cries]

This--this is a different
go-round for me.

I know how hard
I'm gonna need to push.

I know the pain it takes
to get

just 55 days out here,

and, uh,

I'm not out here just--

just to play around
in the woods this time.

Like, my wife relies on me.

I've got two kids at home.

They deserve a dad who can

provide for them.

[sighs]

There's a good piece
of birch bark over here.

♪

- Whoo!

Whoo!

I've landed, but I haven't
really landed yet.

[sighs]

It's cold and rainy right now.

I just don't see
a lot of shelter,

other than climbing up
those huge cliffs over there,

which is not the best idea.

So, first impression
of this land

is it's very barren,

and I'm wondering
where my trees are.

[sharply inhales]
It's gonna be kind of hard

to build a shelter

and get firewood
with the lack of trees

in this environment.

I'm a little concerned
about that.

But you know what?
I'm gonna make the most of it.

I'd just like to say,

"Hello, Mongolia.

I'm here."

[laughs]

♪

This is a tough site.

The temperature's dropping,

so I'm gonna go find somewhere

to put up a shelter
for the night.

♪

There's a stand
up there that I like,

but it's--it's pretty far down,

and if I'm in a cold sink
in this environment,

it's gonna be wicked cold

really fast, so...

[sighs]

This is gonna be challenging.

[laughs]

Let's see if I can do it.

♪

Definitely gonna be
a challenging one this season.

Getting a second chance
is especially nice for me,

because I do feel like I have
unfinished business.

That's...dinner,

lunch, breakfast...

On day 56, I felt
this pull from my kids.

Today is my youngest son's
eighth birthday.

♪

As a mother, that was a call

that I had to answer.

There was no other way
about it.

I need to get home
to my kids.

I know they need me.

I just feel it
in my gut, you know?

And to be honest,
when I got home,

I had made the right decision.

They really needed me.

To have this
opportunity again...

They were like,
"All right, Mom, go for it.

We want you to go out
and stay as long as you can."

♪

Being out on Vancouver Island,

I didn't really
get to figure out

what my limits were.

Getting a second chance
to be alone in Mongolia

and really test my skills

is so fantastic.

It's really gonna make myself

see what I'm made of.

All right, so I found a place
that I cleared out

where I'm gonna put
my shelter for tonight.

It's gonna be really simple.

I'm gonna go cut a ridgepole
right now.

♪

All right, pit vipers.
Let's not be in here, huh?

All right.

That's all out of the way.

The predators are definitely
a concern.

The pit viper here is
something not to trifle with.

They blend into the grass,
and if you step on them,

they're gonna
bite you defensively.

Timber.

But I'm really concerned
about the bear activity here.

♪

There's the Asian black bear,
which is supposed to be

very, very aggressive.

♪

There's grizzlies,

and the grizzly bears here
are huge.

They're thousand-pound bears.

If a grizzly comes into
your camp,

not only might you lose
your entire shelter,

your food,
and your entire camp,

but you might lose your life.

♪

All right, I think
I'm gonna be cozy.

Snug as a bug in a--
[sighs] In a rug tonight.

[laughs]

♪

Start digging this out
for my fire.

♪

It's beautiful.

♪

I've been working
so hard today,

I haven't taken the time
to sit back

and enjoy the beauty.

♪

[sighing] Oh...

It's beautiful here.

♪

I can hear the deer up there.

♪

I was gonna snare a deer,

but it's illegal.

Can only bowhunt them.

I see them up on the ridge.

[animal cry]

Oh.

That's not a deer.

[animal cry]

♪

What is that?

♪

[animal cry]

♪

Hey, who's there?

♪

- In Mongol cry]

♪

[animal cry]

Hey, who's there?

Whoo!

♪

Whoo!

Big human down here!

[clapping]

Whoo!

[animal cry]

♪

It's gone.

I hope so.

♪

The vastness of this place
is actually overwhelming.

There are
these aggressive black bears.

There are grizzlies out here.

There are wolves.

When you're by yourself,

it's really hard to not

let fear get ahold of you.

Oh. [sighs]

♪

Please stay away from my camp,
whatever you are.

Please stay away from my camp.

I'm here in peace.

I'd love for you
to stay over there.

I will stay over here.

I think that's fair.

♪

- Caught my first grasshopper.

Collect enough of them,
I can put them on a stick,

roast them over
my fire tonight.

Just got to figure out
which pocket to put it in to...

keep it, uh,
from hopping away,

like it just did.

Or I can use it for fish bait,

which might actually be
the better bet.

I know from last time

that I don't want to pass up

any food source.

♪

Physically,
my biggest challenge

was getting
enough food to eat.

You know, I was only able
to catch six fish.

I never hit my mental,

spiritual, or emotional wall,

and I didn't think

I was quite at my physical
wall yet,

but knew I was close.

Getting pulled
from season three

was probably
the most heart-wrenching thing

that's ever happened
in my life.

- We're gonna have to
extract you

for medical reasons.

- Okay.

Here in Mongolia,

I'm going at it

in a more aggressive mindset

than I had in Patagonia.

I was able to put on
about 25 pounds.

I will definitely
be trying fishing again.

I've tried to learn
some new techniques,

and then I'm bringing
a bow and arrows

to help try to get
some mammals as well.

I want to stay in the game

as long as I possibly can.

I've got a whole lot
of grasshoppers.

Here's to fishing.

Wish me luck.

♪

Fishing isn't my strong suit.

I've done a little bit
in life,

but not a lot.

From season three,
I've learned

how important it is

to get food procured
from the very beginning,

and how challenging
that can be.

♪

Knowing how hard it was
to go 86 days,

I still want that experience,

and I want to win more
this time

than I did last time,

and I think that desire

will help pull me
through the hard times.

♪

Yes!

♪

[laughs]

Yay!

My first fish!

♪

Yes!
Oh, wiggly guy!

I'm so thankful for this fish.

My first one.

So I read to keep fishing,

'cause they're often in
a school of fish.

♪

[laughs] Yes!

Second fish,
bigger than the first one.

Another one.

Three fish for today.

♪

[laughs]

In Patagonia,
after 86 days,

I'd only caught six fish,

and so starting off
with three fish,

I feel like I can do this.

I'll be able to make it.

♪

Yes!

♪

One of the best

dishes you can get

in remote Mongolia.

A wonderful meal of

fresh-caught fish,

served over a bed
of wild greens.

The perfect bedtime snack.

Mmm...

Thank you, fish.

It's a beautiful, clear night.

Good night, Mongolia.

♪

[rustling noise]

♪

[footsteps]

♪

Something is over there.

♪

[footsteps]

What if it charges me?

♪

Sleep with my bow close.

♪

I hope I can get some sleep.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

- So,

as you can see,
I just woke up

in my jammies.

So...caught me in my jammies.

Try to start every morning
with a stretch.

Gotta stay limber.

Make sure you don't
pull a muscle.

Then you're out
for a few days.

When you're by yourself,

can't be out for a few days,

'cause you're the only thing--
you're the only person

you're relying on.

♪

So today, I'm going to start
setting up

a permanent shelter.

Winter is around the corner.

This place gets down
to negative 40 degrees.

Your dreams freeze

at that temperature.

I have to be prepared for it.

♪

That's how you do it.

You can survive
some of the other seasons

with less food, because you
don't have to stay as warm.

Here, if you don't get food,
if you don't get calories,

you're gonna freeze to death.

Man, that's heavy.

♪

I don't think this season's
redemption for me.

The last season,
I didn't even make it a week.

This is really just
my first chance

to actually do
what I want to do,

do what all the other seasons
have done,

and it's gonna be
different this time,

because I don't have to hike,

I don't have to
march through the forest.

[laughing]

In Vancouver Island,
I was the hiker.

Can barely see where my feet
are going.

And I had to find
my brother Shannon.

He was the camper,

and while he was,
setting up camp,

he just didn't notice
a log on the shore.

Slipped.

♪

- Hurt his back,
and had to be pulled

for a herniated disc.

What happened?

- Sustained a pretty
severe back injury.

We had to extract him,

and unfortunately,

we have to extract you
now as well.

♪

- When I got home,
I just started

really building my life
in Maine again,

just doing what I usually do,
you know?

I like to go out and hike.
I like going out and camping.

What's appealing about getting
that second chance?

It's about getting
my actual first chance

to set up my life
in the woods.

Two more.

Last time, I overexerted
myself initially.

♪

Shannon told me,
prior to coming out here,

that I gotta
make myself a turtle.

Be a turtle
and go slow and purposefully.

I don't have to rush
to do anything

unless I'm being chased.

♪

So I didn't get as much
as I wanted done today.

I'm exhausted.

I'm a little worried
about the shelter,

just because

I think it's gonna burn
a lot of calories,

so tomorrow,
I'm gonna wrap it up,

or wrap as much
as possible up,

see what I can get done.

♪

Oh, damn.

There's a big canine paw print.

♪

Very easily be a wolf.

♪

I'm worried about wolves.

With the wolf,
you see one of them,

you probably have
six or seven behind you,

'cause they're
intelligent creatures

that, when it
comes down to it,

they will take down a human.

♪

What I do know is...

♪

That used to be alive.

Still see a little blood on it.

Found its other piece
about 100 meters that way.

That means there's something
out there eating these guys.

♪

In Mongolia,
when you're hunting anything

in the woods,
just know that something else

is hunting you.

♪

[wolves howling]

♪

- I hear wolves,
and they sound close.

[wolf howling]

I'm still in my skivvies,

but I'm thinking about...
[sniffs]

Going over, trying to get...

a look at 'em,
trying to get a peek.

Looking for wolves.

[howls]

[wolf howls]

[laughs]

[howls]

[wolf howls]

[laughs]

It's insane.

♪

I'm gonna move

to my permanent shelter

that's near the river now.

There's a lot of food
that normally grows

right near the river.

It's a little bit of effort,
but I think

it'll be worth it in the end.

♪

As I'm walking through
this tall grass,

one of the things
I'm looking for is...

♪

The Asian viper.

♪

It's very venomous.

Actually, it is lethal,

and unfortunately,

Mongolia does not have

the antivenom for it.

You'd have to go to Beijing

in order to get antivenom.

♪

That's a heck of a plane ride.

♪

All right, guys,
check this out.

There's two tubular stalks
coming out.

Oh, yes, oh, yes.

Wild onion.

♪

Oh, and they're honkers!

♪

Whoo.

Two of them.
This is gonna be

so good for dinner.

I've never been so excited
about onions before.

It's kind of funny, but...

ugh, I love 'em.

All right,

packing this in the pocket.

Oh, my--
big snake, guys.

♪

There's one right there,
slithering through the grass.

Gonna grab that stick
and I'm gonna smack him.

♪

I have to say,
this goes against

my better judgment,

but that's a lot of meat.

Be real careful, Sam.

♪

Disappeared
into the grass somewhere.

♪

I'm gonna say
this one got away,

but...

now that I know there's, like,
a big snake in here,

I'm going after him.

'Cause I'm a hungry guy,

and venomous Asian viper

apparently is on the menu.

♪

- Call this
my sand-larvae separator

right here, between my hands.

Works very well.

I think I'm gonna market it.

It'll be a huge hit.

[dramatic voice]
Come, get Nicole's

Mongolian ant separator!

Oh, yeah, it'll be a huge hit.

Huge hit.

It's ant larvae.

Cooked up, really good
source of protein.

♪

Oh, this one's a great one.

But I wanna
get the larvae

as quickly as possible,

before the ants start
bringing it down

into their nest.

This may be gross to some,

but it's food,

and when you're out
in survival mode,

you eat whatever you can.

It's important
to get sustenance, so...

♪

So right now,
I've got grasshoppers,

I've got some ant larvae...

♪

Oh, and over here,
I have some wild rhubarb.

Oh, it's gonna be
a good dinner.

♪

There's more of this around.
I'm gonna collect it.

♪

So I'll have some plants
to eat with dinner.

For me, health-wise,

plants are so important.

You know, I have
multiple sclerosis,

and...I was incredibly ill
for three years.

Cane, wheelchair,
often bedridden

for a good portion of that.

I revamped my life,

I started my herbal regime,

I changed my diet,

I changed my lifestyle.

Everything shifted for me,

and I got healthy,

and so I felt great

when I was on
Vancouver Island.

I have never felt healthier.

Gathering herbal medicine
and supplements

is something that I have to do
on a daily basis

in order to make sure

that I stay healthy.

Yummy.

Go plants.

[laughs]

I am going to have
a smorgasbord tonight.

♪

- I've got so many thoughts
swirling through my head.

Just trying to...

plan everything out,
you know?

Figure everything out
in my head, and...

I can't.
I've just got to

do one thing at a time...

And see what happens
after that.

♪

To try to maximize
my fishing ability,

there's a couple
of overhanging trees and logs,

so I'm going to hang

some line and hooks
off of those

in hopes that fish coming by,

whenever they do,

will take ahold of the bait

and bite, and hopefully

swallow and get hooked.

♪

It's, in some ways,
unsettling

not to be focusing

100% on my shelter
right now,

but I caught three fish
the first night,

and it makes me excited

and--and confident

in the resources available

of this location,

and so I'm
really thankful that

this stretch of river I'm on

looks like it's pretty
well-stocked with fish.

♪

My drive to win, this time,

is stronger
than it was before.

I want to win it.

I want to win it so that

I can help my family out

to have a better life.

[rustling]

[splashing]

[hollow thud]

Got one!

They're still here.
Should I keep going?

♪

Another one!

I'm starting to think
that I--

I'm gonna need
to make a smoker soon

and start smoking fish,

if I'm able to continue

catching so many.

♪

Mm, the biggest fish yet.

♪

Yay, biggest fish!

♪

Ah!

This hook!

Ah! [bleep].

It's in really deep.

♪

That went in my skin,
all the way.

And I lost the fish.

[sighs]
[bleep].

Ah!

What do I do?

♪

Ah, [bleep].

[cries]

♪

Ah, [bleep].

[cries]

♪

I'm not sure what to do.

It's in really deep.

[sniffs]

[cries] I wish I could
rewind time right now

and not do that.

[cries]

♪

I don't think I can survive
out here 86 days

with a hook in my hand.

♪

If I can't get this out,

I'm gonna need
some plantain for it.

♪

And I saw some plantain
over there.

♪

I need some yarrow, too,

in case it's bleeding
when it comes out.

♪

There's yarrow.

♪

The yarrow is a coagulant.

It will stop the bleeding

from an injury.

♪

This here is plantain.

What I'm gonna do with it
is pick it,

chew it up, and put it
around here

in hopes...

that it'll help
pull out the hook.

♪

Logically,
I don't think it will.

♪

But I hope so.

Plantain helps
draw things out.

At the very least,

it'll help draw out any

fishy goo that's on the hooks.

♪

[sniffing]

♪

That's good for now.

♪

I don't feel like it's safe
to leave it in indefinitely.

I don't want to damage
my hand long-term, either.

I think the sooner
it comes out, the better.

♪

Being here in Mongolia,

having a second chance
at "Alone,"

having to come to terms with

a hook in my hand on day four,

is...just unbelievable,
considering...

I made it 86 days,
and I never tapped out.

♪

I wanna stay,
and I wanna win.

♪

I'm almost thinking...
[sighs]

Is to try to
pull it through.

♪

[breathes heavily]
Agh.

[inhales sharply]

Ah, it's really stuck.

[ripping sound]

[inhales sharply]

Might be

on my thumb tendon,

because when I move my thumb,

it pulls the hook,

and if that's the case,

I don't think I can
pull the hook through,

'cause with that barb,

it's not coming out backwards.

In hospitals,
they cut the eye off.

[sniffs]

If I had a multi-tool,
I could just snip it,

but I don't.

♪

Even more difficult is
it's my right hand,

which is my dominant hand.

♪

[sighs]

I wanna be able to stay.

♪

I just keep thinking,

"If only I had
stopped fishing."

♪

I gotta get this out.

♪

If I can get it
to poke through,

I think I'd be
on the home front.

It's just a super awkward place
to have a hook.

I'm gonna see if I can

lash the knife
to the back of my hand

to keep to in place.

♪

That might work.

♪

Yep, I just made it worse.

♪

I can't think of
anything else to try.

I don't want to have to call.

♪

- [cries]

[cries] I want to
be able to....

But I can't.

It just--

it grabs,

and I can't pull it
any farther.

[cries]

[sighs]
[bleep].

[sniffs]

♪

[sighs]

I don't know what else to do.

♪

[breathes heavily]

♪

My stomach just feels sick

that I'm doing this.

♪

[phone beeps]

This is Carleigh.

So, I don't want to,

but I feel like
I have to tap out

to get some help.

♪

- What's going on?

- I got a hook in my hand

yesterday afternoon,
while fishing,

and it's crazy,
'cause it's not, like,

a life-threatening,
serious injury,

but it's enough that

I don't feel like
I can stay out here safely

without potential
damage to my hand.

♪

Just, like, blindsided
by this.

I never, in a million years,

thought that
a fish hook would be why

I would have to leave.

I'm most disappointed in

not really being able
to test myself out here yet,

and not feeling like

I've become
part of the landscape.

I hadn't yet made
this place my home.

I was in Patagonia
for 86 days.

I have so much sadness

and grief
and disappointment

and frustration

that I wasn't able
to stay longer.

♪

- I'm alive, Mongolia!

- I wanna prove that I can

do it alone this time.
[gasps]

- I've been trying to
drain the infection.

- Oh, yes.

- I'm not yet sure
if it's poisonous.

- Every calorie counts
out here.

- Smushy, smushy.

Mousie selfie!

- There's a lot
to be afraid of out here.

[wolves howling]

- Wolves.
I think.

- It's getting closer.

- Claws--it's going...
[imitates scraping]

You gotta just take
the weakness

and push it down.

- Oh, my God.
I hate crying on TV.

- We have
a tap-out emergency.

- [roars]

- If it gets as cold

as it's supposed to get here,

it's gonna be
extremely challenging.

One big snowstorm

could end this thing.

♪