Naked and Afraid XL (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Deadly Consequences - full transcript
Tragedy strikes when Ryan separates from the group and a deadly animal circles his camp while sick and helpless.
Wow, I'm, like,
extremely dizzy right now.
I need to sit.
-Blackout.
-I know. I'm blacking out.
I mean, I feel weak
just sitting here.
It's ridiculous.
Jake: Our bodies are
lacking on everything
that we really need to survive.
We're starving to death.
[ Lion growls ]
Darrin: It's pretty
dangerous to be this weak
in an environment like this.
I mean, big cats
like to pick out
the weakest animals in a herd.
Jake: All it takes is a little
bit more of a significant b
and somebody's gonna go down.
-[ Groans ]
-Oh, my god!
-Hey, we need a medic!
-What's going on?
Stacey: Medic, like, now!
-Swing back in.
-[ Sniffles ]
You haven't done anything wrong.
You know that, right?
Narrator: In the
drought-stricken s
a group of "naked
and afraid" veterans
are taking on a unthinkable
survival challenge...
[ Pig squealing ]
Go, go, go, go, go!
...to endure 40
days and 40 nights
in the most savage
wilderness on the planet.
[ Shouts indistinctly ] Hey!
Narrator: To make it out alive,
they must push their limits,
master their
environment... Oh, my god!
...and survive each other.
Woman: I think its gonna
be tremendously difficult.
Narrator: This is
"naked and afraid xl."
captions paid for by
discovery communications
after struggling for over three
weeks in the African bush,
the nine remaining survivalists
have become desperate
for food at swati valley...
Alyssa: Snare!
[ Panting ]
He's off.
Jake: We cannot just
get by on a few fish
when it's a group of nine.
We need a substantial
source of meat.
Narrator: ...And a dangerous
two-man hunting mission...
Yielded only frustration... Go!
...and anger.
[Bleep]
[Bleep] Chasing a
nyala yeah, I watched you
with a rock today.
What are we gonna
do? Fish for 14 days?
It's laziness.
He says everyone
over here is just lazy
and waiting to survive.
-Seriously? He said that?
-Yeah.
I absolutely did not say that.
Narrator: Now, with
two weeks to go,
extreme hunger
and distrust threaten
to tear the group apart.
Steven: For Darrin to
twist my words around
and turn me into the bad guy --
it makes you want to
knock his [bleep] lights out.
He knows that a loner
out here is a dead man.
[ Elephant trumpets ]
Ryan: This place is amazing.
I mean, look at these views.
This place is epic.
Everyone else just sleeps in
while I'm up here
enjoying this view,
looking for animal dens.
[ Snoring ]
There's a really
active trail right here.
I have not experienced drama
since I got out of the service.
And the drama level is up here,
and that's not what I
came to South Africa for.
I've spent the last four
years traveling the country
and hiking the appalachian trail
and trying to
figure out who I am
and what's my true
purpose and calling
now that eight years of
the marines is done with.
Wow.
Something was just in here.
It's all scoured up.
A shelter is a place
for me to sleep at night,
and other than that,
I'm getting [bleep] done.
I'm exploring. I'm learning.
[ Rustling ] What was that?
Oh, I saw its tail.
It's crazy.
You're not gonna
learn anything new
by sitting in the shelter.
I could've built a
shelter in my backyard
and sat there for 40 days naked.
I didn't come out here
to South Africa to do that.
[Bleep] Reeks. Oh, wow.
It's too bad the
porcupine is dead
and I'm not the
one that killed it.
I'm out here to thrive.
I'm not out here to
get by and survive.
God, there's so much
activity in this land.
[ Elephant trumpets ]
Hello, hello.
-Hey.
That was a fun hike.
-That's good.
-Was it awesome?
Yeah -- so many
active dens up there.
-Oh, really?
-I found a dead porcupine --
a couple days old.
-Wow.
Ryan: They're there.
Just maybe go early in
the morning sometime.
I mean, you could -- we
could spend a lot of energy
and everything,
but at the same time
we don't have [chuckles]
any energy to do that.
Energy to do
anything like that, yeah.
Well, a porcupine
shouldn't be too hard.
It's gonna curl up in a ball,
and then you got to
figure out a way to kill it.
Ryan: Being in a big group,
it makes things a lot tougher
for, you know, being
heard and finding your place
within that group.
What's your thoughts, Jake?
I mean, I think one
big hunting push --
if Steven wants to fish all day
and one or two of
us work at the blind,
just go for it really
strong, balls to the wall.
Yeah. No, I definitely --
I think that's, like,
a really good idea.
Steven: Damn it.
Got to get the rhythm back.
The way Darrin talked
to me yesterday hurts me.
And if everybody's gonna hate,
then let them hate
and let them talk.
Even with the drama and all
the miscellaneous bull[Bleep]
They're my team, and
I'm gonna stick with them
whether they want me to or not.
I'm gonna get the job done
because that's what
Steven Lee hall Jr. does.
Is that a turtle I see?
Yeah, he caught
a turtle in the net!
-What? Turtle!
-Whoo!
Dude, there's hundreds
of turtles in this pond.
Keep the turtles coming,
and we're gonna
get more of those.
"We're" gonna get more of those?
I wonder how big the turtle is.
Is he a big guy?
It's pretty big.
-I'll take its head off.
-Yeah, use the hatchet.
Supposed to take
out his insides.
Honestly, I thought there'd
be a lot more smiles than that.
I'm pretty [bleep]
disappointed right now,
but, well, I'm happy.
Poor guy.
Thank you, turtle.
-There's so much meat on it.
-I know.
[ Singsong voice ] It's gonna
make an amazing soup.
-It's frickin' exciting.
-It is so exciting.
Kept all the juices inside
as I transferred it into the pot.
But there was way
too much water in there.
-Yeah, did you dump some out?
-No.
Well, you could've
dumped some out.
Ryan: How long did you
cook it in the fire first?
-It was done?
-Yeah, it was done.
Did anyone taste it and
see what the juice tastes like?
No, but we can. Just
let it simmer like that.
-I do -- you know --
-it might just be, like,
watered-down,
like, turtle juice.
Stacey: Dip your finger
in there and be like [slurps]
Everybody comes in here
and tells me to
do something else.
Jake: Just do what
you think is best.
I've got full trust in
your cooking skills.
How can we not get
one of these mammals?
Look at this.
We literally have
giant male nyala buck
just getting some water.
[ Birds chirping ]
Stacey: Hey, girls!
Come eat some lunch!
Kim: She's always yelling.
Turtle stew.
It's time to eat.
Or not.
It's your choice.
-You guys, hush.
-Don't shoot the messenger!
Shh!
Kim: Stacey, try not to yell.
[Bleep] Doing [bleep]
okay, well, I'm not
for anybody anymore.
It's just that there's a
nyala down there by Jake.
[Bleep] Anymore.
Okay, well, I'm not doing
[bleep] 20 minutes or so
I'm on strike for the next
because I'm irritated as [bleep]
-What's up?
-Nothing.
I'm not gonna waste my
energy going down there,
hollering for lunch
and giving advice
when they're like, "well,
you need to cook it longer,"
and, "you need to do this."
It's too many chiefs
and not enough Indians.
[Bleep] That.
You know, we can't agree
on how to cook a stew.
How are we gonna
agree on how to be
a [bleep] functioning group?
I'm about ready to
just take off on my own.
[ Voice breaking ]
Today [ Sighs ] sucks.
[ Sniffles ]
You want to go for a walk?
Yeah.
Let's go, sunshine.
-What's going on?
-[ Sighs ]
Stacey: I'm, like, really
frustrated about, like,
all these bossy [bleep]
There's a whole lot
of bossy [bleep] here.
Tawny: Yeah.
You can't let the
little [bleep] get to you
'cause it's just gonna have
explosive reactions like this,
you know?
Tawny: Stacey
came to me in tears.
Like, I felt the pain that
she was experiencing.
She's a single mom like me,
and she's kept me together
at several moments,
so I'm really happy
to help her out
and have her here.
You haven't done anything wrong.
You know that, right?
What the [bleep]
am I doing here?
Nothing.
[Bleep]
-Clearly, though, I mean,
we're surviving off
of barely anything.
And we're [bleep] hungry.
We're hot. We're tired.
We've been out here for 27 days.
I know you do.
But they're so proud of you.
They're so proud of you.
-[ Sniffles ]
I wouldn't be here
if it wasn't for you.
[Sighs] This
environment and just, like,
[ sniffles ] How harsh
everything's been...
Has brought tawny
and I closer than --
than any friend I've
ever had in my life.
She's a righteous
girl. She's a good girl.
[ Sniffles ]
-This is tough [bleep]
This is real.
-[ Sniffles ]
Stacey: Not saying that
I'm gonna [bleep] flip out
on the group or anything,
but all needs are
not being addressed.
When all needs of the group
are not being addressed,
people become
noncompliant and angry,
and that's how
revolutions are born.
Ryan: The toughest part
of this whole challenge --
I say it every time
-- group dynamic.
Personalities.
Nine people is a
lot of personalities,
and some of them are
already super homesick.
Some of them don't
know why they're here.
I'd say there's three
or four out of nine
that are already just
so ready to be done.
Do they want to go
home and just be like,
"oh, I made it 40 days,
and I helped get
firewood and I boiled water
and I helped
build that shelter"?
That's not how I
want to remember this.
That's not the
experience that I want.
I don't know. I know
it's a team effort.
It's a group effort, but
on a much deeper level
it's completely personal.
[ Lion growls ]
Well, this seems
like a perfect time,
since everybody's here,
that I would like
to talk to you all.
At this point in my challenge,
in my personal challenge,
I feel like my wheels
are just spinning.
Every tribe,
sort of, in history,
everyone at a certain
age goes on a walkabout
or goes on their vision quest,
and I feel like if I
don't just go, like,
have that solo
part of the journey
that I'm gonna regret it.
Obviously, I would head towards
where everyone is gonna go to.
I would leave tomorrow
morning, and I would take
the smallest pot, angel's
fire starter, and that's it.
Steven: I couldn't believe it.
It's very hypocritical.
It's upsetting because
we need all hands on deck,
and the fact of the matter is
is Ryan basically just
gave up on our team.
So, you're going to the river?
Yeah, I mean, I might
as well head that way.
Phaedra: I just
feel like it's selfish.
We depend on
each other out here,
and to just up and leave after
we've been taking care of you?
No.
Ryan: This sort of
goes against everything
I had sort of hoped
for for the group,
but we are nine
complete strangers.
I know I say nothing's
impossible, but it's damn hard.
Tawny: I don't want
to be out here alone.
That's crazy.
Jake: Just be mindful of
your surroundings constantly.
You know, just keep
yourself as safe as possible.
I promise.
Steven: It's insane.
This is Africa.
Nothing here is safe.
The lions, the
leopards can kill you.
You get complacent
about it, you're dead.
Ryan: I am extremely
excited for this decision
and to get going on
this sort of solo journey
for a few days.
This is not selfish. This
is not me throwing a fit.
This is me needing to
listen to my inner self,
and that's what I'm gonna do.
[ Animal growling ]
I hear something growling.
Darrin: That's a leopard.
-Mm-hmm.
-You hear it?
-Yeah.
-They ain't no joke.
[Bleep] Aggressive. And they're
Whoa. Scorpion.
Watch out.
-Where?
-Right here.
Steven: We keep
hearing a leopard.
And I woke up, and there
was a scorpion next to my face,
so welcome to South Africa.
It's day 28, and it's
a huge day for me.
I'm about to embark
on my solo journey
of this challenge.
Well, it looks like
there's a stream bed
right down over
this little hill here.
I'm gonna follow that.
So, I'm really looking
forward to this experience
by myself for a while.
I'm gonna be out
there in the bush alone,
sleeping amongst the predators.
I'm actually scared [Bleep]less.
But it's gonna be awesome.
I think you have a tick
on your neck right here.
Jake: Oh, yeah,
that's definitely a tick.
I didn't have a single tick
on my genitals this morning,
so I feel like it's a sign that
it's gonna be a really good day.
-[ Laughs ]
-That is a good day.
That's what I worry for
Ryan is hopefully, you know,
he doesn't get tick fever.
-Oh, really.
-Ooh, yeah.
Jake: I just hope he
doesn't do anything stupid.
He can do whatever he wants to.
I want to believe
that he's doing
everything that he
can be doing to be safe.
You know, it's a full moon,
and the predators are out.
Wow, I'm, like,
extremely dizzy right now.
I need to sit.
-Blackout.
-I know. I'm blacking out.
Ohh.
Every time I look
around, it's spinning.
The fish and turtle are
great, but it's not really enough
to get ahead of the
game, though, in this stage.
I mean, I feel weak
just sitting here.
It's ridiculous.
The thing that concerns
me is we're all having
really bad dizzy spells
and kind of blackouts.
We really need food.
When I'm standing
and blacking out now,
I'm almost falling over.
Well, that's what
I'm concerned about.
Yeah, everybody start
being careful around the fire
when you get up.
Every time somebody stands
up, they're catching themselves
to keep themselves from
completely blacking out.
It's getting to the point
where I consider this severe.
You know, people
standing up around the fire
and around these thorny
bushes and things like that --
all it takes is
a little bit more
of a significant blackout, and
somebody's gonna go down.
I think, if we don't have any
success today or tomorrow,
we seriously consider
making the trek to the river.
Alyssa: Mm-hmm.
'Cause, then, we're there.
We're close to extraction.
That's true.
Narrator: Five miles
north of their current camp
at tsonga basin, the
mkuze river snakes
through miles of
drought-stricken bush.
Though ravaged by the
heat, its sparse waters offer
the promise of fish and big game
and would put the group
within striking distance
of their extraction point
four final, grueling
miles to the north.
Ryan: Lots of bones in here.
I don't have any
second thoughts.
I'm excited.
There's some things
I've been really wanting
to accomplish out here
and do it on my own time
and my own mind.
And look at that.
Literally just found
this fruit here.
I look up, and there's a tree.
Hello.
Narrator: The wooly caper
bush is a parasitic vine
that grows wild in south Africa.
Indigenous medicine
men have treated ailments
with the plant for centuries,
and its fleshy fruit is a
favorite of monkeys and bats.
Ryan: I mean, some of this...
Is still good, wow.
That almost tastes
like ice cream.
That's amazing. Mmm-mm-mmm.
I got a little
taste. I want more.
I'm gonna climb it and get
as many as I possibly can
before the birds do.
Luckily, my feet are
like sandpaper right now.
And luckily, I still have a
lot of upper-body strength.
Oh, ho, ho, some big ones.
Yeah! This is like
the giving tree.
Ah!
Some of these are so
soft, they just break open.
Look at all these.
They fell everywhere.
I'm gonna collect them.
Oh, what a dinner
I'm gonna have.
Damn, literally my biggest
one all over the ground.
You just want to pick
this stuff up and eat it.
[ Slurps ]
Mmm, not a total waste.
I'm just gonna eat
the whole thing.
[ Slurps ]
This is the most
amazing fruit...
I think I've ever had...
Out here or back
home in my whole life.
I just can't believe this
fruit. What a blessing.
I personally don't
think that, like, going
down to the river on
day 30 is a good --
I could leave tomorrow
morning and be happy with it.
At least we would
have cattails down there.
Steven: This camp just
has no plant base to sustain.
No. If we just keep
doing this [bleep]
Like, sitting around here,
we're just gonna get
weaker and weaker.
Tawny: Oh, god.
Too fast. Too fast.
Holy crap.
-Blackout.
That was close.
Stacey: How you doing?
Tawny: I'm gonna
go to the bathroom.
I'm not feeling good.
Darrin: It's pretty
dangerous to be this weak
in an environment like this.
I mean, we got leopards that are
known to hunt humans out here.
Big cats like to pick out the
weakest animals in a herd.
We're wandering around
kind of dazed and lethargic,
and that is every
sense to a predator
that, "this animal is
weak it's an easy target."
Phaedra: I know, like, Ryan
is saying that he wants a day
to have his thing down there,
but that's not our problem.
Darrin: We can set up our
camp away from where he is.
He can go wherever
he wants to go.
Like, we weren't
supposed to stay here.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Oh, my god!
[ Branch snaps ]
Tawny: [ Groans ]
Stacey.
Stacey: Are you
calling me? Yeah.
Where are you?
I'm down here.
-You okay?
-No.
I just went black, and I fell.
And I got a stabbing
pain right here.
-Hey, we need a medic!
-Something's wrong.
It shouldn't hurt that bad.
Stacey: Like, now.
Medic, like, now!
Tawny: Oh, my god!
[ Branch snaps ] [ Groans ]
Stacey: Hey, we need a medic!
Is it bad?
Tawny: I don't know
what happened.
I just went black.
Apparently tawny got
really hurt and passed out.
They're bringing the
stretcher down and everything.
I really don't know
what's going on,
but it's definitely not good.
I blacked out.
I've got a sharp,
stabbing pain here,
and my head, it
hurts really bad.
I don't know where I hit it.
What's going on?
[ Winces ] Ow.
-Is she okay?
-Something's wrong.
It shouldn't hurt that bad.
It's just getting worse.
Just to make sure there's
no other head injuries
or any neck injuries,
I think, at this point,
it might be unsafe
for her to be here.
Man: Okay. Thank you.
[ Sniffles ]
[ Sighs ]
Don't move your head, please.
Don't move your head, okay?
It's okay. Like,
you've already made it.
Phaedra: Yeah, no worries, girl.
Man: All right, guys.
One, two, three.
Let's go -- slowly,
slowly, slowly.
Stacey: It makes me
feel really sad for her,
and it makes me
feel like I'm alone now.
Things have been
really, really tough,
and she was able
to be there for me.
[ Voice breaking ] And she
was who I wanted to sit with
[ chuckles ] On the
plane on the way home.
-Tawny, you'll be okay.
-We love you, tawny.
-We love you.
-We love you, girl.
Man: One, two, three.
Jake: At this stage in the game,
this kind of event could
happen to any of us.
We love you.
I would like to think
I'm super tough
and not vulnerable
to anything like that,
but our bodies are
lacking on everything
that we really need to survive.
We're starving to death.
Dude, that's so [bleep]
Steven: Just like that, man.
Alyssa: I was
not expecting that.
[Bleep] Africa,
dude. This is no joke.
I'm gonna miss her.
Ryan: I'm gonna need more
than two days by myself.
Got a lizard!
He's right there up in the tree.
He's literally... Right there.
There's no way the spear
is gonna work on this.
I could just grab
him with my hands.
[ Chuckling ] Look at him.
He's got nowhere to go.
Look at that.
Oh, he's at the top of the tree.
[ Exhales sharply ]
Is this guy gonna jump on me?
I am literally two feet away
from this lizard
up in a [bleep] tree.
This guy ain't happy.
Narrator: The largest
lizard by weight in Africa,
the rock monitor, produces
toxic proteins in its saliva
that can poison its prey.
Ryan: Got to get him
right behind the head.
Oh, my god. Hey, buddy.
He's hissing at me.
[ Laughs ] Wow!
[ Grunts ]
He's reaching around,
trying to bite me.
Wow! Look at that.
[ Laughing ] My god!
[ Sighs ]
That was unreal.
Day 28 -- still thriving.
Maybe that fruit
gave me some energy.
I'm on an extreme high
this morning anyway
for taking off on
this solo journey.
And, you know, I'll
be able to get to camp,
be able to set up,
have some fruit, sugars,
and now I get to have some meat.
Sorry, big guy.
He's got ticks all over him.
Thank you, lizard.
Thank you.
It's already everything
I had hoped it would be.
It's everything I
knew that it would be.
I just got to be put out
here and sort of let go
of everything, and
things start to align.
It's pure magic, and it's
-- you know, it's everything
the last four years
of my life has been
since I got out of
the marine corps.
And I just needed this
release and this solo journey.
Steven: Just this
really sucks, you know?
And how just out of nowhere,
that can happen, you know --
Jake: It was a [bleep] day.
Darrin: We lost two
people today basically.
We need to make a
more formal game plan
about what's
gonna go on, I think,
'cause we're all getting
to that blackout point.
What do you guys think
about one last push for protein?
Yeah, I'm game
for one more push.
Me, too.
Let's try to get
something in us.
I was even thinking,
like, we could just, like,
block off some of the
trails or something.
Yeah.
Alyssa, I feel like, is
definitely taking charge
with the snares.
She's great at that.
All right. Let's do this.
I think a big thing with
setting up the snares is
we really want to get big game
before they start
to get too spooked.
So, today we're gonna try
and funnel the
animals in to the snares.
So, this is that game
trail that they come down.
And then all along
here, I have the snares.
So, what we want to do
is we want to make sure
that they don't
avoid the snares,
they don't go back this way,
so we have to have
people over here
and then three
people around here
so that when they come down
and drink we can scare them
and then they flock to
the snares. Sound good?
-Sounds good. Let's do it.
-Perfect.
Alyssa: So, our plan is to
set up every single snare
in one central location...
Steven: There we
go, Alyssa. Perfect.
...and close off any
path that they could take.
I'm just trying to
block off these routes
that are not snared, and
hopefully that's gonna
just kind of push them all right
into the few paths available,
and we'll get something to eat.
Alyssa: We'll all stake
out and get different spots
and then have two people
spook them into the middle.
I'm just really hopeful that
we can all work together
and get a kill.
Darrin: For primitive hunting,
it requires the utmost Patience.
The slightest twitch in a
blind will scare the animals.
It's not like back home,
where the deer just come out
onto the field and
graze, and they're all like,
"la-de-dah-de-dah."
Here, no matter where they are,
there is something
trying to kill them.
[ Rustling ]
Jake: Hey!
-Whoa!
-Whoa!
-Hup!
-Oh!
-Go!
-Go!
Hah! Hah!
Alyssa: Yeah, he's at the beach!
-Hah!
-Hey! Hey!
Hey!
-Whoa!
-Whoa!
-Hup!
-Oh!
-Go!
-Go!
Alyssa: Yeah, he's at the beach!
-Hah!
-Hey! Hey!
Hup!
Alyssa: [ Groans ]
Well [bleep]
Phaedra: How close
was he to a snare?
He broke it. Holy [bleep]
-Wow.
-You see that?
-Holy [bleep]
-And this is strong cord.
-It's 1,100-pounds.
-1,100-pound test?
Holy [bleep] that
[bleep] was not fearful.
-Not at all.
-I was like a few feet away
from it, and it
wanted to charge.
That bull was right next to me,
and he was not scared at all.
And I was.
Jake: I really want to
kill one of those bastards.
You know, we're going days
and days without any protein,
but I feel like with the group
of us here constantly fishing,
hiking around, hunting,
animals are just too wary
to really be able to do
the spook technique.
Jake: That was just frustrating
to not even really get a chance.
I mean, the big game
are disappearing.
There was 50 to 100
this time yesterday.
Today, there have been five.
-Yeah.
-I'd rather secure myself down by the river.
Yeah, this just shows that,
like, we've got to get closer.
We might head to the
river a day early now.
Everyone's blacking out.
Everybody's really starving,
so, uh, a little
change of plans.
And hopefully, the river
will be a little kinder to us.
Ryan: Wow! No way!
Look at this river.
Whoa!
Zebra, giraffe,
and water buffalo --
it's like a frickin' zoo here.
What a welcoming sight.
This is why I like
moving location,
so I get to see more
and explore more.
Those giraffe are enormous.
[ Chuckles ] This
is so stupid good.
This is incredible.
Look at them run.
Look at that [bleep] thing run
across the rocks
like it's nothing.
Wow! Look at that!
I am so stoked. I'm
so excited to be here.
This is the experience
I've been looking for.
This is exactly what
I was looking for.
Got this natural rock
formation, this natural rock wall --
fricking 10, 12 feet tall.
I don't have to worry about
buffalo, elephant, rhino,
anything coming over this wall.
More than half of my
shelter is already built.
I just got to build sort of
a half boma and a roof.
Start from the back,
work my way to the front.
Fire, water --
I'm getting thirsty.
I'm real dehydrated now.
Space to have my own
ideas, my own plan of action.
Just a different
way of doing things.
I really do hope the group
finds some of this stuff.
Charred a little bit --
oh, yeah, that's cooking great.
Get around the spine there.
There it is.
Mmm.
Look at that.
I've only been
solo for half a day.
Oh, man.
I got my fruit, got my
protein, got my new home.
I honestly feel, like,
not one negative thing,
not one con from
leaving the group
and making that decision
I made this morning.
[ Laughs ]
Now, this is what
I call thriving!
[ Howling ]
I'm on top of the world!
This location is probably
the most dangerous location
I've ever been in my life.
This is South Africa in
the bush, and it's not a zoo.
Mm, look at the size
of these lion paws.
I mean, and the
weight of the animal
to make the
impression, you know,
of each of those fingers
-- and there its giant paw.
I mean, that cat paw
is bigger than my hand.
It can be a little unsettling.
But it's what I wanted.
I'll be alone with the big cats.
I'll be alone with the hyenas
and everything else out there
that lurks around at night,
but, you know, I'm gonna
be confident in my boma.
[ Animal roars in distance ]
[Bleep]
It's gonna have to be a
prison fortress of a shelter
now that I'm by myself and
I'm the only eyes and ears
out here with all the dangers
lurking around at night.
This is one nasty-looking tree.
I hate working with thorns,
but I'm glad there's an
abundance of it right now.
The sun has literally set,
which means it's around 7:00,
I think, and I
literally just finished.
Not happiest about
the door right now,
but I don't have a choice.
I don't have any more time.
But it's got some
pretty large thorns on it.
This is the craziest thing
I probably will
ever do in my life.
I am solo in the
South African bush
surrounded by some of the most
dangerous prehistoric animals
on earth,
and I'm sleeping on the
ground with no real security
besides my own construction
of a boma and Thorn bushes.
[ Animals roar in distance ]
I hope I live to tell the story.
[ Lion growls ]
Narrator: On this
40-day survival quest,
the survivalists earn a group
"naked and afraid xl" rating,
or xlr, which gauges their
progress, skill, and teamwork.
Ryan's departure and tawny's
emergency evacuation...
We love you.
Narrator: ...Have dealt a
serious blow to the group.
Alyssa: Yeah, he's at the beach!
Narrator: And their failed team
hunt has left them starving and d
dropping their
group xl rating to 5.9.
Despite his risky decision
to venture out on his own,
Ryan has had significant
success finding food... Wow!
Narrator: ...Raising
his xlr to 7.5.
But his first night
alone in the African bush
may bring new perils.
-[Bleep]
For more information
on "naked and afraid xl,"
[ Lion growls ]
Ryan: [ Groans ]
I am solo in the
South African bush,
surrounded by some of the most
dangerous prehistoric animals
on earth with no real security
besides my own construction
of a boma and Thorn bushes.
I saw lion prints today just
100 feet away at the river.
You know how I know
I'm gonna be okay?
The one constellation that's
directly above me is Orion.
And that is my constellation.
And even in Afghanistan, Iraq,
I'd look up at the sky at night,
and it'd be the first thing
looking right back at me.
And I always knew
that I'd be okay,
and it's literally the
only constellation
I can see right now right there.
That's a sign.
I'm gonna be just fine.
Jake: All the stars are out.
It's a completely clear sky
for the first time in a long time.
-A very long time.
-It's been like a week.
-It's been like 10 days I think.
-Yeah, 'cause, like,
when me and Ryan
showed up, that was just --
'cause, like, rain and
[bleep] since then, really.
Yeah.
Darrin: A person going solo
in Africa is like a huge deal.
Phaedra: Yeah, I think he
really wanted that solo feel.
-Well, he said that, too.
-I don't think he works well
in groups, at all.
Alyssa: But that
was supposed to be
not his adventure to the
river, and that pisses me off.
Yeah, that is the one thing
that I think is kind of [Bleep]
He's gonna get first dibs.
It's gonna be three days of
animals being frightened off.
-Yep.
-Mm-hmm.
Three days of fruit being eaten.
Stacey: Being
alone in the middle of
it seems like a bad idea.
[ Animal growling in distance ]
It's night, uh, 28.
There's lions out there.
My [bleep] stomach --
my diaphragm is killing me.
[ Burps ]
[ Groans ]
I don't know if it's from
the clabber berries or the...
Or the, uh, monitor lizard.
[ Groans ]
[ Sighs ]
It's right here.
[ Sighs ] Ohh.
Nothing is -- nothing
is making it feel better.
[ Roaring in distance ] Ohh.
I'm gonna puke.
[ Coughs, spits ]
[ Coughs, spits ]
[ Wretches ]
[ Groaning ] Oh, my god.
[ Wretches ]
I'm throwing up everywhere.
[Bleep]
[ Groans ]
I have a high pain
tolerance, but this hurts.
[ Breathing heavily ]
This hurts so bad.
I'm sweating my ass off.
[ Spits ] I got
puke all over me.
Aah!
I don't know what to do.
Breathe.
[ Groans ]
[Bleep] Me.
Aaah!
Something's in my diaphragm.
Oh!
Breathe.
[ Groans ] 9 out of 10 pain.
10 out of 10, I'm passing out.
Oh, god.
This is not the
best time to be sick.
I can hear them coming.
[ Growling in distance ]
[ Rustling ]
Lions -- I can hear lions.
[ Growling continues ]
Narrator: Next time on
"naked and afraid xl"...
Steven: I wonder where Ryan is.
[ Whistles ]
Ryan!
The eight remaining survivalists
have endured a grueling 28 days,
but nothing can possibly
prepare them for day 29.
Phaedra: Aaah!
[ Animal growling ]
[ Groans ]
I'm in so much pain.
[ Wretches ]
-Ryan!
-Oh, my god!
[ Screams ]
[ Siren wails ]
extremely dizzy right now.
I need to sit.
-Blackout.
-I know. I'm blacking out.
I mean, I feel weak
just sitting here.
It's ridiculous.
Jake: Our bodies are
lacking on everything
that we really need to survive.
We're starving to death.
[ Lion growls ]
Darrin: It's pretty
dangerous to be this weak
in an environment like this.
I mean, big cats
like to pick out
the weakest animals in a herd.
Jake: All it takes is a little
bit more of a significant b
and somebody's gonna go down.
-[ Groans ]
-Oh, my god!
-Hey, we need a medic!
-What's going on?
Stacey: Medic, like, now!
-Swing back in.
-[ Sniffles ]
You haven't done anything wrong.
You know that, right?
Narrator: In the
drought-stricken s
a group of "naked
and afraid" veterans
are taking on a unthinkable
survival challenge...
[ Pig squealing ]
Go, go, go, go, go!
...to endure 40
days and 40 nights
in the most savage
wilderness on the planet.
[ Shouts indistinctly ] Hey!
Narrator: To make it out alive,
they must push their limits,
master their
environment... Oh, my god!
...and survive each other.
Woman: I think its gonna
be tremendously difficult.
Narrator: This is
"naked and afraid xl."
captions paid for by
discovery communications
after struggling for over three
weeks in the African bush,
the nine remaining survivalists
have become desperate
for food at swati valley...
Alyssa: Snare!
[ Panting ]
He's off.
Jake: We cannot just
get by on a few fish
when it's a group of nine.
We need a substantial
source of meat.
Narrator: ...And a dangerous
two-man hunting mission...
Yielded only frustration... Go!
...and anger.
[Bleep]
[Bleep] Chasing a
nyala yeah, I watched you
with a rock today.
What are we gonna
do? Fish for 14 days?
It's laziness.
He says everyone
over here is just lazy
and waiting to survive.
-Seriously? He said that?
-Yeah.
I absolutely did not say that.
Narrator: Now, with
two weeks to go,
extreme hunger
and distrust threaten
to tear the group apart.
Steven: For Darrin to
twist my words around
and turn me into the bad guy --
it makes you want to
knock his [bleep] lights out.
He knows that a loner
out here is a dead man.
[ Elephant trumpets ]
Ryan: This place is amazing.
I mean, look at these views.
This place is epic.
Everyone else just sleeps in
while I'm up here
enjoying this view,
looking for animal dens.
[ Snoring ]
There's a really
active trail right here.
I have not experienced drama
since I got out of the service.
And the drama level is up here,
and that's not what I
came to South Africa for.
I've spent the last four
years traveling the country
and hiking the appalachian trail
and trying to
figure out who I am
and what's my true
purpose and calling
now that eight years of
the marines is done with.
Wow.
Something was just in here.
It's all scoured up.
A shelter is a place
for me to sleep at night,
and other than that,
I'm getting [bleep] done.
I'm exploring. I'm learning.
[ Rustling ] What was that?
Oh, I saw its tail.
It's crazy.
You're not gonna
learn anything new
by sitting in the shelter.
I could've built a
shelter in my backyard
and sat there for 40 days naked.
I didn't come out here
to South Africa to do that.
[Bleep] Reeks. Oh, wow.
It's too bad the
porcupine is dead
and I'm not the
one that killed it.
I'm out here to thrive.
I'm not out here to
get by and survive.
God, there's so much
activity in this land.
[ Elephant trumpets ]
Hello, hello.
-Hey.
That was a fun hike.
-That's good.
-Was it awesome?
Yeah -- so many
active dens up there.
-Oh, really?
-I found a dead porcupine --
a couple days old.
-Wow.
Ryan: They're there.
Just maybe go early in
the morning sometime.
I mean, you could -- we
could spend a lot of energy
and everything,
but at the same time
we don't have [chuckles]
any energy to do that.
Energy to do
anything like that, yeah.
Well, a porcupine
shouldn't be too hard.
It's gonna curl up in a ball,
and then you got to
figure out a way to kill it.
Ryan: Being in a big group,
it makes things a lot tougher
for, you know, being
heard and finding your place
within that group.
What's your thoughts, Jake?
I mean, I think one
big hunting push --
if Steven wants to fish all day
and one or two of
us work at the blind,
just go for it really
strong, balls to the wall.
Yeah. No, I definitely --
I think that's, like,
a really good idea.
Steven: Damn it.
Got to get the rhythm back.
The way Darrin talked
to me yesterday hurts me.
And if everybody's gonna hate,
then let them hate
and let them talk.
Even with the drama and all
the miscellaneous bull[Bleep]
They're my team, and
I'm gonna stick with them
whether they want me to or not.
I'm gonna get the job done
because that's what
Steven Lee hall Jr. does.
Is that a turtle I see?
Yeah, he caught
a turtle in the net!
-What? Turtle!
-Whoo!
Dude, there's hundreds
of turtles in this pond.
Keep the turtles coming,
and we're gonna
get more of those.
"We're" gonna get more of those?
I wonder how big the turtle is.
Is he a big guy?
It's pretty big.
-I'll take its head off.
-Yeah, use the hatchet.
Supposed to take
out his insides.
Honestly, I thought there'd
be a lot more smiles than that.
I'm pretty [bleep]
disappointed right now,
but, well, I'm happy.
Poor guy.
Thank you, turtle.
-There's so much meat on it.
-I know.
[ Singsong voice ] It's gonna
make an amazing soup.
-It's frickin' exciting.
-It is so exciting.
Kept all the juices inside
as I transferred it into the pot.
But there was way
too much water in there.
-Yeah, did you dump some out?
-No.
Well, you could've
dumped some out.
Ryan: How long did you
cook it in the fire first?
-It was done?
-Yeah, it was done.
Did anyone taste it and
see what the juice tastes like?
No, but we can. Just
let it simmer like that.
-I do -- you know --
-it might just be, like,
watered-down,
like, turtle juice.
Stacey: Dip your finger
in there and be like [slurps]
Everybody comes in here
and tells me to
do something else.
Jake: Just do what
you think is best.
I've got full trust in
your cooking skills.
How can we not get
one of these mammals?
Look at this.
We literally have
giant male nyala buck
just getting some water.
[ Birds chirping ]
Stacey: Hey, girls!
Come eat some lunch!
Kim: She's always yelling.
Turtle stew.
It's time to eat.
Or not.
It's your choice.
-You guys, hush.
-Don't shoot the messenger!
Shh!
Kim: Stacey, try not to yell.
[Bleep] Doing [bleep]
okay, well, I'm not
for anybody anymore.
It's just that there's a
nyala down there by Jake.
[Bleep] Anymore.
Okay, well, I'm not doing
[bleep] 20 minutes or so
I'm on strike for the next
because I'm irritated as [bleep]
-What's up?
-Nothing.
I'm not gonna waste my
energy going down there,
hollering for lunch
and giving advice
when they're like, "well,
you need to cook it longer,"
and, "you need to do this."
It's too many chiefs
and not enough Indians.
[Bleep] That.
You know, we can't agree
on how to cook a stew.
How are we gonna
agree on how to be
a [bleep] functioning group?
I'm about ready to
just take off on my own.
[ Voice breaking ]
Today [ Sighs ] sucks.
[ Sniffles ]
You want to go for a walk?
Yeah.
Let's go, sunshine.
-What's going on?
-[ Sighs ]
Stacey: I'm, like, really
frustrated about, like,
all these bossy [bleep]
There's a whole lot
of bossy [bleep] here.
Tawny: Yeah.
You can't let the
little [bleep] get to you
'cause it's just gonna have
explosive reactions like this,
you know?
Tawny: Stacey
came to me in tears.
Like, I felt the pain that
she was experiencing.
She's a single mom like me,
and she's kept me together
at several moments,
so I'm really happy
to help her out
and have her here.
You haven't done anything wrong.
You know that, right?
What the [bleep]
am I doing here?
Nothing.
[Bleep]
-Clearly, though, I mean,
we're surviving off
of barely anything.
And we're [bleep] hungry.
We're hot. We're tired.
We've been out here for 27 days.
I know you do.
But they're so proud of you.
They're so proud of you.
-[ Sniffles ]
I wouldn't be here
if it wasn't for you.
[Sighs] This
environment and just, like,
[ sniffles ] How harsh
everything's been...
Has brought tawny
and I closer than --
than any friend I've
ever had in my life.
She's a righteous
girl. She's a good girl.
[ Sniffles ]
-This is tough [bleep]
This is real.
-[ Sniffles ]
Stacey: Not saying that
I'm gonna [bleep] flip out
on the group or anything,
but all needs are
not being addressed.
When all needs of the group
are not being addressed,
people become
noncompliant and angry,
and that's how
revolutions are born.
Ryan: The toughest part
of this whole challenge --
I say it every time
-- group dynamic.
Personalities.
Nine people is a
lot of personalities,
and some of them are
already super homesick.
Some of them don't
know why they're here.
I'd say there's three
or four out of nine
that are already just
so ready to be done.
Do they want to go
home and just be like,
"oh, I made it 40 days,
and I helped get
firewood and I boiled water
and I helped
build that shelter"?
That's not how I
want to remember this.
That's not the
experience that I want.
I don't know. I know
it's a team effort.
It's a group effort, but
on a much deeper level
it's completely personal.
[ Lion growls ]
Well, this seems
like a perfect time,
since everybody's here,
that I would like
to talk to you all.
At this point in my challenge,
in my personal challenge,
I feel like my wheels
are just spinning.
Every tribe,
sort of, in history,
everyone at a certain
age goes on a walkabout
or goes on their vision quest,
and I feel like if I
don't just go, like,
have that solo
part of the journey
that I'm gonna regret it.
Obviously, I would head towards
where everyone is gonna go to.
I would leave tomorrow
morning, and I would take
the smallest pot, angel's
fire starter, and that's it.
Steven: I couldn't believe it.
It's very hypocritical.
It's upsetting because
we need all hands on deck,
and the fact of the matter is
is Ryan basically just
gave up on our team.
So, you're going to the river?
Yeah, I mean, I might
as well head that way.
Phaedra: I just
feel like it's selfish.
We depend on
each other out here,
and to just up and leave after
we've been taking care of you?
No.
Ryan: This sort of
goes against everything
I had sort of hoped
for for the group,
but we are nine
complete strangers.
I know I say nothing's
impossible, but it's damn hard.
Tawny: I don't want
to be out here alone.
That's crazy.
Jake: Just be mindful of
your surroundings constantly.
You know, just keep
yourself as safe as possible.
I promise.
Steven: It's insane.
This is Africa.
Nothing here is safe.
The lions, the
leopards can kill you.
You get complacent
about it, you're dead.
Ryan: I am extremely
excited for this decision
and to get going on
this sort of solo journey
for a few days.
This is not selfish. This
is not me throwing a fit.
This is me needing to
listen to my inner self,
and that's what I'm gonna do.
[ Animal growling ]
I hear something growling.
Darrin: That's a leopard.
-Mm-hmm.
-You hear it?
-Yeah.
-They ain't no joke.
[Bleep] Aggressive. And they're
Whoa. Scorpion.
Watch out.
-Where?
-Right here.
Steven: We keep
hearing a leopard.
And I woke up, and there
was a scorpion next to my face,
so welcome to South Africa.
It's day 28, and it's
a huge day for me.
I'm about to embark
on my solo journey
of this challenge.
Well, it looks like
there's a stream bed
right down over
this little hill here.
I'm gonna follow that.
So, I'm really looking
forward to this experience
by myself for a while.
I'm gonna be out
there in the bush alone,
sleeping amongst the predators.
I'm actually scared [Bleep]less.
But it's gonna be awesome.
I think you have a tick
on your neck right here.
Jake: Oh, yeah,
that's definitely a tick.
I didn't have a single tick
on my genitals this morning,
so I feel like it's a sign that
it's gonna be a really good day.
-[ Laughs ]
-That is a good day.
That's what I worry for
Ryan is hopefully, you know,
he doesn't get tick fever.
-Oh, really.
-Ooh, yeah.
Jake: I just hope he
doesn't do anything stupid.
He can do whatever he wants to.
I want to believe
that he's doing
everything that he
can be doing to be safe.
You know, it's a full moon,
and the predators are out.
Wow, I'm, like,
extremely dizzy right now.
I need to sit.
-Blackout.
-I know. I'm blacking out.
Ohh.
Every time I look
around, it's spinning.
The fish and turtle are
great, but it's not really enough
to get ahead of the
game, though, in this stage.
I mean, I feel weak
just sitting here.
It's ridiculous.
The thing that concerns
me is we're all having
really bad dizzy spells
and kind of blackouts.
We really need food.
When I'm standing
and blacking out now,
I'm almost falling over.
Well, that's what
I'm concerned about.
Yeah, everybody start
being careful around the fire
when you get up.
Every time somebody stands
up, they're catching themselves
to keep themselves from
completely blacking out.
It's getting to the point
where I consider this severe.
You know, people
standing up around the fire
and around these thorny
bushes and things like that --
all it takes is
a little bit more
of a significant blackout, and
somebody's gonna go down.
I think, if we don't have any
success today or tomorrow,
we seriously consider
making the trek to the river.
Alyssa: Mm-hmm.
'Cause, then, we're there.
We're close to extraction.
That's true.
Narrator: Five miles
north of their current camp
at tsonga basin, the
mkuze river snakes
through miles of
drought-stricken bush.
Though ravaged by the
heat, its sparse waters offer
the promise of fish and big game
and would put the group
within striking distance
of their extraction point
four final, grueling
miles to the north.
Ryan: Lots of bones in here.
I don't have any
second thoughts.
I'm excited.
There's some things
I've been really wanting
to accomplish out here
and do it on my own time
and my own mind.
And look at that.
Literally just found
this fruit here.
I look up, and there's a tree.
Hello.
Narrator: The wooly caper
bush is a parasitic vine
that grows wild in south Africa.
Indigenous medicine
men have treated ailments
with the plant for centuries,
and its fleshy fruit is a
favorite of monkeys and bats.
Ryan: I mean, some of this...
Is still good, wow.
That almost tastes
like ice cream.
That's amazing. Mmm-mm-mmm.
I got a little
taste. I want more.
I'm gonna climb it and get
as many as I possibly can
before the birds do.
Luckily, my feet are
like sandpaper right now.
And luckily, I still have a
lot of upper-body strength.
Oh, ho, ho, some big ones.
Yeah! This is like
the giving tree.
Ah!
Some of these are so
soft, they just break open.
Look at all these.
They fell everywhere.
I'm gonna collect them.
Oh, what a dinner
I'm gonna have.
Damn, literally my biggest
one all over the ground.
You just want to pick
this stuff up and eat it.
[ Slurps ]
Mmm, not a total waste.
I'm just gonna eat
the whole thing.
[ Slurps ]
This is the most
amazing fruit...
I think I've ever had...
Out here or back
home in my whole life.
I just can't believe this
fruit. What a blessing.
I personally don't
think that, like, going
down to the river on
day 30 is a good --
I could leave tomorrow
morning and be happy with it.
At least we would
have cattails down there.
Steven: This camp just
has no plant base to sustain.
No. If we just keep
doing this [bleep]
Like, sitting around here,
we're just gonna get
weaker and weaker.
Tawny: Oh, god.
Too fast. Too fast.
Holy crap.
-Blackout.
That was close.
Stacey: How you doing?
Tawny: I'm gonna
go to the bathroom.
I'm not feeling good.
Darrin: It's pretty
dangerous to be this weak
in an environment like this.
I mean, we got leopards that are
known to hunt humans out here.
Big cats like to pick out the
weakest animals in a herd.
We're wandering around
kind of dazed and lethargic,
and that is every
sense to a predator
that, "this animal is
weak it's an easy target."
Phaedra: I know, like, Ryan
is saying that he wants a day
to have his thing down there,
but that's not our problem.
Darrin: We can set up our
camp away from where he is.
He can go wherever
he wants to go.
Like, we weren't
supposed to stay here.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Oh, my god!
[ Branch snaps ]
Tawny: [ Groans ]
Stacey.
Stacey: Are you
calling me? Yeah.
Where are you?
I'm down here.
-You okay?
-No.
I just went black, and I fell.
And I got a stabbing
pain right here.
-Hey, we need a medic!
-Something's wrong.
It shouldn't hurt that bad.
Stacey: Like, now.
Medic, like, now!
Tawny: Oh, my god!
[ Branch snaps ] [ Groans ]
Stacey: Hey, we need a medic!
Is it bad?
Tawny: I don't know
what happened.
I just went black.
Apparently tawny got
really hurt and passed out.
They're bringing the
stretcher down and everything.
I really don't know
what's going on,
but it's definitely not good.
I blacked out.
I've got a sharp,
stabbing pain here,
and my head, it
hurts really bad.
I don't know where I hit it.
What's going on?
[ Winces ] Ow.
-Is she okay?
-Something's wrong.
It shouldn't hurt that bad.
It's just getting worse.
Just to make sure there's
no other head injuries
or any neck injuries,
I think, at this point,
it might be unsafe
for her to be here.
Man: Okay. Thank you.
[ Sniffles ]
[ Sighs ]
Don't move your head, please.
Don't move your head, okay?
It's okay. Like,
you've already made it.
Phaedra: Yeah, no worries, girl.
Man: All right, guys.
One, two, three.
Let's go -- slowly,
slowly, slowly.
Stacey: It makes me
feel really sad for her,
and it makes me
feel like I'm alone now.
Things have been
really, really tough,
and she was able
to be there for me.
[ Voice breaking ] And she
was who I wanted to sit with
[ chuckles ] On the
plane on the way home.
-Tawny, you'll be okay.
-We love you, tawny.
-We love you.
-We love you, girl.
Man: One, two, three.
Jake: At this stage in the game,
this kind of event could
happen to any of us.
We love you.
I would like to think
I'm super tough
and not vulnerable
to anything like that,
but our bodies are
lacking on everything
that we really need to survive.
We're starving to death.
Dude, that's so [bleep]
Steven: Just like that, man.
Alyssa: I was
not expecting that.
[Bleep] Africa,
dude. This is no joke.
I'm gonna miss her.
Ryan: I'm gonna need more
than two days by myself.
Got a lizard!
He's right there up in the tree.
He's literally... Right there.
There's no way the spear
is gonna work on this.
I could just grab
him with my hands.
[ Chuckling ] Look at him.
He's got nowhere to go.
Look at that.
Oh, he's at the top of the tree.
[ Exhales sharply ]
Is this guy gonna jump on me?
I am literally two feet away
from this lizard
up in a [bleep] tree.
This guy ain't happy.
Narrator: The largest
lizard by weight in Africa,
the rock monitor, produces
toxic proteins in its saliva
that can poison its prey.
Ryan: Got to get him
right behind the head.
Oh, my god. Hey, buddy.
He's hissing at me.
[ Laughs ] Wow!
[ Grunts ]
He's reaching around,
trying to bite me.
Wow! Look at that.
[ Laughing ] My god!
[ Sighs ]
That was unreal.
Day 28 -- still thriving.
Maybe that fruit
gave me some energy.
I'm on an extreme high
this morning anyway
for taking off on
this solo journey.
And, you know, I'll
be able to get to camp,
be able to set up,
have some fruit, sugars,
and now I get to have some meat.
Sorry, big guy.
He's got ticks all over him.
Thank you, lizard.
Thank you.
It's already everything
I had hoped it would be.
It's everything I
knew that it would be.
I just got to be put out
here and sort of let go
of everything, and
things start to align.
It's pure magic, and it's
-- you know, it's everything
the last four years
of my life has been
since I got out of
the marine corps.
And I just needed this
release and this solo journey.
Steven: Just this
really sucks, you know?
And how just out of nowhere,
that can happen, you know --
Jake: It was a [bleep] day.
Darrin: We lost two
people today basically.
We need to make a
more formal game plan
about what's
gonna go on, I think,
'cause we're all getting
to that blackout point.
What do you guys think
about one last push for protein?
Yeah, I'm game
for one more push.
Me, too.
Let's try to get
something in us.
I was even thinking,
like, we could just, like,
block off some of the
trails or something.
Yeah.
Alyssa, I feel like, is
definitely taking charge
with the snares.
She's great at that.
All right. Let's do this.
I think a big thing with
setting up the snares is
we really want to get big game
before they start
to get too spooked.
So, today we're gonna try
and funnel the
animals in to the snares.
So, this is that game
trail that they come down.
And then all along
here, I have the snares.
So, what we want to do
is we want to make sure
that they don't
avoid the snares,
they don't go back this way,
so we have to have
people over here
and then three
people around here
so that when they come down
and drink we can scare them
and then they flock to
the snares. Sound good?
-Sounds good. Let's do it.
-Perfect.
Alyssa: So, our plan is to
set up every single snare
in one central location...
Steven: There we
go, Alyssa. Perfect.
...and close off any
path that they could take.
I'm just trying to
block off these routes
that are not snared, and
hopefully that's gonna
just kind of push them all right
into the few paths available,
and we'll get something to eat.
Alyssa: We'll all stake
out and get different spots
and then have two people
spook them into the middle.
I'm just really hopeful that
we can all work together
and get a kill.
Darrin: For primitive hunting,
it requires the utmost Patience.
The slightest twitch in a
blind will scare the animals.
It's not like back home,
where the deer just come out
onto the field and
graze, and they're all like,
"la-de-dah-de-dah."
Here, no matter where they are,
there is something
trying to kill them.
[ Rustling ]
Jake: Hey!
-Whoa!
-Whoa!
-Hup!
-Oh!
-Go!
-Go!
Hah! Hah!
Alyssa: Yeah, he's at the beach!
-Hah!
-Hey! Hey!
Hey!
-Whoa!
-Whoa!
-Hup!
-Oh!
-Go!
-Go!
Alyssa: Yeah, he's at the beach!
-Hah!
-Hey! Hey!
Hup!
Alyssa: [ Groans ]
Well [bleep]
Phaedra: How close
was he to a snare?
He broke it. Holy [bleep]
-Wow.
-You see that?
-Holy [bleep]
-And this is strong cord.
-It's 1,100-pounds.
-1,100-pound test?
Holy [bleep] that
[bleep] was not fearful.
-Not at all.
-I was like a few feet away
from it, and it
wanted to charge.
That bull was right next to me,
and he was not scared at all.
And I was.
Jake: I really want to
kill one of those bastards.
You know, we're going days
and days without any protein,
but I feel like with the group
of us here constantly fishing,
hiking around, hunting,
animals are just too wary
to really be able to do
the spook technique.
Jake: That was just frustrating
to not even really get a chance.
I mean, the big game
are disappearing.
There was 50 to 100
this time yesterday.
Today, there have been five.
-Yeah.
-I'd rather secure myself down by the river.
Yeah, this just shows that,
like, we've got to get closer.
We might head to the
river a day early now.
Everyone's blacking out.
Everybody's really starving,
so, uh, a little
change of plans.
And hopefully, the river
will be a little kinder to us.
Ryan: Wow! No way!
Look at this river.
Whoa!
Zebra, giraffe,
and water buffalo --
it's like a frickin' zoo here.
What a welcoming sight.
This is why I like
moving location,
so I get to see more
and explore more.
Those giraffe are enormous.
[ Chuckles ] This
is so stupid good.
This is incredible.
Look at them run.
Look at that [bleep] thing run
across the rocks
like it's nothing.
Wow! Look at that!
I am so stoked. I'm
so excited to be here.
This is the experience
I've been looking for.
This is exactly what
I was looking for.
Got this natural rock
formation, this natural rock wall --
fricking 10, 12 feet tall.
I don't have to worry about
buffalo, elephant, rhino,
anything coming over this wall.
More than half of my
shelter is already built.
I just got to build sort of
a half boma and a roof.
Start from the back,
work my way to the front.
Fire, water --
I'm getting thirsty.
I'm real dehydrated now.
Space to have my own
ideas, my own plan of action.
Just a different
way of doing things.
I really do hope the group
finds some of this stuff.
Charred a little bit --
oh, yeah, that's cooking great.
Get around the spine there.
There it is.
Mmm.
Look at that.
I've only been
solo for half a day.
Oh, man.
I got my fruit, got my
protein, got my new home.
I honestly feel, like,
not one negative thing,
not one con from
leaving the group
and making that decision
I made this morning.
[ Laughs ]
Now, this is what
I call thriving!
[ Howling ]
I'm on top of the world!
This location is probably
the most dangerous location
I've ever been in my life.
This is South Africa in
the bush, and it's not a zoo.
Mm, look at the size
of these lion paws.
I mean, and the
weight of the animal
to make the
impression, you know,
of each of those fingers
-- and there its giant paw.
I mean, that cat paw
is bigger than my hand.
It can be a little unsettling.
But it's what I wanted.
I'll be alone with the big cats.
I'll be alone with the hyenas
and everything else out there
that lurks around at night,
but, you know, I'm gonna
be confident in my boma.
[ Animal roars in distance ]
[Bleep]
It's gonna have to be a
prison fortress of a shelter
now that I'm by myself and
I'm the only eyes and ears
out here with all the dangers
lurking around at night.
This is one nasty-looking tree.
I hate working with thorns,
but I'm glad there's an
abundance of it right now.
The sun has literally set,
which means it's around 7:00,
I think, and I
literally just finished.
Not happiest about
the door right now,
but I don't have a choice.
I don't have any more time.
But it's got some
pretty large thorns on it.
This is the craziest thing
I probably will
ever do in my life.
I am solo in the
South African bush
surrounded by some of the most
dangerous prehistoric animals
on earth,
and I'm sleeping on the
ground with no real security
besides my own construction
of a boma and Thorn bushes.
[ Animals roar in distance ]
I hope I live to tell the story.
[ Lion growls ]
Narrator: On this
40-day survival quest,
the survivalists earn a group
"naked and afraid xl" rating,
or xlr, which gauges their
progress, skill, and teamwork.
Ryan's departure and tawny's
emergency evacuation...
We love you.
Narrator: ...Have dealt a
serious blow to the group.
Alyssa: Yeah, he's at the beach!
Narrator: And their failed team
hunt has left them starving and d
dropping their
group xl rating to 5.9.
Despite his risky decision
to venture out on his own,
Ryan has had significant
success finding food... Wow!
Narrator: ...Raising
his xlr to 7.5.
But his first night
alone in the African bush
may bring new perils.
-[Bleep]
For more information
on "naked and afraid xl,"
[ Lion growls ]
Ryan: [ Groans ]
I am solo in the
South African bush,
surrounded by some of the most
dangerous prehistoric animals
on earth with no real security
besides my own construction
of a boma and Thorn bushes.
I saw lion prints today just
100 feet away at the river.
You know how I know
I'm gonna be okay?
The one constellation that's
directly above me is Orion.
And that is my constellation.
And even in Afghanistan, Iraq,
I'd look up at the sky at night,
and it'd be the first thing
looking right back at me.
And I always knew
that I'd be okay,
and it's literally the
only constellation
I can see right now right there.
That's a sign.
I'm gonna be just fine.
Jake: All the stars are out.
It's a completely clear sky
for the first time in a long time.
-A very long time.
-It's been like a week.
-It's been like 10 days I think.
-Yeah, 'cause, like,
when me and Ryan
showed up, that was just --
'cause, like, rain and
[bleep] since then, really.
Yeah.
Darrin: A person going solo
in Africa is like a huge deal.
Phaedra: Yeah, I think he
really wanted that solo feel.
-Well, he said that, too.
-I don't think he works well
in groups, at all.
Alyssa: But that
was supposed to be
not his adventure to the
river, and that pisses me off.
Yeah, that is the one thing
that I think is kind of [Bleep]
He's gonna get first dibs.
It's gonna be three days of
animals being frightened off.
-Yep.
-Mm-hmm.
Three days of fruit being eaten.
Stacey: Being
alone in the middle of
it seems like a bad idea.
[ Animal growling in distance ]
It's night, uh, 28.
There's lions out there.
My [bleep] stomach --
my diaphragm is killing me.
[ Burps ]
[ Groans ]
I don't know if it's from
the clabber berries or the...
Or the, uh, monitor lizard.
[ Groans ]
[ Sighs ]
It's right here.
[ Sighs ] Ohh.
Nothing is -- nothing
is making it feel better.
[ Roaring in distance ] Ohh.
I'm gonna puke.
[ Coughs, spits ]
[ Coughs, spits ]
[ Wretches ]
[ Groaning ] Oh, my god.
[ Wretches ]
I'm throwing up everywhere.
[Bleep]
[ Groans ]
I have a high pain
tolerance, but this hurts.
[ Breathing heavily ]
This hurts so bad.
I'm sweating my ass off.
[ Spits ] I got
puke all over me.
Aah!
I don't know what to do.
Breathe.
[ Groans ]
[Bleep] Me.
Aaah!
Something's in my diaphragm.
Oh!
Breathe.
[ Groans ] 9 out of 10 pain.
10 out of 10, I'm passing out.
Oh, god.
This is not the
best time to be sick.
I can hear them coming.
[ Growling in distance ]
[ Rustling ]
Lions -- I can hear lions.
[ Growling continues ]
Narrator: Next time on
"naked and afraid xl"...
Steven: I wonder where Ryan is.
[ Whistles ]
Ryan!
The eight remaining survivalists
have endured a grueling 28 days,
but nothing can possibly
prepare them for day 29.
Phaedra: Aaah!
[ Animal growling ]
[ Groans ]
I'm in so much pain.
[ Wretches ]
-Ryan!
-Oh, my god!
[ Screams ]
[ Siren wails ]