Shelton98 said:
Are the contestants this season just better than the 2 previous seasons or is Patagonia an easier place to survive in than where they were in S1&2?
I think it is a combination of both.
Looking at the last five this season...
- Dave is a Cody Lundin type. Just goes off on these spiritual quests and seems to have zero ****s to give about anything back in the world.
- Callie is a naturalist with a good foundation in botany and herbal medicine as well as primitive living.
- Megan is a biologist and botanist. She knows all the little stuff she can forage.
- Fowler lives off the grid and knows how to build whatever he needs to accomplish tasks.
- Carleigh is an Alaskan who has been doing survival training since she was a kid. I have a feeling she has some ties to natives from up there as well based on her looks (pure speculation there).
Those five have stronger survival backgrounds than anyone I can think of from season 1 or 2 except Jose and he was going the way of Dave at the end of season 2 before he fell in the water. I do think Alan could have gone much longer but he didn't have to.
One of the differences I have taken notice of between Vancouver Island and Patagonia is the fishing. It could be editing but it seemed like once the salmon run stopped, there were hardly any fish left to get in Vancouver. They're still catching fish in Patagonia though it has slowed down a bit. Vancouver did seem to have more shellfish to go after in season 1...season 2 they had red tide. It also seemed to have way less plant forage than Patagonia.
Finally, I think as these shows go on the new contestants have the luxury of observing various strategies from past seasons and learning what works and what doesn't.
I have no idea who is going to win this one but it has been a fun watch. Heck it could go the way someone said before and they all end up medivac'd out of there.