Suvechha Sarkar
Season 2 of Fox’s ‘Extracted’ returns with its intense survival competition, where amateur survivalists are abandoned alone in the remote wilderness of Northern Ontario. Episode 1, titled ‘Alone in the Wild’, kicks off with 11 families taking part in the competition, where they must face isolation, hunger, wilderness, and many more challenges. The families of the competitors are set to watch them through a network of robotic surveillance cameras and ultimately decide whether they keep fighting or get extracted/evacuated. The last standing family can ultimately walk away with a life-changing $250,000.
Season 2 of Extracted Begins by Highlighting Each Survivalist and Their Families
The episode commences with the introduction of the survivalists and their families as they bid each other goodbye before being sent into the wild. The contestants are: (i) Luke, with his brothers, Daniel and David, (ii) Summer, who has come with her mother, Stacy, and brother Sage, (iii) RJ with his mother Makala and aunt Tanisha, (iv) Doug with his sons Dayton and Alec, (v) Jessica-Rey with her mother Stacy and sister Analyse, (vi) Eric with his partner Nina, and her mother, Sandra, (vii) Katie, who is here with her sisters, Carly and Emily, (viii) Olsen with his parents Anna and Kevin, (ix) Rhoman with his brother, Dallas and mother Lynsey, (x) Polly with her twin sister Molly and niece Bailey, and (xi) Amey, who has arrived with her father Trung and husband Skyler.
During his introduction, Luke’s brother, Daniel, confesses that he is willing to sacrifice his morals for Luke. He reveals that the three of them do everything together and are construction professionals. Winning the money can truly reduce the pressure for Luke to work hard every day and spend more time with his family. Summer is known as the Pageant Lady in her hometown, and her mother, Stacy, is the reigning US Miss Elegant. Her brother, Sage, reveals that while growing up, Summer often beat him; hence, he will take revenge by not pressing the extraction button at any cost. RJ further notes that his mother is quite hard on him, and he is sure Makala and Tanisha will not extract him until he is at the point of death.
Jessica-Rey’s mother and sister are ready to play a cutthroat game, but the latter also worries since her sister is quite emotional. As the families begin arriving at Headquarters (HQ) one by one, it is revealed that Eric is here with his partner, Nina, his high school sweetheart for over 11 years. Nina’s mother, Sandra, notes that Eric always speaks about things he would do if he ever participated in ‘Survivor’ while watching the show. So, Sandra wants to see if he can actually follow through on what he has been saying. Right from the start, Daniel recognizes Sandra as a real villain and says he will never trust her. Meanwhile, the survivalists are transferred deep into the rugged terrain with just a canteen of water, a camera, emergency equipment, and clothes on their backs.
Family Dynamics Come Into Focus as Olsen Grapples With His Father’s Expectations
Olsen reveals that his father, Kevin, has taught him everything about hunting and fishing and is also his coach. Whenever the contestant doesn’t live up to his standards, his father often critiques him. Meanwhile, Anna is worried about Kevin overanalyzing everything Olsen does. The survivalist further discloses that his father actually signed him up for the contest, and he has stopped going to college to do this. Kevin thinks that his son is thinking too much and notes that if it were him instead of Olsen, he would definitely win. He continues that it is finally a chance for Olsen to prove that he is just like his father. Shortly after, the families at the HQ receive the message that since the competitors have no resources, their families can send them help through supply drops and help in survival trials.
The message further reveals that the extraction button at the center of the HQ will extract the survivalist, who will then be rescued by the extraction team. Wasting no time, the contestants search for the best locations to build their shelters and get to work. While Polly handles the situation well, Jessica-Rey is scared to make her shelter. Early on, Alec realizes that having people on their side will always help them in the long run rather than putting a target on their backs. Soon, Olsen remarks that there are many animals, especially birds, but things take a dark turn when he spots a black bear at a short distance from his location. However, when the other families at the HQ try to find his parents, they aren’t found anywhere. Thankfully, Olsen drives the bear away by blowing a horn.
Kevin admits that after this encounter, Olsen will not be able to sleep tonight. As the survivalists go to sleep one by one, Amey’s father, Trung, tells Daniel that she is the weakest physically. However, Daniel feels that Trung and Skyler are downplaying her since she is doing just fine. The focus then shifts to Rhoman, who calls himself the mama’s boy. His older brother, Dallas, reveals that Rhoman is much closer to their mother, Lynsey, than he is. Back in the wilderness, Rhoman is worried about disagreements between Dallas and Lynsey. He then expresses his gratitude to his mother, stating that he is competing because of her. On the other hand, Jessica-Rey begins crying, revealing that she is already struggling. In the meantime, Sandra further notes that Eric is a “hot mess” from the first day.
Daniel’s Midnight Emergency Item Grab Reshapes the Game’s Strategy
On the first night, as everyone goes to sleep one by one, Analyse and Stacy decide to stay up at the HQ. Stacy divulges that she has promised Jessica-Rey that she will not fall asleep the first night her daughter will be in the wilderness. The spotlight now falls on Daniel, who is unable to sleep, recalling a glass box at HQ that can be broken in case of an emergency. Despite knowing that Luke doesn’t need it, he is willing to do anything to win the competition. Hence, he breaks the glass around 4:06 am, getting the blanket inside. Daniel then promptly asks Stacy to keep it between themselves and proceeds to throw some shards of glass near another competitor’s table to mislead everyone. However, the breaking of the glass sounds the alarm, waking everyone up.
Daniel quickly remarks that he now has to do damage control. The incoming message announces that the family in possession of the emergency item must report to the supply room immediately to send to their survivalist. While Luke is happy to receive the blanket supply drop, some of the other contestants are struggling in the cold weather. Meanwhile, Olsen is struggling with a headache from the cold, and Kevin realizes that his son has checked out mentally. It isn’t long before the alert for the first supply drop comes into the HQ. Based on yesterday’s observations, the families are instructed to rank the survivalists from weakest to strongest. After the allotted two minutes have ticked away, the families decide Olsen is the weakest, while Luke is the strongest competitor.
It is then announced that the families now have access to the supply room, which is stocked with bundles of critical survival items, such as fishing line, knives, matches, a bow drill, and sleeping bags. Each family can choose one set of those supply items, then barter them to secure what they need for their own survivalist. Since some items are better than others, the order truly matters, and they must enter the supply room starting with the weakest and ending with the strongest. Daniel realizes it may not have been a good choice on his part, since he will ultimately get to select the necessities, which may prevent Luke from getting the items needed to build a fire. After each family finishes grabbing their set of objects, the bartering begins. It leads to the exchange of items from a set of three among the families within 10 minutes.
Olsen Shuts Down Emotionally, Leading to His Extraction From the Competition
As the focus shifts to Olsen, he admits to Kevin and Anna that he wants to be extracted. Although Anna doesn’t want to do that, she becomes concerned that he is just mentally shutting down. In the meantime, each survivalist receives their supply drop, lighting up everyone’s faces. Sadly, Rhoman is disappointed to get a fishing line, since he originally wanted something to build a fire with to get water. Lynsey begins regretting her and Dallas’ choice immediately. Unlike the others, Olsen remains sitting before his shelter, pleading with his parents to extract him. He states that he wants to go home, despite what is in the supply box. He soon confesses that it is Kevin’s idea to get him into the competition, and he is just dragged into it when he is supposed to be in college.
Kevin becomes upset because he knows he was hard on Olsen, but he also expected his son to last a little longer. For Kevin, being a man means being strong mentally and physically, and he is afraid his son will regret this decision 5 to 10 years later for pushing himself too hard. In his confessional, Kevin insists that if it were him, he would surely win. Ultimately, after much contemplation, Kevin and Anna finally press the extraction button, eliminating Olsen from the contest. In his exit interview, Olsen apologizes to his mother and states that being alone in the wild surely makes him stressed and scared. He continues that it is the hardest thing that he has ever done to prove to his father that he can do this, but it is easier said than done. On the other hand, Kevin reveals that he does not want to come off as someone who is disappointed in Olsen.
Kevin further expresses that some people mature faster than others, and he hopes Olsen comes out stronger after this. As the family finally reunites, Anna remarks that she knows Olsen just wanted to show his father that he is a man, and she is indeed proud of him. With Olsen being extracted, only 10 families remain. As the evening approaches, the survivalists all get to work to start a fire. While Jessica-Rey begins crying, wishing she were home, Rhoman becomes sad because he doesn’t have anything to start a fire. Luke becomes the first person to successfully light a fire with a bow drill. However, it only upsets Rhoman’s mother, Lynsey, since she is unable to help him, but Dallas feels his brother is just complaining. It is yet to be seen who stays on the right track and holds on to prevent being extracted.
Read More: Extracted Finale Recap: The Final Drop
