‘Outlast: The Jungle’ Netflix series lights fire with ‘alpha male’ Ben
In this scene from “Outlast: The Jungle, alpha male Ben can’t light a fire, but does spark some tense comments from teammates.
Warning: this story contains spoilers from Episodes 7 and 8 of Netflix’s “Outlast: The Jungle”.
It’s fitting that Netflix’s “Outlast: The Jungle” reality competition series came down to a tense-ish outrigger canoe race between the two final teams.
The race, while not remotely close, showcased the sheer exhaustion of the four remaining competitors, who had spent 33 days surviving the humid jungles of Panama “Survivor” style.
The jungle edition of the “Outlast” survival franchise featured 16 strangers with limited supplies wheeling, dealing and even stealing to endure − all while following one Golden Rule in pursuit of the $1 million prize: No one could win alone.
Players had to remain part of a team to stay in the game. They could switch alliances, but quitting or being ousted from a group meant firing a flare gun to signal immediate elimination.
So who won the $1 million “Outlast: The Jungle” prize in Episode 8?
Charlie Camp flamed out with arrows, leaving two teams in finals
Camp Bravo − Abby Chu and Pharaoh Gayles − had a major advantage in the Episode 7 flaming arrow challenge. The duo had traded away fourth member Sarah Awad for a bow and swapped third teammate Morgan Colburn for a fire-starting ferro rod. They had the goods.
When the challenge called for the teams to light a flaming arrow and set a nearby target aflame with a direct hit, Pharaoh lit the fire with ease. “Squid Game: The Challenge” alum Abby had some difficulty aiming the flaming arrow tip that affected her nearby forefinger on the bow. She took some wild shots before the competent archer and all-around badass figured out how to fire with literal fire. Their struck target burned, allowing Camp Bravo into the finals, before the other teams were even firing.
Charlie Camp − Wes Saunders, Brett Johnson, Braxton Fish − had to literally make their own bow, an impressive creation from the “Redneck MacGyver” Brett. Even with a decently quick fire, shooting the flaming arrow with the makeshift bow with any aim was tough for former NFL player Wes.
It was a valiant effort. Wes even worked it when the bow broke and had to be repaired on the spot. The target remained ever-elusive.
Alpha Camp − Nikki Hru, Maddy Jones, Leiya Pillitteri − had seemed giddy with confidence before the flaming arrow competition. Team newcomer Leiya was a certified firestarter in practice and Nikki was a killer shot. However, Leiya couldn’t get the spark-lit fire going for the big challenge. The sparks would hit, Leiya would blow intently, and then nothing. It was excruciating to watch. Leiya even tearfully burst into prayer to the Lord for fire as the sparks failed to catch. Supportive Maddy kept telling her to focus and not look at the other teams far ahead of them. Nikki just sent out stress vibes.
Finally, Leiya lit the fire. Nikki went straight into action-hero mode, hitting the target in just a few shots. Alpha Camp beat Charlie Camp into the finals in dramatic fashion despite Leiya’s botched fire-starting.
“My heart sank to my ass,” boar hunter Brett poetically said of the Charlie Camp loss.
Pharaoh got lost in the final ‘Outlast’ hike, which blew it for Bravo
The final hike was through an area so jungle-nasty, the “Outlast” announcer said the locals called it (pause) “The Devil’s Heart.” That designation might be complete B.S. But it sounded good with his deep, announcer voice. Alpha Camp made decent time, even with Leiya slipping on rocks in the river. They were the first team to find their key and instructions at the destination waterfall.
Just to be safe, Nikki and Maddy decided to cut “weak link” Leiya on the last night. They didn’t want her to choke again and blow their million in the final stretch. They even acted sorta upset. Seemed kind of perfunctory, really. No doubt doing the simple math on their increased cut of the dough eased their pain.
You have to blame Pharaoh for the crucial wrong turns in the Camp Bravo final hike. Like a married couple from a 1950s sitcom, Pharaoh led Abby through the jungle the wrong way. Abby would ask him to check the compass or check the map, or check both. Nope, he was sure. And they surely got lost. The man-detour cost $1 million. Literally, Pharaoh used the didn’t-get-enough-sleep excuse for the navigation errors, which doesn’t cut it even in Boy Scouts.
Alpha Camp won ‘Outlast: The Jungle,’ minus poor Leiya
Camp Bravo was behind for the final leg. Alpha Camp rolled in the top spot, getting to the designated jetty first and paddling a canoe to the final beach They were halfway across the water, paddling furiously, when Camp Bravo got into their boat.
Even by reality show standards, it wasn’t close. The biggest tension came when Alpha Camp lost the key to open their final chest in the sand. Was this ridiculousness the attempt of a field producer to make the “Outlast” finale closer? We’ll never know for sure. We can have theories.
Yes, Alpha Camp found the key in the sand and opened the once-buried chest. They lit the green flare inside and held it up victoriously. Camp Bravo could only watch dejectedly, finally on the beach to witness defeat up close.
Alpha Camp is the “Outlast: The Jungle” champion!
A helicopter appeared overhead like a Pete-Hegseth-fever-dream and dropped a bag of fake cash into the sand. It didn’t quite look even like a fake $1 million when opened. But we weren’t running our hands through the cash on the beach.
It was grand enough for the Camp Alpha champions Nikki Hru and Maddy Jones, who cried discussing their forever-changed lives. Interestingly, they took the only available helicopter off the island.
Winning isn’t everything, but it’s the only thing to get you a $1 million helicopter ride home from “Outlast: The Jungle.”
