Original subtitles

DYLAN: We are heading into one of the harshest winters on the planet.

SIA: There's no finish line.

TRENT: But there is $250,000 waiting for the last person.

I'll do anything to win this thing.

It's snowing!

Winter has arrived.

LILLIAN: It's so cold.

Pretty soon that lake's gonna freeze.

Look at that.

There's no fish.

Oh, man.

Ahh!

DOUGY: Alone season four, the Arctic.

It's on like Donkey Kong.

Arggh!

Well, well, well. Hasn't the game just changed?

Coo-ee!

This is the Arctic Circle.

Mother Nature will not show any mercy on us.

But I grew up in war.

Hey, fish!

Tapping out, where I came from, is not an option.

When you hear people say that they're not gonna quit, I truly believe

that I won't quit in this.

I just lost my way.

I did all the things you're not meant to do.

It's just pain.

We're not giving up.

Not till I've made this lure and caught a fish with this hair.

Bit of hip pain.

Harden the fuck up, Alyce.

That duck knows where all the fish are

and they always go back to the centre of the lake.

It's where I need to go.

I'm building a damn boat in the Arctic.

It's just so shallow.

That's why I'm not catching anything.

I'm going for the deep.

Operation Canoe.

Or Kayak, whatever you want to call it.

I can feel the wind blowing.

Oh!

Oh, no!

What if I don't catch any fish today?

Or tomorrow? Or the next day?

Like, how much failure can I take?

I have struggled with a lot of mental health issues.

I always push myself, even if it means breaking myself.

I told myself I wouldn't keep going if I'm mentally getting worse.

(HYPERVENTILATING) No.

I'm fine.

I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.

Mm-mm-mm.

So, you know, I'm eating out here.

But it's just berries.

Berries, berries, berries.

I have maybe, I don't know, between one and four cups of berries a day.

Oof!

Because of how much, I've just started to craft a little spoon.

A tiny spoon.

Just for fun, really.

I feel like I'm eating a meal.

I scoop and I can get about eight berries on there.

Oh.

Oh, I'm so...

I feel so fancy.

Got the pinky going.

Sometimes I heat up the berries.

(CHORTLES)

Oh, I'm in for a treat when I do that.

I heat up the berries.

Wouldn't mind some fish to go with these berries, though.

Speaking of which, this will be my first day out fishing on the boat.

Ah, wish me luck, guys.

I really hope this thing floats.

Fingers crossed.

Make no mistake, guys, this is survival.

But we have to take risks, even to get fish.

Let's go.

You're going on the boat with me.

All right, let's see if we can get this to the water.

Never built a kayak before.

Oh, I hope this works, eh?

Oh!

Not ideal.

Got to be very careful,

because it would be bloody dangerous for me

to fall in the water at the moment.

If I'm out in the middle of that lake, that's really dangerous.

That cold shock could put me under.

Hypothermia can kill you pretty quick.

And I promised Jen, I promised my wife,

that I would come home in one functional piece.

If I died, she'd be so pissed off at me.

Oh, geez, there's a strong wind.

Here we go.

Oh!

Holy cow!

Whoop.

Yeah, geez, it's already pushed me into the bloody rocks.

Can't see any water.

Nothing except for what I brought in on my feet.

We're on the water.

I did it. I actually did it.

Oh, we've got heaps of clearance there.

Whoo!

Yeah!

Whoo-hoo!

We have a boat.

Damn, I'm going against the wind.

No, let's not get too cocky.

Let's not get too cocky just yet.

I'm not going to go out too deep just yet, just in case I have

a slow leak that suddenly becomes a fast leak.

Paddle's working really well.

Whoo!

Oh, it's really stable.

I'm impressed.

Bloody happy with that.

Oh, wow.

I've built a boat.

That's a win today.

Hopefully a fish tomorrow.

Ooh, it begins!

How's that for a three-way camera angle?

So I decided to bring my picture out today.

This is of Holden at the top of Mirror Peak, and I took it.

And the reason that I brought this photo is because a couple of days

before this picture, I was really struggling.

I had really bad migraines.

We were camping at high altitude in the snow.

My blood pressure was really low.

And the night before summit, I had an ultimatum.

If I would stay at camp

or if I would push through at midnight

to make it for sunrise at 6,400 metres.

I really wanted it so badly.

So I gave myself a bit of a pep talk.

I had to find everything inside me,

and I just defied all of the things I was feeling.

I pushed through, and I fucking did it.

And I was so fucking happy with myself,

and I was so proud because I was feeling so low.

But I was also thinking about the fact that if I was a guide and

I saw me the way I was looking, I wouldn't have let me go.

The truth is, I could have really hurt myself up there.

I could have put others at risk.

I always push myself to the extreme.

12 days.

Freakin' proud of myself.

Hi, this is Lillian, and I'm officially tapping out.

How are you feeling?

I've been a lot in my head during this time,

and I think I need to know when it's okay to take a step back.

I usually don't do that.

I usually just keep going and going until I just hurt myself.

And I feel like I already have a little bit,

and I just need to learn to just...

..step back from that and actually take care of myself.

This whole process has been intimidating and scary,

and I've been worried.

But it was an honour to get to sit here in this beautiful place

and get to live in it.

And the Arctic Circle is a part of me.

How to wash in the bush.

Take one pair of slightly used underpants,

put it in hot water,

wash your hair.

Another grey old dawn this morning.

Didn't feel like getting out of bed at all.

Each day is a little harder, I tell you.

Waking up with empty guts, going to bed with empty guts.

Body slowly dissolving itself.

It's not sustainable,

but we'll push it.

See what it can do.

Looking forward to trying the new digs out.

The shelter, the hut.

More than just a shelter to me, that's my home.

Well, this is where I think I'll build my permanent campsite,

in my Taj Mahal with waterfront views.

I've given myself a whole week to get this job done.

I'm not going to rush it.

Fencing 101, get the bottom of the hole nice and tight.

Whoo-hoo!

No stranger to fairly harsh climate.

It's going to be cold with a capital C.

Nothing worse than being cold because your body's just burning energy

trying to keep warm, so...

..it's pretty important you've got good shelter.

That's looking good, baby.

If you're warm, you're not burning calories,

so you're conserving your body fat a little bit longer.

It's a lot of work.

As you can see, I've still got a bit of work to do.

But I think it's well worth it in this environment.

I hope it's worth it.

Just got to watch so I don't crash and burn.

Coming together. We can do this.

We can do it.

Yep.

That's tight for size.

We may end up plugging some of those holes up a bit more,

but she's all tied down.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

(CHORTLES)

She's looking good.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have officially moved in.

One fully insulated winter cabin.

Pretty happy.

Can you tell?

I've got a good name.

There we have it.

I think it's pretty cool.

Welcome to Guts Ache Inn.

Permanent now.

I'm here forever.

Just got to learn how to eat rocks and moss and logs.

Oh, dear.

Come on, winds.

Turn off.

Got to get this net in the water.

That's been me plan from day one.

Get the kayak out.

Try and get that fucking net in the water.

I'm sick of talking about it.

It's day 13 now, and I haven't caught a fish yet.

Look at them maggots.

You see them?

See that?

That's what I'm eating.

These totally rank maggoty mushrooms.

Eugh!

Hey, fuck it.

I've made a decision.

I'm going to get the kayak out. Fuck it.

I have to get fish.

Maiden voyage.

You saw what happened to the Titanic, the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

It sunk, and I really don't want that to happen to me.

If that kayak fails 300 metres out...

Whoa!

..I'm not getting back in.

I'll not be able to swim that far in these temperatures.

I'm on the rocks there.

Here goes nothing!

I can feel it on the bottom.

Oh, hey!

Ahh!

Oh, hey.

It's tippy.

It's fucking tippy.

I can feel it on the rocks.

I'm so nervous.

I am shitting myself to death here.

I'm so nervous.

Ahh!

I am shitting myself to death here.

Come on, get out.

Oh, my God.

This is so tippy.

Being out here is very, very risky.

It's tippy.

But I have to try.

I have to try. I can't not try.

Right.

I feel a gust of wind.

That's a nice chill.

I need a massive stockpile of fish.

That is the only way I'm going to win this.

I'm going to set my net.

I'm going to get that thing in the water,

and I'm going to find the bastards.

Good enough for me.

Good enough for fucking Dougy.

Get in there.

That's it.

My net's in the water.

See, I'm just getting blown into the shore here.

Let's head back.

One, two, three.

How do you get up one of these things?

Oh.

I'm sweating.

Well, people, the kayak did work.

The problem is where I am.

There's nothing close into the shore, and I haven't seen one fish rise.

I haven't seen one fish jump.

I still haven't seen one fish on the surface.

I hope there's something in that net.

I just want it to pay off.

You know what I mean?

Holy shit, I've got a fish!

I've got a fish!

Yes!

(LAUGHS)

Oh, come on.

I don't even have a fucking net.

Oh, it's a pike.

(LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

I'm having fish tonight!

Not the biggest in the world, but he is food.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

Oi, oi, oi.

I'm going to cook the bastard.

But first, I'm going to throw some baits in the water with his guts.

See if anything comes into shore tonight.

Bit better.

Should catch it.

I'll at least have half a chance of catching it if it comes in.

Woosa!

Slimy pike.

I'm just going to slice him up into a couple of different chunks

and just put him in the pot.

No point filleting him.

This little bit can get boiled up...

..along with his head.

And then I'm going to drink the juices

and suck off the meat off there.

Like Gollum would.

So this is my first real food for two weeks.

Lovely.

Oh!

I can feel the goodness of that fish just absorbing into my body,

going into my brain.

I'll tell you what, what a lifesaver.

This meat is a wonderful white fish.

Hopefully now, it's going to be a bit of a domino effect where I caught

that pike, now I use the guts to try and catch more fish.

Know what I mean?

Hopefully now it's just going to roll.

Oh, God, that's so good.

A lot better than maggoty mushrooms, I tell you.

OK.

That is a pot of mushrooms.

Shit.

Bugger.

All good.

Nothing's wasted.

Cool.

Funny that, isn't it?

Dirt.

It's pretty subjective.

You've got clean dirt and dirty dirt.

Around here it's pretty clean dirt.

You know, city dirt, dirty dirt.

Jeez, the fishing has been challenging, eh?

I've tried a few things.

All I can do is keep coming up with ideas and thinking through it.

You know what I haven't thought of trying as bait?

Bit of foot callus.

Probably smell a bit.

I can cut off a little bit of bait off my foot, I reckon.

Hopefully I can get enough off without being dangerous.

How am I going to do this?

I'm getting a bit off my heel.

Get in there.

I think I need to be brave and go a bit deeper

than just that little bit of skin.

Might use my sharper knife so it's a little more precise.

It's tough stuff, eh?

That's more like it.

God, this knife is so sharp

and I need to put a bit of sawing work into this.

It feels kind of creepy.

Look at that frigging slug.

Oh, yeah.

That's going to stay on the hook like crazy good.

Here we go, foot callus, casting off.

What a cast.

Get your foot callus.

Let's go, let's go, get your foot callus.

The tables have turned, fishies, you get to try human.

Not many fish get this opportunity.

It's a full circle.

You eat me, I eat you.

I keep wondering if you guys are thinking I'm really weird or not.

I'm just trying to, for this whole experience, just be myself.

And I know myself as, I'm kind of unusual and strange.

I would say if I'm anything,

I'd call it a neurologic... neurospicy or neurodivergent.

Probably just a bit... a bit on the unusual side.

But hey, no one's perfect.

And you can be imperfect and do crazy things like this.

Holy shit.

That was a proper bite.

Something liked the frigging foot callus.

Oh, yeah.

Stretch.

Well, it's day 14.

Sun hasn't been up for that long.

The daylight is getting shorter.

A little bit of a daily comb.

Got to keep this luscious... Oh, God, that's bad.

That knot's bad.

That's dready.

That's dready potential.

Oh, and I forgot to update you.

My hip's better.

Basically fully functional again.

What's on for today?

Got to go check my gill net.

Hoping and praying that there is a fish in this net.

And that my lure fishing will catch something today.

I need fatty fish. It's just that simple.

You need fish to stay long-term out here.

I'm almost nervous to look.

I'm scared, like what if there's not one?

Going to crush my little heart.

This is the only place that I can cast a gill net.

Everywhere else is just snags, snags for metres offshore.

So this area is really my best bet.

Come on.

Oh, there's a whole bunch of weed.

It's actually ridiculous.

Like, not one fish.

It's all right.

Just have to try something else.

This might sound cocky, but I know I'm a good fisherwoman.

I got into fishing when I moved to the coast in the Pilbara.

And I was surrounded by a lot of fishing fanatics.

Everyone had a boat.

Everybody's spare time was spent fishing.

So I had no other choice but to learn.

And I literally got hooked.

Skills-wise, I do think I have a bit of an edge when it comes to fishing.

And my biggest strength in fishing is lure fishing.

Guys, I invented a lure.

I'm going to show you how to make it.

It's called the Grayling Gaslighter.

Brought to you by yours truly, my hair.

I've been excited to make this since I got here.

Haven't had the time.

And by the way, it's not just for graylings.

It's whichever fish wants to take it.

I'm sure they're all going to love it.

It's a crowd pleaser.

So you need a split-shot sinker, a hook.

Here's some hair I prepared earlier.

Oh, and you need fishing line.

That would help as well.

So we just got this thingamajig.

And then you basically just crimp it down on the wire.

There we go, kids.

This is why I coloured my hair.

I'm going to show you how it moves in the water.

It works.

Right. We're going to give her a go.

We're going to cast the Grayling Gaslighter.

Oh, yeah.

Wish me luck.

I'm going to need it.

Yes, that was a good cast.

Oh, no, it's caught.

It's caught under the log.

No, that is gone.

That is gone forever.

Oh, no.

Oh, shit.

Bad news.

I got snagged on a log.

You know what?

They're easy to make. I can make another one.

You know, this whole area is snaggy, like it's bound to happen.

Oh, well.

Try again.

It's devastating saying that fishing is your best skill

and you can't manage to catch a single fish.

It feels like shit.

It feels, like, embarrassing.

I thought I was going to be the fishing queen of the season.

That's what I thought.

I'm not even joking.

It's been a little bit heartbreaking, if I'm being honest.

I thought fishing was my number one skill.

I'm a bad... I'm terrible at bushcraft.

I'm not a survivalist, but I knew I could fish,

and not getting fish,

it's been a stab in the heart.

I love fishing.

You know, I really love fishing,

and to not be able to fish out here

makes me feel like I'm not thriving.

I don't want to play the starvation game.

If I can't get a fish out here, then what's the point?

Yesterday was a good day.

We caught a little pike.

I got the kayak on the water.

I'm going to go out and check my lines that I set last night with

those pike guts.

I hope I've got something.

This one.

It's snagged.

It was tight, though.

I'm just trying to feel any pull on the line.

Any sign of life.

You just can't tell if there's a big fish there.

That's just lying there, hooked.

But it's kind of snagged up against a rock.

I'm going to get in the kayak with this one and try and free it.

Nice.

Let's go and try and see what's happening with this snag.

Nice.

Nice and gentle.

Oh, the snag's come out.

And I've got a fish on!

I've got a rainbow trout!

Ha ha!

Don't lose it.

Yes!

Whoo!

Ha ha!

You beauty!

I'm having fish tonight!

Yes!

Fucking come on!

I caught that trout on pike guts.

It's been dead a while, it's got rigor mortis.

Should I kneel?

Whay-whay!

Whay! Eh, fuck!

Whay!

Ah! Fuck!

Right, that answers that.

Fuck no.

(WARBLES)

I'm really glad I set those four lines last night.

But what I'm even more glad about is this little beauty.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Oh, God, I'm happy.

So now I've got two fish.

I've got seven baits in the water.

Here goes nothing.

All using fish guts.

One, two, three.

I've got three baits in the deep water,

one floats,

and I've also got my net under the water.

One, two, three.

Perfect.

I would love, love two weeks of good fishing from the lake

before it starts to freeze, so I've got a good stockpile of fish.

(YELLS)

Let's see how that goes.

I just had a bite.

I can tell you.

Have I got a fish on here?

I've got a fish on.

I've got a fish straightaway.

Take your time.

Take your time. I think it's a little pike.

Take your time.

Gently does it.

Did you see that?

I've got a pike.

Straightaway.

Whoo-hoo!

This is where I caught that pike yesterday.

Exact same spot.

Well, just come back from setting me...me set lines,

and when I was setting one of them, I had a bite.

Another little pike.

See them there hanging?

Away from the beasties.

Probably as happy and as content as I've been since I got here.

I've got 10 lines in the water,

me net in the water,

and I've got two fish hanging from the tree.

That's good.

I'm going to start on me permanent shelter.

Got to get cracked on with that.

Oh, wow.

I've just gotten to my set line site.

I have never seen the lake this still and clear.

I can see right to the bottom.

It's kind of devastating because this is the first time I have seen

what is underneath properly in the area that I thought was a good

fishing spot.

There's still snags.

See that?

That's what I thought was a drop-off.

It's just shallow rock.

And, yeah, I don't need to lift my set line out of the water.

I can't see anything on there.

There's nothing.

It is what it is.

There's no fish here.

There's no fish.

I've lost hope, if I'm being quite frank.

I'm going to cast and then this is it.

This is my last day of fishing.

I don't know what else to do.

That's the thing.

I'm over two weeks in and I haven't caught a fish.

(GASPS) I saw that.

I just fucking saw something.

My God.

There's a fucking fish there.

There is a fish right in front.

I saw the blob.

The bloop.

Another one.

So there's fish. They just don't want my lure.

Maybe I should be making flies and actively casting a fly.

Let's make a fly.

I found these bones on day one.

The first 10 minutes of me landing.

(GASPS)

The slug.

Holy shit.

I literally just saw the slug.

I'm going to use that as bait.

I'm going to...

Sorry, little guy.

Whoa.

That is the first significant grub that I found.

I haven't found a single worm since I've been here.

I was just about to say I'm going to make something with these bones,

and then I literally just saw this slug.

Oh, my God.

I've got to go cast this.

I really hope it's a sign that this is it.

Because I'm feeling so much hope right now.

A shit load of hope.

Gosh, I never thought a slug could make me feel this way.

It's ridiculous.

Yeah, baby, this is going to be it.

This is the slug of my dreams.

Alright, he's on.

Okay.

If a fat slug doesn't catch anything, then I don't know what will.

But I've got hope.

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

Ha!

I got a head kick.

And then I got another one.

Stay sharp.

Yes, coach. Yeah.

I'm working on it.

Stay focused.

You're here for a reason.

Keep moving.

The leaves are falling.

The winter, the cold winter, is coming.

I think today is the day that we have to make a small door

for our shelter.

Rule number one in survival,

you have to have a solid shelter to be protected from the elements,

to keep you warm.

This morning, I'm feeling a bit down.

It's just one of those days, right?

Yeah.

I think we all have some of those days in our life.

But if you're coming from the war zone, you'll have some bad memories.

Oh, so that's one.

Australian, they don't know how lucky they are.

Place we don't have war, there's no killing, dying for no reason.

Not such a thing.

Our home got bombed.

My sisters, my brother, you know, we were just playing.

Just next to our kitchen.

We were just kids.

And my mum, at the time, she was washing the clothes and everything

to prepare, because you had to evacuate.

And then suddenly, all I saw was massive dust.

It hit me on the face.

And it just shook me.

So I crawled to the kitchen.

And then my mum was still in shock, didn't know what happened.

I was yelling at her, but she couldn't hear me.

And then the dust came behind me.

And then she just ran, grabbed me,

and then one by one, she was just like a blind person,

going through the dust and cloud and everything.

And just find my little sister, they were all there.

Everyone rushed, some of our neighbours,

they thought we were all gone.

But when they saw all of us alive, they were crying.

It was like a miracle.

I remember one of our neighbours just grabbed me.

And she was just...

She was just holding me tight in her chest...

..while she was crying.

Later on, a few weeks later,

that lady who was holding me

while she was crying,

she was so happy that we were all alive...

..another missile hit her home...

..while they had breakfast with their kids.

Six of their family members just got killed on the spot.

These are just the horror things that I've witnessed myself as a kid.

It's so nice.

As soon as you get the heat in your face,

you just stop and you just scan, it's so nice.

I know what it means when you have nothing.

Yeah, I'm struggling to catch fish,

but that does not even slightly shake my strength,

my mental toughness.

That gives me an advantage in this experience.

I'm at my set line where I put the slug on the hook yesterday.

Oh man, I'm nervous.

I'm nervous to look, nervous to lift it out.

Today's the day, I feel it.

Today's my lucky day.

Let's see.

Wow.

Okay, well the slug is gone...

..and the hook is still there.

All right, okay, lake, I understand, I get it.

You know, it really feels like a kick in the guts.

It's like the lake is saying, "No.

"Give up, go home. There's no fish for you here."

I'm frustrated, I'm hungry, I'm cold.

I need a fish to stay in the game.

I need the calories, I need the fat.

(CROW SQUAWKS)

Oh, what do you want, crow?

I want to say, "Oh, it's a sign, I saw a crow.

"It's going, 'Arrh!'"

But it's not, it's just a fucking crow.

I came in here with an agenda.

I was going to fish every day,

I was going to have all of this abundance of fish,

and I was going to keep going until 50 days.

And that could have happened,

and I think if I had fish,

that definitely would have been the case, but I don't.

What's the difference between whether I call it today,

or in three days' time, or in a week's time?

If there's no fish, there's no fish.

Maybe today's a good day to go.

You can't fight nature.

And I think that's what I'm doing, I'm fighting nature right now.

Oh, man.

MAN: Hello, Alyce.

Hi, it's Alyce.

I'm officially tapping out.

Okay.

Yep. Yep.

I think it's time to go.

It's time to listen to nature,

listen to my intuition,

and all of it saying, "Your story ends here."

It's been very humbling.

Maybe it's playing out like this because this is what I need.

How are you feeling right now?

Right now, I feel ready to go.

Yeah, I know that I'm not going to get a fish.

I've tried everything, I've given it 110%.

19 days without a fish is really tough.

But I love this land, and it's been a huge privilege to be here,

on my little parcel of Sapmi.

But the land is saying no.

The land is saying not now.

It's time to go home.

When I landed, when I got off the boat,

and I asked permission from the land,

I distinctly said, "I'm your student, and you're the teacher,

"so teach me what you need."

Nature had a message for me.

You don't decide what happens.

Nature decides.

I officially have no food left.

I fucking hate this place.

The hunger definitely is kicking in.

Yuck! Oh!

If I don't get any fish, that could be the end of my time here.

I have to be careful being up here.

Ooh!

(GROANS)

I'm losing weight, I'm hangry, and I'm desperate.

I'll do anything to win this thing.

That's a fish.

It's got tangled in that net.

I might be going for a swim, guys.

If I get hypothermia, I could die.

Fuck!

RESCUER: Hello?

Hello? He's not here.

Hello, mate?

RESCUER 2: He's gone. He's actually gone.

He's missing. Call it in.

We need immediate backup for search and rescue.

Coo-ee!