OUTLAST: Episode 2.8

OUTLAST is a survival reality series streaming on Netflix. The final episode of Season 2, “Winners Are Made “Winners Are Made,” starts on day 30 of this Alaskan survival competition. There is one rule: you must win as a team to collect the 1-million-dollar prize. Delta team consists of five people: Eric, Joey, Joseph, Tina, and “Mountain Man,” while team Bravo has only two men left: Drake and Drew. Can the teams stay together and “go deep” enough to keep going and finish, even if they don’t win the prize?

The videography shows the vast and beautiful landscape of Alaska’s wildlife. The series provides helpful information for viewers in a non-obtrusive way, like the contestant’s names, the current weather conditions, and how many days the people have been in the game. The interviews and live footage are well-interspersed to make the storyline clear and engaging. The music fits very well with each scene.

The dominant worldview is a mix of Romanticism with biblical moral elements. The goal of this reality game show is to win. It’s a survival competition with teams vying for a sizable cash prize, and many characters talk at length about what they will do if they “win”. One team sees members working together synergistically to accomplish a difficult goal. Each member of Delta says they want the prize money to help someone they love; however, the team members of Bravo say they want the money for material items like boats and trucks. At the same time, Drew from Bravo says at the end, “Thank you, God!”

A strong biblical element unfurls throughout the competition. At the beginning of the episode, there is tension and a lack of trust in team Delta as member Joey tries unsuccessfully to defect to another team in secret. Interestingly, the team he visited, team Bravo, has two men left, and one of them says: “I’m a man, and I hold myself to a high standard. I have a lot of integrity, and that seems to me like he (Joey) doesn’t.” “I’m not gonna lie.” “You really see people’s true side” out here. “At least I can say, ‘I didn’t let this game or the money change me.'”

A teammate from Delta, Joseph, talks to Joey and says he tries to speak with him as a “man of God and tryin’ not to judge, I just give him the benefit of the doubt, even though I don’t want to, I believe in forgiveness. That’s just the way of my life.” He reminds him that Joey loves his family and urges him not to let the idea of the prize money and all the stress cause him to be selfish.

Joey is overwhelmed by his team welcoming him back with open arms after the other team denies him. It’s a picture of a prodigal son on a small scale. Eric is changed by how his teammates forgive and accept him. On the last day, Joseph from Delta says, “Is it alright if I pray?” He prays a biblical prayer ending in “Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.” And the team says, “Amen”.

Joey expresses feeling so glad they “showed grace” to him. Delta team members encourage one another in the midst of extreme struggle and difficulty. These biblical redemptive elements make this reality television series unique in that a clear Christian impacts a whole team of people for the better. In the end, Movieguide® cautions children due to strong language.