‘Race to Survive: Alaska’ Season 1 Episode 2 Recap: Jeff’s Series of Unfortunate Events
The new reality TV started with a scary medical emergency. But episode 2 shows the race only gets harder with time. Some teams are trying to better their chances with alliances.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Race to Survive: Alaska Episode 2, “Feast or Famine.”]
‘Race to Survive: Alaska’ camp life starts with a new rivalry
The episode picks up with Wilson and Oliver Hoogendorn reaching the “first camp.” The camp looks like a hill full of wildlife debris. Is it really an advantage to reach camp first if you have to clean it? The brothers explain that having first pick for firewood is an advantage, and they can start looking for food.
Max Djenohan, who was previously on Naked and Afraid, and Christian Junkar are second. They find the Alaskan brothers who marked their territory and already have socks hanging over a fire.
“We got eyes on you, guys,” Max tells them. His words don’t seem to land as threatening when Oliver doesn’t even bother to stand up to greet them or stop his whittle project.
Hunter and his father Jeff Leininger make it third after their 6-hour throw-up extravaganza. Bella and Cason Crane are fourth. The siblings copy their homework by following them to camp. They come out of hiding and walk with the duo.
Cason tries to charm them, and grouchy Jeff is having none of it. “I can’t, like, just tell them to go away. They just tagged along,” Jeff said.
But Jeff you’re wrong! Once you get hungry enough, you’ll absolutely start telling other racers to go away, and I’ll be happy to watch. Jeff assumes they have no navigational skills because they’re from Brooklyn. Someone has never had to navigate the MTA to have a social life.
Robin Moore and Elizabeth Killham are next. Ninja team Hakim Isler and Justice Norman are sixth, passing up Genevive Walker and Favia Dubyk.
The two-rope bridge leaves Jeff hanging
Cason and Bella cross the two-rope bridge first. Hunter reminds us his dad is older and has common sense enough to be afraid of this bridge. He goes first as his dad’s canary in the coal mine and survives. But he immediately outs his dad to Cason for being scared. Hunter, they’re your competition. Get your head in the game.
Jeff practices some positive self-talk and starts to cross the bridge. He’s looking pretty good, and all of a sudden, his feet slip off the bottom rope. The 53-year-old racer pulls himself up and makes it across. This is when I remind you the prize for this race is $500,000 and not a million like other shows.
Back at camp, Oliver and Wilson are hungry. They ate their rations, and it’s been two days. So they tie four logs together to get Oliver to deeper water to get big fish. They call it a raft, but even as their number one fan, I struggle to cosign this starvation thought.
Meanwhile, Max is digging for clams in the sand. We learn he’s the first Black man off the summit of Denali, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t get another for some time with that steep drop.
Oliver’s logs keep getting pushed back to camp, so he doesn’t catch anything. Robin and Elizabeth cross the bridge.
Bella makes a deal, strengthening a new alliance
Hakim is dragging, and I’m suddenly getting flashbacks to Esther Sanderlin. Justice says he’s disappointed in Hakim’s performance because of his training. But I’d guess the martial artist might not have fat reserves.
Cason and Bella finally give Hunter and Jeff a benefit to their company. They offer to trade bannock for their mussels. Grouchy Jeff is happier to have them around, possibly because he’s still riding high from surviving his near-death experience. His high immediately gets knocked down when his leg gets swallowed by…quick moss?
That was his third time almost getting sucked into the earth. Hunter is officially stressed the hell out about his dad’s safety. Oh, the circle of life.
Day three shows the other teams continuing their trek as the other team tries to fatten up at camp. Cason, Bella, Jeff, and Hunter get to the end crate tied at third. They hug each other and call it a “team effort.” We’ll see how this alliance lasts.
Genevive and Favia race Hakim and Justice for last place
Meanwhile, competitive Genevive is trying to get Favia to pick up the pace. We learn that Genevive is a climber who lives in her car. She jokes that her dad might finally leave her alone about finances if she wins.
They spot Hakim and Justice across the river. Now it truly feels like a race. Robin and Elizabeth reach camp in fifth place.
Once again, sassy Jeff is keeping an eye out for enemies. He tells Hunter they must whisper because everyone can “hear every damn thing.” Who knew this dad would bring the reality TV energy to this survival show?
Cason matches Jeff’s energy by whispering closely beside a tree for his confessional. They’re on the same page about continuing this alliance until it no longer works for them. They also have accessorized with Cason’s rainbow headband and Jeff’s black sunglasses in his interview…divas.
Quiet camp life gets interrupted by Jeff cutting his hand. Robin and Elizabeth tend to him. “I don’t have a lollipop to give you after this. I’m really sorry,” Robin says. Be careful…I have a feeling Jeff is a very active Yelp reviewer.
Hunter returns and finds out what happened. He asks some excellent questions about safety, and I know this man is tired.
The banana slugs are back and have something to say
Genevive and Favia resort to eating banana slugs for energy. They make a weird sound when they hit the boiling water, and I can’t unhear it. It was all worth it because Favia claims it takes like calamari. Genevive isn’t buying it.
On day four, our last two teams must make it to the end crate. Favia says she doesn’t want to lose. She’s doing this for her husband, cancer survivors, and Black women and doesn’t want to disappoint them. Oh, Favia, you’re doing all of this after beating cancer. You can’t disappoint me, but I’m also cheering for you to eat your banana slugs and make it.
Cason and Bella plan to do what they do best…find another team and copy what they do. This time its clam gatherers Max and Christian, who made a net to potentially catch little minnows.
Does a team get eliminated?
![‘Race to Survive Alaska’: Hunter Describes Vomiting ‘Blood’ and ‘Bile’ – Jeff Reveals Shocking Weight Loss [Exclusive]](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/race-to-survive-alaksa.jpg)
Our last team crossed the two-rope bridge. Hakim and Justice reach the end crate first. Sadly, that means Genevive and Favia are last. The crate is empty, but there is a letter. They found out they survived due to a team leaving after a medical emergency.
The last teams have two days to rest before the next leg. Multiple teams are on their hands and knees having a clam search party. Other teams are foraging for blueberries.
Weirdly it looks like Oliver and Wilson are sticking to themselves. They’re also eating clams away from everyone else. Oliver says he wants to beat Max and Christian after their competitive entrance. So their words did lead to a rivalry after all.
We get a montage of the teams before their last night at camp. Some are wearing mosquito nets over their heads, and I’m questioning if I want one.
The next day everyone prepares to go with their last poops, packing up, and even shaping up their beards. They leave camp behind on a small plane in good spirits. That will surely go away once they’re back on the trail.
