‘Alone: Frozen’ Season 1 Episode 1 Recap: “50 Day Freeze”

By
Rebecca Murray
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Alone: Frozen Season 1 Cast
The ‘Alone: Frozen’ season 1 survivalists (Photo Credit: The History Channel)

The History Channel’s taken six of Alone’s strongest participants and challenged them to survive 50 days in the frozen wilderness of Labrador, Canada – the setting of Alone season nine – for Alone: Frozen. The new Alone spinoff has a few twists that set it apart from the series that spawned it, the most notable being the survivalists are dropped into the wilderness later in the season than in any season of Alone.

The survivalists have very little time to scout out their areas and build suitable shelters before the devastating cold of the North Atlantic winter sets in. Plus, rather than a single winner, any participant on Alone: Frozen who manages to survive 50 days will share the $500,000 prize money. The six trying to stick it out are Greg Ovens (season three), Woniya Thibeault (season six), Callie Russell (season seven), Mark D’Ambrosio (season seven), Amós Rodriguez (season seven), and Michelle Finn (season eight).

In addition to the rain and winds, survivalists will be facing the threat of polar bears and black bears who call the area home.

Here’s a recap of Alone: Frozen season one episode one, “50 Day Freeze,” airing on August 11, 2022. The season begins with six survivalists and by the end of episode one, it’s down to just five attempting to make it to 50 days.

There are spoilers ahead – you’ve been warned!

Alone Frozen Season 1 Callie
Callie on season 1 of ‘Alone: Frozen’ (Photo Credit: The History Channel)

Callie Russell, Age 34, Montana – Season 7, Survived 89 Days

49 Days Left: Callie doesn’t want to complain but her camp is going to be in a north-facing location. Across the bay, she can see the sun hitting the hills but her area is going to be cold all the time. She was hoping to see the sun occasionally, but it’s not going to happen.

Callie learned a lot about herself and the land in season seven. She was ready to stay the entire time, but she had frostbite on four toes and had to leave before irreversible damage set in.

She raises goats and is happy now, but she had a tough time as a kid following the deaths of two of her brothers. She’s realized we’ve only got one short life to live, and she’s vowed to fully live it for herself and her brothers.

Immediately after getting dropped off, she explores the area and spots a game trail along with a huge pile of bear scat. Given that there are 10,000 black bears in Labrador, it’s a guarantee there’s one nearby. Anyone who kills a bear will be able to last all 50 days. Black bear meat is a good source of protein but more importantly, they’re loaded with fat.

Tonight, she’ll have to sleep near the bear trail because she doesn’t have time to hunt for a better spot before nightfall.

48 Days Left: A squirrel squeaks and Callie jokes it’s her alarm. Her plan is to scout the land for fresh water and a decent spot for her shelter. She loves scavenging and does that more than she hunts. She stumbles upon a piece of wood and will use it as a cutting board. Callie also finds some rope.

Callie once existed for a year off of cuts of meat that were just going to be thrown away. She’s used to surviving off what others throw away as well as roadkill.

She finds what she believes is the perfect little clearing surrounded by trees to put up her shelter. There’s no time to waste getting it done. The wind chill and the wetness will make it feel colder than the Arctic.

47 Days Left: Callie warns viewers not to be freaked out and turns the camera to the ocean where a humpback whale is splashing around. (Labrador has the largest population of humpbacks in the world.) That’s very cool, but she needs to concentrate on getting food and sets off on a walk.

Since it’s low tide, she’s hoping to harvest seaweed and clams. She slips a bit as she walks through the seaweed and then scares away some ravens. They fly off and leave behind a big piece of seal skin. There’s still some fat on it and she wonders if this is what remains of a killer whale’s seal meal. It still smells fresh, and she sets to work cutting it into little pieces.

Callie places the seal over a fire and makes seal fat soup for dinner. She takes a sip and immediately reacts with, “Whoa, that is pure fat!” It doesn’t taste rancid, and she decides it’s pretty good. Callie notes fat’s the hardest thing to find and she’s already found so much.

Alone Frozen Season 1 Amos
Amos in ‘Alone: Frozen’ season 1 (Photo Credit: The History Channel)

Amós Rodriguez, Age 41, Indiana – Season 7, Survived 58 Days

49 Days Left: The sun’s already getting ready to set when Amós is dropped off, so he’s forced to put up a quick temporary shelter. Amós caught a lot of fish in season seven but not any big game animals. He was forced to tap out because his fat reserves dwindled. Plus, he accidentally burned down his shelter.

He believes his time on season seven was transformative and he’s grown as a person. Amós has a young daughter, and his goal is to make a better future for her.

Shelter, fire, water, and food are the basics needed to survive on Alone, but the show is much more than that. The first night he gets a fire going while explaining he hopes to be a good example and role model.

48 Days Left: Amós has collected a pot full of clams to cook while he’s working on his shelter. He’s keeping an eye out for game as gathers supplies for his shelter. A bird gets his attention, and he takes a shot. He hit it but it manages to fly up into a tree with his arrow.

He spots some feathers and tracks it as we’re told ptarmigan meat has six times the protein and 10 times the iron of chicken soup. He feels sorry for the bird but has to give up to get back to work on finding the spot for his shelter.

This area gets 13 feet of snowfall so it’s important all the survivalists set up decent shelters.

Amós’ daughter, Mitzi, is turning four and he wishes he could be there to help her celebrate. But he’s on the show to work on becoming the best version of himself.

46 Days Left: It’s raining as Amós sits under his tarp. His shelter’s not finished and he’s still thinking about the bird and hoping it’s not suffering.

His plan for the day is to check his 12 snares and hunt. Amós explains he’s found a lot of healing in the past when he’s been out walking while hunting.

One of his snares has caught a snowshoe hare that he’ll cook for lunch. Amós likes to have a connection to his food, and hunting gives him that connection. He believes it’s more ethical this way.

He cooks the rabbit and describes it as tasting like chicken.

Alone Frozen Season 1 Mark
Mark in ‘Alone: Frozen’ season 1 (Photo Credit: The History Channel)

Mark D’Ambrosio, Age 36, Washington – Season 7, Survived 44 days

49 Days Left: Mark’s been dropped on a beach with bogs, and he notes that everything around him is wet. He realizes he’s going to have to be patient and knows this will be one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

Mark recalls hitting a point on Day 35 of season seven where he wasn’t having a great time. However, a parasite that got into his heart and other organs is what ultimately caused him to leave the competition and almost killed him.

Mark’s a veteran who served in the Marines as a scout sniper. Now, he’s a dad with a three-year-old son. He’s doing this season to show his son not to give up and views this season as redemption.

The elements are dangerous and the area is known for its polar bears. “But I don’t want to die doing the bare minimum throughout my life,” says Mark. He wants to challenge himself but will be taking things slow, so he doesn’t make mistakes.

On his first night, he sets up a crude shelter, announcing his goal is to see how fast he can get his real shelter up in the coming days. As he’s talking wolves are heard howling in the distance.

45 Days Left: Mark insists you shouldn’t go anywhere around there without rain pants, and the area gets more than 3 feet of precipitation each year. His area is full of bogs and it’s time to set out looking for the best spot to set up his shelter. He’s realized he can’t compare how quickly he got his shelter up in season seven to this season because it’s a completely different environment. This area is much more unforgiving.

He heads to higher ground and finds a rather large area to set up his shelter. First up, he’s going to clear everything out. It’ll be a lot of work, but he plans to build a triangular cabin that can keep bears out and that he can smoke game inside.

Mark wants to enjoy his time on this season and views success as being happy.

He gets busy chopping down trees for his cabin and begins working on the walls while confessing it’s not easy to leave his family behind. It feels different this time. In season seven, his shelter had an amazing view, sunny days, and plenty of fresh water.

Here, he can’t see much other than willows. He’s not sure what he expected and although it’s quiet being out in nature, he’s already thinking about going home. He’s gotten to that point right now where he really just wants to be with his family and taps out.

Mark didn’t expect to leave this quickly but since he’s not really enjoying himself, he doesn’t want to be away from his son. He’s going to retire from all this ridiculousness and from leaving home for extended trips.

Mark doesn’t look at it as quitting but rather as starting a new chapter.




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