The basic premise of the show, according to my interpretation, is that ultimate survival is hinged on physical qualities, human spirit, and team work. The team was consisted of 10 pairs of people (husband and wife, father and son, mother and daughter, boyfriend and girlfriend, best friends), every week, one pair of players will be eliminated because they were judged by Bear Grylls as weakest for that week.
On week 3 episode Alicia and Spencer were eliminated, not because that they were weakest in skill or strength, but because of Alicia emotionally collapsed under pressure - complaining, whining and crying. Her bad attitude drained on her partner, and other teammates.
On week 4 episode Donna/Canden, the mother/daughter pair was sent home. The reason was that Donna reached her physical and emotional limit. She was ready to give up.
In both episodes, Wilson and Robin were clearly the weakest in skills and physical strength. In week 3, they could not swim to shore with their heavy carry-on. They were rescued by Bear himself. In week 4, they could not climb a very steep mountain, one teammate carried a backpack for them, another essentially pushed Wilson uphill. They, however showed their desire to push further, gratitude to those who helped them. They were saved because two other pairs of stronger players did not have positive attitude.
Positive attitude, and desire to be better is critical in difficult conditions, but in the end one needs these plus necessary competences to get out alive!!So I expect Wilson and Robin to be eliminated soon.
I must note that Bear Grylls is a superb outdoor adventurer. I liked his matter of fact demeanor, down-to-earth style, and his words of wisdom.
American Ninja is a competition show that Nicholas and I watched frequently. It is a perfect demonstration that ultimately it is an individual's capability (strength, skill and will to win) that makes him/her overcome the extremely difficult task in front of them. It also shows that people are different - some people are better than others. When obstacles are seemingly insurmountable to everyone, there comes few players who can tackle the extreme difficulties with "ease".
There are players who went back to the competition again after failure in previous competition just want prove to themselves that they can be at next level after a year's work to improve their strength, skill and mental toughness. Some succeeded, others did not. But we strive to be the best we can be, not necessarily the best because of individual's physical, mental and intellectual limitations.
I don't think Nicholas thought about all the above when he watches the show. He enjoys the thrill and suspense of each player's effort, cheers for successes, sighs for failures, and enjoys superhuman performances. I hope that the actions on screen along with my occasional comments along the way help to instill those ideas into him: only real capabilities count in the end, strive to be the best one can be, it takes hard work to get to next level no matter how smart or strong one is.
Note: this post was written at the same time as my favorite TV shows -1. A new episode of Get out alive was since aired and in the episode, Wilson and Robin were eliminated as I expected
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