Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Naked And Afraid: Last One Standing Season 2 episode "Dung Deal." Read at your own risk!
Naked And Afraid: Last One Standing is back for Season 2, and while some are sad they can't follow along with a Max subscription for the time being, this season might be worth a cable subscription. I guess it's all a matter of perspective, as readers will have to decide how they feel about watching contestants devour seeds nestled in the poop of an elephant. If that interests you, then the latest episode had that in spades.
There was once a time when the grossest part of Naked and Afraid was the idea of not showering for weeks of living nude in nature. That's old hat, and now that money is on the line for Last One Standing, the ante must be upped. In a world where some people miiiight agre to chew seeds they plucked out of elephant dung for a guaranteed $100,000 payday, these contestants did it as a challenge without any guarantees that they'll be going home with any prize money.
Specifically, each group of contestants had to gather twenty mopane seeds from elephant dung and use them as bait for a bird trap. While it doesn't seem as though eating was the required method, Fernando Calderon said it was the quickest way to crush the seeds up enough so that they could be used as bait for birds. He also added what I thought was my favorite comment from the segment: "They taste how you would imagine."
And while I'm sure Survivalists had their eyes on that $100k grand prize, there was something possibly more tantalizing for the winners' stomachs. Ostrich eggs, which make for great food when you're on a show like Naked And Afraid: Last One Standing, were awarded to the competition winners. To think people would go to such lengths over eggs, I can't imagine how they'd react if you showed them a mouth-watering food movie in the midst of this or presented them with the alternative of tackling one of Adam Richman's failed Man v. Food challenges. Even Super Size Me would feel like Top Chef-level cuisine.
What might be the most impressive part of the segment was that no one opted out of the challenge, and that no one got sick. Sure, there was retching and the occasional gag, but everyone knew there was a job to do, and they wanted those ostrich eggs. I would've been vomiting all over the place if it were me, so more power to them.
If this is the kind of thing Naked And Afraid: Last One Standing is getting up to in Episode 2, I may have to rethink what I have planned in terms of the 2024 TV schedule. With Season 2 coming to major streamers after a delay, I would suggest those interested do the same because who knows when another reality show will be able to convince contestants to chow down on poop seeds in such a manner?
Naked And Afraid: Last One Standing airs on Discovery on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Use a Hulu subscription to catch up on recent seasons of the flagship series for an idea of what to expect from the spinoff competition series, or just go in blind and let the chips fall where they may.
