I Am Really Enjoying Extracted, Which Is Why I Need To Talk About This Infuriating Moment

I am a reality TV show super fan. I will give just about any genre of competition shows a chance, as I love really obscure and niche reality TV. However, some premises consistently entertain me. The idea of someone having to survive in the wilderness falls into that category, so Fox’s new reality TV show, Extracted, intrigued me from the beginning, but it has now joined the small lineup of shows I must watch weekly. It also joins the list of my other favorite survivalist TV shows, which include Survivor and Outlast.

In the first few episodes, it showed a lot of potential and made me invested. However, Extracted Season 1, Episode 5, “Burn Before Reading,” may be the series’ best, but not for being a brilliant episode. It was a highly entertaining one but more frustrating than thrilling. I really need to talk about why.

Warning: Extracted Season 1 Episodes 1-5 spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

Ryan W Was A Frontrunner On Extracted, So I Felt So Bad For Him

In early episodes, Ryan W stands out as someone who adapts quickly to the wilderness environment. He seemed like a natural survivalist. Many Extracted fans, myself included, had already penciled Ryan’s name down as someone we expect to see in the finals. This was his show to win. He is also one of the few survivalists who have made an impression here, as in most episodes, the survivalists feel like secondary characters to their family members.

“Burn Before Reading” supports this idea. In it, Ryan’s family members (his wife and brother), decide to extract him. Most family members have only removed their survivalist from the wilderness due to physical or emotional pain. Some have been asked to be removed, while with others it is just apparent that they’re struggling. This is not the case with Ryan W.

His wife and brother decide to remove him after their letter to him is burnt. Extracted makes the contestants select a few letters to burn. They must remove a clothespin holding up a letter.

Once two clothespins are removed, the letter burns in the fire. Ryan W’s letter is one of the ones that end up in the fire. This causes his family members to further melt down and decide to extract him from the game. This costs all of them $250,000. The episode then ends on one of the most somber notes ever seen on reality TV.

Ryan W is devastated and his family feels bad about destroying this dream. What happened to Ryan may go down in reality TV show history as one of the greatest reality TV moments, but lives in infamy.

His Family’s Move Feels Selfish To Me

Ryan’s wife, Sarah, and brother, Sean, say at the start of the episode that they aren’t enjoying the experience. Sean mentions missing his wife. That sets the tone for the rest of this episode; they’re miserable for most of it. Sean and Sarah also take every action that happens personally, even slight alliance betrayals.

Honestly, the way Extracted edits things, it seems like Sean and Sarah just want to go home, and they look for any excuse to take this opportunity. Ryan’s letter burning gives them that chance. His family isn’t the only one who gets upset when they see their family member’s letter burn, but Sarah and Sean’s reactions seem extreme.

We see some of the families writing their letters. They mention things like hoping the letter brings comfort or helps them make their camp better with tips. Sarah and Sean, however, mention using the letter to explain their hardship to Ryan.

It seemed that they wanted to use the letter as a way for him to give them the okay to extract him. They want Ryan to know about their suffering. To me, it appears that they were ready to leave. They either wanted Ryan to agree to it or were looking for an excuse to justify their departure. They weren’t considering what Ryan wanted at all when making their decision.

I Can Sympathize With Their Emotional Struggles But I Find It Hard To Be On Their Side

I consider myself a compassionate person. I get emotional watching sad movies, I root for reality TV contestants who overcome adversity, and I like to see nice people win. Therefore, I can understand the emotional struggle that Sean and Sarah might have faced. They were constantly worrying that Ryan would be targeted. They only saw people who were against them. There were a lot of factors that could have caused them some emotional distress.

We also know that reality TV producers do things to cause emotional struggles because it will get them reality TV moments that people talk about. Therefore, I cannot imagine how much we didn’t see. But, I love reality TV competition shows, so I know what to expect from them. This includes some cutthroat situations.

I don’t know if Sean and Sarah were just a bit naive or had never seen a reality TV competition show, but they seemed completely unaware that situations like this could happen. And if they had no prior reality TV experience or knowledge, I would hope they would watch some similar shows to become more aware of what to expect. Therefore, I can sympathize with them, but not support their actions. They knew what they signed up for.

I Didn’t Like How They Tried To Bring Morals Into Reality Television

I love shows like Big Brother and Survivor, where you might have to do something morally questionable to win. Most of my favorite Big Brother winners have done something that makes them a great player but not necessarily a pillar of morality on reality TV. From seeing some of the reactions to The Traitors Season 3, I have realized that some people think reality TV should have morals.

I don’t share this belief. Yes, it’s nice when people you consider to be “good people” win, but I also enjoy reality TV show contestants who are ruthless and cutthroat. As long as people don’t cross extreme boundaries, it’s fair to be a little ruthless on reality TV.

Now, I don’t even think anyone on Extracted has shown insane amounts of conniving gameplay. This letter-burning challenge was very tame compared to things seen in the past on unscripted television. Therefore, I think Sean and Sarah acting as if these people turned into cannibals was a little over the top. Also, I thought Sarah was a little harsh for blaming Natalie and Karly for their decision to leave. Everyone is just following the rules of the game and trying to help their family and themselves win. This isn’t a major crime.

Additionally, it is clear that Natalie already feels terrible about her decision. Sarah and Sean try to paint their competitors as people doing unspeakable things, but most of them try to stop Sarah and Sean from leaving. This shows that they are only villains in Sean and Sarah’s minds.

I Viewed Them As The Villains More Than Heroes On Extracted

You can’t get to the end of Extracted Episode 5 and not feel terrible for Ryan W. He seemed so happy in the wild. He was testing himself and succeeding, but then his family pulled him out because they couldn’t cut it. Their situation seemed way more manageable than his situation. I am sure Ryan forgave them, and this is just a small disappointment, nothing major in the grand scheme of things. However, watching Sean and Sarah pick their feelings over what Ryan wanted makes them the villains in this story.

This was supposed to be about him and his moment, with them there to support him; it just made them memorable, but not in a great way. Obviously, people are complicated so no one is a better person in this situation. There are no true villains here. I am also sure Sean and Sarah are lovely people who don’t deserve hate. However, in terms of reality TV, yeah they are the villains.

Extracted airs on Mondays on Fox.