‘Alone: Frozen’ Finale Makes Franchise History By Crowning First Female Winner
Alone: Frozen contestant Woniya Thibeault has just made history.
No woman in the history of the competitive reality adventure series Alone has ever won before — until the latest season finale on Thursday, September 22.
Alone: Frozen, the spinoff of the original HISTORY Channel series, saw some fan favorites from past seasons of the show coming back for another round of wilderness survival, this time on frozen Canadian soil — dropped off on the North Atlantic Coast of Labrador, Canada just as winter arrived.
In Thursday’s final episode, “The Bitter End,” just two remained — Michelle Finn from Season 8 and Thibeault from Season 7. When Finn dropped out after 38 days, Thibeault officially made reality TV history, leaving her as the last contestant standing. So long as she survived the full 50 days, she would receive the entire $500,000 cash prize.
Brendan George Ko and The HISTORY Channel
Other returning contestants this season included Greg Ovens (Season 3), Callie Russell (Season 7), Mark D’Ambrosio (Season 7), and Amós Rodriguez (Season 7).
The popular franchise asks survivalists to put their money where their mouth is and compete to survive for 50 days, alone, in a remote location. This is the first time the series has left the contestants in frozen conditions among a dense population of Polar Bears, creating an additional stressor that saw the men dropping like flies.
As an ancestral skill teacher in California, Thibeault is no stranger to survivalism. Her official bio notes she set off this season with intentions “to explore how much connection, comfort and sustainability she can achieve in a wild landscape, even as she pushes her edges in the experience.”
After being the first woman to earn the title, we think she easily surpassed this goal. Congrats, Woniya!
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I was very happy to see Woniya win! Congratulations. Kudos to Michelle also, so close. I am in awe of all of the contestants - thank you for this glimpse at what humans had to do to survive.
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C
Congratulations Woniya, learned a lot and you are an inspiration to us all.
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P
This lady was amazing and deserves all the praise for completing against nature and its elements! Congratulations ! You did an outstanding job and all women and men should be proud of your skill set and ability to survive you are truly an inspiration 👍
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This 69 year old was amazed at what Woniya accomplished. Her attitude was incredible, as were her unbelievable skills and determination! Congratulations!
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R
Way to go Woniya! You deserve the win!
You're one tough woman. Congratulations!
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G
Slight correction - this, Alone:Frozen, was only the second time the show had set a certain number of days - 50 this time - to get any of $500,000 prize money. Since only one person lasted the 50 days, she won all the money. Season 7 was to 100 days - with a Million dollar pot. Since only one person lasted the required 100 days, he won the entire million.
All the other 'seasons' have been open-ended (ranging from 60 to 87 days) - with the one person who could last the longest being the sole winner of $500,000.
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Congratulations Woniya! So proud of you- not just for this season but also for your previous journey. You are strong and resourceful and beautiful! Thank you for showing your strength and flexibility and knowledge is such challenging circumstances! You deserve a nice long warm, well-fed rest! And then I hope you’re able to teach more young women !
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B
Why was the money she won not mentioned to her and the tv watchers at the end of the final show. Love the show! September 2022.
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G
Her partner did tell her she was the last one- so of course that means she gets the whole prize ($500,000) and does not have to split it.
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C
Congratulations Woniya great job. Love the show and learned a lot. Thanks
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B
I was super happy with Woniya that she won it brought tears to my eyes congratulations
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G
She was Awesome,
What a trooper
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B
The ending was rushed. The editing room and producers dropped the ball.
Did her eye issue return? No food for the last ten days? Did she just stay in camp? What were her thoughts on day 45?
Also, no returning contestants. When they started to lose excess amount of weight, they remembered the last time what it did to their physical health. Early dropouts were not vetted properly.
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Had me in tears that a woman won, and the fact the final 3 was all women too. I am so proud of them
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G
The men this season were pathetic. Amos' shelter looked like he always intended to stay only a short while. Greg whined incessantly, and appeared as if he were coming off a two year bender. Then there was Mark. The youngest, strongest participant who runs his own survival school, WHO QUIT after only 5 days while rambling on about how he wasn't quitting; rather, he was just prioritizing his life goals. What? You couldn't figure this out BEFORE you got on the plane for Labrador?
It was just pathetic. And I'm not in the camp of "Chicks shouldn't win these things". Woniya won, and I was genuinely happy for her. She did very well as a human being. The men were failures as human beings. I don't think a one of them made it to first snow.
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Alone is my favorite show! Really looking forward to the next series.kimypie
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C
This series was a joke. Seems like everyone took a dive.
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O
Men not best of shows history. Women congratulations on best of show.
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G
So when did she finish the 50 days ? Last week Sept 22nd she still had more days left to do and it wasn't even on tonight. What's up
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B
Woniya (one a ya) is awesome but hate how she thanks everything. Thank you mussels for giving your life, thank you clams. OH brother
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C
I don't mean to take anything away from Woniya, because she really did a commendable job, but this was a complete phony feminist set up. You recruited 3 guys that were complete zeros plus really didn't care. One left after a couple days, so only the 3 women would be left so you could have a female winner. This was so phony, I think it degraded Woniya's achievement and the feminist cause. I'm done with Alone.
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O
You make some valid points about the male contestants in the event. Not so sure about your allegations of an intended manipulation. I hope the producers are listening and put in check. Such a move could truly damage the competition and show.
However, the contest wasn’t a gender competition it was a competition of survivalist and Woniya beat some fierce competitors ( even if they were also female).
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R
I agree with you about the men not seeming to be committed but even if you had some fierce male competitors who also met the challenge, Woniya would still have been one of the winners.
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O
I agree they could have chosen better guys. The show probably did hope a woman would win as fans was getting tired of no fremales ever Winning
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