01x05 - Episode 5

[bunniefuu]

-[dramatic music playing]
-[eagle squawks]

I'm Bear Grylls.

-Expeditions and adventure are my life.
-Let's go!

And my faith in Christ
has been a guiding light

throughout it all.

My job has led me to take
some of the world's greatest icons

on adventures into the wild,

from presidents to Hollywood sensations.

The TV phenomenon The Chosen

is in many ways a story

of the greatest adventure of all time.

[Jesus] I want my people to participate
in the healing of the world,

not its destruction.

[Bear] What better way to get to know
the incredible people

behind this Bible story
than bring them out here

into this great wilderness
for an expedition of their own?

Welcome to The Chosen in the Wild.

{\an8}[dramatic music playing]

{\an8}[helicopter blades whirring]

I'm on my way to pick up Paras Patel…

who plays Matthew in
the groundbreaking TV series The Chosen.

Matthew went through
a huge transformation in his life

and I have a feeling that this journey
will also change Paras

because adventure has
a way of inspiring all of us.

So, Paras, I hope you're ready!

[uplifting music playing]

[dramatic music playing]

[engine humming]

This is wild!

This is so cool.

What have I gotten myself into?

What I'm most excited for is

the fact that I have no idea
what's about to happen.

I'm someone that likes to plan stuff

and be, uh, organized in that way,

so to not know what I'm doing,

like driving an ATV for the first time,
is interesting.

So, yeah. Oh!

And that. That's what I'm excited about.
There we… And again.

[theme music playing]

[Bear] The Chosen tells the story
of the life of Jesus Christ.

Praise you, Father.

And it's one of the biggest shows on TV.

It has hundreds of millions
of fans all around the world,

including me.

Matthew, son of Alphaeus.

Yes?

Follow me.

-[Bear] Paras plays Matthew…
-Me?

…a tax collector who's become

-one of Jesus's 12 disciples.
-Matthew.

And who devotes his life
to spreading the gospel.

I'm ready.

I'm actually really pumped, uh,
to just do this

and-and do things I don't think
I would normally do otherwise.

And so let's do it!

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] I've led missions in some of
the world's most hostile environments,

and I know that it's only when
you're out of your comfort zone

that you really find out
what you're made of.

I wanna find out what makes
the cast of The Chosen tick

and how the extraordinary
characters that they play

have impacted their lives.

[dramatic music ends]

I am ready for it.

Let's…

Oh, no. [chuckles]

Let's see what we have in here.

Bear…

Bear left…

[laughs] Bear left me ropes.

[chuckles]

All right, well, this is the adventure
I signed up for, so let's…

There's a lot of ro…

I'm gonna use all this rope just on me.

[chuckles] Well, Bear, thank you for this.

[sighs] Okay.

All right, Moab, show me what you got.

I'm really digging the landscape.

Whoo!

What I like about being here
actually in Moab

is that we film our show
partially in Utah.

{\an8}So this environment kind of reminds me
of what my character has been in.

If Matthew was in this moment right now,

his rag would be in his hand.

You all know that famous rag.
And he would look for it for comfort.

His number one concern is probably
where he should go to the bathroom.

Just-Just saying it out there right now.

[dramatic music playing]

Is that a… Is that a helicopter?

Is that Bear?

What an entrance, Bear!

[dramatic music playing]

That's so cool.

Oh, this is so wild. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, geez.

-Hey, Paras.
-Hi. How are you?

-How are you, buddy?
-Good, good, good.

-You doing all right?
-Yeah, I'm doing okay.

-We're pumped.
-All right, let's go.

[uplifting music playing]

[Bear] Here we go!

Whoo! Oh, baby!

[laughs]

Oh, man!

[Bear] The chopper is taking us
to the start of our mission trail.

Oh, whoa! Yeah.

[uplifting music playing]

An exposed plateau
5,000 feet above sea level.

This vast desert is the largest in the US

and one of the most inhospitable
and extreme landscapes there is.

So it's not for the fainthearted.

[Bear] We'll try and touch
the skids down here.

-Pretty windy up here.
-Yeah.

This is gonna be quick.

-Hop out, and we'll go.
-Okay.

[Paras] I've been inside
a helicopter sitting,

and I didn't realize that here,
uh, with Bear Grylls,

you're outside of it.

-Okay, so chopper gone.
-Okay, well…

-Pretty windy up here.
-Yeah. [laughs]

Wow.

-It's kinda like a moonscape, isn't it?
-[Paras] Yeah.

Feels like you're on Mars, if, if…

Have you ever been anywhere
like this before?

-To Mars? No. [laughs]
-To Mars!

I'm sure you're used to this, right?

Well, I think it's one of these places
in the States you could…

You can kind of go in any direction,
and you'll find virgin, untouched areas

that haven't seen human footfall
for a thousand years.

-It's pretty cool.
-[Paras] It's pretty cool.

We've got a bit of elevation,
so everything will feel a bit harder work.

So we'll take our time. We've got about…

probably about three or four miles,
but it's a lot of kinda up and down.

Nice. Take me through it all.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] Paras must figure out how
to navigate four miles

of difficult terrain,
including steep ridgelines,

sheer drops

and narrow slot canyons

so we can make our way down

to our extraction point before nightfall.

And all we've got to work with
is the bag of rope we are carrying,

a small amount of water, and a compass.

So pretty strong winds
where we've been dropped off up here.

It makes dehydration
even more of an issue,

'cause you're in a hot climate,
but you almost don't feel it.

Temperatures here can reach
over a hundred degrees,

and without water and shade,

things can very quickly go wrong.

So we can't hang around.

Okay, we're heading this way.

-That way?
-That way.

One would think that way,
where there's a path.

-[laughs] Okay, let's… let's go that way.
-Well, rule one on these ones

is we… we go away from the path.

Okay. Let's do it.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] When you're off the trail,
and there are no paths, no roads,

you've gotta be on it
when it comes to navigation.

You've got the sun, you've got
prevailing wind that you can use,

loads of different markers,
from trees, from moss,

to even the angle
of a lot of the steep faces

of the mountains
that often will be north-facing.

So you're always taking little indicators.

So our direction of travel is southwest.

-Okay.
-Okay?

You know that does nothing for me, right?

I can't even tell
where north and south is.

-Okay…
-You'll teach me.

Well, compass.
Have you ever used a compass before?

-No.
-Okay.

-Well, first of all, we've got the sun.
-Okay.

Sun rises in the what? East.

-East.
-Sets in the…

-West.
-West. So 12 o'clock,

-it's gonna be directly above us, so…
-Okay.

South.

So if we want to go southwest?

-South that way.
-Yeah. This is my nightmare, man!

If it's cloudy, and you have a compass…

-Okay.
-Here we go.

So if we want to go southwest…

It would be just like you said.

-Boom.
-There we go.

-You're now in charge of navigating.
-Oh…

[suspenseful music playing]

[Paras] I didn't understand
the instructions.

Considering that I am directionally
challenged most of my life

and rely on my phone, just wish me luck.

So where were you…
where were you brought up?

Uh, so I grew up in Florida,
in a small town.

My parents came to this country from India

-in the late '70s, '80s.
-Oh, wow, yeah.

-That's a brave journey.
-It is.

And it was all about, you know,
finding, you know,

the American dream,
trying to find a better way of life.

They made a lot of sacrifices, so…

that's something that I hope to repay back

with what I'm doing in life, you know?

-And they're still around, your folks?
-Yeah, yeah.

-They actually don't know about this.
-Do they not?

'Cause they would've worried to no end.

[suspenseful music playing]

What was your upbringing like?

I grew up always feeling
like I didn't fit in.

Um, there weren't a lot of students
or kids that really looked like me,

but I found my way, you know,

kind of what I've used with
my character on The Chosen,

'cause I can resonate with what
it feels like to not have people see you

or value you.

What were you into as a kid?
Where was your escape?

-What did you love?
-Oh, Bollywood films.

-Bollywood films.
-Just specifically that.

-Every Friday night, my mom would go…
-Who was your guy?

Uh, it was an actor named
Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan.

Yeah, I know him.
I've taken him on one of these.

I grew up watching them,
and just the escapism that it provides.

I just found my calling of wanting to act
or be on the stage,

and I guess it was, like, a moment
where I did feel like I fit in.

-Yeah.
-Behind a character.

I reckon Akshay Kumar would be
proud of you today.

I hope so, yeah.

-Following you.
-All right, let's…

You're in for a journey, my friend.

Come on.

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay, so…

Just careful near the edge here.

Right.

[Paras] Oh, cool.

-Oh, man.
-Okay.

I reckon we drop straight off
the end of this.

We just need to work out
how to secure the rope,

'cause it's not like
there's a lot of trees.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] There are thousands of these
sandstone arches here in Utah,

and for us, the only way forward
is 250 feet down.

We fill this with sand, so it's heavy.

-Okay.
-And I think if we jam that in

over the lip,
there'll be enough friction on that,

we could probably
just go straight off this.

-It'll work, it'll work. Trust me.
-You're… Are you…

Is this a joke?

Honestly, I can't tell
if this is a joke or not. [laughs]

Okay. So if you fill this.

Oh, you weren't kidding.

So let's say this weighs, like, you know,

-a hundred pounds by the end.
-Right.

Obviously, if we're more than that,
it's not gonna work.

But once you jam it into stuff,
maybe cover it up with other sand

-and bed it in a bit…
-Yeah.

…there'll be so much friction on it,
it won't move.

If you look down and see, like, a cliff,

and you've never done that before,
obviously I'm gonna get nervous.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] You gotta get it right
every time and, you know,

not take unnecessary risks.

Okay. You jam it in as I put weight on it.
Really get it under there.

I've done worse.

I've rappelled
off a hundred-foot ice waterfall

off a, uh, Hershey bar before,
a little chocolate bar.

I mean, bear in mind it was frozen,
and the rope went around it,

and I buried it in the snow,
but still, it worked perfectly, so…

Rope bag's gonna be fine.

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay, so you can get yourself down to here

-once you're on your own.
-Mm-hmm.

Just get nice and stable, get comfortable.

-Remember, nice, wide stance.
-Okay.

-Yeah? Trust the system.
-Okay.

-Okay?
-Yeah.

-Feeling all right?
-Mm-hmm.

Okay, good. I'll see you down there.

All right, see you.

I don't know how
I'm gonna do this, to be honest.

But, you know, trust the system,
and I'll figure it out.

Um, yeah. Hopefully it's not too…

too bad.

[ominous music playing]

Okay, so this bit's gonna get
a little scarier for Paras,

'cause now this bit I can't see.

It looks like an overhang, though.

Just like with so much of life
and adventure, step by step,

inch by inch, keep moving forward.

Yeah, this bit is
definitely gonna be scary.

[suspenseful music playing]

[laughs nervously]

[Paras] What are you trying to do to me?

Oh, man.

Okay.

Okay. Come on, Paras. You can do this.

I'm just gonna do it. [laughs]

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay.

Let's go.

[dramatic music playing]

[exhales]

[exhales]

Uh-oh.

This rope… It's stuck on this tree.

[exhales]

[Paras] Oh, man.

What did I do?

It's a little tight here.

Oh, like this.

No worries. I'm good. I'm g… [laughs]

Am I good? I don't know. We'll find out.

[suspenseful music playing]

Leaning back.

Um…

So, yeah. Uh…

Oh, yeah.

How do I get down the rest, like,
just against the mountain?

[Bear] Okay, Paras. Great job.
You can look at me now.

-I'm down below you.
-Yeah.

Just keep inching over the edge.
That's fine.

And then all the way,
you'll go free-hanging,

no feet, and just lower yourself gently.

-Like this?
-Well done.

[Bear] Beautiful.

I'm like a hanging piñata, though.

[Bear] Epic.

Great job.

You're doing so well.

[dramatic music playing]

It was a lot better
than I thought it would be.

-Why, do you think?
-I… It was the…

the mental game.

-Yeah.
-And-And the trust.

But that was pretty cool.

-As you know, in life, nerves are okay.
-Yes.

Nerves are there to be overcome.
Take your time, and you did.

-Bombers. b*mb-proof.
-I just…

I can't believe that works.

-I love it. Well done.
-Thank you. I'm glad I did that.

Yeah, that was… I was a little terrified,

and I'm glad I did it,
'cause now I feel good.

[dramatic music playing]

[Paras sighs]

This is about as good a view
as you're ever gonna get.

-Look at this.
-This?

Oh, yeah.

[gentle music playing]

So were you brought up Hindu?

Yeah.

Was that a big part
of your upbringing, or…

Yeah. I practice and, you know,
that's… who I am.

And my background's
something I'm really proud of.

-Yeah.
-It's been interesting

with the show I'm on and having…

being the face of a disciple,

but you learn how, um,

when we think something is
so different, it's actually very similar.

-Was it tricky, or was it…
-Yeah, it is.

Because you have those few that
just won't see

-anything past that.
-Mmm.

And so they say things,
and sometimes I begin to feel that, like,

maybe they just care about
the character rather than Paras.

Yeah.

You know, like I told you,
I felt like in my town,

I wasn't really accepted,
or I didn't really fit in.

And so to have that
kind of happen right now…

I don't know,
and a lot of times, it-it, um…

-[chuckles] It brings me down a lot.
-Mmm, yeah.

-You've had a real journey, haven't you?
-Yeah, yeah.

Christ was all about acceptance and love,

always bringing people together.

-Yeah.
-Always keeping it about love.

Says, "Love your neighbor."

-Love your neighbor.
-Yeah.

Not "Love your… somebody
who thinks the same way as you."

-Exactly, yeah.
-[chuckles]

Well, it's been great overall.

Like, just being on the show has really
taught me a lot about myself,

but also the impact that my character
is making really drives me

and really makes me want to do
more and do better too.

[Bear] How did you first
even get the role?

I sent a tape and then, um,
you know, had a callback,

and then I did the callback through Zoom.

Did you make a deal with the man

to spy on Jewish merchant vessels
fishing on Shabbat to avoid taxation?

And my Zoom video session
got stuck in the middle

of the big monologue for Matthew…

-[chuckles]
-…and I internally panicked,

but I did different things as Matthew,

waiting for the video to normalize,
so I kept doing this and that

and kind of what really grew
into Matthew's mannerisms.

And little did I know they had been
watching me the entire time.

'Cause it didn't freeze for them,
it froze for me.

I didn't hear anything back.

And then I think
they were a week into filming,

I got the call that I had gotten the part

and that Dallas's wife,
Amanda Jenkins, had this dream

and just felt like it was
the right calling to put me as Matthew.

Wow.

And three days later,
I showed up on the set!

-Come on! That's amazing!
-Yeah. It was a wild journey.

Yeah, it was, uh… It was a blessing, yeah.

Well, maybe someone has their hand on you.

Yeah. I was chosen.

You were chosen. You were chosen.

-Come on.
-Yeah.

-Crazy story.
-Did you have any idea

what a phenomenon it would be?

No, not at all.

They only had enough money to film
the first four episodes of season one,

and about six months passed,

and they got funding
to finish the last four.

And then it kind of got released.

-Yeah.
-Uh, like a soft release,

like a soft launch,
but it didn't make any waves.

And then the pandemic happened,
and then overnight it just blew up.

So many people during that time
felt lost, um,

and, uh, I think the show
gave them more hope

and really gave them some strength.

This show is actively changing lives.

Has it had an effect
on your own spiritual path?

I believe so, yeah.

And I'm really confident to say,
just 'cause I have a different background

doesn't mean things can't affect me
and move me spiritually.

-Yeah.
-Listening to the Word sometimes

can have a really profound,
um, impact on you.

In season two, my character,

uh, Matthew, and Jesus
were working on the beatitudes.

Blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and utter all kinds of evil

against you falsely on my account.

[Paras] And I remember
hearing those words,

and I just could not stop crying.

Something went through me, you know?

[gasps]

Just because I'm from
a different background

doesn't mean that I'm closed off.

I'm always willing to learn and grow.

I think you're definitely meant
to be there.

Well said. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's…

-[Bear] Shall we keep going?
-Sure.

[uplifting music playing]

-Look, do you know this stuff?
-I know that's poisonous, right?

-No, these are good.
-What?

These are good. These are juniper berries.

Oh, okay.

We'll collect a few,
and we'll put 'em in our pocket.

-All right.
-And then,

if we find some water later on as well,
we'll boil it up.

-Okay.
-Native Americans would make tea

for thousands of years with these.

[Paras] What kind of properties
does it have?

Everything. Antibacterial,
anti-inflammatory.

-Oh, nice.
-Yeah. Good stuff.

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay, we can make up
some ground now, get moving.

Yeah.

[Bear] The desert may be beautiful,
but it can also be dangerous,

so you've always gotta keep
your wits about you.

Look up there. Can you see…

-Oh!
-…see where you came from?

-It's definitely a bucket-list…
-Yeah.

-…moment!
-Oh!

[dramatic music playing]

Gopher snake.

This is why you've gotta
be careful where you stand.

I mean, look at this guy.

They often get confused with rattlesnakes…

-Yeah.
-…because of that same pattern.

-But this guy's definitely a…
-Right.

-…definitely a gopher.
-Okay.

And look, I can feel that vibrating,

but they don't have the rattle.

Come feel that, come feel that.

[suspenseful music playing]

You know, growing up in Florida,
I would see a lot of snakes

that would get stuck in my pool and stuff.

-Have you ever handled one?
-Uh, no. [chuckles]

[Paras] If I were to think of a fear,
the one thing is snakes.

It's probably the one fear I have.

If you hold the tail…

Come on. It's good.

I'm-I'm okay.

[Bear] Gopher snakes are not venomous,

but they can still give you a nasty bite.

[gasps]

So he will live off little rodents.

-Okay.
-Yeah.

And you know how they k*ll their prey?

-Bite, grab… Constrictor.
-Did you hear that sound?

-Oh, it's a…
-Yeah.

-Do you hear the breathing?
-Yeah.

And that's his defense mechanism.
If it really wants to get… [hisses]

-It'll be a bit more like that.
-Yeah.

I mean, I've eaten a lot of snakes
over the years.

-Don't do that. No, no.
-To me, that is dinner.

Please don't. Uh…

-Yeah, come on.
-So we're letting him go.

I-I… Yeah. I would let him go.

Come on, then, Paras.

-It's the one that got away, Paras.
-Yeah.

[mysterious music playing]

We saw a snake,
and I almost jumped off the cliff.

Voluntarily this time.

So, uh, we're just thriving out here.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] The snake and Paras
may have had a lucky escape,

but we're still looking for water.

-I think the best way is just kind of use…
-Oh, nice. A slide.

It's a precious commodity
here in the desert,

-so we can't be picky.
-Yeah.

-Well done. Brilliant. Well done.
-Whoo!

[sighs]

Oh, look. Here we go.

That, we do want to make use of.

-Are you sure?
-Yeah.

Well, look around here.
I mean, there is not a lot of water,

but this is a natural place
for it to collect, you know?

-Yeah. That's kind of…
-All the green. Look at all the…

-all the prickly pears, all that greenery.
-Right.

This… This is where the water's gonna run.

We want to try and collect some of this.

Probably don't want to drink it,
because it's gonna be stagnant.

I thought that was a dead snake! [laughs]

-Watch out!
-No, don't! [screams]

No, that's, uh…

Clear water doesn't mean clean water.

So even though it's quite clear,

you've got animals feeding,
drinking, peeing in it.

You know, everything from reptiles…

-Delicious. Yeah.
-But we can collect it

and then lower down, we can
always make a little fire, boil it up.

And once you boil it,
then it's fine to drink.

Kills all the parasites.

Okay.

Let's fill this up.

That tea will taste interesting, I'm sure.

[water gurgling]

There we go.

You can actually smell it.
It's a bit stagnant or stinky.

[water sloshing]

-Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm.
-[laughs]

But we'll drink it.
Once we've boiled it, we'll drink it.

Cool. Looking forward to that.

Even if you've got a bandana,
there you go. One bandana.

You get to… you get to enjoy
cool round your neck.

-There you go.
-Oh, thank you.

I've used bandanas a lot,
even without the fluids.

You just then pee on it
and then wrap around your neck,

and it has the same cooling effect.

So count yourself lucky, Paras,
that we found water.

Well, that's prob…
that's someone else's pee.

-This is quite warm.
-Yeah.

You also look the part. Look at you.

-Yeah. Like a cowboy.
-You look like Indy.

[laughs]

[suspenseful music playing]

[eagle screeching]

Oh, wow.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] There we go.
That's where we want to get to.

So we're coming to the end
of this plateau.

There's one final big drop-off
down to the valley floor,

and that's where we're gonna get
our helicopter extraction from.

Look, you see, there's a crack
that runs all the way here.

But we're gonna need a rope for this.

This is our last bit of rope.

-Do you think that one's strong enough?
-Let's have a look.

-I'm gonna teach you a bowline.
-Okay.

You never know
when this might save your life.

-Make a loop.
-Okay.

You're the rabbit.

Rabbit comes out the hole,

around the tree,

back down the hole.

Any… There…

You've just tied a bowline.

And we're both gonna depend
on that for our life.

[Paras] Okay.

So this, it was like
something with rabbits

and goes to the bunny ear

and up the hole and out the rabbit hole.

I might need a few more lessons
on the knot,

but, uh, yeah, that's what YouTube's for.

[laughs]

[Bear] Okay. Throw that down there.

Give it a pull.

All your weight.

-Tree's not moving.
-Right.

-Happy?
-Yeah.

Okay. I'll go first.

All right.

-Same routine. Nice and simple.
-Yeah.

-We'll be fine.
-Yeah.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] Slot canyons like this
are formed over centuries

by wind and water erosion.

They can be extremely narrow,
and once you're in one,

the sheer sides and depth

can make it impossible to get out of.

You should never enter a slot canyon

if there is a chance of rain
as they can flood in an instant.

I'll try and talk to you
as I see what's down there.

All right.

Okay, here we go.

This crevice is about a hundred feet deep.

I hope Paras is all right
with confined spaces.

I think the only challenge I have

is the confined space, uh, part of it.

There's a movie…

someone's arm gets stuck
in a tight space like this.

But I'm not thinking about that.

I also don't know how deep it is,

and I'm not gonna find out
until I get down, so…

onwards and upwards.

-Okay, Paras?
-Yeah?

Okay!

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] It gets pretty tight,
but it's fine.

[dramatic music playing]

Till next time, my friend.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] Great job, Paras.

Well done.

-It gets a little narrow down here.
-Yeah.

[dramatic music playing]

-That's it. Keep it coming.
-[Paras laughs]

Beautiful. Well done.

-There we go.
-Well done.

-Okay, you hold that.
-[laughs]

-Okay, we're heading this way.
-All right.

[Bear] There, you'll see
a way through down there.

-Right.
-[Bear] A little bit of daylight.

-Whoa. Breathe in. [laughs]
-[Paras exhales]

Oh, look up there.

[Paras] Wow.

That's cool.

Yeah.

This is awesome.

[chuckles]

[Paras] Oh, man.

[exhales forcefully]

It gets pretty steep here.

Oh. Yeah.

I see that.

Oh, wow. You weren't kidding
about confined spaces.

Yeah. [laughs]

[gasps]

Yeah, you don't want that moving.

Yeah. You don't wanna get stuck in that.

That was insane. Whoa!

[uplifting music playing]

Right. Now we jump off this, right?

-Maybe down here.
-No? [laughs]

[suspenseful music playing]

I can't believe I came out from that…
or through that.

Nothing about the tight confined
spaces made me feel like puking.

That was… pretty gnarly.

[Bear] I think Paras
has earned a lunch break.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] Little bit of shade
under this tree.

-We've got all of this stuff…
-Oh.

…that is great for making fire,
'cause it's really thin.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Thin fibers, and bone dry.

So we'll start a fire with that,
make it here.

-Cool.
-Boil out the water. Make juniper tea.

-Do you wanna collect a bunch of that?
-Yeah, yeah.

Make 'em as small as you like.
Just be careful.

It can be scorpion territory
as well in these.

So when you pull things back,
just have a look

-before you start breaking it up.
-Yeah.

I really love that you add in
those last-minute terrors.

[Bear chuckles]

-Okay, have you ever used one of these?
-Mm-mmm.

So it's just a fire steel.

Better than lighters or matches,
'cause a lighter gets wet.

-Matches get wet. They're not gonna work.
-Right.

Try that.

All right.

Oh.

-Done.
-There we go.

-Great job.
-Cool.

This is…

I'm not gonna lie, this is fun! [laughs]

There's an ant.
That's a good protein source.

-[Bear] Where?
-Right there.

Yeah. Ant's a great protein source.
Have you ever had an ant?

Um…

[laughs nervously]

-This is my awkward laugh.
-Shall I have the ant?

I'll eat the next one. I promise you.
I don't break my prom…

[wild music playing]

Crunchy.

-Zingy.
-Yeah.

[Bear] Paras doesn't seem keen
on being an anteater after all.

But I don't want him to go hungry.

This is good grub territory,
dead wood like this.

Grub. Interesting.

You pull all of this back.

Yeah?

There you go.

-You found one?
-Yeah. It's not a big one.

Dude.

-Cool.
-[Bear] Look at that.

-Yeah, that's a grub.
-If there's one, there's gonna be more.

Right.

Should we just boil it?

I mean, you can just eat them like this.

[wild music playing]

Uh-huh.

I'm gonna find you one.

[exhales sharply] Great.

[under breath]
Don't find one, don't find one…

-I'm sure the tea is a great experience…
-Here we go.

Look.

-Here we go.
-Oh, man.

-I can't get stomach bugs…
-You've got the feistier one.

I've got more work after this,
so I can't get any stomach bugs.

-It's fine.
-All right, cool.

All right. One, two.

-Mm-hmm.
-Chew it. Chew it.

'Cause you don't want it crawling out
of some other orifice.

-Mm-hmm.
-[laughs]

Just as it's going down,
that's a perfect thing for you…

[retches]

No, it's fine.

I think it got stuck in my…
[clears throat]

[Bear] You never forget your first grub.

When you eat your first grub
in your life, that's a moment.

Yeah, there's something stuck
in my molar, but…

[Bear chuckles]

It was interesting,
what you were saying about

Matthew having this, like, interpretation

-of being autistic in The Chosen.
-Yeah.

You know,
that's a really original take, isn't it?

Yeah. And that's something that

really spoke to our showrunner
and creator's heart,

because he is also on the spectrum,
as well as his daughter.

And so he felt like it was
a plausible thing to add.

And I think in that,
it really made the space

for a community to feel like
they were seen,

and seeing Matthew's journey of acceptance

and finding his own way,
his own confidence.

[Matthew] Everything I thought I knew…

What if it's wrong?

It shows that everyone is welcome,
like, at the table.

How did you do research
into the whole autistic angle?

I wanted to do justice
with, like, body work,

like physical impulses,
what that would make

someone who is neurodivergent feel,

and just kind of dig into that.

So I did research, talked to Dallas a lot,

and mostly meeting people.

And I watched this show
called Love on the Spectrum.

You seem like a really tight crew, though,

-with the characters…
-The show? Oh, yeah.

We're really close. I think just the fact

that the way the show has come from almost

just a small thing to what it is now,
we've kept each other humble

and we've had each other's backs
through a lot of ups and downs.

Your face lights up when you talk about
your friends and that journey.

And then sometimes you…
there's a sadness as well when you…

I know you've had such a hard time
as well when you were growing up.

Because of that,
it makes sense how much more

I value my friends,

and I will do anything for people I love.

That's probably something
I learned because of that.

You know, what my…
what my younger self went through.

-You ready for some juniper tea?
-Uh…

-It's boiled. Try some of that.
-I do the honors first.

Whoa. It smells not like
what I thought it would smell.

-Yeah.
-I'm gonna take the first sip.

It's very, uh, refreshing.

-Like, aromatic.
-Yeah, of course.

Yeah.

Definitely gives you
a little boost as well.

Like, I feel…

Juniper's also a mild stimulant,
so it will.

-Ah.
-Yeah.

[wind gusting]

[Bear] So I hear you're a bit of a dancer?

Yeah, I used to professionally dance

for a few years out in LA.

-Oh, wow.
-Yeah, in a Bollywood dance troupe.

-Really?
-Yeah.

Now, that is a skill I do not have.

-[laughs] Okay.
-Okay, go on, then.

Teach me one Bollywood move,
but will you keep it simple?

Yeah, well, the easiest one
is the light bulb, then.

You've gotta put your shoulders into it.
It's just like twisting the light bulb.

There. And then just switch hands.

You've got it. You've got it.

-Let's try and do it together.
-Okay.

Right hand up first. Okay, let's go.

And one, two, three.

[Bollywood music plays]

-Other hand.
-When are we changing?

Uh, every four… now!

There… There we go.

'Cause I'm now leading, and now I've lost.

Well, it looks good doing it
in opposite directions too,

-so you can't really go wrong with this.
-Yeah.

It's at this time, my family
would be going, "Oh dear."

They would've left the room.

They'd be going,
"How could you even mess that up?"

-An A for effort, I would say.
-An A for effort.

-A for effort.
-That is most of life, isn't it?

Yes.

[gentle music playing]

Mm-hmm.

[Bear] Okay. We need to
make sure the fire is out.

Little bit of cloud coming in.

Okay, we're gonna keep heading southwest.

Got the compass?

Southwest is up here.

-Southwest. We're on track.
-Yeah.

All right. I didn't get us lost.

Okay. Let's go.

[uplifting music playing]

So from here, we're gonna just keep
contouring gradually down

towards where a helicopter's
gonna pick us up.

Last push. Finish strong.

[uplifting music playing]

What are you excited about ahead,
Paras, for you,

beyond… beyond The Chosen, maybe?

I think, just based on this day
of not knowing what to expect,

I think the idea of not knowing
what's coming my way is exciting,

-to be honest.
-Yeah.

-Well, you've done a good job.
-Oh, thank you.

-You've done a good job.
-I appreciate that.

[both laugh]

Okay. I think it's a good bit
of flat ground here,

away from the cliff face.

We'll send the pilot our GPS,

-get him in here.
-All right.

Paras has got such a great spirit.

It's been, for me,
exciting to see his confidence grow,

but I also like his vulnerability,

not only in the way he portrays Matthew,

but also in the way he lives his life.

And he hasn't had an easy past.

But I've never met a strong person
who has had an easy past.

And it's why Paras has that

beautiful, vulnerable exterior,

but actually his interior
is strong like a lion.

And that's gonna carry him well
in his career ahead.

-Are you ready?
-Yeah.

[triumphant music playing]

We're off.

[Paras shouting]

Oh, my…

[Paras] When I started this journey today,
I was actually very nervous.

But don't be afraid to be
who you are and just keep going.

I've been there, and I did it today.

You saw Matthew's journey
on The Chosen, and he's done it.

Whoo!

[Paras] I like to say
Matthew has this inner lion in him,

and I think I've activated that in myself.

I have a new outlook on life now.

-The Chosen in the Wild!
-The Chosen in the Wild!

[both shout]