GOLD RUSH What Happened to Dakota Fred?

If you watched the Gold Rush Alaska Revelations episode, then you learned a lot more about Parker Schnabel’s temper, John Harness’s unpopularity, and Todd Hoffman’s grand promises for next season; but, you didn’t learn one thing about Dakota Fred Hurt, because he wasn’t on the show. There wasn’t even one oblique allusion to Fred who, at the beginning of Season Two of Gold Rush Alaska, was in the middle of all the drama. So, what’s up?

Well, nothing like going to the source. On Friday night, Fred made the following post to his Facebook page to let folks know what was going on.

So, apparently, Fred refused to play ball 6 weeks after he saw himself portrayed as a villain on Season 2, Episode 1. Now, though, it looks like he’d very much like to get back on the Gold Rush game. Here’s another, more recent Facebook status, where he seems to be trying to mobilize the troops to tell the Discovery Channel they want to see more of the Dakota Boys.

Will Christo Doyle sign Fred back on for another season? That’s hard to predict. You have to believe that Fred’s main appeal to the producers of Gold Rush Alaska was his competition/conflict with the Hoffman crew. But, the Hoffmans seem to have decided that that weren’t going to talk about Fred at all. Even in the early episodes when all many of us watching the show could think about was how skeevy Dakota Fred had behaved, you could hardly get one of the Hoffmans to say a word. Some interpreted this as a tacit admission that the Hoffmans were more to blame in the Porcupine Creek catastrophe than the show made it look (and, by implication, that Dakota Fred was less guilty). I think it is more likely that the Hoffmans just decided they were going to control their story . . . make it about them, not Fred.

On the other hand, Fred was happy to talk about the Hoffmans all season long. He gleefully tore down their wash plant, set his goals for the summer in explicit relation to the Hoffmans’ first season accomplishments, and even did a nasal Jack Hoffman impression when he started digging out the glory hole (that, early in the season, he’d said wasn’t worth digging).

So, I still have no love lost for Fred. Do I feel for the guy? Sure. The images of his flooded house were awful, and some of the scenes with Dustin were genuinely touching. But, do I like or trust or admire Dakota Fred. No. I’m afraid I really, really don’t. Reality TV doesn’t always tell the truth, and I’m completely open to the possibility that I’m missing essential information about Fred’s actions and character. But, given what I’ve seen, I’m not impressed, and I wouldn’t be sorry if he weren’t in Season Three.

Now, Tony Beets is another story. Sign that dude up!