Beast Games Season 2 is close to crowning its big grand-prize winner, but it's already given out some pretty big rewards so far. One player was gifted a million dollars to eliminate his own teammates, and former American Ninja Warrior competitor Ian Weber got his very own private island following the Survivor crossover.
While he didn't win $5 million, it seems his wife was abundantly pleased to learn the news based on her great reaction. Check the video out below, and watch how her reaction changed when she learned he could exchange it for a cash prize:
I love her reaction, because if my significant other told me they won an island, I wouldn't immediately be all that excited. Like, cool, but how are we going to get to it? How am I going to get food delivered there? Who is going to build a house for me? How much is all of that going to cost?
Beast Games Season 2 Is Fine, But It Fails At Basic Reality Television Storytelling
Once Ian's wife, Karissa, learned that the island could be exchanged for cash, and that they didn't need to worry about finding a buyer, she was pumped. Again, same, because having an island is cool in theory, but I'd much rather have that money to settle all my debts and live a much more comfortable life financially.
Some may criticize Ian's decision to take the island and self-eliminate in Beast Games, but as someone who watched both seasons using my Prime subscription, he's lucky to have left with any money at all. I'll never fault anyone for taking money the first opportunity they get, because the odds of losing and leaving with nothing are so high.
While I've had some gripes about the removal of some of the social elements of Beast Games, Season 2 has received a good deal of praise for including more skill-based competitions. It makes the wins feel a bit more earned, and when people like Ian win an island, viewers can't help but feel happy that he won it rather than it being a game literally anyone could've walked away the winner as. It's not something I love to see as much, especially in a season that pits brains vs. brawn, but I've had similar issues when Big Brother made similar changes.
I do wonder, realistically, how much longer Mr. Beast can keep Beast Games going. Do the streaming numbers offset the cost of production, as well as the prizes he's giving out? I'm not sure what the answer is, but it is worth knowing he's done similar things like this on his YouTube channel for well over a decade. If he hasn't gone broke by now, he must be doing something right!
Beast Games continues its run on the 2026 TV schedule with new episodes hitting Prime Video on Wednesdays. I can't wait to see who ends up winning it all in Season 2, and whether the grand prize is going to be doubled, causing Mr. Beast to lose even more money this year.
