Deadliest Catch's Victory Crash Footage Appeases Fans Wanting The 'Real' In Reality TV

When it comes to reality television, there's the eternal question of whether what people are watching is real or not. Fans should always anticipate some liberties to be taken, but it can make for thrilling television when what's on-screen is actually transpiring. 

That was the case for "Deadliest Catch" Season 19, Episode 13 — "Victory at Sea." In the episode, Sophia "Bob" Nielsen guides the F/V Victory when it collides with another ship bringing some bait. It's a little unclear from the footage who's ultimately at fault for the collision, but many fans took to social media to discuss how it made for good television because of how real it was. The show even did away with the music and simply provided the raw audio and video (not including beeps for profanities) to add to the sense of realism. 

The "Deadliest Catch" Victory crash was the talk of the town on the show's subreddit, with u/Driew27 writing, "That was the most raw film we've had on deadliest catch in a while. No over the top music/sound effects just raw audio of the situation." It goes to show that even 19 seasons into the series, it's still capable of impressing viewers.

Fans likely knew they were in for something off the beaten path when the episode opened with the following disclaimer: "Due to ongoing claims and pending judgments, an incident portrayed in the following program is presented without any assignment or admission of fault or liability." It certainly sounds like "Deadliest Catch" wanted to avoid assigning blame one way or the other. That didn't stop fans from piecing together what they could from the episode.

Redditor u/Familiar_Instance310 offered their take, "Bob didn't seem like she was paying much attention tbh. She had lights on in the wheel house which will really affect your vision at night. She was probably on auto pilot. Pretty sure the victory was at fault." Of course, the sea can be unpredictable, so u/Ian_Joshua suggested, "Also possible the Venturi Effect came into play. Two ships both moving roughly parallel will get sucked into each other if they get [too] close."

Without clearer information, it's impossible to say definitively what caused the collision. But from purely an entertainment perspective, the "Deadliest Catch" Victory crash showed how sometimes the best thing for any reality show is to simply showcase what happened and record people's reactions. Redditor u/kaimidoyouloveme, who kicked off the conversation, put it best, "Such a shame that the most promising boat of the season has this to deal with. At least it ain't scripted." A lot of reality TV may be staged, but occasionally, there's a diamond in the rough.