The Dustin Moment That Went Too Far On Gold Rush: White Water

Father-son team Fred and Dustin Hurt, also known as "The Dakota Boys," have been starring on "Gold Rush: White Water" since the series debuted in 2018. Dedicated viewers of the Discovery Channel series may tune in initially to see the Hurts dredge the rivers in Alaska looking for gold and other precious minerals, but chances are good they've stuck around to see what unpredictable twists of fate befall them (it often leads to a lot of cursing).

Different crew members have come and gone, but the latest season — Season 5 — is taking an interesting turn. Fans have been on the edge of their seats with all of the shake-ups and new dangers that have been happening on the show recently. That's partly due to Dustin Hurt and some questionable choices he's made this season. To be fair, he's had a lot to tangle with. Between earthquakes and other natural disasters threatening their operation and their very lives, he's had to make some tough calls about how best to handle their precarious situation. But one of those calls is still being debated by fans on social media.

Right around Season 5, Episode 3, "Shake Up," Dustin Hurt is still scrambling to get their season off the ground — but Mother Nature has other plans. Despite the danger posed by earthquakes and rising water levels, Hurt decides to split his crew in two: He puts his four most experienced members on one side of the river and leaves the other four newbies to basically fend for themselves. Fans like u/oldmanonsilvercreek on the r/goldrush subreddit are scratching their heads over this, with the original poster saying in so many words that having a two newcomers-two experienced crewmember split would have made more sense — and it certainly would have been the safer move.

So, why did Hurt make such a risky choice? In one word: drama. "Getting the most gold and having the most logical set-up takes a back seat to creating as much drama as possible!" writes u/ausrixy22. So many fellow fans agreed with him that it became one of the top three comments in the entire thread. Of course, this is just fan speculation. It's hard for sure to know what his thought process was all about. Regardless, they managed to finish Season 5 with everyone safe and sound, so there's still a possibility that fans will see a Season 6 in the near future.