‘Deadliest Catch’ Sneak Peek: Sig’s Stress Builds in ‘The Widowmaker: Part 1′
Before Season 12 of Deadliest Catch debuted on Discovery, fans knew how it would end: with Capt. Sig Hansen having a heart attack in the wheelhouse of the Northwestern.
Now we’ve watched as he, his crew, and his boat have beaten down by bad storms, a rogue 35-foot wave, and an electrical fire. And in tonight’s episode, “The Widowmaker: Part 1,″ Sig reaches his breaking point.
Our exclusive sneak peek comes from early in the two-hour episode, which will include his heart attack and continue the story in Aug. 2′s season finale. At first he’s laughing, recounting how much the crew wishes his daughter, Mandy, could’ve stayed on board for the final run to lighten their load (she had to return to school), but his demeanor changes when he gives a status report to the camera. “We’re so close to the finish line. It’s like the last lap,” he says. “On the negative, we’ve got weather coming in, there’s winds from all different directions, it’s just ugh… it’s been a stressful season, to say the least. … Can’t win.”
Related: ‘Deadliest Catch’: Sig Hansen On Surviving His Heart Attack and What’s Next
In early March, when Yahoo TV spoke to a recovering Hansen, he described how he felt at the time: “It wasn’t like you see in the movies. I had this really sharp, sharp pain, like a knife, right behind my chest plate. It just kept pushing, and it was making me more angry,” he said. “I wanted to keep going. I was in denial. It was more denial than anything else. We got the boat in, and I was in Dutch Harbor for, I think, two hours, and they were doing their tests, because it was a sneaky one. Then we found out it was a full blown heart attack, and then we did the medevac to Anchorage. I think what saved my life was the shot you get for any blood clots. There was a blood clot lodged in one of my arteries, and it dissolved it. And then, of course, you get treated for the heart attack, if you need stints and all this other stuff. But I’m a pretty lucky guy, because it was right there on a wishbone, and had it gone the one way, down the widowmaker, there would have been no chance.”
He wasn’t concerned with how the show’s producers would edit the footage. “I suppose they could probably really twist it if they wanted to and exploit that, but I don’t think they would do that. I think they’re gonna show what’s happened. That’s the deal. [Some people] look at our show like some Housewives of the Bering Sea,” he said with a laugh, “but remember, it’s a god—- documentary. That’s why I still agree to do it. That’s what they show.”
Related: ‘Deadliest Catch’: Sig Hansen Talks Fire at Sea
His faith comes from how well producers handled beloved fan favorite Capt. Phil Harris’s stroke, hospitalization, and passing in Season 6 of the Emmy-winning series. “I thought they were respectful of Phil. Behind-the-scenes, they were really concerned about the boys [Josh and Jake Harris], and still are. TV is one thing, and that’s a business. We all know that. But behind-the-scenes, you’ve got this big team of people and they really did worry about Phil, and his boys, and how that was gonna be treated. So I know for myself, it would be no different,” Hansen said. “Besides, my wife’s tough. If she didn’t like it, she’d knock ‘em in the head anyway.”
Related: 'Deadliest Catch’: 10 Things We Learned From Sig Hansen and Sean Dwyer
Watch our late-March Facebook Live chat with Sig and Sean Dwyer:
Deadliest Catch airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery, following “The Bait.”
