HBO series shows how free soloist Dean Potter was overshadowed by Alex Honnold

Editor’s Note: this article may contain spoilers

If the first two episodes of The Dark Wizard were all about Dean Potter’s struggles with his demons, the third is about his failed attempts to keep up with Alex Honnold, and the resulting fallout. 

Throughout this latest installment of the show, we see how Potter begins to unravel as Honnold starts to tick off each of his projects before he has a chance to get to them. Honnold pulls off speed records and solos that eclipse Potter’s prior achievements.

Honnold solos Half Dome, one of the prizes that Potter had coveted. So Potter decides that he must be the first to free solo El Capitan. 

With a film crew in tow, he sets about taking the first step to making that dream come true. 

He plans to tackle the upper section of Freerider, the route that Honnold would eventually immortalize in climbing’s most famous film, Free Solo.

At first, he toys with the idea of freeBASEing this section. But park rangers forbid him from wearing a parachute, as BASE jumping is illegal in Yosemite.

Potter is terrified by the prospect of soloing, but does it anyway. After conquering this piece of the monolith, there’s hope he might actually be able to pull off a full bottom-to-top free solo of El Cap. He devises a route. Take on the easy West Face for the majority of the climb, then scootch over to the final section of Freerider. 

Honnold catches wind of this and is disgusted by the idea that Potter would try to claim a first free solo ascent of El Cap with this roundabout method. He shuts it down by free soloing the West Face in its entirety, and this puts an end to this plan.

Once this happens, Potter begins to spiral. It’s clear his time as king of The Valley is coming to an end. He turns on his friends, and is left with very few people in his corner. 

His love life after Steph Davis is disastrous. Davis’ absence throughout the series is curious, given her importance in the narrative. One can only assume she declined to be interviewed, though the directors don’t make this clear. Or perhaps they’re saving an appearance from her for the final episode. 

Potter then takes a job doing live stunts for state television in China, and winds up alienating his accompanying cameraman, Dean Fidelman, who is perhaps his last true friend at this point. 

This episode’s mood is stark, depressing and sobering. The takeaway appears to be fairly clear. A person who hangs their self-worth and mental well-being on accomplishments that fade with time can never truly know peace. 

Free soloing, freeBASEing, highlining all provided Potter with some relief from his demons. But even the king of The Valley can be replaced. And when that happens, it’s crushing. 

We’re dealing with the worst version of Potter, and if the first two episodes made us vacillate between liking and disliking him, it’s highly likely most people will come away feeling the latter at this point. 

At the episode’s conclusion, we’re left with footage of Potter sobbing after successfully highlining in China without a tether. The national televised stunt drew over a hundred million viewers. 

“He had just gone to the deepest, darkest place he possibly could to stay alive, but he had lost touch with himself as an artist and a friend,” says Fidelman. 

“He made it across the line, but he was a broken man.” 

 

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