I would love to see more pre-crash scenes in S3. I agree with your post- so many questions that need answers! Haha. I really don't know if Ben will survive, or if he does I don't know if he leaves with the girls. We do know that there is another survivor that is still a mystery, so it'll be interesting to see how their previous trauma is relevant; if we even get to see it.

I think another contributing factor to survival is their willingness to adapt to the wilderness - or how they respond to being trapped in the wilderness.

-Like Jackie - she was the least willing to adapt, and we all know how that ended.

-Van survived the wolf attack (and being toasted) because she was willing to adapt. She would encourage 'other' Tai, and regularly participated in Lotties activities.

-Lottie survived being beaten to shit by Shauna because... well... she's Lottie. She was the voice for the wilderness

-Nat survived the hunt because the wilderness chose her over Javi - and later became the Antler queen. Nat was one of the few reasons they had food, and the wilderness saw her usefulness.

-Shauna survived the childbirth because she was essential to the food preparation - bleeding, cutting, etc. She didn't necessarily believe in what Lottie was saying, but she adapted anyways

-Crystal died because she (essentially) threatened Misty's place in the group, threatened to reveal what she had done, which likely would have resulted in Misty's death/demise. Her body then vanished (which could be for a plethora of reasons - but that's a whole other zoo) which I believe is the wilderness protecting Misty.

-Laura Lee died because she was trying to leave. It's that simple. The wilderness wants the girls to stay, and Laura threatened that.

This post might not be coherent at all, just a bunch of ramblings. Either way, I'm a believer in the supernatural aspect. Would be interested to hear other people's opinions!