Discovery Channel has been pushing a special called Eaten Alive over the last month, and it finally aired last night. The special features 27-year-old naturalist Paul Rosolie, who wore a “snake proof suit” and planned to live through getting swallowed by a 20-foot-long anaconda.

Anacondas of this size can easily eat large mammals like jaguars, deer, and pigs, so swallowing a human shouldn’t have been a problem. Though Discovery went through great lengths to design a suit that would protect the man against the snake’s fangs, compression, and stomach acid, they appeared to overlook one tiny detail: Rosolie didn’t look at all like something a giant anaconda might want to eat. Indeed, when the crew finally found the chosen snake, it really wasn’t interested in trying to eat a human dressed up like the Tinman.

In fact, when Rosolie first made contact with the snake, it was afraid and tried to escape. What to do when you’ve hyped up a show this much and the star isn’t interested? Rather than making the decision to call the whole thing off, Rosolie decided to provoke the animal instead. Only then did the snake attack, biting and squeezing the armored intruder. However, it appears that Rosolie wasn’t quite prepared for the reality of being constricted by an anaconda, and called in the crew to rescue him.

Didn’t catch it last night? Save yourself two hours and see the anti-climactic end right here:

Though thousands of people took to Twitter to express outrage that there wasn’t a man eaten by an anaconda, it’s probably for the best. The only way for Rosolie to have gotten out of the snake’s stomach would have been for the crew to kill the snake and cut him out. Though this stunt was touted as a way to raise awareness about the Amazon and its biodiversity—including the anaconda—this wasn’t scientific in nature at all, and didn’t seek to benefit anyone except Discovery’s bottom line and Rosolie’s reputation.

Check out some of the tweets sent in response to the show:

Sorry that "Eaten Alive" guy didn't get eaten by a snake. Maybe this will help. http://t.co/ZR8vl5yBKN pic.twitter.com/4uSRA26eUp — SB Nation (@SBNation) December 8, 2014

I can relate to this #EatenAlive guy. I've been wrapped up in my comforter a little too tight and had trouble breathing. Not impressed. — Chase McDonald (@ChaseMcDonald3) December 8, 2014