Man Vs. Wild "Cape Wrath, Scotland" Review/Recap

Bear Grylls returned to the United Kingdom for the second episode of season six. He and his crew took on the harsh terrain and climate of Cape Wrath, Scotland. What followed was one of the most quiet and subdued episodes of the series thus far--maybe even the most quest and subdued episode. Pastoral music played as Bear camped in a boat shelter. Bear spoke about Scotland with glowing adjectives. He described the conditions of the areas as "pristine." In every episode of Man Vs. Wild, Bear takes a few minutes to appreciate the landscape and the place he's in. In "Cape Wrath, Scotland" it was the entire episode. On the rugged mountains, Bear admired the developing clouds creeping over the peaks. On a summit, he overlooked the whole area--a stunning view of bright green fields and rugged cliffs. It was a refreshing change of pace for the show. Bear offered survival tips as he always does but I doubt the majority of people would survive in Cape Wrath based on this episode because it's more like a love-letter to the region than a survival guide, which isn't a criticism of the episode. On the contrary, it's one of the best episodes of the series.

-Bear's first challenge involves a life raft and the treacherous open North Atlantic Ocean. The seas of Scotland are among the most dangerous seas in the world because of its swells and tide-changes. Bear begins the episode by showing the audience how to survive in the cold, rough waters. All one needs is a life raft and the current of the sea to be on your side. Bear suffers sea sickness as he waits for the current to bring him to the coast. Eventually, he reaches the coast. On shore (which is only a damp rock), Bear converts his life raft into a dry kit then he begins his quest to find rescue.

-After his fun in the water in the beginning of the episode, Bear realizes that he needs to navigate the water yet again to be where he wants to be. Before diving into the icy waters of Cape Wrath, Bear makes a wet-suit from the skin of a dead seal. Bear explains that the body will become exhausted within an hour in such cold waters and the swimmer will become unconscious and soon drown. Since he doesn't have an actual wet-suit, he figures the skin of a dead seal will be good enough. Indeed, the wet-suit works impeccably. It protects his core body temperature from decreasing rapidly. If you're ever going to submerge yourself in below freezing water for an extended period of time and a dead seal's within sight then you know the skin of it can save your life.

-The coolest part of the episode is the journey along the estuary. An estuary is "a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea." Estuaries will always make for exciting television if it's in Cape Wrath and high tide is nigh. Now, Bear swears that he had no idea when the tide would change but he's surrounded by a crew that knows these things. Why bother going into an estuary if high tide won't come? It became an exciting race to reach the other island before he and the camera crew were engulfed in water. Man Vs. Wild is a television show after all. Last week, I read The AV Club's review of the "Arizona Sky Islands." Unsurprisingly, I disagreed with large portions of the review. The reviewer criticized aspects of the show that felt 3-4 years late. The reviewer hadn't gotten over the revelation that Man Vs. Wild isn't as natural a show as Survivorman was, that Man Vs Wild manipulates situations so Bear can demonstrate survival techniques. Once again, it's a TV show. The Estuary sequence felt like a planned bit because it probably was planned. It's television. Such planning doesn't make the scene any less exciting or cool. The quickness of high tide was astonishing. Bear and the crew turned around once the water became too high.

-Bear climbed a lot for the second week in a row. He made his way into the valley and decided to break for food and rest. He came upon a small lake, built a dam and placed a net to capture fish. For an unknown period of time, Bear disturbed the water in hopes the fish would swim down-stream into his net. He told a story about a spider who kept falling from the web but the spider never quit. Bear related to the spider in this instance. The scene resembled last week's bow-and-arrow attempt. Eventually, Bear had two small trouts. He used a battered boat for shelter, found insulation and built a fire.

It was a low-key affair. Bear found rescue as he always does at episode's end. The fun of this episode was seeing the Scottish terrain, the North Atlantic waters and Bear's obvious love for Scotland. Next week, Bear returns to a jungle. Jungle adventures are always fun.

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