Man Vs. Wild "Borneo Jungle" Review

Bear Grylls decided to conquer one of the toughest environments on the planet--the Borneo Jungle of Malaysia. Jungle episodes are always good because they're the most taxing ones for Bear. Jungles are harsh environments that always brings Bear to the brink of frustration. They're humid, rainy, full of bright colored species with no names and inhabitable grounds for shelter. Any human being in a civilized environment becomes miserable during a humid summer's day. Imagine the relentless humidity while you're trying to survive. It would lead to plenty of FML status updates on facebook (but no one could use facebook in the jungle). From the minute Bear hits the ground, he's facing an uphill battle even though he travels downhill for the rest of the episode.

-Predictably enough, Bear's helicopter cannot land anywhere on the jungle surface because it's a jungle. Of course Bear has a super difficult task to get down to the floor. He repels from the helicopter (nothing new) but he has to land directly on a tree--a mistake could result in the helicopter crashing or Bear being impaled by a branch. After successfully landing on the tree, he uses strong vines to climb down onto the jungle surface. As he descends, Bear describes the strain and stress on his arm muscles. The strain and stress on those muscles is a theme throughout the episode because the jungle, in case I failed convey it properly, is a harsh, tough environment to travel and survive in.

-On the jungle floor, Bear tells the audience to head downhill. The objective is to find a river or stream. Civilized communities live in the valleys or along the shore so one's best chance for rescue is with water. Bear later informs the audience that traveling along riverbeds is much easier than the surface. The pace will be slow because of the various rocks in the river as well as the force of the stream but the jungle's much more a killer.

-Borneo's famous for its caves system. Many cave systems haven't been explored or mapped yet. Bear decides to explore one of the caves of Borneo. The descent isn't for the weak of heart or those who fear heights. Along the way, Bear gathered some strong vines for the descent. He created a makeshift harness using the vines. On the cave floor, he comes across one of those bright-colored critters with no names. Bear moves away quickly, uninterested in poison. Bear's already mindful of the smallest cuts in the jungle because of the quick infection rate. The humidity is not the body's friend. Also, Bear gathered materials for a long-lasting torch that the military use on the ground. Once the torch is lighted, he explores. The caves are so quiet compared to the jungle. Bear's sort of disconcerted by the change. Naturally, ominous music is cued. The caves aren't very interesting. Bear eats small bird eggs for protein. He hopes to find a stream or river at the end of the cave. If not, he'll retrace his steps. Fortunately, he finds a river.

-The fun begins once he reaches the water. He and his crew deal with large boulders, powerful waterfalls and rocks on all sides. I'm sure the water's a relief though because Bear constantly travels in long-sleeves and long pants. Anyone should in a jungle environment because something's bound to latch onto the skin and cause some type of infection or sickness. Bear's watchful of leeches because those small bites could become very bad. When a leech gets him, he finds a plant that will restore his blood coagulation. Later, he's bitten by a non-venomous snake when he captures it for dinner. He uses something from within the tree that will act as a mild anti-septic. Nature is really amazing.

-Bear spends most of the episode in the water. When he's not in the water, he's walking through torrential downpours that damages his morale. He explains that he's fighting the jungle by telling himself that he can, he can, he can continue. Survival's very much a mental thing. Fortunately, the rain stops long enough for Bear to build a nest in the trees to sleep in. He also builds a trap that yields nothing as far as fish for breakfast. While resting in his nest, he explains why he feels a certain kinsmanship for orangutans.

-On the final day, Bear builds his own raft. The raft is not sturdy. If you've ever seen previous episodes involving the construction of a boat or raft then you know Bear always build fragile floating devices. He did use strong bamboo though. This time, the raft doesn't fall apart and it does lead him to rescue but he has a few scares during the trip down the river.

Overall, it was another solid episode of the show. Man Vs. Wild never produces any bad episodes. I enjoy every episode. This season has been less insane than season five but Bear can't fight crocs and sharks weekly.

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