‘Dynasties’ Recap: ‘Chimpanzee’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​It’s rare these days to settle in and watch a television series and feel as though you are about to be surprised with an unpredictable story since everything we watch is so carefully crafted anymore. But the BBC America documentary Dynasties, is bucking that trend and is proving to be quite the unexpected ride, simply because the folks behind the camera found a way to capture the sheer randomness and savagery of our world. Which meant that I was quite curious as to what twists and turns would be on display in the next episode of this magnificent series and as it turns out, ‘Chimpanzee’, ended up being just a wild a ride as the story that came before it.
 
For in this tale, the simians that shared the namesake of this episode, found themselves facing quite the struggle in Senegal, West Africa. Because a drought was on, and terribly high temperatures meant that food and water were scarce, and it was up the leader of this tribe, David, to guide his group to both and well, that was no easy task, thanks to the fires that raged through their home and while all of that was harrowing and tough to watch on its own, none of it compared to what poor David had to deal with. For David, found his leadership challenged by the males in his group at just about every single turn and that big problem, led to quite the ugly and unsettling moment.
 
Because in the middle of one unfortunate night, the males of his group beat him within an inch of his life and this is what I mean when I say that this series puts savagery on display, since this…is about as animalistic as it gets. But while it seems as though this episode was taking quite the dark turn, one where we had to watch David’s life come to an end, there was a fascinating twist to come about from this tragic moment. For as it turns out, David lived, and he did his best to recover as quickly as possible, so that he could challenge the males that left him for dead to reclaim leadership of the group, and this is the part of the story where we rooted for David, and boy, does the episode pay off in the end since our hero does indeed return to his tribe and reassert himself as the boss and while that was satisfying in its own right, more surprises awaited us down the line in this tale.
 
After all, David needed to ensure that another attempt on his life didn’t come to fruition, and we watched him use kindness over fear to win over his competitors and bond with them and wouldn’t you know it? His plan worked. Everyone in the clan got behind him and supported him and for his efforts, not only did David heal from his ugly wounds, but he fathered new sons, giving him his own dynasty and helping his group to live on. And really, when all is said and done, this was just a fascinating episode to watch for so many reasons. For starters, I really cannot get over some of the struggles David went through in this tale, or that the males in his group outright attacked him. It’s just something we don’t see or hear enough about in documentaries, so kudos to this series for once again taking the time show us nature in the raw.
 
But this episode was also fascinating to watch, due to the fact that it taught us how important it was for David to maintain his role as leader and to be accepted by the group as the one and only Alpha and this caught my eye, simply because it was such a human trait. After all, we too crave acceptance and need to know that we matter to our friends and others, and it’s always wonderful to find the connections to our world in documentaries about the animal kingdom. But make no mistake about it, this was tough to watch at times, and I legitimately had concerns for David when it comes to his health and his wounds, and it was nice to get a happier ending this time around and well, once again, I find myself craving more when it comes to this series, and I’ll be counting down the moments to see what fascinating adventures and challenges await us come next Saturday, until then.  

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