‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’ Recap – ‘Episode 8: Coming of Age’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Eight of ‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’.
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It is definitely safe to say, that good cliffhangers are nothing short of a miracle. Because they outright require perfection through and through, for if there is a flaw in the setup, or a failure to bring the story around full circle… then audiences are left disappointed and time and time again, we hear more about failed cliffhangers than we do the good ones, because of how difficult it is to stick the landing. But believe it or not, there is one television show out there that has actually managed to produce one quality cliffhanger after another, and that series is… Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. For this is a show that understands how the setup works to a tee, and how giving the audience what they want is what makes for a satisfying end. Granted, a little bit of luck might have gone into this, but the cliffhangers here are perfect none the less and for proof… look no further than last night’s tale.

Because ‘Episode 8: Coming of Age’, wasted zero time in drawing us back into the ugly setup that came about last week. For we were all left desperately wondering as to what Sencha’s true intentions were by returning to the Hakuna Matata Clan. Was she friend? Was she family again? Was she an outright foe that was going to exact revenge upon Flint? Well, as it turns out… Sencha’s motivations were noble in the end. Because with so many of the family pushed into exile, Flint needed the help and bad, which motivated her to welcome little Sencha back into the clan with open and furry arms and with her return, the pups that Flint had weeks ago, were able to get proper care from the confines of the burrow. Giving every viewer out there a satisfying sense of relief and a wonderful end to the cliffhanger and well, once we found that peace… the show opted to move onto the next juicy storyline.

One that related to the title of this tale. Because each of these cute little meerkats are aging right before our eyes and with age comes different needs and desires, such as say… starting a family. Which is why young Belfagor decided that perhaps the time had come to set out on his own and explore the world and see if he could find a potential mate to start his own meerkat clan and of course, his desire to do so… put him front and center with young Wren over with the Ubuntu clan. And for a moment, it seemed as though love was indeed in the air. Because so many of the clan’s males were on wide patrol, keeping watch to see if by chance a rover was going to sneak through or if Flint and her family were going to make an attempt to retake the territory, giving him a shot at potentially courting young Wren. But alas, eventually he was spotted and unable to woo her, but clearly… it won’t be long before he starts his own family.

But he wasn’t the only one feeling the call of independence and the draw of family life in this tale. For Epsilon over in the Whiskers family revealed quite the surprise, in that… she’s pregnant and she is not the only one. For Swift is with child once more and that’s actually a bad thing for Epsilon. Because matriarchs don't do well with having a family member go through pregnancy simultaneously, and Epsilon ran the risk of being ejected from the clan if Swift figured out that was the case. Which in turn, motivated her and Bones and Crimson to be proactive and do something quite bold, and during the midst of a nasty dust storm, they snuck away from their family and went off to try and build their own burrow and start their own clan. Not out of spite, but because they were coming of age and ready to try their luck as independents and it will be quite interesting to see what comes of this twist in the days and weeks to come.

If anything, this really was quite the incredible episode when all is said and done. In large part because once again… it delivered on a cliffhanger, since none of us wanted to see an evil and vengeful Sencha. We wanted her home and we got that wish. But also, because we really are getting some phenomenal education regarding how meerkats thrive. Because we are literally watching the life cycle of a meerkat play out before our eyes, and it is just fascinating to see how quickly they decide it is time to lay down some roots and once that starts to happen en masse on this show… well, then perhaps this series needs to move to an hour-long format. To properly chronicle the adventures of so many families, or rather, dynasties. Either way, this show continues to impress and continues to captivate us to the point, where we will be counting down the minutes until next Saturday’s tale. So, we can once again see what incredible adventures these cute little critters are going to partake in. Until next time.

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