'Planet Earth: Blue Planet II' Recap - 'Coasts'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

​While Planet Earth: Blue Planet II has done a phenomenal job of taking us through every inch of the oceans that envelop our one and only world, at times I think our adventures through the water have in a way, allowed for us to forget that the oceans do in fact have a physical limit to their seemingly endless horizon. Now, that’s not a bad thing or a knock on the show in the slightest because let’s be honest, I think we’ve all enjoyed exploring the incredible places this series has taken us to. But it’s inherently clear that the people behind the scenes also fully understand how easy it is to get lost in the vastness of the oceans, and that epiphany allowed for the series to take us to those very borders during last night’s episode, ‘Coasts’.
 
Now, exploring this part of the ocean is important for so many reasons, the first one being, that mankind often forgets that the coastlines near our oceans are also living and breathing entities, teaming with all kinds of life and hey, it’s understandable why that fact slips our mind. After all, the coasts are beautiful sights to behold, and it’s easy for us to get lost in their majesty as we watch the sun rise or set depending on which coast our eyes are feasting upon and well, this episode served as a fine reminder as to what else lives on the coastlines and that sometimes, the marine life that thrives there, has to struggle mightily to survive and see another day.
 
In fact, a fair chunk of this episode was dedicated to that fight for survival. Since we were introduced to a species of crab known as the Sally Lightfoot Crab, which lives off of the coasts of Brazil and is subjected to a daily fight to stave off natural predators as they work to feast upon seaweed covered rocks that are revealed only after the tide escapes. We also learned about the plight of the lovely Puffins near Norway that travel over sixty-two miles daily to feed their young, an event that isn’t always a success unfortunately, since other predators want their food. However, while all of this was exasperating to watch since clearly survival here is tough, the ingenuity of marine life was once again on display in this episode, courtesy of a tale revolving around sea lions near the Galapagos Islands, who are able to work together to guide and trap tuna in order to gain weight so that they can be viewed as proper mates.
 
Speaking of mating, that was another important part of this episode, specifically the fact that the coastlines are often essential to propagating a variety of species since this story highlighted how the Olive Ridley Turtle returns to the shores of Costa Rica yearly to lay eggs. Or how King Penguins and Elephant Seals both find their ways to St. Andrew’s Bay in Georgia to deal with their mates and their young, and quite frankly, it was downright amazing to see just how important a tiny sliver of land really is to these various species and of course, the show closed out with another poignant moment about mankind’s relationship to the ocean since so many of our cities are located on coast lines and well, while the series didn’t answer what this means for the future of coastal marine life, the implication of danger for many a species if we cannot find a way to properly coexist, hung heavy over the final moments of the episode.
 
If anything, this particular tale once again packed in every single second with facts and breathtaking visuals and storylines and well, when all is said and done, this particular chapter in the series and everything it had to offer, has changed my view of the coasts forever. No longer will I see them as just a vacation destination. I now fully realize that they are places full of life and wonder and they feature the same struggle for survival that all of nature undertakes on a daily basis and the next time I visit the coastlines, it will serve as a fine reminder of just how lucky I am to be alive on a planet as magnificent as this one. Until next time.  

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