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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​Over the past few weeks, we’ve experienced absolute wonders when it comes to Planet Earth: Blue Planet II. We’ve been to the depths of the oceans to see what kind of creatures live within the darkness. We’ve been below the ice of Antarctica and seen life thrive in the freezing cold waters, and on the opposite side of that, we’ve visited the bustling communities of the coral reefs that hum about beneath the waves of warm water. Yet, of the many complexities we have explored in this world within our world, there’s one remaining element that the show has yet to fully explore in detail, mankind’s impact on these delicate eco systems.
 
Granted, it’s touched upon our impact in prior episodes, but last night’s finale of this stunning saga dug deep into mankind’s relationship with the oceans and well, it made ‘Our Blue Planet’ a tough episode to watch. Because this particular tale did little to hold back on the impact our actions have upon the world and it opened my eyes to a great many things that we clearly need to do differently. For example, since we often think that we are the true masters of this planet, we tend to grab every resource for ourselves and ourselves alone. We’ve yet to truly ponder upon the possibility that there is enough for everyone, and as it turns out, with careful management there is and for proof, look no further than a Herring Fishery in Norway, where both whale and man alike have figured out how share a fish we both make use of to survive.
 
Sadly though, that wondrous place is not the norm when it comes to our world, meaning that a fair chunk of this story was dedicated to showing us how mankind is not in harmony with the ocean in the slightest. For example, we are just now learning that noise pollution from our travels above the water have an adverse effect on the creatures below since they use sound in their daily lives and some species use it to help them stay safe, making such matters difficult when a propeller is roaring above them, and to complicate matters, our inability to figure out and solve our waste problem is now having incredible influence on marine life as well. After all, there are albatross out there, that researchers are learning have plastics in their stomachs since they’re finding it in the ocean when they feed and baby dolphins are suffering as well because plastic unfortunately breaks down into micro plastics in the ocean, wherein they are consumed by plankton and then up the food chain and the poisonous nature of this particular type of plastic builds up in adult dolphins and may be transmitted to their young when they nurse from their mother.
 
However, it was not all gloom and doom in this tale, simply due to the fact that this episode was quick to point out, that humanity is fully capable of reversing the course on any damage done to our beautiful oceans and it demonstrated that by way of two magnificent tales. The first being that of the Sperm Whale, a species hunted to low numbers ages ago are now thriving once again thanks to the efforts of various nations and perhaps the most beautiful story of the night came from the Caribbean, where we learned that the Leatherback Turtle, a species whose numbers dwindled due to hunting, are surging once again thanks to the efforts of one man, Len Peters. He came to realize the sheer majesty of these creatures, which come to the shores to lay their eggs and he worked diligently with his community to preserve the lives of these turtles and well, his efforts just go to show the sheer difference than mankind can make when it comes together and works with a singular purpose.
 
If anything, what I appreciated most about this episode, is that it didn’t insult the audience or talk down to us when it comes to the man-made calamities that plague our oceans. It simply stated the facts and offered potential solutions and really, it is up to us to fix it and after watching this series, I’m definitely going to spend a little time learning what I can do differently in my life to help out this beautiful blue world and when all is said done, I cannot thank the people behind the scenes of this series enough. They have presented us with a marvelous look at our oceans, and I’ve learned so much from this seven-episode saga and I do hope that more documentaries such as this continue to surface because I firmly believe the world needs them now more than ever. Because, not only do they teach us wonderful things about this tiny world we are blessed to live upon but also because, I honestly do believe they truly inspire us to make our blue planet, a better place for all the creatures that inhabit it.

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