IR TV Review: KINGDOM - EPISODE 3 (“The Lion’s Fall”) [BBC America]

The progression of animal life in the Kingdom for Episode 4 begins to follow the lion part of the pack. While they are the top of the food chain and the most violent and aggressive, the aspect of how they deal with family life is not very different than say the hyenas. However the law of the wild dictates a certain pecking order. Once the hyenas had a number of cubs, but only a few survived. The wild dogs left the national park in the last episode since it was simply too dangerous to care for the cubs. Two of the male lions in this episode head outside the park (they don't know the boundaries). But beyond the park's borders they are not protected from poachers. The previous episode ended with the elephants in danger of trampling the lion cubs but it is actually the hyenas who don't show mercy. There isn't much of a conscience in the animal kingdom. One deals with the problem at hand. But most of the time if even if it is family, it doesn't matter.

The daughter of the leopard mother from the first episode by the end of this becomes her competitor for food. It is a dynamic structure that can be problematic in terms of human logic. Survival simply becomes the most important aspect. One of the more interesting journeys is when the lion pack from inside the park are tracking a buffalo herd across a river (crocodiles are obviously a problem). However on the other side the lionesses (since there is no male with them at the moment) encounter something worse...another pride...and again the laws of the jungle apply since they don't want to share their land. "The Kingdom" doesn't sugarcoat the bleakness of the story it is telling. There is joy but there is a possibility of death around every corner. The rainy season hits especially hard. While sometimes this can help, it tends to flood everybody's home. Episode 3 simply shows that many will perish while survive to hunt another day. B

By Tim Wassberg