The CinEmma: You vs. Wild
- Emma Doyle
- Apr 25, 2019
- 2 min read
A twist on the typical survival show, “You vs. Wild” allows the viewer to feel more of the impact of choices made in the wilderness and gets an 8.1/10.
Netflix just came out with an interactive TV series starring renowned survivalist Bear Grylls. With the most updated version of Netflix, viewers can make the choices for Grylls as he navigates the wilderness.
In the first episode, Grylls is trying to find a doctor who got lost carrying life-saving medicine to a village in the jungles of Central America. Grylls navigates the wilderness, informing the viewer on what to look out for.
Periodically, he will present the viewer with two choices, giving pros and cons to both. For example, at one point Grylls comes across a chasm and gives the viewer the option of having him crawl across a log that spans the gap or swing on a vine. Two buttons then appear on the screen and Grylls proceeds based on the choice that the viewer makes.
If the viewer makes a choice that Grylls cannot recover from, such as if the vine he is swinging on snaps so he falls into the chasm and cannot get out, Grylls informs the viewer that “this mission is over.”
Following that statement, the viewer can then either go back to the last choice they made or restart the mission completely.
With an almost video-game-like feel, the show keeps the viewer invested and has an interesting, informative, and relevant story-line.
Becca Davis, who gave the series an 8.5/10 said, “I think they did the interactivity very well and managed to keep me entertained. The only reason it wasn’t a 10 is that I’m not super into survival shows.”
