The Tribal Ways
Episode 4 of Green Frontier picks up where the last one ended, with the aftermath of the battle. Yua’s tribe has won but he is not happy as there are a lot of casualties. The doctor later speaks to him, asking to be his apprentice. Yua refuses at first and tells him that the jungle will decide. The doctor then gives a speech to the Arupanis and the other tribe helping him, the Ya’arikawas. However, Yua responds that his people do not want to go to war anymore. At night around the campfire, Yua’s people are trying to convince him to listen to the doctor but Yua stands his ground as he doesn’t want any more casualties. Unfortunately, gun shots are fired and the Ya’arikawas arrive with their hunting masks on, holding them at gunpoint. In the past, we find Yua and his tribe now being held prisoner by the doctor. After slicing one of their throats, he tells them that because they are traitors, they will have to choose to either remain Arupanis or become Ya’arikawas. Ushe later speaks with the doctor where he tells her he wants to be taught all the secrets of the jungle. She replies that she will if he frees Yua. After initially threatening him, she then starts teaching him about the jungle and tells him that when a tree is ill, the others around will heal it through their roots. He’s then told to drink the potion to become a walker. However, he makes her drink first and, after seeing that nothing happens to her, he drinks the potion but soon realizes it is poison and collapses on the floor. It is now night time for Helena; she hears strange noises and a voice whispering “Cachicamo”. She later receives more flashbacks to when she was a little girl with Ushe. The next day, she finds a corpse with a Ya’arikawas’ mask on and finally manages to make her way to Efrain’s camp, where she finds the same kind of mask. She confronts him about his business with Uribe where he explains that he would never hurt the nuns. He goes on to tell her that her Father saved his life back in prison and that he has been paying his hospital bill ever since. However, he doesn’t want to tell her what he did for him. The episode then ends with Efrain showing Helena a trap door where he is keeping Yua prisoner. Green Frontier has really been a slow burn so far but does get better with each episode. We are given more and more details about the past with the different tribes and that is ultimately the one stand out here. The ideas behind the walkers’ belief is quite interesting too and ties in with the circle of life concept, popularized of course in The Lion King. Leading in to episode 5, Green Frontier leaves things wide open for where it may go next, following its cliffhanger ending here.
