Although 'Serengeti' was a missed opportunity on the whole for me, am saying this with a heavy heart, it did get quite a bit better in the last two episodes. So one third of the series was quite good, the best the first four episodes got was slightly above average. The best being the previous outing "Exodus", which may have had some of the flaws the other four episodes, and the whole of 'Serengeti' for that matter, had. But it also had significant improvements and delivered on things that the others did not.
"Rebirth" was a worthy end to the series, not great yet by this series' standards it's above decent (the only one of two to be so in my view). It is not as good as "Exodus", though it is close, and doesn't quite have that episode's tension. Yet it is easily one of the best 'Serengeti' episodes (second best even). Again "Rebirth" is not perfect, not by any stretch, but it has some very sweet moments and boasts one of the most emotional scenes of the series.
It is a very cute episode, absolutely loved the parts where the cheetah cubs were being taught to hunt. "Rebirth" has to be the cutest 'Serengeti' episodes without being too much so or being too child-friendly. The cheetah cubs are adorable and steal the show with ease, their expressions are so telling. One of the most poignant moments of 'Serengeti' was seeing their forlorn expressions when they realise that their mother has left them, that would be enough to finish any child or parent off and it left me teary-eyed for sure.
Production values are top-notch, especially the awe-inspiring photography that captures the colours and animals in their majesty. It is one of the better edited episodes, only one of two episodes where this aspect wasn't an issue ("Exodus" being the other). It is easy to understand for younger viewers but there is more than enough for adults too, so the target audience is clear here in a way that wasn't the case for two thirds of 'Serengeti'. The animals are very easy to relate to.
Was again significantly less taken by the music and narration, both of which excessive in use, placement and delivery. Musically, it is too over-orchestrated, is used far too constantly which allows for little breathing space and stylistically it doesn't gel. The narration is not as interesting as the cheetah cubs' plight and drama and says very little new, not to mention that it is pretty heavy-handed.
Never cared for how John Boyega delivered it and that is still the case here. This was very phoned in work here. Would have liked slightly more tension perhaps as well.
Otherwise, a decent and worthy final episode of a very uneven, sometimes beautiful but sometimes too downright strange series. 7/10