'I'm never going in the sea again': Blue Planet II compared to a 'Pixar horror movie' after gruesome episode

Nature, David Attenborough has spent seven decades trying to tell us, is often cruel and desperate. Baby iguanas get chased by snakes. Barnacle goslings have to fall off cliffs in order to eat. Giraffes and lions must do battle in a way that leaves viewers confused about which side to cheer on.

And yet, viewers still expect an hour of calming Sunday night television from Blue Planet II, the naturalist's latest documentary series for BBC One. 

Instead, the 10.8 million people who tuned in to the series's second episode were treated to cannibalistic squid, fish with transparent heads and the charming, if quietly devastating, love story of two shrimp who were trapped inside a sponge until they died.

The focus on the little-known creatures who live in the deepest parts of the ocean proved a horrifying disappointment for some viewers, who shared their shock on Twitter.

Things were not improved by boggle-eyed sharks devouring a rotting sperm whale carcass and footage of an eel convulsing with toxic shock:

Needless to say, people found the experience somewhat harrowing:

Thankfully, next week Blue Planet II returns to the sunnier climes of the coral reef.