‘The Dark Wizard’ Episode 2 Review: Dean Potter, Illegal BASE Jumping and the Battle for Yosemite

If I thought Episode 1 of HBO’s The Dark Wizard was impressive, Episode 2 just blew the doors off.

Titled “Dying to Flying,” the second installment of this four-part documentary series shifts its focus from Dean Potter’s climbing origins to his entry into BASE jumping, which is statistically the most dangerous sport on the planet. And that context hangs over every single frame of this episode. You are on edge the entire time.

It starts with Potter discovering the BASE jumping community at an adventure film festival, where he begins learning the craft from experienced jumpers. He has his close calls and stumbles early on. But the real story here, and my favorite stretch of this entire documentary so far, is what happens when Potter decides to bring BASE jumping to Yosemite National Park.

Here’s what makes it so compelling. All these seasoned BASE jumpers talk openly about how Yosemite was the dream. The massive granite walls, the valley setting, the sheer scale of the place. It was the ultimate proving ground. But it was also highly illegal, with serious consequences for anyone caught.

Dean Potter looked at that and essentially said, nobody knows this park like I do. I’m going to make it happen.

And he did. He organized a covert crew of jumpers who eventually called themselves ninjas. They set strict rules: no daytime jumps, only early morning or evening launches, always a ground crew watching for rangers, constant communication via phone. They built a full underground network to pull off illegal BASE jumps from the biggest walls in Yosemite. The behind-the-scenes footage and firsthand interviews from these old jumpers make for absolutely riveting television.

When Everything Changed

Then the episode takes a devastating turn.

Frank Gambalie, one of the most accomplished BASE jumpers in the world, successfully jumps off El Capitan. But rangers are waiting for him. He runs, tries to swim across the Merced River to escape, and drowns.

The BASE jumping community was furious. They blamed the park rangers for Gambalie’s death. Their argument was simple: this sport only puts the individual at risk, so why is it treated like a crime?

In response, the community organized a mass protest jump off El Capitan. It was coordinated with the rangers ahead of time. The deal was that jumpers would land, shake hands with the rangers, surrender their equipment, receive a citation, and go on their way. No arrests. No heavy fines. A big crowd gathered in the valley. Rangers stood by. It was supposed to be a moment of peace between two sides.

The first three jumpers floated down beautifully. Then Jan Davis, a veteran jumper, leaped. Her parachute never opened. She fell to her death in front of the entire crowd, including her husband, who was photographing the event. She had reportedly used borrowed gear because she didn’t want her own equipment confiscated.

That moment changed everything. The Park Service doubled down. BASE jumping enforcement in Yosemite became an absolute crackdown, and Dean Potter, as the face of the illegal jumping movement in the park, became the primary target.

But Potter didn’t stop. He knew Yosemite’s terrain so intimately that he could still get away with it. He talks in the documentary about how the second his parachute opened, his eyes were already scanning for an escape route from rangers. It was a full-blown cat and mouse game, and the footage and interviews make it feel like a thriller.

The Honnold Rivalry

Later in the episode, the documentary introduces Alex Honnold, and this is where the generational tension really takes shape.

Honnold, who most people know as arguably the most gifted rock climber to ever live, starts showing up in Yosemite and ticking off routes that were landmark achievements for Dean Potter. Except Honnold is doing them almost effortlessly. And he’s not shy about it. In the media, he’s essentially taunting Potter, and Dean does not like it one bit.

The contrast between these two is fascinating. Honnold is analytical, methodical, working out every night in camp. Potter and the rest of the Stone Monkeys are dropping acid and living like feral artists in the valley. It’s old school counterculture versus new school precision, and the clash is electric.

FreeBASE Is Born

Driven by that competitive fire, Potter invents something entirely new. He calls it FreeBASE, which sounds like something out of a drug PSA, but it’s actually one of the most terrifying athletic concepts ever conceived.

The idea: free solo a massive rock wall with no rope, but wear a BASE parachute on your back. If you fall, you maneuver your body and pull the chute before you hit the ground. It gave Potter the ability to attempt free solo routes that were previously too dangerous, too intimidating, too deadly without any safety margin at all.

The episode builds to Potter traveling to Switzerland to climb Deep Blue Sea, a serious 5.12+ route on the north face of the Eiger, one of the most iconic and dangerous walls in the Alps. He climbs it without a rope and with nothing but a five-pound parachute on his back. The tension during this sequence is almost unbearable.

Final Thoughts

I’ve now watched both episodes twice. This is one of the most intense, engaging documentaries I’ve ever seen.

Dean Potter is such a fascinating figure. He’s a tormented artist, a lost soul chasing a recurring dream he’s had since childhood of falling to his death. The documentary is elevated to another level by his personal journals, where he writes candidly about the demons in his head, why he has to keep pushing, why the danger has to keep escalating. It’s haunting and deeply human.

There are two episodes left. Episode 3 drops tonight, Tuesday, April 28, on HBO and Max. If you want to learn the history of rock climbing and BASE jumping in Yosemite, understand the wild counterculture behind it, and watch a story about one of the most complex athletes to ever live, all set against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful national parks on the planet, The Dark Wizard is absolutely mandatory viewing.

I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Dark Wizard airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and is available to stream on Max.