Since its debut in October 2019, Primal has gained quite the following, winning awards and praise from critics and animation fans alike. In a way, this show has proven to be one of Genndy Tartakovsky‘s greatest triumphs, as he was able to push his style of storytelling in a way he could never have done with Samurai Jack.
The simple story of a caveman and a T-Rex roaming a primeval landscape may be simple, but with the right combination of worldbuilding, pacing, and brutality, the show manages to maintain a steady cadence to keep the audience following along for the entire violent ride. The horrible violence is meant to reflect the mercilessness of nature, yet is not gratuitous to the point of stopping these characters from experiencing the lighter side of life (as brief as they may be).
Season 2 escalates everything season one has set in motion and more. From The drama, violence, worldbuilding, to the stakes our characters face and the beautifully brutal setpieces along the way.
Setting
Until season one’s finale, it was presumed it would be set in a completely prehistoric landscape. This changed with the introduction of the character Mira, as she appears to have hailed from a more advanced Egyptian-like culture with metal tools and bows.
She also has a higher form of religion, a concept unknown to our protagonist, Spear, this far in the story. However, in the finale, Mira is re-taken by her original captors, leaving a distraught Spear determined to get her back even if it takes an entire ocean.
While the first season was largely episodic, this season is more serialized as our pair heads out on a desperate search to save Mira and get out alive.
A Journey through Civilization(s)
After a long trek across the ocean, Spear and Fang become separated in a storm. At first, both characters have a brief moment of levity, with Fang finally encountering another T-rex dinosaur like herself and bonded. Meanwhile, Spear begins to befriend a tribe of celts who seem to be fascinated with this stranger.
All these Second chances When the village spear rests it gets attacked by the Red rex and his new mate Fang. Fang attempts to prevent Spear and Red from killing each other, but Red is a predator by nature, and Spear was protecting the people who saved him. In the end, Fang accidentally kills her mate and is left deeply depressed.
Tartakovksy’s Best Scene
Leaving fang alone to attend to her grief, Spear stumbles upon a cave filled with paintings made by people like himself. There are many things that can be interpreted, but my belief is in this scene Spear has had a revelation that men like himself once lived as he did before they began living in huts and villages instead of caves. Spear, at this moment, begins to realize that men like him no longer exist. Again all of this character development without a single word uttered.
Once again, the good moments don’t last as the duo encounters our next culture of the week: Vikings. Not just that but Vikings that ride on cave bears. Another element I like about Spears’s quickness to adapt to new weapons as after defeating the more suddenly has an Iron sword as a new favorite toy.
The Massacre of the Red Mist
Perhaps one of the most shocking episodes to have come out was The Red Mist. After finding Mira Spear and Fang had unwittingly woken the entire Viking village. Soon every inhabitant, including the women and children, were surrounding our pair.
As it became morning, the sun produced a red mist creating a visually unsettling atmosphere. The most disturbing aspect of this episode is our heroes wind up becoming monsters. We’ve seen them kill and devour many creatures – but not indiscriminately butchering entire families.
In fairness to Spear, he was not just raging the entire time as early in the fight. He was horrified to see a little boy attempting to fight him. Spear tries his best to avoid lethal injuries but killed the boy by accident.
This may be the most controversial moment in the series as it turns our heroes into villains as they horrifically massacre the entire village. When pressed on all sides, the instinct to survive has overtaken all sense of mercy, it was either kill or be killed.
This was also where the series switched perspectives, as when Spear and Fang escape with Mira, a Viking chieftain returns to his village, only to be horrified at what has become. What also adds so much is that even though he is a career slaver, we see so much sorrow for him despite his trade as a slaver. This is perhaps the biggest strength It allows us to see so much humanity in supposed monsters.
Primal Theory
In a curious shift in focus, canon, and tone, the following episode cuts to 1890s London, where we see naturalists and philosophers (their version of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries) debate how savage instinct exists within all living beings. Then an escaped criminal terrorizes the house killing everyone except Darwin and his associate who opposes Darwin’s theories. As it becomes more and more dangerous, he begins to revert to a “primal” state in desperation to kill the escaped prisoner; by the end, he basically resembles Spear in mannerisms, thus proving Darwin’s point as he delightfully points out.
This is one hundred percent filler, but it’s meant to reflect the theme of Primal that, when pushed to desperation to survive, creates a savageness in a person. No matter how noble the primal urge to survive overtakes all sense of civility.
The Colossaeus
This three-part arc is perhaps the hardest part of season 2. After a renewed sense of hope finding Mira and Fang laying a new batch of eggs, they find themselves caught up again. This time by a colossal ship commanded by a sinister queen who sails the world plundering civilizations.
With the Qween holding Mira and Fang’s eggs hostage, Fang and Spear were forced to fight through a montage over a period of perhaps several months. We see Spear and Fang fight a variety of civilizations, from the Philistines to the Romans, and even crusader knights.
Seeing this different civilization further expands what this world contains. It is now clear that the world of primal boasts numerous complex civilizations, with Spears world being one of the last prehistoric places on earth. It appears to be a world where history and time are joined.
This was the hardest part of this season because it’s seeing Spear and Fang being stripped of their humanity as they fight in war after the war no longer for survival. This wasn’t simply running from another monster but by the will of an evil queen. They were far from the first as a massive, impenetrable African man is also being held hostage and forced to fight to protect his daughter. Much like Spear, the big man is also forced to murder an entire village, except this was premeditated as the village failed to give tribute. This other massacre highlights another extreme that a person can devolve to. A father’s love will overtake almost any sense of morality.
It is only after a failed escape attempt and being forced to execute fang in front of his daughter does he change out, leading a mutiny of his fellow kin to take back the ship
Revenge and Sacrifice
One recurring theme of primal is also how revenge consumes someone’s soul, and this was most clear with the Viking Chief whose wife and child were killed in the massacre. When his first attempt failed, his dying body was dragged into hell when it appeared the devil himself has tasked him to return to the mortal realm, this time as a demon. Eventually, this demon confronts Spear and company in Mira’s village. The Demon burns Spear alive, but at that moment Spears’s rage became so great that his power matches the Demon for a brief time.
The fight was something of an anticlimax with the demon dragging himself back down to hell. The fight has left Spear badly burned, but not before fang cave painted his entire life story, Mira notices the portrait and they clearly start to have sex, (a bit as unnecessary as that egg laying scene). The last shot cuts to years later with a fang babies all grown up and Spear’s new child riding one of the Rexes and the story ends.
Conclusion
Primal season 2 may be more controversial than last season as the content has been hyped up to eleven. The ending is also quite rushed, perhaps requiring one more episode. The show has also taken a lot of time to expand not just on these characters but the world they inhabit. Aside from that one Darwin episode, not a moment felt wasted in this season.
If this does turn out to be the last season, it would be a good one to end on. Of course, there would be lingering questions on Spears Survival and that Devel spawn, but overall the overall tale conclusion does end on a satisfying note. It is truly a series of the best of this decade so far, and I hope that Tartakovsky will continue this style of story in future projects.
Keep working ,remarkable job!