Primal is an animated action-horror series centered around the time of the dinosaurs. Season one follows the life of Spear and Fang, a caveman-dinosaur duo who have been forced together by the harsh existence of the dinosaur era. This is not a kid or family friendly series by any stretch. It follows the duo’s daily blood-filled struggle to survive, as they face foes both natural and supernatural. It explores the dark and harsh reality of existence during an era famous for its survival-of-the-fittest ruleset.
Spoiler free
Season one of Primal shows how Spear and Fang come to travel together. Both experience similar traumas, and are left all alone. A common will to survive brings them together. The season continues showing their various brushes with the deadly denizens of the land, which mostly include various dinosaurs. There are some absolutely nasty and out of this world dangers in these prehistoric episodes. The season concludes as they come across another soul who has lived a tortured existence of a different kind, and Spear and Fang must decide what lengths they will go to for this potential addition to their pack.
There is absolutely no dialog in this series, and I love it. I didn’t even know the characters had names until several episodes in when I caught the title of the episode. There are grunts and growls as Spear and Fang communicate, as well as body language and facial expressions. The artists portray the non-verbal communication flawlessly. The stories are all well written, though mildly formulaic in that they are mostly duo-meets-threat, duo-suffers-from-threat, duo-escapes-threat. It doesn’t affect my enjoyment because the threats are very original and completely unexpected.
The art style is incredible. The animations are very simple and basic, which lends to the period. There are lots of vibrant colors and beautifully drawn dinosaurs. The artists didn’t stick to the staples either, there are lots of lesser known, exotic dinosaurs in Primal. Xenoceratops and Therizinosaurus to name a couple. Some of the dinosaurs like Fang are ‘generic’ in appearance, leaving you wondering about the species. These designs are still fantastic, and do not detract from the experience.
Most noticeable is the gore, and there is a lot of it. Blood is splattered from beginning to end of each episode. There is literally blood within the first minute of the first episode. When something dies in Primal, its death is rarely simple. From having an entire upper jaw bitten off during a fight, to being eviscerated and smeared across a forest floor, Primal does not pull any punches. This is not a show for the squeamish.
The music helps convey the characters’ emotions, an essential component to support the film’s lack of dialog. There are lots of drums as you might expect, to provide that primitive vibe. The soundtrack is absolute emotional terrorism during the more touching, sad moments. Your feels are going to be abused, repeatedly. Be warned.
Primal touches on two big themes, friendship and survival. There are others, but these two are tightly woven into every story. They are portrayed in ways that are not for the faint of heart. Suicide is presented in the very first episode, but it is countered by survival and hope. Against all odds, life is a struggle, but you can survive. And not just survival at any cost, but tempered with friendship. Everyone is broken by the world in some way, and helping them can change both lives for the better. Even if that person is a stranger. Time and again the pair turn down opportunities to act on their initial impulses, and this avoids terrible fates for them. Spear and Fang have a humorous rivalry, but they realize they are codependent on each other for survival. They literally need each other simply to exist, and both go to incredible lengths to save the other. Their struggles to rescue one another will definitely tug at your heart strings. A friend you can depend on for survival is the most important thing in any time period.
Primal does storytelling quite well. The episodes are around twenty minutes, but it always manages to contain a full story. This is super helpful in finding time to watch with a busy schedule. The art really illustrates the era well with exotic colors, animals, and landscapes. There are lots of different biomes, some that I’ve never seen in dinosaur entertainment before. New types of animals that coexisted with dinosaurs also make an appearance. It’s a very fresh take on an old era. The writers also do a good job of highlighting the differences between species. Spear and Fang have a low-level rivalry going where they compete to be the best at survival tasks like gathering food or running. You get to see tasks where dinosaurs would excel, and also tasks where humans would excel. It’s an interesting sub-theme to watch play out.
I honestly don’t have anything bad to say about Primal. I’m actually going to give it a 5 out of 5 because I would recommend it to anyone that loves dinosaurs, and doesn’t mind dark and gritty stories. Season 2 is already out, and I’ll be reviewing that once I get a chance to watch it. Season 3 has been announced but not began production at the time of this review. Primal is a great series that lets adults get their dinosaur fix, and watch wanton gore and violence between man and/or beast spill onto their screen.
