Primal Seasons 1-3 Review

Primal (2019-)

Season 1 - 10 episodes (2019-20)
Season 2 - 10 episodes (2022)
Season 3 - 10 episodes (2026)
Rent Primal on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Genndy Tartakovsky
Starring: Aaron LaPlante, Laëtitia Eïdo, Fred Tatasciore
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
A caveman and a dinosaur bond over unfortunate tragedies and become each other's only hope of survival in a treacherous world.

Verdict
This is a great show featuring masterful story telling. It's a brutal world, and at times this first season feels like the mythical tales of Spear and Fang. The series can be scary and emotional as we watch a man and dinosaur try to survive a harsh land. What's more impressive is that this show accomplishes that with no dialog in the first season. The show is dependent fully on story, and it excels at that. The series exhibits a depth few shows even approach. The animation is great too, providing amazing images and compositions. The show pushes the creativity each season by changing the story arcs. While this seemed to conclude with season two, the third season takes us on a wild ride that changes the premise but tells a story that's still very Primal. Whether it's season arcs or self-contained stories, this show knows how to tell a story.
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Review
While I watched the first two seasons in 2022, I didn't write a full review for it, and this show deserves it. With the third season recently released, I watched the entire series.

Season 1
It begins with the plight of a cave man, Spear, in a dangerous time with creatures everywhere that could be the end. After a day of hunting he returns to his cave to find his family under attack from dinosaurs. He's too late. Up to this point there's been no dialog, not that the story required it. Mourning his family, he goes after a T-rex, Fang, but pauses when he sees her two T-rex babies. A larger dinosaur attacks them all with Spear and Fang fighting it off.

This may be a cartoon, but it's brutal. That's fitting for this world. There's no pretense that it's not a cartoon for adults. Just when Spear and Fang think they're safe, another dinosaur attacks. The two are linked by grief and loss. It's a unique idea to pair up a human and dinosaur. In this world strength in numbers helps. I was amazed how much story this show conveys in just twenty minutes, and that's with no dialog. It's amazing and impressive.

S1E1: Spear and Fang

The two warriors have always hunted alone, and now they have to figure out how to work together. While they bicker, they look out for each other. By the end of episode two they've figured out how to live together, creating a formidable killing team.

Spear kills to survive. He doesn't like it, and we see him acknowledge the death he must inflict. That's the world in which they live. In episode three Spear and Fang are confronted by mammoths. We understand why they're fighting. The mammoths want to avenge a death. Spear and Fang want to survive. Every episode exhibits a mastery of artistry and story telling. This is a world full of horrors, but it can also create a touching story.

There are a lot of great shows, but few manage that feat without dialog. It's incredibly creative. This does so much, making other shows that  utilize dialog seem like they're using a crutch.

The first season are the myths and legends of Spear and Fang, featuring their adventures and encounters. They've seen some horrors. The first season had a break in episode releases after episode five when Spear rescued Fang from a battle.

In episode six Spear nurses Fear back to health, standing guard at night. I love the story and presentation, but the artistry and framing of the show impresses. This is a wild, fun ride. It's a horror, buddy action adventure, and an emotional journey. 

Spear and Fang encounter primitive witches, and the episode manages to turn that into a somewhat touching story. Dinosaur, witch, or human, they can all find common ground.

In the final episode Spear meets another human, Mira, who was kidnapped by slavers. It seems anachronistic that this caveman and another civilization that has boats and language live in the same  era, but I suppose it's possible. It makes for a good story. This season ends with the slavers recapturing Mira and sailing away.

The first season is incredible. It does everything right.

Season 2

S2 Title Card

Spear braves the ocean to follow Mira, creating a raft with Fang, but that plan may have been short sighted. He's launched himself into the unknown, but realistically does he have any hope? At the same time, I appreciate how the show upends this story by moving the setting to civilization. This season easily could have continued the adventures of a caveman and dinosaur, but the characters leave the confines of what we know.

Rarely does anything good happen to the pair. It's a brutal world. That's part of what makes this show gripping, but it's also bound by the commitment Spear and Fang have to keep each other alive. It's a primitive instinct that transcends species.

S2E3: Fang and Spear

Spear and Fang are separated, but they both make friends in their own way. They're also both wild animals in a new civilization. Two worlds clash when Fang is caught between another dinosaur and Spear. Spear's inclination is to kill dinosaurs, save for Fang, while Fang kills humans except for Spear.

Spear leaves the village but manages to find Mira. He frees her and her people, but he has to get through a village to do it. If you thought Spear was deadly with a spear or rock, give the man a sword. He slaughters a village and makes an enemy of the Vikings. The Chief returns to a village that's in ruin. We understand the Chief's desire for revenge and also why Spear slaughtered the village.

Episode five is a departure, set in England 1890. A group of men discuss the primitive nature of humans. Then they encounter an escaped inmate that exhibits the primitiveness of a cave man. He also looks similar to Spear. I don't like this episode, though I understand the reference.

While I like the first season due to the focus on simply surviving, the second season is also good. It broadens the setting and shows that humans are dangerous too. They're certainly more cruel. The pair were arguably better off before they found other humans.

S2E7: Fang and Spear

This season is good, but starting with episode seven where the Queen is introduced is an incredible run. An Egyptian Queen captures Spear, Fang, and Mira. She extorts Spear and Fang to raid cities for her. They have no choice, but they finally team up with Kamau to fight the Queen. There's no way the Queen could fight that well against Spear. But this Queen is the first truly evil character we've met. Everyone else at least had an underlying reason for their actions or a desire for revenge. The Queen just wants to destroy.

The Viking chief catches up to Spear, not that he's recognizable anymore as his desire for revenge has transformed him. The visuals in this show are amazing, and what a conclusion. This season has a sense of finality to it, and I wondered where this would go with season three.

Season 3

S3 Title Card

Creator Tartakovsky had stated season three forward would be an anthology, but that plan obviously changed. It explains season two's final episode.

Wow. This season opens by bringing back zombie Spear. Where does the season go from there? This show swings big. Death seems to follow Spear, but that's what happens when you cheat it so frequently. Season two broadened the setting, and season three fundamentally changes the series again.

S3E2: Spear and Spear

This isn't Spear. He can fight like Spear, but he has none of the memories. Zombie Spear has visions of Fang, though he's not sure what it is. When he finds a grasshopper in episode three his protective instincts kick in. Violence was always going to be the end. Much of this show is kill or be killed with most of these creatures just trying to survive. I didn't expect such a touching moment between Spear and the grasshopper.

Episode four flashes back to before Spear's resurrection with Mira and Fang grieving his death. 

S3E5: Spear

I assumed originally Spear was resurrected after season two's epilogue, but that's obviously not the case. Mira didn't know he was resurrected as his tomb wasn't in her village. This season is obviously different, and I'm sad that Spear is a shell of himself. Much of this season is him staring blankly. What's his plight as a rotting corpse? This show killed off the main character and made him a zombie. I do appreciate that this show keeps pushing with a focus on clarity of story telling.

This show brings it. The story telling is phenomenal. Spear reunites with Fang and Mira, but Fang doesn't accept him. It's understandable as that's not Spear. Fang's children flock to him, but Fang continually stops them.

Spear and Mira think about each other with Spear sneaking into the village to see their daughter. Spear is gaining memories and function. He's not the zombie to which we were introduced in the first episode. He ends up in an arena, forced to fight any that challenge him. For winning he gets to drink the black liquid that he encountered in season one. Spear is a fighter, and the more black liquid he consumes the more his memories and humanity return. Spear goes to Mira, unaware that they've trekked into the jungle to find him.

S3E10: Spear and Fang

This show is wild. I wondered how it would come back for a third season and it surprised me. The final episode is intense. Mira, Fang, and Fang's kids are all fed the black liquid and battle ensures. It's bad, and Spear is chained, forced to watch everyone he cares about try to destroy each other.

Season three fills in the gap we didn't even know existed between the end of season two and the epilogue. It does rewrite the epilogue to be a much happier moment.

At this point season four has not been confirmed nor canceled, but I assume this would begin the anthology story that was supposed to be season three. These three seasons are amazing. The show has proven it can tell larger story arcs as evidenced by each season, and it's not afraid to reinvent the basis. Each season is different but engrossing. This can also tell smaller self-contained stories like the grasshopper in episode three. I can't wait for the next season, I love this show and the stories it tells.