Animation Review: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal · 6:15pm Apr 12th, 2020
(Originally posted on my DA, now shared here!)
We open on a shot of a river, serenely bubbling as a group of fish swim lazily into view.
Then, quite suddenly, a spear stabs one of them, scattering the rest as blood blossoms in the clear water. The fisherman, a brooding and powerful-looking caveman, holds up his catch, before carefully hooking it on a line with several other fish he's caught, then casting that into the water as bait. He settles in to wait, holding a flint-tipped spear at the ready...
And then a crocodile the size of a bus erupts out of the water and lunges at him.
This is the opening to the very first episode of Primal, an animated series from Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky, which aired its first five episodes on Adult Swim in October of 2019. Set in a long-distant, fantastic past of cavemen, dinosaurs, and all manner of other beasts and creatures, Primal is the story of a caveman (named "Spear" though he is never referred to as such in the actual show) and a Tyrannosaurus ("Fang") who find themselves working together after tragedy upends both of their lives. Together, the unlikely duo of primitive man and dinosaur must become a team if they have any hope of surviving in the brutal and savage world around them...
As a big fan of Tartakovsky's work, plus dinosaurs and prehistoric stuff in general, I was *immensely* looking forward to this series. And I just have to say, after having watched the first five episodes the week that they aired...
That I was utterly amazed by this show, and I loved it! 
Primal, as a show, is a lot of things.
It is a veritable triumph of animation, with lush and gorgeous backgrounds, plenty of stylish and unique designs (even for, or *especially* for some of its one-off creatures, like a giant pterosaur in the first episode or saber-toothed wolves in the third) and very fluid and expressive motion. Uniquely for an animated show in the modern era, there is no spoken dialogue whatsoever, with the only vocalized sounds being caveman grunts/roars and assorted noises from the creatures. All the emotions in this story are told entirely through the expressions and body language of the characters.
And what a story it is too. Primal is a show that pulls absolutely zero punches whatsoever. It is a show that is spectacularly violent, practically delighting in the gruesome violence that can (and does) gush forth in each episode... but on the other hand, the violence is not simply for the sake of comedy, and the overall tone of the story is as far removed from most typical adult cartoons that you might think of as possible.
The first episode of the show, "Spear and Fang," is the perfect illustration of this in action. No spoilers for anyone who has not yet seen the show, but the very first half of the series' premiere is a rollercoaster of emotion: after the scene I described at the beginning of this review, we are further introduced to the brutal and savage world that Spear calls home, in the most shocking and brutal manner imaginable... and in the aftermath of that tragic, horrible scene, we follow Spear as he struggles with the aftermath of his tragedy (no spoilers!), and ultimately makes an important decision. Again, all of this without a spoken word of dialogue; the animation and the music does the work for us in conveying the impact, the emotion and the ultimate decisions of this character.
"Spear and Fang" in its latter half introduces the latter half of the duo, a blue-and-green tyrannosaurus who suffers her own tragedy and ultimately winds up partnering with Spear in order to survive in the primitive and violent world around them. Fang is a memorable and entertaining character in her own right, especially in the ways that she contrasts with Spear. The second episode in particular, "River of Snakes" puts a lot of focus onto the strains of a human and a dinosaur working and living together, managing to mine both a lot of humor, and then, a lot of genuinely tense drama, from the clash of natures between caveman and tyrannosaur. However, without giving anything away, the unlikely duo manage to find new ground, and by the time of the third episode Spear and Fang are a formidable pairing working together expertly against whatever should cross them.
The third episode of the show, "A Cold Death," was one that I found good on first watch, and then found even better upon a subsequent viewing. For one, it's still as gorgeously animated as ever, and provides a striking change of tableau as the episode's setting moves from the previous archetypal forested jungle to a grim and harsh tundra in full winter. In fact, the episode is quite unique for its opening, which focuses on a herd of wooly mammoths migrating... in particular on an old bull with one tusk, who gets separated and lost from his fellows in the driving snow. The old mammoth is, in my opinion, one of the most memorable one-off characters across the entire show (and that's saying a lot!) and his story makes the episode very moving and emotional, especially at the very conclusion.
The fourth episode, airing under the delightfully pulpy title "Terror Under the Blood Moon" is an excellently constructed thrill ride from start to finish, as Spear and Fang evade one danger after another, heading deeper into danger in their efforts to just survive the night. Fang in particular really shines in this episode, as we get to see both her determination, loyalty, and some cleverness on full display here, along with one very funny sequence where she tries (and fails) to climb up a rock face, before finally figuring out another way to solve the problem. That's not to underplay Spear's role in the proceedings though... but I'd still say that this was Fang's story. 
"Terror Under the Blood Moon" is probably one of my personal favorites of the show thus far, having in it a superb mix of action and tension, and a lot of horror elements too, making for a very intense and memorable viewing experience.
The fifth episode that's been released (as of this writing), "Rage of the Ape Men" is... well, in some ways I'm a bit hesitant to discuss it for fear of spoiling the experience for those who have not yet seen it. But discuss it I shall - hopefully with a bare minimum of spoilers.
Spear and Fang have a stroke of good luck when they come across a lush and serene oasis. The two of them relax there, enjoying the gorgeous scenery (and I can't state that enough, the oasis is just beautifully drawn!), plethora of fish to eat, and the safe environs... before ultimately the duo are ambushed and taken captive by a cruel tribe of vicious ape-men. Spear and Fang are held captive and witness a brutal gladiatorial tournament; the winner of the ape-men fighters chooses to fight Fang next... and Spear can only watch helplessly as his friend and ally is lowered into the arena next... as poor Fang is brutalized by the sadistic ape-man champion, Spear struggles to break free, and ultimately resorts to the most desperate measures in order to take vengeance on their captors...
The opening half of this episode, with Spear and Fang at the oasis, is in many ways a breather for the audience. Because the latter half, with the ape-men, the arena, and the ultimate finale of the episode, are a veritable drama bomb for the audience. This is one of the most tense, brutal, and spectacularly, horrifyingly, violent parts of the entire show. I'm not exaggerating one bit with that. The climactic minutes of the episode, before the very last breathless minute leading right into a cliffhanger, are perhaps some of the most blood-soaked and gory scenes that I have ever seen put to animation. You might not feel much (if any) sympathy for the ape-men, but it is still *very* hard to watch, and anyone with an aversion to blood (who's made it this far in watching the show) should definitely be aware of just how brutal it gets.
As I said many times before, this show is violent. It is bloody and grim, and at some points almost darkly funny in some of the vicious kills that happen in the course of Spear and Fang's adventures. However, that violence is rarely - if ever - gratuitous, and as I said before, there is a lot of emotional heft to its tone and story. Spear and Fang live in a savage, eat-or-be-eaten world where they have both endured some truly horrific losses, but at the same time the show does not gloss over Spear's loss. You can easily see the way that it hangs over him, illustrated most effectively through his expressions in certain scenes, a particular standout being in one sequence in the second episode... As I have said before, the way that this show is able to give us insight into character without any spoken dialogue at all is awe-inspiring.
And then from there, see also the way that he and Fang forge their own bond, working together as partners. The world around them might run on "might makes right," but ultimately you can clearly infer the importance of the bond between caveman and dinosaur and how it is far beyond any primitive rule of dominance. There is most certainly a heart at the center of this show, beneath the outrageous violence and the chest-thumping awesomeness of a caveman and a T. rex battling to survive against all manner of prehistoric beasts and terrors.
It might not be for everyone, especially not viewers with an aversion to really violent content, but if you're a fan of Tartakovsky or just of really good animation in general, I would highly recommend Primal. I'd give it a solid nine out of ten stars objectively, and on a subjective level... a perfect ten!
An excellent show to be sure.
5241183
Definitely one of the man's best, that's for sure.
I actually binged this show. It's a masterpiece of visual storytelling. There's no dialog as we understand it, there's very little actual music, mostly just ambiental score, and BOY is it amazing. I cannot sing the praises of everyone involved in Primal enough.
5241202
I totally agree, this show is a fucking masterpiece. I was hooked from start to finish with each and every episode. This is a master class in how to do visual storytelling.
5241209
And props to Spear's VA for properly conveying what he means through admittedly very primitive sounds. That was probably very difficult to pull off.
5241213
I wholeheartedly agree. It'd be far too easy to fall into melodrama when your voice acting comes out to various caveman yells and grunts. But the guy pulls it off and with style. I just rewatched the bit in the first episode where Spear attacks the red tyrannosaurs that are attacking Fang's babies - the roars he lets out as he charges in to attack sound legitimately badass and angry!
5241218
I hope the next half of Season 1, or, Season 2 or whatever, comes out soon. Also, best part? Deaf people could enjoy this show just fine. They might miss out on a bit, but since it's 90% visual, they'd be able to appreciate it as well. Same with anyone who doesn't speak English.
5241220
I think it's all one season. Just split into two sections. But I agree, I'd love to see more of this series!
And yeah, that's a good point. It's such a visual work, you can still get so much of the emotion out of just watching the characters and their expressions.
5241222
Tartakovsky's always been good at visual storytelling, especially in Samurai Jack where our titular protagonist isn't exactly a chatterbox, so a show like this? This is where he gets to SHINE.
5241223
You said it. And it's especially funny to see how far he's come, given that his first show was Dexter's Laboratory of all things. Dude's come a LONG way from then. XD
5241226
No kidding.
5241227
Indeed.
Apparently there's a caveman in one Dexter's Lab episode who people say looks a lot like Spear. XD
5241230
Having looked it up, he kinda looks like Spear, yeah.
5241235
Yeah, it's not 1:1 but there is some resemblance. Though part of me would just chalk it up to them resembling the archetypal caveman so much.