Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Primal” follows the tale of a caveman at the dawn of evolution as he forms an unlikely friendship with an almost extinct dinosaur. In Season Two, Spear and Fang journey to a new world to rescue Mira from her captors, only to find it is a place filled with savage brutality.
Man, there is something about this series that keeps on giving. Genndy Tartakovsky (the architect of Cartoon Network shows from the early aughts) gets to really play in this Adult Swim version of animation. The initial season spent plenty of time building towards a thoughtful bond between human and dinosaur (Spear and Fang, respectively), and season two delivers on more of their relationship, only this time adding a third component: Mira. Season Two delivers on much of the gonzo action and violence the first season had, maintaining that smooth emotional undercurrent that guides this from being merely sophomoric caveman violence into something elegiac and epic simultaneously.
For anyone unfamiliar with the premise of this show, it’s simple: a Caveman and a T-Rex travel the prehistoric Earth fighting all manner of bad guys in an attempt to waive off the grief they both feel at losing their families. Last season saw our heroes fighting manic chimpanzees, zombie dinosaurs, slavers, and more. This season we’ll veer away from the prehistoric world as they chase after their newest friend Mira, enslaved by Vikings on the shores of their world. This season, Spear and Fang will go to war against Vikings, enslaved by sailing Egyptian queens, freeing African giants, and one small flash forward to Victorian England.
The ingenuity it takes to keep a show like “Primal” going is impressive. What seems like it could be one note the entire time gets layered with such nuance and expression it’s hard to believe I’d feel weepy at a T-Rex and a Caveman getting along. It’s shocking, honestly. Still, Tartakovsky throws everything he’s got in this season. In one three-episode arc, we track various cultures and empires fighting soldiers from different worlds. Do the time periods line up? Not at all, but who’s keeping track of a show about a T-Rex and Caveman?
The art style holds up exceptionally well. Fans of Tartakovsky’s work might remember the magnum opus of “Samurai Jack.” It’s the only show I can actively compare it to. The layer of colors present in the show adds degrees of coloration reserved for sunset paintings or lush vegetation posters. Given that the show avoids directly communicating its characters’ goals, the animation gets highlighted as shots either repeat themselves or linger on characters’ eyes for a while. It makes a case for subtle animation and the impressive degrees of performance a human can actively paint onto a canvas.
Two things work particularly well in tandem regarding “Primal”: editing and score. Looking back at composer Tyler Bates’ score, I realize this show might be the best place to utilize such modern scoring. While Bates’ work never really stood out to me, the show makes full use of it by hammering away at the bass drums or incorporating reed flutes diegetically and non-diegetically. Bates holds the scene’s tension together, often with a slow whir and whine, before ramping up the music and escalating it each time the danger heightens. Similarly, the editing of this animated show, in particular, demonstrates a level of patience I wish more programs would use. Still beats, knowing looks, glares of hate. They all get the square screen time they deserve, and the show’s not afraid to linger on any one beat giving it the attention it deserves to land. You’d think the action would be the main hook in a show with no words, but this show does a lot to balance the action with its quieter reflections. The short twenty-minute run time can often feel like thirty or even forty minutes.
“Primal” ’s never been one to eschew reality, despite being fantastical. The main driver for this season comes reasonably early on in the form of a revenge plot straight out of an Eggers movie. It creates for impressively unhinged violence and a tear-jerking finale. The show’s skew towards violence always alarmed me in minute ways, but the fact that it took the time to address its violent spectacle and give heart-wrenching context makes it one of a kind. It’s bloody and brutal, make no mistake, but this season we will find our heroes in morally grey areas. To wrap up a show like this implies no less than a powerful conclusion. There’s a story to tell here to finish off this show, and Tartakovsky finds it. Satisfying narratively, enchanting aesthetically, and nuanced emotionally. I never thought I’d say that about a show with a Caveman riding a T-Rex into combat against a bunch of zombie lava dinosaurs.
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