Alright! Today I’m reviewing Genndy Tartakovsky’s latest animated show, Primal, which concerns a Neanderthal and a Tyrannosaurs Rex who bond following the deaths of their mutual families.
Primal holds a weird place in my mind. On one hand, I love so many aspects of the show - sound design, animation, cinematography, the soundtrack, the non-verbal storytelling, the surprisingly dark themes, the list goes on. On the other hand, it’s incredibly violent.
While an overly violent tone isn't in and of itself terrible, Primal occasionally slipped into excessively violent. Graphic violence is... fine... if you must indulge. But Primal occasionally had a few moments where the main focus was violence - Episode five, for example, had an absolutely grotesque five-minute scene of our main caveman man slaughtering what feels like hundreds of monkeys, guts flying everywhere. It's disgusting.
It's those moments where I feel like the show would have benefitted from airing on Cartoon Network instead of Adult Swim. Then I could have been impressed that a kids show could be this deep and touch on topics like suicide instead of it being a beautiful but similar to the countless dime-a-dozen overly violent animated adult show.
Basically, it could have been one of the best kid shows, but instead it’s an above-average adult show. Maybe the bar is lower or maybe you’re just not expecting complexity from them, but the point stands.
So that’s half of my complaints, the violence. The other half is about the overall plot of the show. While I love a good episodic show as much as the next guy, I can’t help but feel that Primal would have been benefitted greatly from an end villain.
The ending of the show is incredible, but I was expecting the finale to be a face off against the dinosaurs from the first episode. Or maybe not even that, maybe just make all the episodes flow together better. Some of the episodes (Zombie episode, mammoth episode) don’t really tie into a larger theme, they’re just there and they’re cool.
But other than that, I loved the show. My favorite part, easily, is the use of non-verbal storytelling. Tartakovsky already showed how adept he is at that style with the 2003 Clone Wars and Samurai Jack, but Primal takes it to a whole new level.
The entire time you watch the show you can’t look away. It reminds me of some foreign films I’ve watched, where the subtitles require concentration at all times, so no being distracted by your phone (The biggest problem for any movie I watch).
The nonverbal storytelling requires that the visuals and soundtrack be amazing and Primal delivers on that. The soundtrack, specifically a deep one note melody, immediately enhances every scene.
The animation is incredible too. The thick lines add to the savagery, the landscapes look incredible with our silhouetted heroes standing alongside them. It’s a quiet yet never muted feel, a very strong vibe.
No episode had a stronger vibe than the first one. It peaks with the pilot, which is one of my favorite episodes of any TV show ever. The back and forth, the raw emotion felt in that episode is unmatched. If you do watch Primal, don’t be ashamed if you stop after episode one. You got the gist and it doesn’t get much better than that.
Primal is beautiful. Every frame is a work of art, and it strikes a very delicate and artistic balance between that artistry and the violence which the show, while never glorifying, isn’t afraid to show in graphic detail.
Overall, I give Primal a 9/10. "Primal may be excessively violent, but it balances those instances with moments of thoughtful and profound lessons on the beauty of nature."
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