Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Three against the world.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 26, 2023

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal proved to be the next logical step for an award-winning creator unafraid to step into dark animated territory. Having relaunched Samurai Jack for a more mature fifth and final season that debuted twelve years after its original finale, the warm reception of that tonal shift (including a number of dialogue-free sequences) meant that there was very little chance of Tartakovsky returning to manic, kid-friendly fare like Dexter's Laboratory. Case in point: thematically, Primal shares almost nothing in common with Tartakovsky's pre-2017 output. It all but abandons technology, feudal combat, sentimentality, and even most recognizable dialogue altogether, instead following the plight of a hulking caveman "Spear" (voiced by Aaron LaPlante) as he struggles to survive in a savage, untamed land where dinosaurs, fantastical beasts, unknown threats, and foreign tribes fight for food chain dominance.

Primal's award-winning first season was a rare total surprise for yours truly, as its short but overwhelming ten-episode slate ran me through a wringer from start to finish. Its highlights were numerous: Spear's first encounter and eventual team-up with T-Rex wingman "Fang" after the separate deaths of their families ("Spear and Fang"), hunting for survival in primordial winter ("A Cold Death"), a near-death experience for Fang ("Rage of the Ape-Men") and his long road to recovery ("Scent of Prey"), an absolutely brutal one-off episode where a diseased Argentinosaurus slaughters its own herd ("Plague of Madness"), a strange encounter with primitive witches ("Coven of the Damned"), and meeting bald, tattooed female "Mira" (Laëtitia Eïdo) before she's forced away on a ship ("Slave of the Scorpion").

This second season trades in "two against nature" for "three (or more) against the world", transitioning from mostly organic environmental threats to human-on-human violence. Primal has never been a particularly easy watch, with an unflinching level of brutality that heightens danger and suspense at almost every turn, but in my opinion some of the much more purposefully cruel story arcs presented here are a narrative step backwards. This is never more evident than the series-worst (though still decent) episode "The Primal Theory", a dialogue-driven 19th century detour that's framed like a dream between episodes #4 and 6. In it, Charles Darwin (Jacob Dudman) and his contemporaries are terrorized by an escaped madman, with the entire episode showcasing the savagery that they ultimately resort to for survival. It's all meant to remind us that humankind may never shed its violent, prehistoric urges in the face of danger, but comes off as too on-the-nose while eating up valuable real estate during the ten-episode run. (In contrast, a final showdown in season/series finale "Echoes of Eternity" only gets five minutes, including a quick epilogue.)

Other pacing and tonal issues arrive in the three-part adventure "The Colossaeus", where Spear, Mira, Fang, and her unhatched eggs are captured by wicked Egyptian queen Ima (voiced by Amina Koroma), a one-dimensional antagonist who forces our heroes, as well as gigantic slave Kamau (Imari Williams), to fight alongside her massive army as they brutalize any and all surrounding nations. This "epic" could have easily been told in two episodes, but a number of weak plot conveniences, extended fights, and padded establishing shots pad out the running time. In contrast, the above-mentioned finale is practically an idyllic breather before sharply accelerating with only minutes to spare, wrapping up what might be the end of Primal in an emotionally fitting but unfortunately kind of rushed manner.

Of course, I only say this because Primal's second season employs a stricter level of serialized storytelling, which reveals potential pacing issues but also allows it to hit sporadically higher peaks this time around. Yet at the end of the day, any narrative criticism of Primal is only a half-strike against it because the show still retains the same sky-high artistic merits and unique atmosphere that made its first season such a pleasant surprise. Bottom line: anyone who enjoyed the previous batch of episodes half as much as I did will undoubtedly want to see how story plays out, and from that perspective most will at least find plenty to enjoy here. Unfortunately, Warner Bros.' kind of barely-average Blu-ray treatment for the first season hasn't been improved this time around: questionable disc encoding once again leads to a few visual hiccups, bonus features are sadly minimal, and even the packaging takes a hit.

Episode List (~22 minutes each)

• "Sea of Despair" - Searching for Mira, Spear and Fang cross the ocean on a raft before they're separated.
• "Shadow of Fate" - Fang meets a male T-Rex while Spear, still separated, washes up near a Celtic village.
• "Dawn of Man" - After discovering cave paintings, our heroes discover a Viking settlement... and Mira.
• "The Red Mist" - Spear and Fang decimate the Vikings in battle, but their chief and his son vow revenge.
• "The Primal Theory" - In 19th century London, Charles Darwin and friends battle an escaped madman.
• "Vidarr" - The Viking chief and his son battle Spear, Mira... and Fang, who has to protect her new eggs.
• "The Colossaeus" - Our heroes are enslaved by a wicked queen and forced to fight alongside her people.
• "The Colossaeus II" - The bloody "mission" continues with fellow slave Kamau, and an old foe is reborn.
• "The Colossaeus III" - A revolt is finally mounted by our heroes while two baby dinos are hatched.
• "Echoes of Eternity" - Returning to Mira's hometown, our group awaits the arrival of impending doom.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Since this second season of Primal looks more or less identical to the first -- both in Studio La Cachette's distinct visual design and the Blu-ray encoding, which squeezes all ten episodes onto one dual-layered (50GB) disc -- I'll refer you to that linked review for a general idea of what WB's 1080p transfers look like here. (For the lazy: it's a clean and crisp presentation of this visually stunning show, although banding and compression artifacts can be a problem at times.) I think an even tougher grade is warranted this time around, though, because several portions of this season -- a few foggy boat rides during the Colossaeus trilogy, for example -- are so hampered by color banding that it can be very distracting in the moment. Let me reiterate that giving these episodes more room to breathe or offering a 4K option would've been preferable, as a show this visually unique deserves the best possible home video presentation.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, Primal's overall sound design hasn't changed since Season One (even during the one-off detour of episode #5, "The Primal Theory"), so I'll again refer you to that linked review for a general idea of what to expect out of each episode's DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix. This season's heavier focus on large-scale human battles means that Primal now sounds a bit "bigger" for extended periods of time with arrows, swords, and other weapons replacing the first season's more organic background elements. But either way this is once again a very aggressive and enveloping presentation, heavy with LFE and discrete effects that emphasize the unpredictable savagery on display.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are again offered during every episode despite Primal's limited use of language... which is admittedly much more regular during this season, from English ("The Primal Theory", again) to several foreign languages including Gaelic, Arabic, and even Old Norse, all of which are completely untranslated.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Oof, looks like a few shortcuts were taken this time around. While this one-disc release again ships in an eco-friendly keepcase, no Digital Copy is included and the previous season's episode summary insert is now an episode list printed on the inside art (and almost impossible to read without removing it from the keepcase). Similarly, the first season's glossy slipbox is now a plain old slipcover. Bonus features are once again limited to a lone featurette.

• Inside the Evolution (13:44) - Creator/director Genndy Tartakovsky, art director Scott Wills, head writer Darrick Backman, and voice actor Aaron LaPlante -- as well as sound designer Joel Valentine, composer Tyler Bates, and composer Joanna Higginbottom, recorded separately -- sit down for a candid backyard chat to discuss Season 2's themes and overall direction in contrast to its first year, as well as the typical flow of an episode's creation, their individual contributions, and Primal potential future as an anthology series.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal changes its pace during this second and final season (at least in its current form) and, while its "circle of life" conclusion makes for a fitting end, the path it takes to get there isn't as continually satisfying. Yet the creative team's unwavering commitment to maintain a high degree of artistic merit keeps the series well above water, even carrying a torch for adult animation. Sadly, Warner Bros.' Blu-ray -- despite the fact that it actually exists -- shows their lack of commitment for quality work, as the video presentation again shows room for improvement, bonus features are minimal, and even the packaging quality has been downgraded a bit. It's still worth a purchase, though, and certainly recommended to anyone who has seen and enjoyed this outstanding series thus far.