Recap: Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Primal – Episode 10: Slave of the Scorpion’

by Conan Simmons – November 2, 2020 – 5:27 am

Season finale of ‘Primal’ brings our heroes Spear and Fang to an encounter with a more advanced human. While fishing on the shore line Spear expresses mild jealousy over Fang’s ability to catch larger fish. Suddenly a woman bursts up out of the water and dashes by them just as a monstrous predator attacks in pursuit of the woman. Spear quickly dives under the water to help defend Fang who takes the brunt of the assault.

Spear then tracks the woman, who is mysteriously chained. Helping her by starting a fire she slowly reveals just how advanced she is compared to the caveman, Spear. As they munch on hunted prey she gathers berries and proceeds to cook the hunted meat and gathered fruit in a bowl. Fang naturally snatches what food she can as any animal would. Spear, on the other hand, does not care for cooked meat.

At night, Spear notices the woman praying to the moon. In the most startling moment of the entire season, the woman speaks revealing her name to be Mira. That is the only intelligible word she says as the rest of her dialogue is spoken in an unknown language. Spear continues to only grunt or yell as he needs to, showing no interest in speaking.

Mira reveals more about her story as she draws in the dirt stick figures that represent how she and her tribe were enslaved by an ominous horned character wielding a sword. She also draws a boat which, along with the metal chains on her wrists, suggest there are far more advanced people in the primordial world than Spear.

‘Slave of the Scorpion’ lacks a lot of the blood and brutal scenes that accentuate the series. That is until ape-men attack as the trio are in a cave. A bloody fight ensues with only brief moments of gore, making this the tamest of the series.

The animation is still on par with the standouts being the birdlike dinosaurs that are scared off by the approaching Fang. Fang steals the show with her several moments of feeding on a variety of prehistoric fauna. The scene of Spear nudging Fang to quit her growling at Mira showcases the comradery between the two that has developed over the course of ten episodes.

‘Primal’ is a definite standout in animation. Focusing on character without resorting to dialogue forces the animators to focus on action to express emotions. Hardboiled personalities such as Spear and Fang rarely show their sensitive side making them well suited for an action-adventure cartoon. Every episode uses bold colors and an emphasis on lighting.

The highlight of the season was episode three, ‘A Cold Death’ with our heroes facing off against a herd of angry mastodons. That episode won one of the three Emmy’s ‘Primal’ scored last year. For best character design, the other two being awarded to the pilot for best storyboard art and art direction.

To clear up some confusion over the order of the episodes, the first five aired late last year. Episode seven, ‘Plague of Madness’ aired as an April Fool’s Day treat causing many outlets to list it as episode six. The real episode six, ‘Scent of Prey’ is a direct continuation from episode five picking up in the aftermath of the ‘Rage of the Ape-Men’.

‘Primal’ has been picked up for a second season on Adult Swim. Hopefully it won’t be broken into halves a year apart like this first season. We can probably expect a return of Mira, voiced by Laetitia Eido. Aaron LaPlante will most likely return to voice Spear, though it would be nice if Spear doesn’t start talking. The lack of dialogue is one of this series’ great strengths. ‘Primal’ creator, Genndy Tartakovsky previously created hit cartoon shows ‘Samurai Jack’, ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ and ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ as well as the animated ‘Hotel Transylvania’ film series. Aside from a second season of ‘Primal’ his next project is ‘Hotel Transylvania 4’.