Primal

I have a feeling that this series will be deleted off of letterboxd at some point, but I thought i'd write my thoughts on this while I still can. Genndy Tartakovsky is one of the best visual storytellers working in animation today. He's wowed us in the past with the legendary Samurai Jack, a series that transcended the network it was created on and relied heavily on visual storytelling and violent stylistic flourishes, and now he's boiled all of that down into a primitive, gutteral cry of ultraviolence. Primal feels very much like a Genndy Tartakovsky project throughout its DNA, but here the visual and auditory cues are relied upon so heavily which results in such an impactful final product. There's absolutely zero dialogue in the series, relying solely on grunts and dinosaur roars, and it forces you as an audience member to always be an active participant. Not only is the animation stunning, allowing for some breathtaking and absolutely badass action sequences, but it also has some very resonant emotional beats that are a product of the unique format of the series. In Primal, everything feels melted down to its absolute essence, from its barren setting to its harsh violence, but somehow that trademark Tartakovsky heart still takes root deep within. The bond between these two characters, man and beast, is the backbone of the garish violence and large scale battles, and it feels like we've only scratched the surface of the deep seated, primordial emotions that the series is capable of. We're only 5 episodes in, and I can already see a bright future for this series. Stuff like this is why I adore Adult Swim so much, and even Cartoon Network itself in a lot of ways. They continue to commission some of the most bizarre and experimental content to ever grace television, and I can only hope that we see more of Primal (or anything from Genndy Tartakovsky) in the near future.