Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Season 3 Episode 5 Review: The Dead Cast No Shadow
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Season 3 Episode 5, “The Dead Cast No Shadow,” gives us a fitting, but far from happy, reunion for Fang and Spear.
The episode picks up immediately after the cliffhanger on Primal Season 3 Episode 4, “Prey for the Wicked.” Spear finally reunites with Fang and Mira.
Spear’s mission to find Fang, while technically over, is far from a positive outcome. Despite the flashes of his past, Spear still doesn’t seem to realize he just found Fang. Simultaneously, Fang doesn’t trust zombie Spear in the slightest.
While we’ve seen glimpses of Spear’s old personality peaking through, the episode contrasts him with the living humans. His undead, unthinking state has never been more glaring than it is during this episode.
We get a callback to Mira’s first appearance, where she introduces herself to Spear. Instead of recognizing her, Spear can only scream back at her.
It’s heartbreaking watching Mira try to get through to him, and even harder to see Fang’s mistrust of him. However, at the same time, there’s also something bittersweet about the camaraderie between Mira and Fang.
Fang is protective of Mira, as she is of her children. You almost get the sense that she doesn’t want Mira to get her hopes up.
The episode has quite a few callbacks to Fang and Spear’s Season 1 relationship, hunting a warthog together. Only this time, the episode swaps their roles, and Spear is the one to steal the kill from Fang.
It’s interesting to see the two essentially switch places. Now Spear is the wild beast, and Fang has to be the one to learn how to work with him.
Unlike Spear in that same position, Fang is not nearly as patient.
Fang can sometimes take on very human traits, so it’s easy to forget she’s a dinosaur sometimes. But even so, she seems far more aware here than Spear.
Unfortunately, while Spear and Fang are hunting, disaster strikes, and baboons attack Mira and the two remaining tribesmen. Given that they all survived the previous episode, it’s a bit surprising to see them taken out so quickly.
But in all fairness, Fang isn’t there to protect them this time.
With Mira as the sole survivor taken away by baboons, you’d would think that would be the moment where Fang and Spear have to once again learn to cooperate. However, the episode subverts expectations and doesn’t have them make up just yet.
They both go after Mira, but they aren’t exactly working together as Spear rescues her.
This heroic act is enough to win Mira over again to an extent. By the end of the episode, there’s a level of acceptance in her.
He’s different, but he’s still Spear, whether he remembers or not. He’s fortunate to have someone to sew him back together when he gets hurt.
On the other hand, Fang still does not trust him. It’s sad to see, but it’s hard to blame her, given all she’s been through.
Hopefully, in the future, she’ll at least come to terms with Spear’s current state.
What did you think of this episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal airs Sundays at 11:30 P.M. ET on Adult Swim.
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Olivia Thomas
Olivia Thomas is a passionate creative writer with a love of TV and movies, spanning from animation, comedy, and even horror. She is a graduate of Sacramento State University with a degree in English and a certificate in screenwriting. She has a year of prior experience writing for CBR.