Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Season 3 Episode 8 Review: The River of Life

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Season 3 Episode 8, “The River of Life,” finds Spear returning to a familiar place under vastly different circumstances.

Where we last left off, Spear had been separated from Mira and Fang after being driven out of the village. This episode quickly establishes that Mira believes him to be dead, placing the scrap of his clothing she found in his tomb.

However, as we know, Spear isn’t dead; instead, he finds himself in a pit reminiscent of the one he fought monkeys in during season 1.

But this time, he’s not fighting ape-men. This new tribe is something else entirely.

This episode is an action-heavy one, showing off zombie Spear’s insane battle prowess against individual opponents. The animation is fluid but heavy; you can almost feel the impact of every strike.

After defeating his first opponent, the tribes leader gives Spear a crown and makes him drink a black substance that seems to make him stronger. It makes him remember the mutated creature he fought in the season 1 episode “Rage of the Ape.”

There’s a level of irony in calling the episode “The River of Life,” as every time Spear, an undead creature, drinks from the black river, he becomes more effective at killing.

Before, Spear fought for survival. But as a zombie that can’t seem to die, it’s kind of hard to tell why he’s going along with this.

However, there is a new life in this episode since Mira is simultaneously giving birth to her and Spear’s daughter.

There is something so endearing and beautiful about Fang’s worry for Mira in this scene. She’s literally outside pacing in anticipation.

Her actual reaction to the baby is painfully bittersweet. Fang, as both a mother and Spear’s old friend, seeing him in the baby is legitimately a touching moment.

Even if she doesn’t trust zombie Spear, and maybe never will, the memory of him in life sticks with Fang. She’s just as happy to see him have a child as he was when he found out she was having children.

The juxtaposition between this beautiful moment and Spear pit fighting and drinking black ooze is jarring but not in a bad way. It serves show the reason behind his growing discontent.

It will come as a relief to know he didn’t forget about Mira. He does get away from the tribe long enough to quietly visit the village.

In another bittersweet moment, Spear learns not only that Mira has recovered but also that she’s had the baby.

Primal excels at showing emotion without any words. In the animation and musical score, we can almost feel Spears elation; it’s almost as if this moment actually brought him back to life.

The episode closes with Spear returning to the volcano, knowing, happy, but also knowing he could never. But not all hope is lost yet, as Mira did catch a glimpse of him before he fled.

It’s safe to say Mira will try to track him down again.

Fang also caught him and is likely going to join Mira, although where Mira is determined, Fang is still angry.

At this point, it would be best if Spear could find some kind of peace. However, he seems to have accepted that he’s just going to have to keep fighting, albeit with less enthusiasm.

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Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal airs Sundays at 11:30 P.M. ET on Adult Swim.

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