Spear and Fang
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = Primal
| image =
| caption =
| season = 1
| episode = 1
| director = Genndy Tartakovsky
| writer = Genndy Tartakovsky
| music =
| airdate = {{Start date|2019|10|4}}
| length = 22 minutes
| guests =
| next = River of Snakes
| season_article = Primal season 1
}}
"Spear and Fang" is the series premiere of the first season of the American adult animated action-drama Primal. It premiered unannounced on Adult Swim's YouTube channel and website on October 4, 2019, before premiering on Adult Swim itself four days later on October 8, 2019.{{Cite web |last=Rejent |first=Joseph |date=October 8, 2019 |title=Monday cable ratings: NFL keeps ahead of 'WWE RAW' |url=https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/monday-cable-ratings-october-7-2019/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009024434/https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/monday-cable-ratings-october-7-2019/ |archive-date=October 9, 2019 |website=TV By the Numbers}} It was written and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. In the episode, Spear (Aaron LaPlante) and Fang (Joel Valentine) independently lose their families to the same predator before uniting to kill it and roam the world together. The episode received critical acclaim, winning two Emmy Awards. It was released to home media on June 1, 2021,{{Cite web |last=Mercedes |first=Milligan |date=March 30, 2021 |title={{'}}Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal{{'}} Brings Prehistoric Action Home in June |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/home-entertainment/genndy-tartakovskys-primal-brings-prehistoric-action-home-in-june |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331011156/https://www.animationmagazine.net/home-entertainment/genndy-tartakovskys-primal-brings-prehistoric-action-home-in-june/ |archive-date=31 March 2021 |access-date=March 31, 2021 |website=Animation Magazine}} and was later re-edited as the television film Primal: Tales of Savagery with the following episodes "River of Snakes", "A Cold Death", and "Terror Under the Blood Moon".
Plot
A Neanderthal named Spear returns from a fishing trip, and a scrape with a crocodile and a pterosaur, to find his mate and two children devoured by a trio of Ceratosaurs. Distraught, he contemplates suicide before resolving to take revenge. Sometime later, he sees the silhouette of a theropod. Believing it to be one of the Ceratosaurs that killed his family, Spear silently pursues it into a thicket, but instead finds it to be a female Tyrannosaurus named Fang, with her two offspring. Spear realizes his mistake and befriends the offspring just as they are attacked by the Ceratosaur pack. Though Spear helps Fang kill the trio, the gargantuan alpha eats Fang's offspring before they manage to slay it, leaving Fang distraught over the loss of her hatchlings. Spear leaves Fang to mourn, but she follows and rejoins him later, and the two decide to travel together.
Reception
"Spear and Fang" received critical acclaim.{{Cite web |last=Kurland |first=Daniel |date=October 6, 2019 |title=Review: Primal: "Spear & Fang" |url=https://www.bubbleblabber.com/2019/10/review-primal-spear-fang |access-date=October 6, 2019 |website=Bubbleblabber}}{{Cite magazine |last=Fear |first=David |date=October 7, 2019 |title={{'}}Primal{{'}} Review: Genddy Tartakovsky's All-Dinosaur, No-Dialogue Epic |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/primal-tv-review-adult-swim-893032 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811125727/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/primal-tv-review-adult-swim-893032/ |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |access-date=October 7, 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Steve |date=October 7, 2019 |title='Primal' Review: Genndy Tartakovsky's Fantastic Prehistoric Saga Finds Beauty in Brutality |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/primal-review-adult-swim-genndy-tartakovsky-1202159451 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007152738/https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/primal-review-adult-swim-genndy-tartakovsky-1202159451/ |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |access-date=October 7, 2019 |website=IndieWire}}
Accolades
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References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb episode|10336110}}
- [https://www.adultswim.com/videos/primal/spear-and-fang "Spear and Fang"] at Adult Swim
{{Primal episodes}}
Category:2010s American television series premieres