Genndy Tartakovsky's PRIMAL indulges in the ludicrously pulp appeal of a caveman riding atop a tyrannosaurus rex into battle against a veritable animal kingdom of prehistoric monstrosities and sword-clad conquerors. The series is built entirely on the relationship between neanderthal Spear (Aaron LaPlante) and reptilian apex-predator Fang as they have each other's backs and survive the savage world around them. PRIMAL is a story about survival and the persevering strength of loyalty, in doing so perfecting the archetypal man-and-beast friendship demonstrated by Spear and Fang.

Spear and Fang Are Both Instinctual Creatures

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In most stories that feature the friendship between a human and an animal, such as DreamWorks’ How to the Train Your Dragon, Free Willy or Call of the Wild, the relationship is largely defined by how the human attributes the bond and attachment to the animal, thematically demonstrating how man relates to the natural world. Despite however mutual their bond is, there is invariably an undercurrent of the human having an ownership or superiority over the creature as its owner or master. The gap between their species is widened by how they communicate and relate with each other in their respective roles as domesticated creatures and intelligent humans. In PRIMAL, by having Spear and Fang both be creatures of instinct from a primordial world with no exact language barriers or formal society, their relationship is able to be built on equal footing as survival companions.

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Spear and Fang found each other through grief, both having lost their families at the claws and teeth of bloodthirsty predators and teamed up together to seek revenge. What initially formed as an unlikely pairing out of necessity became an insuperable team that would each lay down their life for the other. This is no different from say the bond between Dragon’s Hiccup and Toothless, but what makes Spear and Fang especially strong in their story is that they see each other as a product of the same naturalistic environment and act on the same instincts.

Apart from Spear occasionally using tools, Spear and Fang navigate their lives in the same way of a common mind. They both roar, they both hunt and they both fight to survive. PRIMAL does not position the relationship between Spear and Fang as that of a man and his pet, but as two skilled hunters looking to survive. There is a level of respect between the two that encourages each other's strengths as warriors and apex hunters that does not dictate that one is superior to the other based on their species. Spear does not enforce domestication onto Fang as a pet or a servant, but instead trusts her with his life as a friend. Fang also matches Spear in intelligence and hunter’s instinct as they cooperate as partners whenever facing any threat. In their eyes, they are of the same blood and spirit as animals of the primordial jungle.

As far as Spear and Fang are each concerned, they are both animals looking to survive a dangerous world together. Their relationship is not built on servitude or ownership, but of mutual respect and understanding as a team. They are family and partners to each other because neither one of them sees the other as a lesser being or a thing to be controlled.