Review: Primal “Heart of the Undead”

Overview:

Adult Swim has just dropped the latest episode of Primal, “Heart of the Undead,” in which Spear learns the hard way that zombies usually don’t get a warm welcome.

Our Take:

An injured, unconscious Mira is taken back to her village by Fang, her children, and Spear, complete with the rescued Jabu in tow. Unfortunately, the villagers are horrified by Mira’s undead ally, who is quickly reminded that it’s not easy being green. Bringing to mind Frankenstein, the villagers eventually chase Spear out with torches amid a rainstorm.

They say that can be redemption in the rain. In one brief scene, Fang appears to yell at Spear once again. However, it’s implied that she actually was trying to protect him from the villagers. Luckily, Spear has another ally to help him: Mira. Despite an injured leg, not to mention her delicate condition, she sets off to find Spear. Assuring viewers that Fang has also turned around, she and her brood have also come to help.

In a tense moment, Spear is haunted by ghosts from the past when he stumbles upon a waterfall. Initially seeing his past self reflected in the water, he is horrified to see what he has become, right down to his exposed brain. Of course, while it makes sense that the reality of what he has become is getting to him, one has to wonder how he has not noticed that one of his arms is just bone. Haunted by visions of the villagers and even Fang, who the audience knows isn’t real, he helplessly falls into running water.

Finding a scrap of his clothing, what little friends Spear has left mourn him. The episode is a poignant one. Compared to a lot of the violence seen in past episodes, most of the action seen is just imagined. However, this can make the sense of loss more pronounced when Spear turns up floating in the mud.

Of course, with Spear realizing he’s floated near a volcano, one has to wonder if the show is planning on heating things up. Especially when he encounters skulls on sticks, with the final shot teasing a new villain. And anyone who gets decorating tips from Baba Yaga probably isn’t too friendly.

This episode notably treats the characters’ silence, whether real or imagined, as something of a plot point, at least symbolically. Early on, Jabu helplessly tries to explain that Spear is a good guy, but the villagers ignore it. Later, in a more comedic scene, he does a little pantomime to explain Spear getting run off by the village.