Review: Primal “Cavern of Horrors”

Overview:

Adult Swim has returned with the latest episode of Primal, “Cavern of Horrors,” which sees Fang, Mira, and Spear finally come face-to-face with a lurking threat.

Our Take:

The episode starts up with the boar-like creatures from before, dragging more victims to their doom. The scene is played in all its horror as one captive helplessly tries to escape the jaws of the beast. Fortunately, Mira and her team, Spear, Fang, and her children, are trying to find a way to save everyone. Unfortunately, time is not on their side, as the beasts, and their mother, are hungry.

The first half of the story really shines as Mira becomes the clear heroine, trying to lead the rescue plan. However, horror looms as she’s not the only intelligent character in the story. The beasts almost methodically lead their victims into a cavern trap for their mother to feed, allowing them to feed on her milk in turn. The babies even know how to make a snack for themselves out of anyone who tries to escape. The gruesome sequence is even repeated to show the animals have a method.

Things briefly take a lighter turn as Spear tries to get Fang to remember the past, giving her gifts of water and grubs. While this fails to make a change, a bit of comic relief is had as her brood enjoys the treats anyway.

Returning to the caverns, Mira tries to save the child captured episodes ago, with a rope for him to climb out of. This backfires horribly, as the other captives take notice and try to climb out all at once. The old folktale of a thief trying to escape Hell from a spider’s web comes to mind. Mira is able to catch Jabu in time, only for the beasts to push her into her doom.

Fortunately, Mira’s friends on the outside are able to come to her aid. Viewers are treated to a real battle of the mothers as Fang deals with the monster mother herself. The scene is gruesome, but given what horrors the beasts have been through this season so far, it’s almost cathartic seeing them finally vanquished.

The episode especially knows how to be tense when it needs to. One scene that will likely haunt viewers is one in which Mira has to hide from the shadows near the cavern, helplessly watching as she’s unable to save another captive from the beast’s jaws. That said, this episode isn’t exactly a triumphant one.

Unfortunately, the story ends on a cliffhanger, with one character left mortally wounded and they’re not waking up. Even the preview for the next episode doesn’t reveal their ultimate fate. Of course, without giving too much away, the existence of another character suggests fans might already have their answer.