Review: Primal “Coven of the Damned”

 

 

Overview:

Spear and Fang follow a strange light. Uncovering a strange ceremony performed by a coven of primitive witches. Sacrificing a caveman, the witch leader sucks the life from him giving birth to a new baby.  

When Spear and Fang are spotted, they must run for their lives, which causes them to split up. Fang is trapped by one of the powerful witches and becomes her brainwashed pet. Ultimately, Spear is captured and prepared for the next sacrifice.

Though one witch notices the pair’s significant bond, she travels through time to witness the tragic events that brought the man and beast together. The loss of their family touches a deep personal pain for the witch. 

Now she must decide between her coven or the powerless victims that she helped to capture. The wrong choice may cost her everything.

 

Our Take:

Quite possibly what I have witnessed over the last half an hour was the greatest animated story I have ever seen on television.

Everything that has led up to this show being pieced together through the experience, brilliance and raw talent behind it has culminated in this particular piece. As a stand-alone episode, “Coven of the Damned” delivered everything necessary to execute a flawless story from front to back, including flashbacks to the heartbreaking beginning of the series. Yet the episode pushes our emotions further with a tragic, definitive conclusion.

The first frames of “Coven of the Damned” showcase the world of Primal as we have never seen. There is no disappointment as things progress into one of the creepiest sacrificial ceremonies one can see. Complete with the supernatural powers to intrigue and spellbind us with masterful artwork.

Our heroes are as vulnerable as ever against a coven of witches with powers beyond their comprehension. 

Although we know that the main characters will inevitably survive, watching Fang be brainwashed with dark magic is a moment of grief and fear. And this is hardly even their story.

We then get to meet the most interesting character to come out of the show thus far. The witch that shows power enough to control a beast the size of Fang has plenty of other tricks up her sleeves. She literally travels time to witness the tragic origins of Spear and Fang. And she follows that up with returning to the most heartbreaking moment of her own life, the loss of her daughter.

Assuredly, it is predictable that the witch defects and plays the saviour to the beast and caveman. Though this is done in a way that only Primal can pull off. With imagery and power that pushes things to the climax. Evil magical primitive witches, a giant wolf, a massive raven and our beloved T-rex are enough to make this one of the most satisfying battles of the series.

This was no simple animated sitcom episode, this was poetry. This was pushing the art of animation to new heights. The heavy emotional tones never miss the lack of dialogue and exposition. It is raw, in front of you to ingest. Matched with the exquisite artwork, sounds, and music, it was damn near perfect.

Primal was already breaking ground and leading the way in terms of adult animation. But, “Coven of the Damned” is another level that the series itself will struggle to ever match again. Though this show is always full of surprises.