I like it every now and then when someone breaks the mold and goes for a mini-series rather than a long and drawn out super-season that is filled with a lot of crap filler that is there only to eat up time in order to extend the duration of the episodes in order to fill a 10-12 episode season. I don't really understand why most networks bother with a prescribed season length these days seeing as how so very few of these shows are actually released on a weekly basis, nor are they normally on "channels" that have commercials. It doesn't make much sense to me that there would even be some sort of prescribed season length when everyone is streaming these days.
Having a really long season to me seems pointless and encourages people to simply move on from one series to another one as soon as it starts to lull. American Primeval gets to the point quickly, has excellent location shots and absolutely flawless representation of the time period in question. Unlike other "pioneer in America" stories, this one keeps things moving at a very fast pace and does a good job with character development and story progression. They manage to do this despite the fact that there are about a dozen main characters and it isn't very clear until the last episode who the story is actually about.
When I saw that an American frontier tale was being made by Netflix my first reaction was "great, now everyone is going to be race-swapped and they are going to have some sort of alternate sexuality message mixed in there" but much to my surprise they didn't actually do any of that! Is Netflix turning over a new leaf and realizing that they have a reputation of doing exactly this and people are sick of it? I am hopeful that a lesson has been learned because I was ready to turn it off as soon as such a thing started to happen... yet it never did.
This is the tale of the struggle that existed in the 1800's when there was a great push to continue expanding USA west into lands that were mostly uncharted and ungoverned and the rule of law was tentative at best. We follow the lives of several groups of people and the harsh environments that they are faced with and how incredibly dangerous every moment of their lives could be once they were to stray just a little ways from what little civilization existed at the time.
After a rather exciting opening sequence that is filled with action but very little context (which I think is a fantastic way to get you hooked from the start) we are introduced to Sara and her son Devin who are crossing the West from Kansas to Wyoming in search of Devin's father. As dangerous as it was in those times for anyone to be crossing these lands, it was even more difficult for a woman traveling alone. Don't worry, Netflix also didn't try to turn her or anyone else into a "girl boss" either. They for once didn't try to smash the patriarchy with some sort of alternate history story that isn't even real.
It is soon revealed to us that there is a very real reason why Sara is so fussy and in such a hurry. A reason that I am not going to reveal here because I think you should watch this very well-produced series.
On the way she encounters a lot of people that she attempts to put into her employ and she ends up joining a caravan for protection along the way which is something that I would imagine was very necessary during those times seeing as how the rule of law was something that didn't really exist at the time. Once settlers left the protection of a city or fort, it was basically a free-for-all back in those times, with dangers from wildlife, gypsies, and Indians being a constant threat. A group of more than 100 people, all of which were armed seems as though it would be safe but since it is revealed in the trailer I don't mind telling you that things go horribly awry in that caravan and this is where we are introduced to most of the remaining main characters as well.
The story branches out in multiple directions that mostly all begin from that one moment.
This is where we, the viewers, are let in on some secret information that the rest of the characters in the story do not know the answer to yet aside from a few people that are involved. Sara is one of the witnesses to what really happened during this event and she finds herself in much more danger than she and her son were in prior to that.
That's probably the main story here but there is also the story of some Mormon couple that was also traveling to this part of the world who were separated in the ambush and have a story of their attempt at reuniting. Let's just say that the two of them take very different paths to their eventual reuniting. This is not a spoiler, it is pretty evident that this is a major part of the story and that it is going to end up the way that it does. The path it takes to make that happen is what is interesting about that entire ordeal.
There is a 3rd player in this epic story and that is the group of Mormons that were lead by a person by the name that most Americans have probably heard before yet they aren't sure why they know it. The name is Brigham Young and he is the leader of the Mormons that attempted to make the Utah area a separate country apparently although I am unclear on how truthful the information presented in this series actually is.
The absence of a real central character is kind of what makes this story flow so well. We don't have a chance to get bored of any of them because we don't stay focused on any one of them for very long. Also, unless they have plans for the future, there isn't any sort of real crossover between all of the ones I have mentioned, and more people as well, at any certain point. I think this may have been by design so that if the series ends up being successful, they have a number of ways that they can carry it on into the future.
With just 6 episodes that are all under an hour and packed with action, I don't think that many people will get bored while watching this the way that many people tend to when presented with a "western" series of sorts.
Many people have called this series very graphic, with some describing certain parts of it as "difficult to watch." So let that be a warning of sorts for you: this series is extremely graphic and parts of it are, in fact, difficult to watch. The depictions of violence are not dialed down in order to make this one family-friendly and I would definitely recommend against watching this with your kids.
Now there is one thing that people should take into account before watching this and that is that the story is almost completely fictional and some have went as far as to say that it is a bit of a "hit piece" towards Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). They are depicted as ruthless and conniving people who break the rules of their own religion on a regular basis in the search for additional power. According to historians this is not what happened at all so just keep that in mind when you are watching this and have a Eureka moment about how awful the Mormons were at the time because it is a work of fiction and none of the events in this story actually happened.
Should I watch it?
I think you can tell from that one-minute trailer that this is a very graphic series, so if you can handle that sort of thing or if you are like me and you actually enjoy that sort of thing then yes, I think this will be a good one for you. Don't expect to learn anything real by watching it though, this is purely entertainment and not meant to be some sort of historical viewing of any sort.
The main thing that sticks out to me is that whoever was in charge of the writing, knew that they wanted to keep the audience engaged the entire time and to keep things moving. They definitely accomplished that and I would say that at times it is almost as though they rushed through things a bit too much.
I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next season as well.
as should be evident, the only legal way to watch this is to stream it on Netflix
