American Primeval ending explained: Unbearably bleak, but that's the point
The Netflix miniseries explores the violent origins of the American West in all its unflinching horror.
Warning: Contains full spoilers for American Primeval.
Set in 1857, three years before the US Civil War tore countless lives apart, American Primeval explores the origins of modern-day America, and while viewers will have anticipated bloodshed and toil, it's bleak in a way that's hard to imagine. Even the colour palette is washed out, just like the hope these characters once felt.
The show starts with a mother and her child on the run, fighting to survive in a world where mercenaries, Mormons, Indigenous Americans and the army are out for blood, desperately fighting tooth and nail to claim the land as their own and establish what we now know as the Wild West.
Relentless horrors are thrown at Sara (Betty Gilpin) and Devin Rowell (Preston Mota) alike, even after a guide raised by the Shoshone joins the pair and helps them on their journey. Isaac (Taylor Kitsch) does his best given the circumstances, but this hellscape is brutal on a whole other level, and it doesn't help that both mother and son regularly make naive, foolish choices that go against his wishes.
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Every episode, you'll shake your head in disbelief, and the thought that Sara actually deserves what comes for her might even cross your mind at points. But, no. No one deserves to be hounded so relentlessly, surrounded by the endless stench of mud and death and dried blood that follows Sara, Devin and Isaac at every turn.
Between the scalpings and the throat slittings and the sheer cruelty of it all, American Primeval can be an uncomfortable watch, so much so that you'll be grateful that the entire series is only six episodes long. Still, that's actually to the show's credit, because that was the truth of life circa 1857.
It really was bleak, something that scriptwriter Mark L Smith clearly understands very well following his equally punishing work on The Revenant a few years prior.
It's no secret that America was built on the blood of innocents, yet many similar shows of this ilk don't quite go there in the same way that American Primeval does. As dark as Yellowstone can sometimes be, for example, it pales in comparison to the brutality depicted here.
And while that might be hard to stomach, it's actually the whole point of this show, not to mention the whole reason why you should be watching.
"America was born through war and blood and death," said director Peter Berg in a recent chat with The New York Times. "And that’s just reality. That's just the way it seems to go with humans."
That's especially true in the final episode of American Primeval.
American Primeval ending explained
Countless more people die in the drama's conclusion, including two who are snatched away at the worst moment possible.
For Dane DeHaan's Mormon, Jacob Pratt, he's survived an actual scalping up until now, driven only by his desperate need to be reunited with his kidnapped wife. But when he does finally catch up to her at the end, she's cruelly killed as their eyes meet, dying in the poor guy's arms.
That pain is mirrored by the central trio when Isaac saves Sara and her son from a vengeful mercenary, only to then die from a gunshot wound right before their eyes.
It's especially brutal to see this play out so soon after Sara and Isaac finally admitted their feelings for each other (as predictable as that was). They were never going to enjoy the happy ending they wanted because that would betray the very essence of American Primeval and the story it's trying to tell. After all, it's not like America has had a happy ending either.
Still, there is some joy at the end, even in this downbeat climax, because at least Sara and her new chosen family made it to safety thanks to Isaac's noble sacrifice.
OK, maybe "joy" is too strong a word. But at least there are some small comforts to be found, even amid the carnage. Yet suffering remains the biggest takeaway, as it should, because we're supposed to be uncomfortable watching all this unfold.
As the show tells us towards the end, "Our current circumstances are a reflection of our past decisions," which is just as true now as it was back then.
Because even if American Primeval is too violent or depressing for some viewers to bear, it still provides space for us to reckon with the past and reflect on how history risks repeating itself when we only look out for ourselves and no one else.
All six episodes of American Primeval are now available to stream on Netflix – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.
