One Action Scene in Netflix’s ‘American Primeval’ Was Hard to Watch

Netflix’s American Primeval marks the revival of cutting-edge storytelling in the epic Western genre. The Western series, starring Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin, kicked off the new year to a bloody, violent start. Written by Mark L. Smith, who also co-wrote the screenplay for The Revenant, the striking television show offers viewers a brutal depiction of what it meant to live during a tumultuous time in history, filled with death and uncertainty. Set in Utah in 1857, the story follows Isaac Reed (Kitsch) as he encounters Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin) and her son, Devin Rowell (Preston Mota), as they fight for survival living on the frontier while different factions fight for control over Utah and southern Wyoming.

American Primeval doesn’t hold anything back, especially the violence. It’s a bloodbath, touching on topics like genocide, so for the faint of heart, it’s best to avoid the series. Episode 1, for example, contains barbaric imagery in a scene involving a campsite being attacked. It’s a shocking yet stunning scene that embodies the realities of that time and the atmosphere in America, which allows the audience to have a better understanding of the harrowing circumstances. This isn’t Yellowstone, so be prepared to see and experience a Western like never before.

A Bloody Introduction in ‘American Primeval’

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American Primeval begins by introducing viewers to Sara Rowell and her son Devin, who’ve set out to cross frontier territory in search of Devin’s father. The Mormons, Jacob Pratt (Dane DeHaan) and Abish Pratt (Saura Lightfoot-Leon), stop and offer Sara and Devin to join them on the wagon trail. All appears to be going smoothly and mother and son are hopeful to reach their destination until things take a turn for the unimaginable.

As the group reaches a campsite, and they enjoy dinner, Sara converses with another Mormon woman, but the conversation ends abruptly as an arrow kills the woman Sara is talking to. Once that arrow pierces the woman’s skull, hundreds more follow, inciting chaos and panic among the people.

The hopefulness felt at the beginning becomes instantly lost in dread as Sara and Devin experience the brutality of the war over this territory. Viewers see people running left and right, fighting to survive this ambush, but much to their, and the audience’s, dismay, there’s nowhere to run. The two-minute sequence feels like an eternity and creates a sense of anxiety as these characters stare death in the face. At one point in the scene, viewers see Jacob Pratt get scalped, which is when a human’s scalp is forcibly removed with his hair still attached, a horrific way to die. Sara and Devin barely escape the attack with their lives, and almost everyone at the campsite is dead at the end of the two-minute scene.

The Western Genre Is Rarely This Violent

The Netflix series has revamped the Western genre in a way that’s never been done before, or at least achieved in doing so. Westerns like 1923 and 1883 barely scratch the surface of realism in terms of the violence seen during that time in American history. American Primeval doesn’t hold back on expressing the brutality of the time period and the innocent lives that were caught in the crossfire. The first episode served as an introduction to the violent chaos that awaits in the six-episode series, but it’s still the most horrific two minutes in the entirety of the show.

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The creatives behind American Primeval encapsulate the unpredictable nature of living in the 1850s and have created a visceral experience by basing it in reality and not shying away from those heinous acts. The dark-toned cinematography adds to that palpable dread and fully immerses the audience in believing they’re standing next to these characters, bearing witness to the sanguinary odyssey. The episode succeeds in creating a shift within this genre, and fans of Western content should be excited about what’s to come.

The Real-Life Massacre That Inspired the ‘American Primeval’ Scene

Like any other series, Netflix’s American Primeval takes creative liberties for an additional layer of drama, but the brutal sequence in Episode 1 was based on the real-life horrors of The Mountain Meadows Massacre, in which Mormons committed genocide against pioneers from Arkansas. The vicious attack occurred between Sept. 7 and 11, 1857, and saw a total of 120 casualties, including men, women, and children. The massacre was one of many as tensions grew between the United States military and the religious group Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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While inciting this massacre, the Mormons manipulated Indigenous people to participate in the violent act and used their tribal heritage as a disguise to execute the plan. Historical figure Brigham Young’s (Kim Coates) knowledge of the mass murder is uncertain as some accounts say he had no knowledge of such plans, and others say he was complicit but attempted to hide the role he played in the massacre. In this series, Young is portrayed as a religious zealot and is the clear antagonist. It’s a remarkable episode, and it’s worth watching to educate yourself on the brutalities of American history that, unfortunately, remain hidden. American Primeval is streaming on Netflix.