American Primeval, the Netflix show that premiered this week, illustrating a harrowing journey into the new frontier, doesn’t pull its punches in depicting how violent existence in that era is. Death is everywhere.

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Violent death is a story telling flamethrower. It can be used to tell a powerful story and underline moments during that story in a particularly graphic way. But if you’re not careful, you will hurt yourself and turn off your audience.

One of the opening scenes in the second episode is in danger of doing just that. When we catch up with Abish, who is being held captive by the natives. Abish is one of the few innocent characters we’ve met so far on this journey. She just wanted a better life with Jacob and now she’s tied up next to her settler family.

As the natives start executing survivors, she tells her companion to close her eyes and picture herself in another place.

Then the leader of the native walks over to the women, and as they’re screaming for their lives, he slices open their throats. It’s disturbing and channels the red wedding in terms of that kind of execution.

Ultimately, Abish is spared because of her bravery to literally look her executioner in the eye. But all of her friends are laying dead next to her, after experiencing a demise saturated in fear, and with the discovery that those fears eventually come true.

There shouldn’t be any illusions about American Primeval. It’s sending a point early and often to viewers, that it’s not for anyone that isn’t ready to commit to a violent story that delivers in the most uncomfortable ways possible.

What did you think of the scene and American Primeval in general? Let me know in the comments.

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