#La Brea Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Survival in the Primeval

What do you get when you combine aspects of Lost, Jurassic Park, and Revolution? NBC’s new sci-fi and family drama, La Brea.

On  La Brea Season 1 Episode 1, the sinkhole devastated LA. Chaos and pandemonium erupted, and the Harris family was separated.

Whose eyes didn’t fill with tears when Izzy tried to save her mom, Eve? That scene set the rest of the series in motion. It also filled Izzy with so much guilt.

Izzy: Hang on, okay?

Eve: Izzy, you’ve got to go.

Izzy: No, I’ve got you.

TV shows about complicated family relationships are fascinating, and La Brea has several of them to unpack.

Right from the beginning, there is tension between Izzy and her mom. Izzy resents her mom for her parents’ separation.

Eve also suspects that Izzy blamed her for causing the accident that made her an amputee.

Both mother and daughter now have a bunch of guilt that they couldn’t save the other one. That’s a heavy load to carry when you can’t even talk to the person.

Gavin and Izzy’s father-daughter relationship is sure to become a fan favorite.

They had an instant realistic connection onscreen where Izzy seemed like daddy’s girl.

These two seemed like they had a special connection where they believed in each other against all odds and supported each other in tough times.

Izzy: I should’ve held on, and now they’re gone. It’s my fault.

Gavin: It’s not your fault. I got you. I got you.

Things got complicated, though, when Gavin started having visions of Eve and Josh (Jack Martin) in the primeval world.

It made me wonder if Gavin having psychic visions ended his marriage, and Izzy didn’t want her dad to go back to that place.

No one believed those visions were valid and thought those that fell through the sinkhole were dead.

They landed on a very primeval world, where they had to learn to trust strangers they had never met and protect their own.

It really did have aspects of Lost in it, and I loved that they even joked about that in the episode.

I don’t know. Maybe we’re just in an episode of Lost.
Scott

Eve was in mama bear mode with Josh down there. She probably felt guilty she only had one of her children with her, but she also wanted to protect him from the unknown.

The unknown was scary. A wolf attacked and bit poor Josh. This part was like an episode of Alone.

They were on the animal’s turf trying to survive, and it was going to be a battle of wills. The wolf won.

Somebody help me! I need help!
Eve

Again, Eve was terrified and had to trust strangers to help heal her son. Luckily, there was a doctor there, but there were limited medical supplies because they were stranded.

Even though it was hard for Eve to leave Josh, she started roaming the new world with Dr. Samuel Valez and Ty, looking for an ambulance.

Little scenes like those allowed characters to bond.

They all worked together to save one of their own, but would it be too late?  How many more creatures would they run into that felt they were invading their space?

The primeval world features so many characters that it may take several episodes before we learn their stories. Moreover, some of them seem tougher than others and not as willing to work together.

Others seemed like loners and didn’t trust other people at all.

I hope we learn more about them since they may be together for a long time.

They are going to have to work together to survive.

Unfortunately, it may be a long wait. There is a government conspiracy, which leads to the question if they were behind the La Brea sinkhole to begin with.

They certainly don’t want people to find out there are survivors, and that seems suspicious.

They could be using that area for testing, and that’s where those blackbirds come in, but the testing purposes are unknown as of now.

It’s concerning since Gavin was finding more clues. If they dig too deep into Gavin’s past, what will they discover about his visions and military history?

Would they have him deemed crazy so their scheme could continue?

The La Brea series premiere was very enjoyable.

While it features sci-fi crazy stuff in the primeval world, at its core, it’s still a family drama. Gavin and Izzy want to reunite with their family.

But it’s so much more than that. This family is complicated.

Let’s see those family dynamics explored and learn how the Harris family became divided through some Lost-style flashbacks.

La Brea has a lot of potential with a talented cast in the Harris family and its ensemble cast. It could last at least a few seasons.

Hopefully, it gets that chance. Unfortunately, NBC often cancels shows too early, especially its unique sci-fi shows.

Revolution’s cancellation left a bitter taste, and we don’t even need to talk about how passionate the fans’ reactions to Timeless’s cancellation were.

Hopefully, La Brea fares better.

Over to you, TV Fanatics.

What did you think of the series premiere of La Brea?

Are you rooting for it to last a long time?

Let us know in the comments.

Remember, you can watch La Brea online right here via TV Fanatic.

La Brea airs at 9/8c on Tuesdays on NBC.

Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.