Wow. I can’t believe it’s been a year and one day since my last post about Prehistoric Planet which reviewed Episode 2: Deserts. Please don’t take that as a sign that the rest of the series lacked substance, (I think I binged watched the remaining PP episodes in the span of like a day (and all of Ted Lasso the next day)) I’m just inconsistent in my time and motivation to write.

In the immortal words of Taylor Swift: “. . . Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”

Anyway, the return of #JurassicJune, and the release of Prehistoric Planet‘s second season has me back on the dino train (see last week’s review of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs) and I’m rewatching season one so I can start Season 2 with everything fresh in my mind.

Speaking of ‘fresh’ that is what Episode 3 is all about. Well Freshwater to be more precise but I didn’t have a better segue. Anywho . . .

Freshwater feels like an especially star studded episode. We saw some more Pterosaurs roosting in the cliffs, and then later, Quetzalcoatlus, named for the “feathered serpent” deity of Mesoamerican myth, Quetzalcoatl. We went to ancient North America to nom on (dead) Triceratops and have another run in with Tyrannosaurus Rex (which perhaps resulted in the 3 young T-Rexes we saw in Episode 1: Coasts).

Seeing all the wounds and injuries sustained by the T. Rexes really recalls something that stood out to me while reading The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs, which is that no T. Rex bones have been found from an adult older than 35 (the oldest, Trix, was around 30). These animals lived a very quick and hard life, which makes their size even more impressive. In order to get so big, T.Rex would have put on almost 5 lbs a day during its teen years . . . I would not want to be in charge of that kid’s wardrobe.

Two new dinosaurs (to me at least), were introduced: Masiakasaurus, and the incredibly weird looking Deinocheirus. These were perhaps some of the most interesting scenes for me in a I’m-about-to-fall- down-a-rabbit-hole-on-the-internet kind of way, but unfortunately as they’re new to me, I don’t have much to say about these two dinos here in my post except: I hope Beelzebufo gets his some day . . .

And then of course, a sure crowd pleaser no matter where they go, Velociraptor.

I loved how dramatic the Velociraptor hunting scene is. Despite looking wholly different — smaller and feathered — than the scaly reptiles we meet in Jurassic Park, I felt that the PP team still worked hard to present them as terrifying and intelligent in much the same way we remember from our childhood (and likely how they felt to any of their prehistoric prey).

While I’m realizing we saw velociraptor already once in Episode 2: Deserts, I think these fearsome creatures got much more screen time in this episode, and were shown in a much more compelling and unique scenario: hunting Pterosaurs on the edge of a cliff. Certainly, a scene to remember.

Finally, I noted the appearance of Elasmosaurs this episode, thinking they were the same rock-gobbling plesiosaurs from Episode 1, but it appears they are different (the sea reptiles in Coasts were Tuarangisaurus).

Anyway, give this episode a watch (or a re-watch if it’s been year). I’m consistently amazed at the level of detail, science, and imagination that goes into each one of these episodes. Every one teaches me something new and inspires me to keep learning. I can’t wait to watch (and learn) more in the next episode (Episode 4: Ice Worlds).

Anyway, that’s all I have for now. Who has watched this series? What was the most interesting dinosaur fact? Which dinosaurs are your favorite? Please leave your answers in the comments, I’m very excited to chat Dinosaurs for literally any reason at all.

Until next time . . .