Prehistoric Park Reimagined / Heartwarming

Some would say that the mere idea of bringing the amazing animals that time had previously chosen to leave behind into the present and giving them a second chance is plenty heartwarming in its own right. But the moments on this page, however, can be considered to only further sweeten an already sweet deal.

For appropriate moments in the spin-off Prehistoric Park: Extras, see the following link:

Prehistoric Park Extras

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Prologue/The Adventure Begins

Unlike in Prehistoric Earth, in which their past together before their work at the titular park was barely (if ever) touched upon, this story allows a much closer look at Drew, Leon, and Adrian's past prior to their work at Prehistoric Park. And with the information revealed, the fact that they even came together at all to work at the park becomes even more heartwarming. As it turns out, they had been friends since middle school after getting assigned to work together on a group project in 8th grade biology, and remained fast friends throughout their subsequent years in high school, college, and a brief gig together at a pet store before eventually ending up temporarily drifting apart to pursue their own individual paths. But then, several years later, upon Drew receiving the offer to potentially work at Prehistoric Park (though initially without full awareness of exactly what he's about to sign up for), he jumps at the opportunity to allow his two old friends to join him. And in the end, they all come back together to work at Prehistoric Park. Even after several years of separation prior to the events of this story, and without yet reaching the no doubt stronger bonds they'll achieve over the course of what's to come, this trio of friends are just as much True Companions as their counterparts were in Prehistoric Earth.
Theodore is every bit the cool old Nice Guy that he was in Prehistoric Earth, complete with not being at all angry at Drew for being late to the fateful meeting in the prologue as well as perfectly patient in the time it takes for them to receive the proof they need to realize that he's in fact telling the truth about the portal.

Novum Initium

In the opening of the scene in which the first major staff meeting that unfolds before the beginning of the mission is on the verge of starting, it is made clear that, despite the wide variety of differences between the assorted members of this group, they are all united by a clear goal, saving the various amazing animals lost to time and making the park a reality.
After all the pain and suffering he was in at the time of his introduction, plus the implied additional unpleasantness he went through before the moment he was introduced, it's hard not to feel a sense of joyous warmth at the successful rescue and veterinary treatment of Arlo the juvenile apatosaurus.
As early as Novum Initium, Jack and Alice are shown to have the same close and caring sibling relationship that they had in Prehistoric Earth, complete with Alice patiently reassuring Jack when he is starting to worry about their chances of finding any animals to rescue while they're committing a search separately from Drew, Leon, and Adrian and being genuinely concerned for his safety during and after his Indy Ploy involving the ornitholestes and Jack clearly likewise caring strongly for Alice and even having an Affectionate Nickname for her.
Arlo is seen, happy and healthy, in one of the recovery pens, with the narrative making it explicit that there are plans to attempt to integrate him with the larger rescued herd of his kind once he's deemed sufficiently recovered.
As if to further emphasize his Big Good Cool Old Guy status, Theodore himself ends up visiting the park at the end of Novum Initium to personally congratulate Drew on a first job well done.

All Creatures Great and Small

After the choice of target is made explicitly clear in All Creatures Great and Small and the time comes for the team roster to be selected, the end result turning out to be Drew, Leon, and Adrian is enough for them to explicitly make it clear that this will be 'like old times'.
As Adrian notes over the course of this same meeting, the motto of this version of Prehistoric Park is exactly the same as the one in the original series: No species left behind.
While the moment is hilariously cut short when the first group of compsognathus encountered by the team ends up finally running away from the humans and into the undergrowth, the moment in which the little dinosaurs are first introduced seems rather whimsical and almost adorable. For over the course of the initial few minutes before the dinosaurs run away, they just stand idle while staring in almost human-like curiosity at the three large unfamiliar creatures they're surrounding, completely unafraid of them. It almost gives the compsognathus a seemingly innocent childlike quality to them.
Though they were all largely seen doing well in their new enclosures near the end of Novum Initium, it is equally nice to see several of the animals in the larger Morrison Formation zone main herbivore paddock continuing to do well in their new surroundings over the course of Cass and Mohinder's introductory scenes.
In said introductory scenes, it is made clear that, despite her currently troubled dynamic between her and her older sister Tina, she still loves Tina in her own way and wishes for them to someday have a much more improved relationship.
While it ends on a slight sour note in regards to Leon's suppressed insecurities, the scene of the three friends bonding, laughing, and reminiscing over the past while sitting around a campfire one beautiful night in the Jurassic period. One can get the feeling that, despite the years they spent apart prior to the events of this story, very little appears to have changed between this trio of friends.
And even the downer note has a small element of heartwarming present. For while Drew proves very quick to take Leon's denial of their being anything wrong at face value and seems completely oblivious to the subtle signs that indicate otherwise, Adrian does prove well aware that something is in fact bothering Leon. And even in spite of that, he is also willing to respect Leon's wishes not to talk about what's currently bothering. He may be the lone wolf of the team, but that certainly doesn't prevent him from being a good friend in his own way.
Arlo is seen to still be doing well in his new life so far at Prehistoric Park, and thanks to a stray comment from Yolanda, Linda appears to have potentially thought of a way he could be particularly useful for the vets even in the event that the upcoming integration attempt for him with the larger apatosaurus herd doesn't go well.
Speaking of Arlo and Linda, the very end of the chapter shows the two showing signs of forming what could potentially be a very close bond.

New Blood

The fact that, after the large majority of all the other ships used as cargo boats for transporting goods during Novum's earliest days of existence were either sold off to other companies or sent straight to the scrapyard thanks to Technology Marches On, the one that would eventually become the Ancient Mariner was able to stay in Novum's possession long enough to be granted a glorious new purpose.
It is heavily implied through a single line of dialogue from Kira the first mate and a responding chuckle from Captain Stavros that, despite Stavros at times being seemingly rather carefree and Kira occasionally feeling annoyed at always having to always be the only one amongst the crew consistently taking things seriously, the entire crew of the Ancient Mariner is a very tight knit group of partners and friends.
Even despite him having the potential to at the very least give a nasty bite, it doesn't take much effort for everyone on the Ancient Mariner to agree to let Nemo the juvenile nothosaurus hang around with them on the boat for a while instead of immediately getting sent through the portal.
Broken Jaw, an adult male allosaurus europaeus who'd been introduced in the previous chapter with a fairly badly broken jaw, is seen appearing to be recovering well from the jaw correction surgery he underwent offscreen to the point that he's happily and healthily feasting on a carcass with his mate and two children. The sight of the youngsters in particular playing tug-o-war with a strip of the meat is even enough to make Yolanda giggle at the adorability.
Linda and Yolanda in general are both proven to be every bit the kindly vets they were in Prehistoric Earth in this chapter. For as the narrative makes quite clear, they are both very devoted to the animals that end up under their care as patients. And furthermore, they also both have very high hopes indeed for when the time eventually comes to attempt to integrate Arlo with the larger apatosaurus herd. And not only that, judging by just how much Linda appears to care for Arlo and be hoping and praying like mad for the upcoming integration attempt to go well, she appears to very well already consider Arlo to be like a son to her.
Linda and Yolanda aren't the only members of the veterinary division to get the chance to enjoy a moment of peace in this chapter. Harry Carver, one of the assistant chief vets, (who himself has a wife and three children still at his home in Ireland that he appears to still be on good terms with) is seen patiently painting a picture of the torvosaurus pair, whereas fellow assistant vet Bethany Williams is seen relaxing and enjoying time to herself in the large forest themed building in the Morrison Formation zone where all the smaller woodland animals of that mission are currently living.
While the context in which they're revealed is a funny scene, the fact that the mesadactylus have laid eggs over the course of their new life at the park. Within just a week after their second mission, the park is already well on the way to supporting viable new populations of their rescued animals.
In a complete aversion of Reptiles Are Abhorrent and Predators Are Mean, the larger pod of nothosaurus, despite their somewhat fearsome appearance, turn out to be as playful and friendly as sea lions, even going so far as to, despite understandable initial wariness over the cattle prod (which, from their perspective, is a long extendable claw), allow Drew and Jack to pet them before then all coming willingly through the later opened portal out of sheer innocent curiosity.
While not yet allowed to directly share the same living space as them, Nemo does get lucky enough to live in a separate tank directly next door to the tank where the larger pod of nothosaurus live. And since they'll potentially be able to see him easily from this positioning, it's entirely possible that the young nothosaurus will have high likelihood indeed of successfully integrating with them in the future.

Red in Tooth and Claw

As saddening as it is that it helps perpetuate Leon's stigma as The Load, there is room for interpretation that Drew has his heart in the right place in his efforts at 'keeping Leon safe'.
Judging by their interactions in their introduction, Sid and Camille the megatherium appear to be fairly happily mated, even acting as a full on Battle Couple against an adult female arctotherium in their introductory scene.
Speaking of the arctotherium, they and several other larger mammalian carnivores are shown to have a symbiotic relationship with the local wingegyps cartellei. Even in this harsh world where carnivores often fight each other over the rights to eat specific kills, there are still moments in which different species are willing to work together for food. In fact, the symbiotic bond between the vultures and their respective mammalian 'partners' proves strong enough that the park staff prove willing to find a way to allow them to continue interacting and maintaining their bond somehow even while at their new homes in the park.
Speaking of back at the park, when Colette is seen interacting with Jack to ask if he has time to be present to assist in the attempt at integrating Arlo with the larger apatosaurus herd, not only does Jack find himself briefly thinking "she's attractive" (and then wondering in very flustered fashion why he just thought that), but Colette herself briefly lets out a rare chuckle when Jack asks her if she'd just dropped by for a simple random visit. Considering how they were an Official Couple in Prehistoric Earth, it is nice to see that there already appears to be high chances indeed of them becoming as much again someday in this new continuity.
While walking together to investigate a series of animal noises (with Drew himself investigating another series of animal noises alone in the opposite direction), Alice and Adrian show signs of forming the beginnings of what could very well be at least a close friendship. Alice even goes so far as to state that she hopes to have Adrian as one of her first proper new friends amongst the rescue team due to her conversation with Adrian not being the kind she's usually able to have on a regular basis with Jack, or even her two other friends from before her work at the park, Will and Matt.
In direct contrast to Prehistoric Earth (in which Raul ends up losing his brother Carlos and being sent to the park alone) and Walking with Beasts (in which both brothers' counterparts end up dying horribly), BOTH bachelor smilodon brothers get to be rescued and live at the park together. The chapter's ending montage of all the animals in their new exhibits even includes a shot of them peacefully sharing a carcass together in their new exhibit separate from that of the larger pride.
At the sight of Arlo approaching and sound of him bellowing out a greeting, Bron immediately acts as if about to try to chase the younger apatosaurus away, only for Gertie to glare him into standing down so that she can at least allow Arlo to 'plead his case'. Sadly, she still ultimately decides against letting Arlo join the herd; subsequently not stopping Bron the second time he decides to try to chase Arlo away.
Despite ultimately getting rejected membership of the larger apatosaurus herd, Arlo still manages to get allowed the ability to use the larger Morrison Formation herbivore paddock via getting a new Family of Choice in the brachiosaurus herd, complete with forming a Sensitive Guy and Manly Man Odd Friendship with Shorty.
A literal Mama Bear is shown desperately trying to shield her cubs amongst the mass group of animals trapped in the fire around the water hole. The sight of this even proves to instantly galvanize Alice into asking Drew if he has a plan of rescue in mind for them and the other animals present.
Over the course of the ending montage showing all the rescued animals in their exhibits that serve as their new homes, the two bachelorette female smilodons that were amongst the mass group of animals rescued from the fire are revealed to have been successfully granted membership to the larger pride, and are shown resting alongside the six females already amongst said pride while the alpha male Broken Fang roars to announce his dominance over the exhibit.

Oozing From the Pit

After three straight missions of having his role heavily downplayed, Drew finally allows Leon the chance to once again play a respectably prominent role in his work on a mission by allowing Leon to accompany him and Alice on this 'episode's' mission. You can practically feel the gratitude Leon feels for finally being granted another chance at properly doing major work in a rescue mission.
Unlike Sid and Camille, who were largely wary of Drew, Alice, and Adrian immediately after the arctotherium they'd been fighting was baited into leaving them and going through the portal and had to be won over, the herd of California tapir that get rescued from a pack of homotherium by Leon, Alice, and Drew are instantly curious about the trio and even willing to eagerly accept free food offerings from them, almost as if they're legitimately grateful for being saved from becoming cat food.
When Drew decides it will be necessary to temporarily split up early on in the mission, Leon allows Alice the opportunity to borrow a small audio player device that he brought along to serve as a failsafe for his newly in active use broadcasting device so that she may potentially have an easier time rescuing certain animals completely on her own, an opportunity that Alice willingly accepts. She even wishes him and Leon the best of luck immediately in between her accepting the backup recording device and the trio splitting up.
Back at the park, in Tina's introductory scene, we get to see her happy and finally able to fully enjoy her work now that the park has mammalian carnivores larger than a rat amongst its animal roster. And at the same time, we also get to see the smilodon populator brothers Carlos and Raul enjoying themselves by chowing down on a supply of freshly cooked 'meatballs' stuffed inside a Hal Markowitz inspired enrichment dummy that they've successfully manipulated into opening up. And furthermore, much like Cass, Tina herself loves her sister in her own way and sometimes wonders if things could be different someday between the two of them.
In Horace's introductory scene, the young hoofstock keeper himself proves quite happy on the job. He's even managed to gain an affinity and form a bond with Dermot the doedicurus. And at the end of his introductory scene, he is shown walking towards Cass, who is sitting on a nearby bench while on a break, with clear intent to converse with and perhaps befriend her.
Alice is quick to feel sorry for Eshe when she first sees the poor American cheetah wandering around limping through the savanna before eventually collapsing on her side and revealing the horrible scratch wound on her side. She's also equally quick to come to Eshe's defense when a hungry pair of teratornis descend down from the sky to try to finish her off so they can eat her. And no sooner are the two teratornis out of the picture when Alice proceeds to place her hand comfortingly on Eshe's forehead and sooth her into calming down before then calling Linda on her communicator in time to allow her and the other vets to have Eshe brought to the park's veterinary facility in time for the American cheetah to receive the proper medical care she needs.
Over the course of Jack's introduction, and subsequent assistance, to the other prominent members of the security team, it becomes very clear that Jack will have a fairly good working relationship with them all by virtue of four of them turning out to be unambiguously nice people and at least one of the two who are seemingly more antagonistic towards Jack being at least implied to perhaps have a hidden heart of gold and have engaged in the seemingly antagonistic behavior for the sake of giving Jack a Secret Test of Character and see if he was capable of standing up for himself and proving himself deserving of respect.
As if that weren't enough, over the course of inspecting the giant theropod carnivores' enclosures, the ceratosaurus from the Morrison formation are revealed to have similarly settled down well to the point that the male has managed to properly form up a harem with the females it was rescued alongside and gotten them all gravid with its eggs.
Furthermore, after Willowby reveals the initial plans for extra security for the torvosaurus enclosure that could prove somewhat unnecessarily harmful^notea very deep dry moat, Jack is able to suggest an alternate plan that will allow the two giant carnivores to be properly contained without risk of unnecessary harm to them and get it accepted.
A more subtle example than the rest, but the rescue of the passenger pigeon. As pointed out in the chapter itself, this is an animal species that doesn't go extinct until well in the time of humanity as the dominant species (and arguably as a direct result of mankind's own efforts at that). But since they were in the area, Drew agreed that they deserved a chance at being rescued and given a second chance just as much as the prehistoric animals they rescue that will become extinct through other means that have nothing to do with humanity or any other one specie's efforts.
Immediately after the rescue of the American lion pride, Leon receives some proper acknowledgment of how he's improving from Drew and Alice (with the former stating aloud that Leon's off to a good start while Alice nods her head in respect with a pleasantly surprised look on her face). He may not have fully reached the point of shedding his No-Respect Guy status, but he's nonetheless starting off in the right direction for as much.
In clear visual proof of the "no species left behind" policy, Alice, Leon, and Drew, plus a sizable team of additional keepers summoned to provide assistance, manage to successfully rescue and extract ALL of the animals seen struggling for their lives on the surface of the La Brea Tar Pits.
While the funeral of the La Brea Tar Pit woman is an appropriately somewhat saddening scene, there's also a moment of this when it is revealed that the woman's husband is still around and available to take care of their daughter.
Immediately after saving him from Smokey the arctodus, Leon takes a page out of Alice's book and works to soothe and coax Diego the smilodon into trusting him and trying to move to get through the portal, even providing the mighty big cat with food and water to temporarily regain the strength and energy needed to do so. And while Alice is initially understandably perplexed by the nutty idea Leon's going for in this, she and Drew nonetheless don't take long to come on over to assist him when he indicates that he could use as much.
Speaking of Diego, he is seen during the ending montage of all the rescued animals in their new homes to share an exhibit with an adult female named Shira who was rescued from the tar pits. And judging by how they are so far at least keeping to each other's territories and remaining respectful and amicable towards each other, it's entirely possible that, like their namesakes, they could end up becoming each other's mates sometime in the future.
Speaking of the rescued animals, the fact that one of the adult male Columbian mammoths (named Babar) was openly walking alongside a larger herd (or more specifically, alongside the matriarch Celeste) indicates that he and the matriarch have fairly recently mated in the time leading up to their rescue. And furthermore, Nero the dire wolf and his pack all seem to be in very good spirits as indicated by the howl they all engage in together during the ending montage.
The vets, as kindly as ever, all continue to make sure that Eshe is comfortable as well as happy and healthy over the course of the time she'll need to stay in a recovery pen following her surgery.
At the end of the chapter, Jack is seen happily hanging out with Colette and the rest of the prominent security guards he's worked with over the course of this chapter. And he also is very much under the impression that, despite Kyle and Nikolai's Teeth-Clenched Teamwork, several of the security guards aren't truly so bad and could make good friends to him and other staff members.

Return of the King

In Prehistoric Earth, Jack was implied to have had an almost entirely Friendless Background before his work alongside Alice at the titular park. Here, it is revealed that, in this continuity, Jack did manage to have a few friends in his life prior to work at the park. And judging by how one of them has a friendly nickname for Jack and how happy the friend in question (Aaron Joseph) and Jack seem to be talking to each other, it appears that Jack and his four reptile/amphibian keeper buddies are all pretty close.
When the anzu wyliei colony is rescued, they are right in the midst of mating season. Thus, not only are they rescued in time to avoid getting killed not too long after mating, but also will get the chance to lay the eggs they would have otherwise been prevented from ever having.
Once again, while Drew seems entirely oblivious to anything going wrong in regard to Leon, Adrian is once again perceptive enough to know that something's not quite right between Leon and Jack and manages to at least express concern over the matter.
When he ends up forced to hide inside a large hollow log by an entire family of Tyrannosaurus rex, Jack is not alone. Also hiding inside the log are a single adult male dromaeosaurus and a single adult female dinilysia, both of which are equally in fear of the rex themselves. And even when the dromaeosaurus ends up successfully noticing and taking the opportunity to escape, Jack stays behind to keep the dinilysia company and make sure she stays calm and safe while they're both waiting for the t-rex family to fully leave their sight and hearing range before the both of them exit the log together, followed by the snake herself (later named Kaa) being the first of her species to be sent to the park. And even the dromaeosaurus (later named Duke) seemingly shows signs of feeling regretful over his decision to take the chance to escape immediately before he jumps out of the log and starts running away to make his escape.
As saddening as it is to see Cirrus the quetzalcoatlus so helpless, weak, and on the verge of death when he's first introduced into the story, it is nonetheless heartwarming that, like with Arlo and Eshe before him, the team is able to very quickly get him through the portal in time to receive the medical care he desperately needs from the vets. And naturally, the vets are successful in nursing him back to health.
As hilarious as it is to see Alice completely lose her temper with Jack to the point of kicking water at him after his latest death defying stunt, it is also heartwarming in that, underneath her anger, she is very much relieved that her brother is still alive and hasn't yet lost his luck over the course of his various 'pulled out of his arse' stunts.
While sadly spoiled later by the arrival of the infamous asteroid, the surprisingly domesticity laden sight of the t-rex family peacefully and happily enjoying their meal at their lair in their home time prior to their finally getting rescued and brought to the safety of the future. And they are seen peacefully feasting together again over the course of the ending montage featuring all the newly rescued animals in their new homes at the park.
Other happy scenes involving the rescued animals in their new homes include:
- A young triceratops named Theo successfully enjoying a mock tussle with his sister Cera.
- Two younger males amongst the pachycephalosaurus likewise engaging in a playfight.
- The juveniles amongst the edmontosaurus herd playfully splashing in a nearby lake within the larger combined Hell Creek herbivore paddock, and all while the matriarch Carina is completely happy to watch them do so despite the annoyance the splashing causes to all the other adults.
- Cirrus turns out to have been allowed to live alongside the larger group of quetzalcoatlus relatively without too much trouble (though not without a rivalry forming between him and one of the other males).
- Duke, his mate Cassie, and the entire rest of their pack are likewise seen peacefully feasting together in their new home.

Alien Empire

Despite being visibly unnerved by the possibility of having to directly work with multiple invertebrates that he'll find unnerving at the very least, Leon willingly volunteers to be part of the rescue team roster for the mission. And even better, despite being well aware of how nervous he'll likely be in working directly with potentially unnerving invertebrates, Drew and Adrian willingly allow him to both tag along and actively take part in several rescues over the course of the mission instead of having him either tag along only to serve as just a glorified bystander (like in All Creatures Great and Small) or denying his request to join (like in Red in Tooth and Claw). And even better, when Drew and Adrian are made aware of his successful efforts at capturing the first four captured pulmonoscorpius, Drew acknowledges Leon's bravery in doing so in light of how scorpions are amongst the invertebrates that unnerve him and gives him his fair share of credit for the capture. Well done Leon. Well done.
The sheer awe and wonder Drew and the team express at seeing living meganeura for the very first time. Drew in particular is so awed at the natural beauty of the creatures that he sounds almost like a joyful kid on Christmas morning.
As much as he may act extremely reckless, and sometimes seemingly willingly endanger himself and his friends without a second thought, it is very reassuring to see him explicitly order Leon and Adrian to get themselves and the captured smaller animals in the jeep to the safety of the park and away from the swamp fire as swiftly as possible while leaving him behind to see if he can find a second arthropleura to rescue. And even before the whole business with the fire, he is VERY swift to dive into a lake to Leon's rescue after Leon gets bitten on the ankle by a crassigyrinus in the center of said lake, makes sure to help Adrian get Leon to a good resting spot after getting out of the water to examine his wound, and even provide Leon with a makeshift temporary crutch to use until he can get proper treatment (and a proper crutch) at the park's infirmary. Clearly, despite some of his past behaviors, and especially despite having so quickly volunteered Leon into serving as live bait for the torvosaurus in the previous episode without telling him about this being the plan beforehand, Drew does in fact genuinely care about Leon and the rest of his friends in his own way.
The reason he chose to stay behind during the fire in the first place also counts. At the end of the day, he really didn't want Felix to be the only member of his kind at the park all alone.
In a heartwarming contrast to Arlo's immensely saddening failed attempt at integration with the larger herd of his kind, Eshe the American cheetah is happily granted membership to a larger coalition of her kind, and by said coalition's own alpha no less!
As revealed in this chapter, Alice and Jack have both befriended Yolanda (with the latter even being implied to have convinced Colette, who is said to have previously had a very indifferent at best opinion of Yolanda beforehand, to have at least tried to give Yolanda a chance and be able to be civil and polite around her). And speaking of friendships, Alice's own close friends from back in Prehistoric Earth, Will and Matt, have also made the jump to this story and are introduced properly in a way that makes it clear that the three of them, plus fellow assistant researcher Kaisumi, have a very close bond indeed. And even better? They even allow Adrian to join their circle of companionship.
Arlo himself is not only still doing happily in his life living amongst the brachiosaurus herd alongside Shorty, but his bond with Linda is still going strong; and he's even seemingly making good progress in his training to serve as a part-time makeshift veterinary tow truck for animal transports.
Khatin is seen clearly having the time of his life and well in his element over the course of making examinations on (and naming) the newly discovered megalorachne. Clearly, he is very well suited for his job indeed.
Jack and Nikolai having a happy and companionable chat in the Carboniferous Dome at the end of the chapter, allowing the readers to both get a clear view at both characters' Hidden Depths while also getting the chance to see that, despite seemingly being very different in personality and outlook, they are not incapable of forming a close companionship in their own way.
Speaking of Jack, not only does he get yet another helping of Ship Tease with Colette (at least before Duke makes them feel awkward via his amused squawking), but Kyle and Nikolai are also shown to have an idea in mind for added security for the park that they'll explicitly need his help to make reality. And furthermore, as evidenced by both the progress in their training and Jack's own words, it is clear that his bond with Duke is still very strong even two weeks after Duke's rescue in Return of the King.
For that matter, the fact that both Kyle and Nikolai were able to agree upon a plan for the mutual good of the entire park. Clearly, as much as they not get along very well at this point in the story, they are not completely incapable of working together in small dosages when it comes to what matters most.

South of Heaven

At the very beginning of the chapter, Adrian is seen hanging out with Leon and explicitly asks him how his wounded ankle is faring as well as shows concern for him when he remembers how Leon is planning to take advantage of the fact that he's been deemed sufficiently enough to at least do work as a keeper (so long as he's careful about it). An Aloof Ally he may be, but Adrian is still very much Leon's friend when it counts.
Judging by the remark Jack makes immediately after he's finished getting the eryops and acheloma to come charging through the portal, it is possible that he's started considering Drew to be a sort of roll model.
Jack: I learned from the best Fearless Leader.
Even after multiple weeks have passed their initial rescue, Shira and Diego still appear to be getting along perfectly fine in their shared enclosure.
The varanops are goaded by Jack into going through the portal in time to prevent them from potentially finding a gap in a protective ring that the adults amongst a diadectes herd have formed around their offspring.
Much like in The First Steps back in Prehistoric Earth, Leon is able to befriend Yolanda over the course of a single day of properly interacting with her for the very first time since he started work at the park. And also much like in Prehistoric Earth, not only is she there to assist and guide him through overcoming his nerves around a species of scorpion (in this case, pulmonoscorpius), but she is also once again heroically rescued by him when she is accidentally sent falling into a pool full of hostile aquatic animals (albeit, with a little assistance from Andrias the proterogyrinus).
In this version of continuity, the role played by Mia in Prehistoric Earth is fulfilled by Bethany. And while her first line of dialogue in this chapter^note is a blunt reminder that it was Leon's own idea to work with the pulmonoscorpius immediately after working with the arthropleura despite his nervousness around the former, her next lines of dialogue^note are to provide explicit encouragement. She may be firm every now and then when she needs to, but Bethany is certainly not unkind.
The strength of Adrian's bond/friendship with Leon is shown once again via, as implied by a line he says immediately after he's caught in the midst of briefly being spaced out, making sure to keep a close eye on Leon while he's recovering and Drew's not around.
Adrian's thoughts while observing Leon and Yolanda working to feed the pulmonoscorpius reveal an additional level of heartwarming to Leon's bonding with and forming a friendship with Yolanda so soon after his first proper meeting and interaction with her. During his days in school, Leon was noticeably uncomfortable with interacting with girls his age (his younger sister presumably being an exception); and the fact that one girl in particular proved to be one of his biggest tormentors during his middle school days could not have helped. And while he trusts and respects Alice, he is also apparently still not fully comfortable yet with engaging in long periods of conversation with her. And yet, despite having only had his first proper meeting and interaction with Yolanda that very day (and after only a single brief glance directed at her at least a month or two ago prior to this moment), he already feels comfortable enough around Yolanda to both work directly alongside her and engage in talks with her for extended periods of time. And like a true friend, Adrian is very pleased indeed to take note of this development.
For that matter, the reason Adrian's even in the Carboniferous Dome prior to Leon himself being there? He's there to help provide assistance to Khatin, Matt, Will, and Kaisumi in their plans for making closer observations and further study on the meganeura. And judging by both the pleased thoughts he has about Alice 'being right about them' immediately before he becomes aware of Leon being present and interacting with Yolanda, plus how happy and good-natured the younger researcher trio seem to be in having him around to help, it is clear that, in the days following their introduction to each other in Alien Empire, Kaisumi, Matt, and Will have very much accepted Adrian as their friend (and vice versa).
For bonus points? Khatin, Will, Matt, and Kaisumi even prove willing to allow Leon, Yolanda, and Bethany to join in and help out with their planned interactions and studies with the meganeura as well...before said plans have to be put on hold after Matt accidentally startles Yolanda into falling into the crassigyrinus pool. And even after Yolanda has fallen in and Leon has jumped in to keep the carnivorous amphibians away from her long enough for a proper means of escape to be provided, the four of them, plus Adrian and Bethany, are quick to take advantage of the time Leon's chosen to help provide for them by rushing off to get the escape rope and (in Adrian's case) allow Andrias the proterogyrinus to have access to the crassigyrinus pool so that he can go in to provide assistance.
Immediately after being rescued and fully catching her breath and regaining consciousness, the first thing Yolanda does after making note of how Leon has, despite the very impulsive and dangerous means in which he did so, saved her life is to clumsily give him a tight hug in gratitude before sealing the deal with a gasping "Thank you." Leon's response is to smile and say "No problem Yolanda." All topped off with Matt being very quick afterward to apologize for his unintended roll in Yolanda ending up in the crassigyrinus pool in the first place.
The final rescue scene in the Permian period involves Drew and the Denhams managing to successfully rescue an entire massive group of multiple different animals from a gigantic snowy avalanche triggered by a lightning strike against a tree at the top of a snow covered hill immensely close by the river in which the animals in question have congregated (and that would have buried all the animals alive and left them doomed to die a slow and horrible death).
At the very end of the chapter, Yolanda meets up with Leon yet again right as they are both on their way to their respective living quarters for the night. From there, Yolanda proceeds to once again hug him in gratitude and thank him for saving her. And this time, immediately after once again responding with "Think nothing of it Yolanda," Leon hugs her back. And immediately after they finish hugging, the ensuing conversation makes it very clear that they are very much 100% friends...with the possibility of something more open for the future.
- For additional heartwarming points, Yolanda points out how, having already been a friend to Jack prior to this day, she is well aware of Jack's not quite liking Leon very much. But while the fact that Alice suggested that she try to interact and befriend him may have helped influence her decision, she nonetheless was nice enough to willingly interact with, befriend, and even assist Leon anyway despite Jack's opinion of him. And she even genuinely enjoyed working with Leon in the process and is all too happy when she finds out he feels the same way despite her almost becoming crassigyrinus food in the process. Any more proof needed for how much of a Nice Girl Yolanda is?
- And even better? Not only did Alice suggest to Yolanda for her to get to know and befriend Leon, but she also suggested to Leon for him to try to get to know and befriend Yolanda. And as if that weren't enough, as stated above, Leon still doesn't yet fully feel comfortable enough in his working relationship with Alice to even engage with her in extended periods of conversation, let alone fully consider her a 100% friend yet. But despite this fact, he still trusted her enough to willingly take her up on her offer to try to get to know and befriend Yolanda anyway when the opportunity presented itself. And with just how well it all turned out, plus how happy he's come to find himself feeling just by being around Yolanda, this decision was clearly very much for the best.

Devils of the Deep

While Jack admittedly does as much in a somewhat Jerkass fashion at Leon's expense, he still manages to successfully convince Drew to let Leon directly accompany them under the Devonian ocean and actively participate in rescuing the animals instead of have Leon wait on the sidelines aboard the Ancient Mariner.
While he doesn't allow Leon to directly get involved in actively rescuing some of the more dangerous animals up close, Drew still nonetheless honors the decision to let Leon help by at least allowing him to use his established skill at manning the brought along noise broadcasting device to attract several animals into coming within range of the portal. He may be back to acting overprotective at best towards Leon and potentially privately agreeing with Jack's opinions on Leon being The Load, but at least he's allowing Leon the chance to be useful in at least some of the ways in which he's proven to be as much.
Despite being a member of the research division and not even a keeper, Matt's strong interest in non mammal synapsids like the dimetrodon have proven enough for Kyle to be convinced to allow him to observe the dimetrodon and try to investigate the reason behind them starting to act a little more aggressive then they were in the first few days immediately following their rescue. And while Matt proves unable to actually make any concrete conclusions by virtue of their still being so many unknowns involving them as a result of them still being fairly recently brought back from extinction, it's nonetheless the thought that counts on Kyle's end, and Matt certainly also gets points for effort. And at the very least he was able to get the pleasure of actually directly working with some of his favorite prehistoric animals of all time. And ultimately, when he's simply unable to properly come up with a conclusion, he's not afraid to admit when he needs help, and he goes so far as to call Kyle to help (and even allows Kyle to have Linda come with him for assistance).
Speaking of Kyle, it is revealed in this chapter that he's at this point seemingly started to develop a bond with Rommel. In light of how aggressive and temperamental Rommel proved himself to be over the course of his initial rescue, and how Kyle had to have an airhorn on him to keep the dimetrodon at bay during their interactions in the Two Sides of One Coin chapter in Extras, it is all the more heartwarming that Rommel now respects and trusts him enough to at least allow him to come within his personal space without having to worry about getting scared off or attacked.
And as it turns out, the reason that the dimetrodon (particularly the adult males) are starting to act more aggressive than normal? It's all just a result of it now being their mating season. And the aggression they are displaying is actually nowhere as bad as it could have been, as they are mostly just acting aggressive in ways designed more to just scare each other into submission and prove each other's dominance and worthiness of specific females without actually openly attacking each other. And even better yet, much later in this subplot, Otrera and Rommel, the two rescued adult dimetrodon that have arguably the most in common with each other and are already viewed unofficially by the other dimetrodon as the 'leaders' over the course of their temporary aggregations at feeding time engage in a mating dance that ends with them, while not yet 100% officially mated yet, nonetheless with plenty of evidence in the air that they'll very likely someday mate in the near future]].
Despite her not even having birds as her specialty, Alice is at least a good enough friend to be willing to try to assist Adrian in his efforts at training the teratornis duo to be less aggressive towards their keepers. And while they're so far not making much progress, they both certainly get points for trying.
And over the course of these very efforts, Adrian is revealed to once again be just as much of a caring friend to Leon as he's proven to be in several previous episodes by virtue of trying once again to warn Drew against having Jack and Leon spend too much time actively working together with no one around to supervise them and rein them in due to their lingering tension and antagonism against each other. And despite Drew proving himself to have characteristically not listened, it's still the thought and effort that counts on Adrian's end. And as much as he and Alice both express annoyance at Drew's refusal to listen to their warnings and accept being told no, they nonetheless remain hopeful of the best in regards to the wellbeing of Jack and Leon.
Once again Drew proves himself very much a Determinator in regards to his wishes to successfully rescue the mission's primary target even in the face of great danger. For in this case, not even the threat of an incoming tropical storm is enough to discourage him from trying his absolute damnedest to find and rescue the dunkleosteus. And even in spite of this, he also nonetheless proves perfectly reasonable in that he also grants Kira and the rest of the Ancient Mariner crew explicit permission to use the portal to get them all to safety in the event that things get too dangerous for them all over the course of the storm, regardless of whether or not the dunkleosteus have been successfully found and rescued by such a point, even stating willingness to return to this time period to make a 2nd attempt at rescuing the creature if as much is made absolutely necessary.
Though it ultimately doesn't prevent them from undergoing one last clash, Drew is at least able to successfully intervene over the course of a lull Leon and Jack undergo over the course of their fourth (and arguably one of their biggest this mission) clash and convince them to at least try to be civil and grin and bear their way through a couple more hours at the Devonian period Gogo reef before they can finally go home and rest after a long and stressful mission.
Much like in Prehistoric Earth episode Life in Transition, Leon and Jack manage, despite very nearly coming to blows, to successfully put aside their differences in time to save Drew just in the nick of time right as it looks as if he's about to be doomed to get either maimed or killed by dunkleosteus.
While he still has Leon and Jack put on suspension from active rescue mission work as punishment for nearly getting him killed or maimed as a result of their squabbling just like he did after a similar incident in Prehistoric Earth, Drew also (again, much like in a similar turn of events in Prehistoric Earth) allows them both the chance to work their way back to being allowed to rejoin him in such duties.
In a more subtle example, the fact that Leon brings up Jack's seemingly never thanking him for helping to rescue Yolanda from the crassigyrinus during the events of South of Heaven. While the implications to be found in this information are somewhat saddening, it is also heartening in that Leon is implied via this action to at the very least respect the fact that Jack is Yolanda's friend despite the fact that he himself is also Yolanda's friend but doesn't like Jack very much at this point in time.

Building Bridges

Adrian and Alice are almost late to their pre-mission debriefing with Drew. Why? Because they stopped long enough on the way to wish Jack and Leon luck in their upcoming 'team building exercise' to occur on the very same day as the mission. And even after they arrive, they both show concern over what they are now assigned to do, and make it clear that they'll be holding Drew to his promises that everything will be fine for Jack and Leon.
Even before they actually start their work in their 'team building exercise', Jack and Leon show via their dialogue that, while not yet friends, they are entirely willing to move past their past antagonism and work together. And while still not yet friends once they've finished, they have nonetheless proven that they are in fact capable of working together and being civil around each other after their past history of Teeth-Clenched Teamwork that got them into this mess in the first place. In fact, they've even apologized again (counting a previous apology in Extras chapter Truce) for their past behavior and admitted to the both of them being in the wrong back in Devils of the Deep.
Similarly, while not necessarily friends themselves, Colette and Yolanda prove, in stark contrast to their respective Love Interests to be able to seemingly get along just fine and remain professional in each other's company without devolving into antagonism. In fact, Yolanda even goes so far as to playfully tease Colette about her seemingly having a crush on Jack when the latter places particularly heavy emphasis on Jack's name when expressing concern for his (and Leon's) safety over the course of the 'team building exercise' that Drew has set for them to undergo. And Colette even manages to respond by acting flustered over Yolanda's implications (complete with an apparent Crush Blush in true Tsundere fashion) and then (while still flustered) responding in kind with how Yolanda herself has seemingly expressed concern herself over Leon's safety at some point (which prompts an apparent embarrassed Crush Blush on Yolanda's end) instead of acting angry and declaring it to be 'none of Yolanda's business'. Clearly, Jack's influence has done Colette well.
- And then there's the fact that Colette has noticeably expressed concern for Jack's safety at all. Clearly, as much as she may deny having a crush on him when accused of as much (even if teasingly in good natured fashion) to her face, it is undeniable that she very much cares for him in a way she's been seemingly been unwilling to do as much to most other people she knows outside of her colleagues in the security division.
- And on further discussion of Colette, she is also shown to once again be on very good terms with Nikolai and at least respectful of Leon despite it being unclear what sort of opinion she has on him overall by virtue of her openly referring to Nikolai as 'captain' and expressing seemingly respectful surprise that Leon (and Jack) were apparently able to do a much better job at handling feeding for the dunkleosteus than she and Nikolai initially expected.
Nikolai himself likewise proves himself to still have full confidence and faith in Jack's ability even as Kyle still maintains a slight degree of skepticism on him.
As for Yolanda, not only does she get another healthy dosage of Ship Tease with Leon (by virtue of both Colette's comment towards her in response to her good natured teasing and the fact that Jack sees her and Leon visibly smiling happily while looking each other face to face), but she is also perfectly happy to (exactly as she considered doing back in Extras chapter Creature Comforts) offer to try to help them in their 'team building exercise''. And even better? Even if it is by virtue of them invoking Exact Words in regards to Drew's conditions for them to get out of suspension from active rescue team work, they happily accept her offer and let her help them in time for her to assist them in the second half of the exercise (feeding the titanichthys).
And speaking of the titanichthys, despite apparently an entire week having gone by since their rescue in which the park staff have had difficulty in figuring out what to feed them now that they are in the present and can't be fed their usual food from back in their previous home time period (which is itself now rescued from extinction and set to be amongst the park's display roster as well), the trio working to help feed them on this day (Leon, Jack, and Yolanda) are able to successfully test out the possibility of feeding them shrimp (which seem to serve a fairly similar ecological role to the titanichthys' usual prey). And even better, the titanichthys happily accept this new food source!
Alice is revealed to still have the small audio recording device Leon gave to her back in Oozing From the Pit, and she also proves herself to still be quite skilled in using it when necessary.
The reason for the first time Alice draws out and uses the device this mission? To help attract a pair of smilodon gracilis away from a mother eremotherium that is likewise heartwarmingly fighting against them to defend her single baby. And even once the smilodon are gone through the portal, Alice is still patient enough to carefully earn the trust of both sloths via food offerings before she gives the all clear for Drew and Adrian to summon the portal once more to account for them.
Much like with the passenger pigeons back in Oozing From the Pit, Drew decides to give the all clear for him and the team with him this mission to rescue the Carolina parakeets they happen to come across, even making sure to have them sent through the portal first despite their being other animals present in the same lake-filled clearing as them that will go extinct before humanity's fully evolved (that admittedly also won't be capable of flying away in the event of a fracas). Much like the passenger pigeons, the Carolina parakeets don't become extinct until humanity's own efforts do them in multiple years after the end of the Pleistocene age. But they were in the area at the time Drew and his team dropped by, and as the park's creed says, "No species left behind."
When Alice and Drew end up having to leave the clearing with the lake to follow an adult female Florida jaguar that is dragging a freshly killed elderly adult Florida tapir back into the undergrowth, Adrian volunteers to stay behind to keep watch just to see if the nine castoroides that have not yet been saved come back out of hiding from their lodge after having been previously sent swimming into there for safety from the jaguar. The team had already rescued a viable mating pair of the species over the course of the chaos that ensued from the jaguar's arrival, but Drew and the team were more than willing to let more castoroides come to the park for the sake of the species and the two that had already been rescued. And even better, Drew and Alice full heartedly agree to Adrian's suggestion and trust him to carry it out (as well as to call them for help in the event he needs their assistance). And naturally, the instant he calls for as much, they are quick to come rushing right back to aid him.
The reason the adult female jaguar dragged the freshly killed tapir away into the undergrowth instead of immediately chowing down upon it after killing it. As Alice had come to suspect immediately before she and Drew started following it, the jaguar is a mother. And upon calling her two cubs out of their den, she and the both of them start happily feasting upon the tapir carcass. This is even enough to get Alice to smile and comment how much Yolanda would have probably loved to witness this event unfolding.

Heartwarming / Prehistoric Park Reimagined

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Heartwarming / Prehistoric Park Reimagined

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