Original subtitles

Two hundred and one million years ago…

…the dinosaurs' world is collapsing beneath them.

The continent of Pangaea is tearing apart…

…creating a great divide…

and a molten apocalypse

for any creature caught in this hell.

For both reptiles and dinosaurs…

…escape is impossible.

But the worst is yet to come.

An invisible killer is choking the air itself.

Clouds of toxic gases

wreak devastation.

Acidic fog

poisons everything in its path.

As the gases in the atmosphere grow thicker,

temperatures soar,

annihilating three-quarters of all plant species

and millions of animals across the planet.

It's known as the end-Triassic mass extinction,

and it will change everything for the dinosaurs

because their versatility and ability to adapt

help them survive this catastrophe

far better than the reptiles.

The reign of the ancient reptiles is over.

With their rivals out of the way…

the dinosaurs now have a chance to rise from the ruins…

…and conquer the world.

Two million years later,

the dawn of the most famous era in Earth's history.

The Jurassic.

Pangaea has split into two new landmasses.

In the southern continent of Gondwana…

life is thriving again.

Pterosaurs have survived the destruction…

the skies allowing them to seek refuge away from the chaos.

There are now endless forests here.

And they are filled with dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs like Massospondylus.

He's barely the height of a human,

so it's hard to reach the freshest food high in the trees.

But he's got a bigger problem.

A newly evolved rival.

Vulcanodon.

At 11 meters long,

she's more than twice the size of Massospondylus.

She's part of a new branch of plant-eating dinosaurs

known as

the Sauropods.

Famous for their long necks

and huge bodies

that are supported by four legs, instead of just two.

These profound changes will help these giants

become the largest animals to ever walk the Earth.

If Massospondylus can't compete,

it will be left behind.

While the Sauropods are on the rise…

another legend in the making is waiting in the wings.

Caves like these are crawling with strange creatures…

and one of them will give rise to some of the greatest dinosaurs

in history.

The tiny Heterodontosaurus.

What makes him exceptional is hard to spot at first.

One thing is clear, however.

He's not one to back down from a challenge.

Especially when there's food at stake.

It's all about the food.

He may only weigh as much as a chihuahua…

but he does have a superpower.

An incredibly strong beak and jaw

that allow him to devour almost anything.

And that's not all.

He also has cheek pouches,

where he can store food to eat later in safety.

This multi-tooled mouth will allow his descendants

to become some of the greatest dinosaurs of all time.

Descendants like the mighty Stegosaurus

and even Triceratops.

From small beginnings, great things can grow.

But the dinosaurs will need more than cheek pouches

to conquer the planet.

On the northern side of the Great Divide

lies the other new continent.

Laurasia.

Hiding in these waters

are the remnants of a once-great empire.

The reptiles.

They are a deadly threat in these murky shallows.

But they also need to be wary…

because they no longer rule the Jurassic swamps.

They have been usurped

by those they once hunted on Pangaea's shores.

Dinosaurs.

Dilophosaurus.

With over 60 serrated teeth,

she's twice the length of a polar bear.

And a laser-focused hunter.

But in these flooded forests…

…there are creatures even more frightening than her.

Like a moth to a flame, she follows the mysterious calls.

A male Dilophosaurus.

Larger and deadlier than her.

He's drawn her here for a reason.

But it's not bloodlust,

it's just plain lust.

A courting ritual.

Clawing at the ground is a display of strength.

And to show off his virility,

behold his crimson head crest.

Finally,

the grand finale.

The song of the swamp king.

For a ferocious predator, he's remarkably gifted.

But the future of her bloodline depends on her choice.

And he's just…

not gifted enough.

Ensuring the continuation of their species is critical.

But far below,

the earth itself poses a threat to their very existence.

This time…

from the Jurassic seas.

An alien world…

…full of bizarre creatures.

The most dangerous of them all…

the Pliosaurs.

The great sea monsters that rule the oceans.

They are one reason

that dinosaurs have not entered this frontier.

But the real threat to the dinosaurs

lies below.

Methane.

This greenhouse gas

was frozen under the seabed for millions of years.

But warming oceans are causing it to leach out

with a devastating side effect for the entire globe.

Extreme heat.

The endless forests that Massospondylus once roamed

are now a parched wasteland.

The plants he relied on for food are nearly all gone.

Many of his kind have died from starvation.

And the rising temperatures have turned his home into a tinderbox.

It's the final nail in the coffin…

…for Massospondylus.

Their 17-million-year existence brought to a tragic end.

Eventually, other dinosaurs will rise to take their place.

In that time, Earth's two continents will drift even further apart,

creating a fragmented world

with new lands for the dinosaurs to conquer.

It's more than 20 million years since the fall of Massospondylus.

And here in the mountains of what will one day be China,

the climate has cooled.

Life is flourishing.

And a revolution is taking place.

Within these cold dawn forests,

something is stirring.

Sauropods.

The great four-legged dinosaurs.

Mamenchisaurus.

A giant of the Jurassic.

Nearly 40 million years after their ancestor Vulcanodon

made its monumental rise,

Mamenchisaurus is now so gigantic

that just standing up is a mammoth task.

They have the longest necks of any animal in history,

that can reach as high as a five-story building.

And they're not the only giants that live in this forest.

The trees are reaching ever greater heights as well,

to avoid being completely consumed by these towering beasts.

But there's a catch to being this tall.

A 15-meter-long neck can only support a tiny head…

that houses a brain

smaller than an apple.

The evolutionary focus on size over smarts

will help the Sauropods become the most dominant herbivores

of the Jurassic age.

But they're not the only ones in this forest

who are moving up in the world.

Anchiornis.

Yes, he looks a bit like a chicken.

And he is about the size of one.

But he's nevertheless

a dinosaur.

A dinosaur with feathers…

…and newly evolved wings.

Sinraptor.

Another dinosaur.

But one willing to hunt its own tiny cousin.

His primitive wings are next to useless on the ground.

But that doesn't mean he's confined to the ground.

Up here, his wings aren't just for show.

He's one of the first dinosaurs to be able to glide.

And with such skill that he can even catch food midair.

Flight will turn out to be one of the dinosaurs' greatest leaps forward.

But Anchiornis is still just a beginner here.

For the time being,

this airspace…

…belongs to the Pterosaurs.

The flying dinosaurs are outgunned in the skies

for now.

But in time,

the Pterosaurs will meet their match.

As the planet continues to evolve,

so do the dinosaurs.

And as the end of the Jurassic draws nearer,

their control over the land on both continents

is only getting stronger.

It's seven million years since Anchiornis took to the air.

Here, in what will one day be North America…

geothermal heat simmers at the surface.

An echo of past extinctions.

The Sauropods here are larger than ever.

Their strategy of bigger is better is paying off.

But these dinosaurs are evolving on an altogether different track.

Stegosaurus.

A far cry from their tiny cheek-stuffing ancestors.

They are now as heavy as elephants,

and equipped with armor, camouflage, and weapons.

And here in the late Jurassic,

they need the protection.

Because there is danger in these dark forests.

Allosaurus.

Eight meters long, with dagger-like teeth,

they are the most successful predators of their day.

But this young male is not stalking.

He's stealing.

A female.

Same species,

but larger, stronger, and battle-scarred.

The young male is lucky she didn't kill him.

The rainstorms have passed.

The young male hasn't eaten in weeks.

He has no choice but to try his luck on a herd

of Stegosaurus.

But he can't hide his approach when he's out in the open…

…which gives the herd time to prepare their defenses.

They form a wall of moving bodies and spikes.

It's intimidating…

and confusing for the young Allosaurus.

He can't pick out which one to attack.

But he's got other problems.

The veteran female has just joined the game.

And she's been playing this game

for a lot longer than he has.

She's able to isolate one of the herd.

But Stegosaurus has evolved a perfect weapon.

A mace-like tail with meter-long spikes

called a thagomizer.

For the female, it's game over.

For the young male, it's payback.

And lunch.

Because Allosaurus are cannibals.

Fifty million years after surviving an apocalypse,

the dinosaurs' dominion over Earth is now absolute.

But the world they've come to know

is changing.

Temperatures are dropping across the globe…

bringing snow to the northern regions of the planet.

Something few dinosaurs have ever experienced.

From these frozen lands,

a new kind of dinosaur

will rise.

The Tyrannosaurs are coming.