01x03 - Empire

[bunniefuu]

[wind whistling]

[Morgan Freeman] One hundred
and twenty-five million years ago,

winter rages across the north.

[bleak music playing]

Entire species
have been pushed to the brink.

[dinosaurs grunting weakly]

Even the largest dinosaurs
are unable to endure this cold.

Like these sauropods migrating south.

[vocalizes weakly]

Winter came early this year

and caught them off guard.

With hundreds of kilometers ahead of them,

this time, it will be
an especially harsh journey.

[weak grunting continues]

But the bitter cold is not
the only danger in this frozen land.

There is a much greater threat

here in these woods.

[low growling]

[tense music playing]

Yutyrannus.

The Snow King.

An early relative of T. rex.

With a thick, insulating coat of feathers,

he's perfectly adapted
for life in a world this cold.

But his feathers also serve
a more sinister purpose.

Camouflage.

The ultimate weapon for an ambush hunter.

[sauropods grunting weakly]

With silent precision,

he picks out
the smallest member of the herd.

[ominous music playing]

[Yutyrannus roars]

[sauropod groans]

[sauropods grunting in distress]

In a savage, ever-changing world,

some will rise,

and some will fall.

But through it all,

the dinosaurs will expand their empire

and advance relentlessly

to seize Earth's final frontiers.

[intense music building]

[music fades out]

[opening theme music playing]

[rocks crumbling]

[distant roaring]

[roaring]

[music fades out]

[mysterious music playing]

It's a new age for life on Earth.

An age of extremes.

New worlds are forming

that will give rise
to the most famous dinosaurs of all time.

The north is still gripped by cold.

But not for much longer.

[lava squelching]

Earth's most violent forces
are stirring once again.

Volcanoes seethe and fume…

warming the planet.

But some will pay a price
for this warmer world.

[grunting softly]

-[earth crumbling in distance]
-[dramatic music playing]

[ethereal music playing]

[ice cracking]

As global temperatures continue to rise…

the snow and ice all but disappear.

[dramatic music continues]

Huge meltwater rivers
tear through the land.

This thawing of the north

is expanding
the dinosaurs' empire even further.

And in surprising new ways.

[creatures vocalizing in distance]

In this fresh, fertile landscape,
sauropods no longer need to migrate.

But it's also a new world
for one of the dinosaurs' oldest rivals.

The pterosaurs.

They are now bigger and badder than ever.

[squawks loudly]

Including Guidraco,

the Ghost Dragon.

[vocalizing]

But he's an intruder here.

[creatures squawking]

Because these trees
are the home of Longipteryx,

a new kind of dinosaur.

[squawks]

Less than 20 centimeters tall,

but highly territorial.

Especially during nesting season.

[grunts]

They're also equipped
to take on the pterosaurs.

Now they too can fly.

[suspenseful music playing]

[pterosaur squawks]

In a previous era,

flying dinosaurs like Anchiornis
could only glide.

Now they're able to flap their wings

and maneuver with precision
to strike at their enemies.

They're fast

and fearless.

[thrilling music playing]

It only gets worse
for the tiring pterosaur.

Because Longipteryx are distant cousins

of Yutyrannus, the Snow King.

They're armed
with the teeth and claws of their clan.

[pterosaur squawks desperately]

After ruling the skies since the Triassic,

pterosaurs are now being matched
by the dinosaurs.

[both squawking]

But as the dinosaurs fight
to expand their empire into the air…

[both chittering]

…an even greater revolution lies ahead.

[ethereal music playing]

Not in the mountains,

or the skies,

or the oceans.

The biggest twist in Earth's tale
is unfolding quietly.

Almost in secret.

Seven million years later,

this new force
is slowly rewriting the dinosaur story.

[ethereal music continues]

This is one of the first flowers
this forest has ever seen.

Just one,

in a vast and diverse
new generation of plants.

And they will become a phenomenon

with the help of a close ally.

Beetles.

They carry pollen
from one flower to the next.

[wings flapping]

Nature's most reliable delivery service…

helping these new plants
spread far and wide across the globe…

transforming the dinosaurs' empire.

[majestic music playing]

But this new generation of plants
has a dark side.

-[eerie music playing]
-[creatures calling distantly]

While they need to attract pollinators,

many are also evolved to repel herbivores.

With spines,

thorns,

and poisons.

Nature's defensive weapons.

This green revolution changes everything

for the plant-eating dinosaurs.

Including…

[grunts]

…the great Stegosaurus.

[grunts]

They are herd animals by nature.

But this young stegosaur,
barely two years old, is all alone.

[grunting]

She is the last of her herd.

[sniffing]

To eat these tougher new plants
requires a mouth that can chew food

in a way her primitive jaw cannot.

-[twigs snap]
-[Stegosaurus grunts]

She's starving.

[grunting]

These once-great herbivores
are unable to adapt to this new world.

It's one reason
why their 50-million-year existence

will come to an end.

Extinction.

[somber music playing]

But in the wake
of the Stegosaurus' demise,

a new era will emerge.

Over the next 15 million years,

these new plants evolve and diversify,

spreading across the planet

and ever further
into the dinosaurs' empire.

The green revolution now covers the globe.

And not just the land,

but the water as well.

[creatures chittering, calling]

[water gurgling]

Even providing cover

and food

for underwater explorers.

[ethereal music playing]

Like Ankylosaurs.

This bathing beauty
is a different kind of dinosaur.

He's a plant-eater, like the Stegosaurus.

But a fancier one.

Much fancier.

[lighthearted music playing]

Because unlike the Stegosaurus,

his advanced jaw can crush food

in a way that makes eating
any kind of plant easy.

[huffs]

It's the perfect adaptation
for this diverse new world.

He wants to take full advantage
of all this great kingdom has to offer.

And he has a plan.

It's a long trek.

But the journey is worth it.

[flying creature squawks]

[ankylosaur vocalizing]

[squawking]

This is the one place
where he can truly be himself.

[huffs]

[vocalizes loudly]

His passion is singing.

[vocalizing continues]

He even has special hollows
in his snout that amplify his song.

[vocalizing continues]

So it can be heard far and wide.

[vocalizing continues in distance]

[grunts]

[vocalizing continues in distance]

[squawks]

[grunts]

[twigs snapping]

[grunts]

[squawks]

A female has answered his call.

It's time to charm her
with his deep, sultry humming.

[low humming vocalizing]

Then… he shows her his stylish armor.

[lighthearted music playing]

It's all…

very persuasive.

[both grunting lowly]

[grunts]

Their fancy attire
does have some drawbacks, mind you.

[male grunting]

On the whole, though,

heavy armor and an improved jaw
are setting them up for success.

[flying creature squawks]

But what no dinosaur could possibly know

is that their empire
has been gradually shrinking.

Hidden below the waves,

this world, once ruled by dinosaurs…

is now completely out of their reach.

And there's a reason…

at the very bottom of the ocean.

A slow, imperceptible shift…

reshaping the planet.

[intriguing music playing]

The seabed is fracturing

from an endless progression of eruptions.

[water gurgling]

[earth cracking]

Earth's tectonic plates are shifting,

breaking apart the ocean floor,

lifting it higher over millions of years.

The water above has nowhere else to go,

but up.

By the middle of the Cretaceous,

sea levels reached
their highest point in history.

Over 200 meters higher
than they are today.

[mysterious music playing]

The rising oceans
repaint the map of the world,

erasing entire land masses.

The continent of Europe
is reduced to a giant archipelago

that includes the Isle of Hațeg.

Where isolation and evolution
have created a kind of

Neverland for the dinosaurs.

A world where normal rules don't apply.

[dinosaurs calling in distance]

This is the home of Magyarosaurus,

a sauropod.

And, like other sauropods,

he uses his long neck
to reach the highest vegetation.

Thing is,

this vegetation is only two meters tall.

Which makes Magyarosaurus
about the size of a pony.

[dinosaurs grunting]

On Hațeg,

where there's limited space and food,

sometimes smaller is better.

[creature calling in distance]

[grunting]

But unlike Magyarosaurus,

for predators, bigger is still better.

[ominous music playing]

As tall as a giraffe,

one of the largest pterosaurs
to ever live.

The nightmare

Hatzegopteryx.

[Hatzegopteryx grunting]

She's flown to this island to feed

on dinosaurs.

[dinosaurs screeching]

[suspenseful music playing]

The youngest member
of the herd gets separated.

But he won't be an easy catch.

Unlike his giant cousins,
he's light on his feet.

[grunting]

[Hatzegopteryx growling]

[grunts]

[grunts]

But being this small,
he can't see the others.

They found a safe hiding spot,

perfect for their size.

[all grunting]

[ominous music playing]

[Magyarosaurus vocalizing]

[Magyarosaurus squawks]

[vocalizing in distress]

[Hatzegopteryx growling]

[pensive music playing]

[grunts softly]

-[squeals]
-[dark music playing]

[dark music continues]

For tiny dinosaurs trapped on an island,

there's nowhere else to go.

But in a world so divided by the ocean,

evolution takes different turns
in different places.

Ninety-six million years ago,

sea levels were close to
the highest they've ever been.

Creating a water world
that no dinosaur has dared to enter.

But that's about to change.

[water rushing]

-[insects chirping]
-[water lapping]

Lurking in this mangrove swamp

is a carnivore that has specially evolved

to take on the final frontier.

[leaves rustling]

A dinosaur pioneer.

[flying creatures squawking]

[ominous music playing]

Spinosaurus.

[growling lowly]

The largest predator
to ever walk the Earth.

At 15 meters long,

she's bigger than a school bus.

The forest provides plenty of prey.

But another reason she's gotten this big

is because of where she goes
to escape the gloom of the swamp.

[majestic music playing]

Here, the high sea levels
have turned the oceans

into a new hunting ground
for the dinosaurs.

Where bigger is definitely better.

[majestic music continues]

[music fades]

Spinosaurus is adapted
to a planet that is now mostly ocean.

And in this age, some of the largest prey

is here in the water.

[foreboding music playing]

Sharks.

In a flat-out chase between a shark
and a giant dog-paddling dinosaur,

the shark will always win.

But there's more to Spinosaurus
than meets the eye.

Dinosaurs aren't just becoming bigger.

Some are cunning too.

She's going to make the sharks
come to her.

Her snout is wired with sensors
that can detect the slightest movement.

Now, all she needs to do

is keep completely still.

[suspenseful music playing]

[flying creature squawking]

The best hunters

are the patient ones.

And her patience is starting to pay off.

The blood in the water
is drawing the sharks closer.

She doesn't move.

She knows how this game is played.

[water gurgling]

Brains and brawn.

A k*ller combination

that is finally letting the dinosaurs
get a foothold in the ocean.

[growls]

Their reach is now global

and extends to the very ends of the Earth…

to what will one day be Antarctica.

[majestic music playing]

While Spinosaurus is stalking
the shallow seas in the tropics,

the world's southernmost landmass

is not the frozen wilderness
we know today.

It's a green, flourishing Eden.

[insects chirping]

Where even in the dark,
evolution is lighting the way.

And thriving in the darkness

are the dinosaurs.

By this stage in the late Cretaceous,

their empire is so vast

that they now dominate
every continent on Earth.

And yet,

while their reign is global,

and their rule almost unchallenged,

their story

will take a dark turn.

[ominous music playing]

[music fades out]

[closing theme music playing]

[music fades out]