WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 4, now streaming on Netflix.
In Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, one of the most intriguing aspects of the Season 4 trailer was the return of the Spinosaurus. The giant dino wowed fans in Jurassic Park III on Isla Sorna/Site B, taking out mercenaries, planes and even T-Rexes, increasing hype and expectations for this Netflix animated series. Sadly, the series wastes its most destructive dinosaur by relegating it to weak cameos.
The Spinosaurus was quite intimidating on the big screen, coming off as quick, powerful and scary, which allowed the franchise to move away from the obvious dino villain. That changes, though, when Darius and the teens enter a biome that has a desert setting after they crash onto a new mysterious island.
They quickly discover the Spinosaurus is there in this dusty realm, but it turns out to be a joke of a creature as the kids outrun it with ease. They hide in between some rock formations, although there is one dark moment where a saber-tooth tiger tries to jump them, only for the Spinosaurus to crash in and devour it.
It sets the stage for the creature to really become a monster, but again, the kids outrun it, get to the door and close it so they can roam to another biome. It's very underwhelming as we expected them to spend some time there and really form a rivalry -- the way they did with Toro, the Carnotaurus in Site A, in earlier seasons, as well as the poisonous Scorpios Rex hybrid. Instead, the Spinosaurus doesn't get much of a personality, which is a disappointment as it felt like a character in the films and a real final-level boss.
It's why it wasn't killed as the humans just fled in the third film, leaving it in the river, which teased that it'd be just as impervious in this cartoon. In fact, it could have even been the same creature rescued, maybe even spliced in with other DNA in an upgrade as this series, as well as the Jurassic World movies, just love hybrids.
Ultimately, the potential goes down the drain as the Spinosaurus doesn't even escape its biome when power cuts, which would have allowed scary moments where it could roam and assault other ecosystems, dinosaurs and chase the kids around the island. It's adaptable to various weather conditions and environments, after all, so this is why people wanted more.
We may even have gotten a rematch with the T-Rexes around but sadly, the Spinosaurus is there for cosmetic value and just as a throwback for nostalgic folks. It's a letdown as it did seem like it'd be a sinister threat, but seeing as the kids are still marooned there with new villains such as the mind-controlling Kash and Kenji's dad, Dan, plotting a gladiator arena, here's hoping the Spinosaurus gets justice in the fifth season to be the villain it's capable of being.
See how the Spinosaurus gets botched in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 4, now streaming on Netflix.