In 'The Journey North,' the female Coelophysis stalks a herd of dicynodonts called Placerias, targeting weak members to prey upon. She faces significant challenges including competition from a rival male Coelophysis who expels her from her territory, and the difficulty of successfully hunting Placerias, which ultimately leads to her being wounded and vulnerable.

During the dry season, food scarcity forces the Coelophysis to resort to cannibalism, preying on their own young. The lead female Coelophysis and others struggle to survive these harsh conditions, highlighting their adaptability and the brutal realities of their environment.

The male cynodont lives in a burrow with his family and is shown hunting baby Coelophysis at night. His storyline includes the survival of his family through the dry season and the laying of a new clutch of eggs, illustrating the reproductive cycle and survival tactics of smaller prehistoric mammals.

The episode concludes with the arrival of a migrating herd of Plateosaurus, which foreshadows the future dominance of sauropods after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, signaling a major shift in prehistoric ecosystems.

Survival is depicted through predator-prey dynamics such as the female Coelophysis hunting Placerias, the Coelophysis resorting to cannibalism, and the male cynodont hunting baby Coelophysis. These interactions emphasize the harshness of the environment and the constant struggle for life among species during the Triassic period.