Quite a bit happened in season 1 of Raised by Wolves, and much of it has transferred over to the second season as the majority of the action is now taking place in a more tropical region near a coastline that borders acidic waters that can melt away pretty much anything. There are spoilers ahead just in case you haven’t taken the time to watch the first two episodes on HBO Max yet, as the show did just return with a good number of the original actors that starred in the first season. Mother and Father are both confirmed to have survived their fall through the pit, and so did the eel-like creature that Mother gave birth to before she and Father made their sacrifice. Campion and the others were brought to the tropical zone by members of Collective, which is run by the Trust, another AI that Mother is soon introduced to after seeking to defend herself while she and Father are being examined. So far the first two episodes have started off much where the last season left the viewers, fully capable of understanding what’s going on, but also still confused as to why some of the characters behave as they do.
While the atheists of the Collective despise androids they accept Mother, whose name is now Lamia, and Father into their group as they press them into service, while other androids and captives are fitted with explosive devices that will ignite if the wearer attempts to escape. The fact that the atheists have no love for androids and even less for anything Mithraic, the religious faction that was seen in the first season, but will accept Mithraic children and take their orders from an AI, is kind of curious. One could say that in an inhospitable world most people will take whatever options they can get. One thing that is easy to note however is that the Collective isn’t much better than the Mithraic when it comes to how their people are treated, or how some are given more privileges than others.
Caleb is still alive and kicking obviously and after hijacking a bomber that was sent from the Collective he ends up making his way to the tropical zone where he’s nearly melted by the acidic current before finding his way to safety. Even then he’s required to hide as his acceptance of Mithraic faith, more or less, marks him as an outsider and a traitor to other atheists. After discovering a pair of escapees that need help removing their devices however he gains company, and as such he begins to build his own version of the Mithraic faith once again. In the meantime, Sue continues to be shunned by Paul, whose all-consuming faith allows him to deny her any forgiveness as he and Campion continue to be friends. One thing to say about this show, among the many, is that some might decide to claim that the actions and dialogue stand as they do. To some viewers, it might stand out as the type of dialogue and action that would feel normal when attempting to acclimate to an alien planet that’s intent on killing those that aren’t strong enough to take care of themselves, but in a big way, it does feel as though the dialogue is kind of disjointed, and it’s hard to know who to root for most times.
It’s tough to trust Mother/Lamia, if only because of her auspicious beginnings in this story, and yet it’s tough to trust Caleb, or Sue, or the Collective. There are few if any individuals in this story that are easy to trust without fail, especially since they all have their own version of the truth firmly stuck in their heads, while the truth of their world and the circumstances they find themselves in tend to point to a different set of truths. Otherwise, it’s a parallel of this world in a way that’s hard to watch at times since it’s made very clear that it’s an uncertain and dangerous place where allegiances are only useful for as long as each side can tolerate each other. That’s why Caleb’s sudden acceptance of androids is kind of suspect.
Then there’s the fact that the eel-like creature, which was apparently native to this world at one time, is now on the loose. The fact that it encountered Campion and allowed him to live makes it evident that there’s something more going on with the creature at this time. It’s bound to be something deeper, something a little more prophetic. Whatever it is, the second season of the show has slid in with just as much confusion and just as much uncertainty as the first season ended with. So far it’s entertaining and it’s worth following, but one can’t help but think that there’s more to come that will require a greater deal of explanation.
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