Raised by Wolves: “The Tree” Recap

With only a few episodes left to go in season 2, Raised by Wolves has been upping the stakes in a manner that is starting to pull the story together and put the main characters stand out even more, and has also done a couple of things that are making people scratch their heads in mild confusion. There are spoilers ahead, just to be clear, since this story, which feels like it’s been meandering a bit in season 2 on its way to making sense of what’s happening, has snapped to attention in a manner that has left a lot of people stunned at what they saw in this current episode. It’s already been seen that several of the characters have been changing slightly as the story has gone on, as Sue and Marcus were initially bound together but were separated by their beliefs and different goals by the time season 1 ended. Also, their false connection to Paul, since they’re wearing the faces of Paul’s parents, has finally been decided as Paul is bound to both of them. But while that’s a positive note in this story, there are plenty of sour notes yet to be hit. 

Lamia/Mother feels as though she’s growing a little more out of control as she continues to take her guardianship role of the children and of the Atheist Collective a little too seriously, especially when she tells Campion that he needs to be seen and respected by the people. None of those in the Collective appear to want anything to do with Mother, but when Marcus, who was captured by Father and Lucius, is brought to camp and locked away, the danger of the Collective turning on Mother becomes an even greater factor. Then there’s the beast being held in the cave to consider, and the fact that some of the children that Mother is looking after appear to be questioning their place in the world, as Tempest is heard to say that she doesn’t want to look at the child that’s about to be born, as it will only remind her of her rapist. 

When she makes her way to the edge of the acidic sea to dispose of the baby, however, against Mother’s wishes, the child’s crying changes her mind. Strangely enough, one of the larger sea monsters that live beneath the waves emerges and takes her child, placing it in a giant cavity in its body before diving back into the sea. Another oddity is the being that Campion has come to call Grandmother, considering that the android that Father revived is far older than him or Mother. But the amusing thing about Mother’s reaction to Grandmother is that she appeared almost…jealous. Not only did she gaslight Father and Campion by stating that they were both too trusting, but she shut down Grandmother while in her Necromancer form to then hook her up to a large number of wires as she and Father started trying to figure her out. The fact that the android didn’t approve of the older model is kind of funny since it shows that despite being wiring and synthetic materials, Mother has learned what it means to be jealous of another individual, especially one that she sees as a threat. This kind of begs the question of whether Grandmother is stronger than Mother, and the latter struck before Grandmother could regain her full equilibrium. 

The story surrounding Sue and Marcus, as well as Paul, is just as interesting since it was found that trying to open the box that contained the seed to the Tree of Knowledge, it was found that this greatly agitated the snake-like creature, but it was also impossible. Well, it was until Sue began to sing a Mithraic tune, at which point the box opened, and the seed was revealed. When the seeds entered Sue’s body, however, things really got weird as Sue was taken by the need to start walking until she found a place to dig, in a feverish manner no less, as something was amiss according to her behavior. When the next morning came, Paul and Marcus came to find that the Tree of Knowledge had somehow come to be overnight, but Sue was nowhere to be seen. 

This is what’s bound to trip a lot of viewers out, since the sudden removal of Sue wasn’t expected, no matter that her worship of Sol was a quick conversion born out of desperation. The manner in which Marcus reacts to the presence of the tree, and the strange fruit that resembles a brain, is a little too telling as he stares up at the tree, while Paul continues to call for Sue. This development is perhaps one of the most bizarre and monumental since one has to wonder what in the world is going to happen now with two episodes left to go. Yeah, that one might take some time to process.