Round Two: Raised by Wolves

Raised by Wolves: Season 1, Episode 2 “Pentagram” (B)

I appreciated the fact that this episode opened with a flashback to 22nd-century Earth to give us more context about how civilization as we know it died. I’m not sure whether that will always be the case or if this was all the information we needed, but I did find it informative and helpful. My biggest question from episode one was why Mother allowed Marcus to live, which at that point I assumed was because he didn’t pose a direct threat to her. Now I think it may be because she was aware that he’s not a true believer, though I don’t know if that tracks because some of Campion’s new siblings are definitely firm adherents. The ritualistic uniforms and prayer groups aboard the ship were eerily reminiscent of the cultish nature of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and the notion of the ship as a heaven and prayer as means of absolution indicates that its leaders do believe that they’ll be saved once they flee their broken and destroyed planet. Mother wasn’t subtle about banning religion in her home, and the children very quickly surrendered the objects that were most meaningful to them. Learning that Father, who I’m glad to see is back up and operational, is a service android while Mother has considerably greater abilities makes a lot of sense, and the notion that her killing power comes only from her eyes is intriguing. Campion is really the heart of this show who should be able to see the good and bad of both the atheists and the religious devotees, with some help from his compassionate Father. I thought Marcus might surrender himself to them but it seems like he’s been found by survivors from his ship, presumably another landing party, and hopefully he can advise them not to stage the same kind of assault that got everyone else killed.