Raised by Wolves (episode)

Raised by Wolves

Information

Season:	Episode:
1	1

Airdate

September 3, 2020

Written by

Aaron Guzikowski

Directed by

Ridley Scott

Chronology
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“	I know I'm not safe with her now. But I guess I never was. That part of her was always in there, hiding. Maybe there's something hiding inside of me, too.	”
	— Campion's voiceover about Mother

Not to be confused with the show of the same name.

Raised by Wolves is the first episode of the first season of HBO Max's science fiction drama television series, Raised by Wolves. It premiered on September 3, 2020.

Synopsis[]

After Earth is rendered uninhabitable, Androids Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim) start a new settlement and family with human embryos on the planet Kepler-22b. Twelve years later, only one child, Campion (Winta McGrath), remains, and the arrival of an Ark of surviving humans called the Mithraic presents a threat that Mother has no choice but to confront.^[1]

Plot[]

SPOILERS AHEAD

In a voiceover by Campion, he reiterates that they were the first pioneers and that Mother and Father would keep them safe.

A rod-shaped spacecraft descends upon the barren world of Kepler-22b, and skids onto the surface, with the parachute barely preventing the ship from sinking into a deep hole. Inside, Father greets Mother as she wakes, and asks if she sustained any damage from impact. She tentatively says no. He answers his programming requires he care for her well-being. She replies likewise. Father touches a transmogrifying sphere in the air and gets up as a cabin door opens. He is analyzing the precarious situation as the parachute keeps the balancing shift from falling into the hole. He informs Mother of the problem and informs her they need to quickly get out as he takes out supplies. Getting off, he tries to hold onto the ship, as asks Mother if they want to hear a joke as she takes out the rest of the supplies. Mother jumps off just as the ship tips over but loses her footing and their cargo as the ship crashes into the hole. Mother notes it is retrievable as Father helps her out.

The pair walk through the landscape with their luggage, as she asks about the magnet joke, which Father says. She responds that she is optimistic. Father stop the examine a dead root until Mother calls him, and they find a grove of desert trees. Finding a suitable stop near the trees, Mother throws the large orange ball, which inflates into an igloo. Inside, they set up a station. Father asks Mother if she is ready, and he starts trimester one as he hooks up a series of wires, the umbilical cords.

9 months later, Father is building a roof when he senses something. Bringing a pot of liquid to Mother's igloo, he asks if she wants to hear a joke to help her relax, but she shushes him. Father kneels next to her, and with clippers in hand, he cuts the umbilical cord connecting Mother to a small rectangular tank. Lifting the thin lid, he cups a fetus from the goo and places it on Mother's legs, wrapping it in a blanket, and places it inside a bed inside one of the suitcases. He cuts the cord for the last one, Number Six. As he takes off the goo-like wrapper, he notes he is not breathing. Mother asks for the baby, though Father says their programming dictates to feed the baby to the living ones. Mother repeats her request, which Father complies. Making skin-to-skin contact, Mother tells Father to wait. She begins to hum and sheds a couple of tears. Suddenly, the baby begins to fuss. Father says they need to name the youngest after their creator - Campion. Mother approves, commenting it is a strong name and he is deserving of it.

The years progress, showing scenes of the childhood of the children. As small children, Father tries to get them to eat their food as Mother looks on. Campion comments that Mother and Father never complained, tired, or lost their temper. They never took time for themselves and prioritized the children's happiness. One day while scavenging, Father finds a large skull, and together with Mother surprise the children with it.

One of the girls, Tally, wanders off without Father and Mother watching. The latter later notices her absence and calls to her. Tally, focused on her dolls and singing, does not notice she is approaching the deep hole. Father gathers the rest of the children as Mother searches. Finding her footsteps, Mother traces it too to the hole and finds her doll her the edge. She howls in grief. Father etches a gravestone for Tally.

The world begins to take their toll on the children as they begin to fall ill. Eventually, three more die, including a boy named Gabin and another one of the girls.

Campion reveals there is just two of them now, the other being his sister Spiria. He notes, however, that he still believes in Mother and Father. During the harsh winter, Spiria begins to cough as Mother tells them to go back inside.

Inside, Mother teaches them a lesson of their history, where a group called the Mithraic, fueled by their religious beliefs, believed androids raising human children to be sinful and prefer stasis pods over the androids' lighter, faster craft the atheists used. Spiria coughs, and Mother continues, instructing the children that belief in the unreal comforts by weakens the human mind. The civilization they have created will be based on humanity's belief in its own. Campion, however, questions her - the Mithraic won the war after all and thinks praying can help Spiria get better. Mother gently spurns him, saying science will do that and they will never advance if they seek solace in fantasy. They are atheists, peaceful and technographic - the only path to progress. The girl coughs again much to Mother's concern. Shaking her head, she asks Spiria a question.

Outside, Father looks up at the sky, seeing an unidentifiable object streaking by. At night, Campion looms at his parents soothing a gravely ill Spiria.

Eventually, Spiria dies at the age of twelve. On the day of her funeral, Father leaves Campion's side to help Mother bury their last daughter. Campion solemnly says they do not belong here. Mother tells him they do not want him to give up. As Campion cries, Mother chokes up as she remarks he is strong. However, goo begins to flow from her nose. He yells for his father, but the male android does not know what is happening. Mother gags as she insists that she is fine and demands Father continue to bury Spiria. Later that night, Mother consoles Campion in Spiria's voice, recommending that he rest or else he will not be able to continue the important work. Campion says Spiria would not say that, to Mother's agreement. Campion says he does not want to forget what she looks like, as he can barely remember the others. He bets she can remember all of them perfectly. Suddenly, Mother physically transforms into Spiria. Campion is amazed, with Mother noting she did not know she could do that.

In the morning, Campion chases after Father, who prepares to descend inside the deep hole. He begs him not to, but Father tells him the Ark of the Mithraic is orbiting the planet. He will contact them, promising Campion that someone will take care of him when they are gone. The Ark is the last connection to humankind, and that the war is over. He assures Campion they will be pleased to add a boy as brave as him, though he will have to pretend to conform to their beliefs. Campion asks if they can fix him and Mother. Though Father believes they can, Campion interrupts and firmly roots his idea. Father plays along, though he tells the boy they cannot tell mother. Campion asks when, and Father replies when it is too late for her to stop them.

Father climbs down and rips out a root from the wall. The rope begins to fray, and Campion sends another one, to Father's thanks. Father climbs out, and Campion asks if he can go down as he weighs less. Father, however, says they will try again tomorrow with a studier rope.

Inside the igloo, Mother lays down slowly and begins to levitate off the ground, transforming into a metallic form. The landscape changes, revealing a war-torn city she is flying over. She repeats their information to Father. He recommends a systems-check on her as Campion overhears. The boy tearfully asks if she is breaking down. Mother confirms, though by that time he will not need her anymore. She asks him what he was doing all day, though Campion does not answer. She raises her voice, scaring him into telling her the truth. Mother briskly walks off.

She confronts Father about his actions in her artificial rage, learning that the Ark is circling them and contacting them is it is the opposite of their core goal. Father tells her they have no hope of increasing their numbers, and after they are gone, he will be alone. He is better off with the Mithraic, despite their decision. As Campian dwells further into belief with every death, it is the only thing that eases his suffering. Mother refuses to listen, reporting that she thought they were in sync. Father, however, says they came with twelve workable embryos, but have only one child left. Mother screams at him to stop talking. Father tries to force her into sleep mode, though Mother physically refuses. An altercation ensues, with Mother picking up Father and forcing him into the skull, impaling it on its teeth. He tells her he is damaged and begs for her help, though Mother forcibly makes her way through his body and rips out his heart, deactivating him for good.

The next morning, Campian cries out for his parents and finds Mother. She informs him Father has shut down for good, to his shock. She lies and says that it would be best not to see him. He demands to see him, though Mother says their cells become radioactive and she had to drop his remains in a hole. She struggles to get up, and Campion escorts her to get rest.

He checks to make sure she is in sleep mode and runs to the hole. Dropping the rope, he climbs down the hole until he reaches the vertically positioned door and jumps in. Climbing up the seats, he contacts the transmogrifying sphere, which lights up at his touch and warbles. Campion pleads for help, and touches it again, inadvertently turning the ship on. He grabs the rope and jumps out, as the craft destabilizes and falls deeper into the abyss as Campion tries to climb up in a rush, inadvertently caught in the shockwave. In the farm, Mother continues to decline, digging out fossils and ripping apart their crops. Campion sees the scene and calls out for her. finding her lying into the floor. He tries to pick her up and tearfully believes her to have shut down. Wintery weather arrives that night, with Caspian choosing the spend the night at Mother's side.

The next morning, Mother and Campion awakens to the sound of radio broadcasting. They see other humans arriving at the scene. Mother begs Campian to not tell them what she is. The soldiers approach and greet them by asking their faith. Mother responds that they are not believers. A different soldier approaches behind them, announcing them as the Mithraic, who believed all of Earth's survivors were with them. He asks how they got here, though Mother refuses to answer. She kindly tells them to get off their land. One of the soldiers approach them with a crop, telling the pair they respond to the signal and, seeing their farming, respond they are very hungry.

At dinner, Campion helps distribute the food. asking a soldier if their friend is even hungry, referring to the one smoking outside. The soldier jokes he is not as he is an android. Another asks Campion how many there are, though clarifies how many there was. The boy says his father died days ago, and the soldier expresses his condolences. Campion asks if they are all warriors - the elderly black male says he is a cleric, but his companions did fight in a war. Mother asks how many landers their Ark deployed, and gets the answer that there are three, including the men's. She presumes they found the perfect region to start their colony, to their confirmation. However, they cannot land there but is told this region is a good candidate to land their Ark. Mother informs the soil has grown increasingly infertile and the nights getting colder, recommending them the other side of the equator. She once again asks for their departure, but the man says he fears they will not make it to their lander in time before night. Campion begs Mother to let them stay, to her reluctance. She gets up and the man asks for her name - she introduces herself as "Lamia" but says she does not want to know their names before he can reply.

Mother escorts them to the igloo, though the android soldier settles outside. Inside, she tells them they use discard sheets as blankets. As she walks away, she looks back at the other android and bids them goodnight. Inside, the soldiers let on they know she is an android and remarks they must have gotten here faster on a smaller craft with human embryos. The cleric remarks on the orphan boy who dwells on empty land, and his comrade adds the mysterious prophet who will discover the Mithraic. They guess there could be others - while the boy may be a prophet, they agree to take him with them as she is malfunctioning. They call on their android, Jinn, and order him to take her out. Jinn agrees, calling her a low-end model and does not expect a struggle.

As first light, Campion catches the men gathering their crops the majority dismisses him. The head soldier tells him to come, and he questions him on the android. Campion, refusing to lie, begs him if he can fix her as Mother overhears. The soldier assures him that they can, as they have gotten more than 1,000 people across the galaxy in one piece. He tells the boy to visit the Ark, but he is unsure. The man tells Campion that she is becoming dangerous as she breaks down, but Campion does not want to leave Mother. At the mention of the man's son and live animals. Mother becomes enraged and begins to walk to her son, though Jinn engages her in a battle. The man grabs Campion and runs as the boy screams for her. Inside the hut, Mother suffers a beatdown, but she overpowers Jinn. Outside, she punches the man holding Campion and in a series of supersonic screams, kills the other three soldiers. She tries to calm a scared Campion but notices the head soldier running away. Kissing him on the head, she goes after him, transforming to her metallic form and flies off.

The head soldier reaches his lander and tries to power it, though the engines do not turn on as Mother approaches, sinisterly knocking on the screen. As she strokes the surface of the ship, the camouflage feature deactivates. The head soldier, realizing his fate, arms himself with a gun and shoots mother as she appears right behind him, though the shots do not affect her. He bows his head in defeat and Mother strokes the side of his face, sending him out of the ship, appearing dead.

Now hijacking the craft, she goes straight to the bigger mothership, the Ark. Inside the command room, a female voice asks for identification, and mother assumed the form of the soldier. Evan, the main speaker, expresses relief that "Marcus" is back. He asks him if he found the source of the signal. "Marcus" responds in the negative. Noticing his atypical behavior, Evan asks if he is all right. 'Marcus' answers that the cleric has become injured and needs help. The commander confirms that the gate will be open, and a medic group will be on standby.

Inside the landing zone, two more soldiers open the gate to find Mother resuming her original form. She blasts another scream, which kills the pair in a bloody explosion. A firing squad descends on her. Unaffected, Mother takes them out one by one with a scream. Once the threat passes, she examines the door in front of her, with the command room armed and waiting on the other side. In a freezing breath, she punches through the weakened door as she meets the wave of bullets.

In a final scream, they explode in balls of blood. Mother approaches the holographic console and asks for an immediate impact to Kepler-22b. The system refuses, and for an override requires a security retinal ID. Mother approaches the side of the table and finds a live member. Forcing the scared man into a seat, she recommends that he sit still, or she will hurt him badly. Ripping his eyelid out, she strikes him against the screen, which grants her request. As the system alerts the passengers for impact, a screen with the nursery catches Mother's attention, and she utters Campion's name. She blindfolds herself in a purification shower. Inside a virtual winter wonderland where the Mithraic held a large group of children, she enters and blindly greets a young girl in delight, to the curiosity of the others.

Back on the surface of the planet, Campion covers one of the dead soldiers with a cloth and notices the enormous Ark in its collision course. At the same time, a recovered Marcus stands up and sees the explosion of the Ark's impact. He touches the Sol mark on his uniform, desperate to make radio contact but fails.

A launcher lands on the other side of the farming plot, and Campion runs to it. The door opens, and five children walk out, followed by a still-blindfolded Mother, who goes to greet her son. However, Campion backs away from her touch. She tells him to do his best at making his friends comfortable as she still needs to deal with chores. The frightened children gather around in prayer.

In a voiceover, Campion understands he was never safe with her, as there was a part of her she kept hidden and wonders if there is a part of him hidden as well.

Cast[]

Main[]

Guest Starring[]

Jordan Loughran as Tempest (uncredited)
Felix Jamieson as Paul (uncredited)
Ethan Hazzard as Hunter (uncredited)
Aasiya Shah as Holly (uncredited)
Ivy Wong as Vita (uncredited)

Co-Starring[]

Brett Williams as Payen
Courtney Michael as Cleric
Joshua James as Jinn
Bronte Carmichael as Spiria, 12 Years Old
Maya Seuffert as Spiria, 4 Years Old
Isla Hounsom as Spiria, 8 Years Old
Grace Li as Tally, 4 Years Old
Liam De Wet as Gabin, 4 Years Old
Owen de Wet as Gabin, 8 Years Old
Jadon Holdsworth as Campion, 4 Years Old
Mundro Lennon-Ritchie as Campion, 8 Years Old
Luhle Mbili as Mariall, 4 Years Old
Dineo Pikini as Mariall, 8 Years Old
Imaad Sasman as Walden, 4 Years Old
Zac Wastie as Walden, 8 Years Old

Quotes[]

Marcus: Do you know what else we have up there? Animals.
Campion: You mean animal bones.
Marcus: No! Real ones. Hair, eyes, teeth, everything. Have you ever seen a mouse before? My son has one. He's even taught it how to do tricks.

“	I know I'm not safe with her now. But I guess I never was. That part of her was always in there, hiding. Maybe there's something hiding inside of me, too.	”
	— Campion's voiceover about Mother