Pentagram

Information

Season:	Episode:
1	2

Airdate

September 3, 2020

Written by

Aaron Guzikowski

Directed by

Ridley Scott

Chronology
← Previous	Next →
Raised by Wolves	Virtual Faith

“	I never lost control. I just drew on a part of myself I didn't know existed. My actions served our core objective. You have nothing to be concerned about. I can't weaponize without my eyes. {...} You were the one who lost control, Father, when you tried going against the mission. And the Mithraic that came here turned out to be every bit as vicious and terrible as our creator programmed us to believe. They tried to kill me in front of Campion, Father.	”
	— Mother talking to Father about deactivating him

Pentagram is the second 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 a confrontation with Marcus, Mother discovers and takes five Mithraic children (Hunter, Tempest, Paul, Holly and Vita) back to her settlement. While Mother, Father, and Campion, adjust to living with a new group of Earth-born children, Marcus struggles to survive alone on Kepler-22b.^[1]

Plot[]

SPOILERS AHEAD

During the year 2145 in Boston, a squadron of soldiers run through a dug-out trench during the peak of the war, firing at initially unknown objects attacking from above. A male soldier named Caleb calls out to Mary, and they press against the ditch to hide. Above them, an outstretched airborne android does not notice them as it continues to shriek. The pair escape, though a flying vehicle crashes ahead of them, and they run towards it. Mary ignores an android pleasantly asking for help, as he burns in the fire, to check on the pilot, who is dead. Caleb extinguishes the android and grabs him, as the group escapes, large explosions occur around them. They shoot an unarmed person as they enter a building, laying the android down. Caleb discovers the android to be a type A medic used by the Mithraic, who happens to have a log of all the passengers on the Ark. Caleb comes up with a plan to disguise themselves as passengers (incidentally, Marcus), and volunteers to go first in cosmetic surgery, by the android, while Mary cooks a rat dinner.

Caleb later tries out her ability to use a new voice. Sometime later at night, Caleb finds Mary, now without bandages, crying in the mirror. She hates it, but he replies otherwise. He takes off his bandages, revealing his new face. He tells her it is Marcus now, and her name is Sue as she begins to break down. The newly christened Marcus consoles her as she reiterates the Mithraic motto.

The pair later travel to an abandoned, desolate structure. Inside, they find a cooking pot and demand the inhabitants to show themselves. The real Marcus and Sue appear from behind the counter, staring at their imposters. The real Sue begins to say the Mithraic motto, but the doppelgängers shoot them dead.

'Marcus' shuffles through their files as 'Sue' helps herself with the food, and discovers the couple have a son, to her shock. They find their boarding keys, with papers saying to deliver him to his parents in the boarding area.

At a defunct stadium underneath an Ark lander, the new Marcus and Sue are in line for the boarding gates, as an intercom announces prayers and priests bless those waiting. Marcus spots a boy sitting on a bench with other children and thinks that he is the son. The couple moves out of the lien and approach, nervously greeting him. The boy, Paul, replies hello to his parents without emotion. A cleric refers to Marcus as Captain Drusus, telling him that they have taken diligent care of Paul. An announcement reiterates all passengers to have their identification ready, and the family get back in line.

In a waiting area, where seats are replaced by seamless white pods, a large group of priests arrive and welcome the passengers as brothers and sisters, asking them to join in prayer to repent the sins committed on Earth. One priest hands Sue a circle of bread and she drinks from the goblet. Paul does likewise, though Sue reaches over to him as he says he is scared. She tells him it will be all right as Marcus finishes his ritual.

The Ark's lander then launches into space, with a view from the ground revealing that the Mithraic have left dogs behind.

In the present day back on Kepler-22b, Mother takes off her blindfold and reveals black, empty sockets underneath. She inserts a replacement pair of eyes and then goes to remove a gadget from inside the body of the dead Mithraic android. Using what she removed, she inserts it in Father's comatose body. Suddenly, he awakens with a wild start. Mother calmly explains he just had a new processor installed, and he needs to stay calm less he undoes all her work. Father warns her that she must answer why she deactivated him and notices her new eyes. Gesturing to the decapitated head, she explains she had to replace her eyes for the sake of the children. Father echoes the last word, and she tells him that Campion and five more come from an Ark called Heaven. She tells him not to worry, as they will get it right this time.

Near the abyss hole, Marcus stretches out his hands for warmth and notices the long rope tethered nearby. Taking a chance, he wraps himself and lies near the edge, noting he feels better.

Carrying two large bodies, Father comments that they wanted to take Campion, though Mother does not want to discuss it any further as they have work to do. They drop the bodies in a hole at the foot of the skull, and as Mother begins to dig, she tells Father he can make a joke. He stares at her, and she tells him to stop. She says she never lost control - she just drew on a part of herself that she did not know existed. Her actions served the core goal, and he has nothing to be concerned about. Father wants to know if she destroyed her old eyes, though she did not as they might need it later. He concludes that she destroyed him on purpose, as she did not loser control per her words. Mother retorts that he lost control as he went against the mission. The Mithraic are every bit as vicious as their created programmed them to believe, Father thinks deeply.

Father enters the hut and awakens the five Mithraic children, welcoming them. Campion wakes up as well, and see his father smiling on him. Joyed, they hug. Father tells him to come and they head to the kitchen. Campion reveals Mother told him he broke down and she disposed on him. Father tells him the truth, and Campion says she killed everyone aboard and revealed she was a necromancer. Father tells him not to worry as she has disarmed herself, though Campion is dubious. Their argument earns the attention of the five children. Mother comes in just then, and she reminds her son that he wished for a real family. She reaches out to him, but he pulls back. She calms him to not worry about fitting in with them, but he has had enough and demands she stop pretending as if nothing happened. Mother gives a hard smile to the children.

The older girl of the group tries to console the younger crying one in prayer, but the middle one argues Sol will not protect them. The older boy says Sol helps those who help themselves and thinks they can escape. The middle girl replies they do not know anything about this planet, and the older boy tells him to shut up. Paul speaks up and says they should not fight as they will never survive. Mother announces dinnertime as the table is set, and the five tentatively sit as she assigns seats.

The older one, Holly, stops Vita, the youngest, from eating. Mother declares she and Father will care for them from now on, and that there will be no such religion allowed here. Thus, she orders the five to give them their Sol pendants. Tempest, the middle girl, is the first to fork it over and the rest follow suit. Mother warns them from straying far from the settlement as they could die easily. She reveals that once the children are acclimated, they will migrate to the tropical region where survival would be easier and where they can start their new, peaceful, atheistic civilization. Hunter chuckles, earning the silence of the group. Campion says to eat up, adding it is not poison.

In the igloo, Mother solemnly goes through old trinkets that remind her of the children they lost. Father says he replays his memories of the dead children, though Mother says they need to make new memories now. Father asks if she safely secured her other eyes. She gestures for him to sit and strokes the open slit in his suit. She says she wants to trust each other but asks him to respect what is hers. She smiles and moves the table aside. She says she is not hiding them and wants things to return as they were between them to his agreement. Opening a hidden hatch on the floor, he finds her eyes.

In the midday, Father finds Campion in the field, and the boy asks if she destroyed her eyes as Mother stops and looks at the pair. If not, they can throw them into a pit. Father tells him he will take care of it. Campion is unsure, though apologizes for questioning his father. Father fiercely tells him to never apologize for questioning him and that Father will do everything that is best for Campion. Father asks Campion to go to the other children. The boy is doubtful they will like him, though Father assures him they will - he is human.

Later at night, Campion gives Hunter a pile of blankets, adding it will keep them warm. He wordlessly takes the offer and throws them at the huddling girls. Campion rambles on about Mother making them new clothes until Hunter thanks him. Campion awkwardly says welcome, and the older boy questions him on Gavin, showing him the name on the blanket. Campion sadly says he got sick, all of them and points to a wall painting of their graves. He spots Paul's mouse and asks if they were all born on Earth. Paul replies they are 13 years older than they look - they were in hibernation for a long time. Campion is still fascinated by the mouse. Hunter tells Paul to let him hold it out, though Tempest tells him not to. Paul hands the mouse to Campion. Hunter cruelly asks if he wants to keep it, though Campion turns it down and tries to give it back to Paul. The smaller boy catches Hunter's hard glare and meekly replies he should have it. Hunter stands up, saying the other children did not just get sick - she killed them, as that is what a necromancer does. Hunter elaborates - she killed them without meaning to, and the male android, being a generic service model, will not be enough to protect them. Androids protect them and do their dirty work, so humans can stay pure. He asks Campion if he has seen how they look when they do not know they are being watched, and concludes that they do not want Campion to believe in Sol because of the power that will encircle him. He finally invites him to pray with them. Campion refuses, so Hunter tells him the least he can do is keep watch as they start to chant.

In the morning, Mother T-poses in the sun's light, but does not transform. She whips her head back and finds Campion peeking through the window. Investigating inside, she finds him with the live mouse. Campion explains that the children gave it to him. Mother finally replies that he is old enough to know what is best. Campion tells her to stop with the facial expressions as he knows they are not real, though Mother is confused. She demands Campion return the mouse to Paul, which he does so reluctantly. She escorts him outside, noting that he needs to show them how to farm.

Outside, Campion explains to them the techniques of farming near the serpent's skeleton. Tempest says they are not afraid of demanding work, as they come from military families except for Hunter. The idea of manual labor repulses the older boy, calling it a waste of his intelligence. He proudly exclaims his IQ of 205. Father overhears this, confirming Hunter as the smartest of the group and calls him over.

Father begins to explain an extremely complicated 'joke' that he eventually reveals as a paradox, to Hunter's amusement. He says he has more jokes for geniuses like him, though Hunter has become swayed and decides to join the others in the field.

At night, Mother leads a meditating session with the children, ordering them to close their eyes and think back to a time when they were blind, simple organisms floating in the oceans of Earth. Tempest, however, does not keep her eyes closed. Mother coldly asks to come with her, to her confusion and asks Campion to lead the session. The other four look at Campion for answers and he explains she will be fine.

Mother takes Tempest to the igloo, saying she is to sleep here from now on and could switch to house cleaning chores than out in the field. Tempest is confused as Mother states she needs constant monitoring and there is too much risk. Mother reveals that she knows Tempest is pregnant, though misconstrues her silence as fright. Tempest admits it was against her will while she was in hibernation. The Mithraic were supposed to execute her rapist, but Mother happened to have killed him already. She says she would have thanked her had she looked forward to seeing him die. He was a Heliodromus, the second-highest rank given in the Church. The thought of his baby growing inside her makes her want to die. Mother comforts her, encouraging her to think only of the baby as it is innocent. She says they will do it together.

Father practices more knock-knock jokes when he overhears a sinister grumbling noise. Behind him, a creature runs swiftly by, and he hears the howling. Mother and Tempest hear it as well. The former encourages the girl to sleep, and cracks open the secret hatch, though her eyes are missing. She meets up with Father and confronts him, and Father correctly points to Campion. He stops mother as she begins her way to the hut, saying he will manage it. Campion sees his father making a beeline for him and fakes his sleep, though Father does not buy it. He orders Campion to give him the eyes as there are intruders, though Campion yells that he would do something about it if his father were not. He refuses to give him the eyes, leading Father to pick him up and shake him. A small little bag falls, and Father grabs it before Campion does. He throws it to Mother, who walks outside.

She transformers into her metallic form, now in her necromancer mode. She flies outstretched in the air, surfing the site. Inside the igloo, Tempest wakes to the outline of the creature on the surface. Screaming, she runs outside. Before the creature can attack, a scream from Mother makes it burst into a ball of blood. Tempest runs as a second creature gives chase, though it dies in a second shriek by Mother before it lunges. Tempest glances up, but in a distorted voice, Mother warns her not to look and orders her inside the barracks. Father tells her the creatures are gone and asks her to cycle down. Mother gently floats down, questioning the appearance of animals despite having lived here for 12 years without threat. Taking off her eyes, Father comments looking at their remains had she left any. Mother thought they knew the region and the dangers, but they do not. She thanks Father, for not taking her eyes.

Returning to a metallic form, she floats high above the ground to keep watch.

Two of the same creatures find Marcus' still body near the edge of the abyss and push him into it. However, the rope keeps him from falling into the hole. Suddenly, soldiers from the Mithraic find his body and pull him up. They hoist him on a stretcher and make their journey through the barren wasteland.