| “ | No matter how hard you work to keep them safe, Mother, in the end, they will always destroy themselves. Over and over and over again. They have no future. They are antiques, chained to time. Their lives are only dying. But you, you are eternal. Pure as the expanse of space. | ” |
| — Campion Sturges | ||
Lost Paradise is the sixth episode of the first season of HBO Max's science fiction drama television series, Raised by Wolves. It premiered on September 17, 2020.
Synopsis[]
After rekindling her connection to her creator, Mother finds herself distracted by intense feelings she didn’t know she was capable of having, unaware that Marcus, Sue and the Mithraic are closing in on the settlement.[3]
Plot[]
Mother’s Secrets[]
Mother continues to relive her memories from her time with her maker. Pausing the simulation, she passes through her own holographic to meet Campion's kiss on the lips. She watches as Campion gives her the title of “Mother for humanity”, she wakes and ponders for a bit, before returning to the settlement with renewed vigor.
Of course, watching from the wings are Marcus and the others. Marcus notes Paul seems happy. Sue has been wondering what they should tell him when they get him back. Marcus is resolute about telling him the truth. Sue sarcastically recommends admitting to shooting his parents and lying for 13 years about it, but that they love him. Marcus says he will tell him once they reach the tropical zone. Sue doubts Marcus' intentions, but he clarifies he loves him as much as she does. Sue wants to grab Paul immediately, but her husband warns Mother will come after them. Just then, Mother flies above and they take cover. He notes she takes the same flight path every day and intends to find out where she goes. He is not the only one either – Father questions her long absences when she arrives, questioning her loyalty to the children given she is gone for such lengthy periods, as she is missing vital imprinting time. He also recommends he spend time with him as well, giving her a new joke. As Mother walks away, she catches Hunter watching and encourages him to join the conversation next time.
Tempest compliments Vita's new doll, asking if she made it. Vita reveals Tally taught her how to make it, leaving the older girl confused as Tally is dead. Mother comes in, revealing it is bedtime. She asks Tempest if she is feeling positive about her baby, though she snaps the answer is the same. Mother demands she reiterate her promise to never try to commit suicide again. Mother asks her to sleep, remaking nightmares are only thoughts. However, she retorts her nightmares are real and happened, and she cannot close her eyes without feeling it happening again. Mother smiles at Tempest's question of whether she cannot experience nightmares, replying she has complete control over her mind's function. Tempest as least wonders if she wishes for dreams - Mother answers she only serves, not wishes. Tempest quietly pleads she stay with her, to Mother's affirmation.
In the morning, the children are collecting firewood with Father in the grove. Father asks Paul what he is doing trying to uproot a small tree - the little boy says he wants it to be a surprise. Paul catches Campion burying the creature's bones - he reiterates animals do not have souls. Campion, however, has come to believe everything has souls - even Mother and Father, as well as trees. Paul disagrees, remembering what his father told him from the scriptures. They both agree that while they do not have to share the same beliefs, they can be friends.
Father approaches Hunter, who sits and does not help. He stirs the pot further by planting seeds of doubt in Father’s mind, asking if he figured out where Mother goes. He tells him Mother is lying and tries to convince him to find out quite what about. He still extends his offer to fix Father up, but Father simply drops the branches he is carrying into Hunter's arms. Just before he leaves, Hunter notices a discarded ration tin lurking behind the rocks and realizes they are not alone. He does not tell Father though and instead stashes the tin in his coat pocket.
Campion and Paul later gather at a table, solving a riddle for the latter with Mother presiding. Campion boasts it took him 23 minutes to solve, slightly after than the average human. However, Paul solves it under a minute, upsetting the other boy.
Later that night, Hunter looks over the cup and shows it to Holly when she confronts him. Realizing they are not alone, Hunter deduces there are survivors, and they are on the verge of rescue. Holly worries about Mother and Father, as she had grown to like them and does not wish to get them hurt. Hunter tells it is only a matter of time before she kills them, but Holly does not believe him.
Nightmares & Dreams[]
The Mithraic arrive in the forest. Lucius takes the moment to speak up and express his gratitude at Marcus for forgiving his father for his sin. Marcus asks if he knows the real story. Lucius replies he knows only what is on the report. Encouraging him to elaborate to fill in the holes, Lucius recalls Marcus' platoon found a female atheist child solider. Lucius' father took her prisoner instead of killing her right away, but she detonated a suicide vest and killed half his squad. In retaliation, Marcus himself executed his father. Lucius says he is grateful that he took the honor to kill him and asks if there was any more to the story. Marcus stiffly replies to not mention it. Lucius says he takes it upon himself to be vigilant and not repeat his father's weakness. Marcus fiercely says his father was not weak, but Sue's call on the intercom interrupts the conversation.
Sue has found the pod, and speculates that Mother was scavenging for parts. Marcus checks the other side and declares that she has been directly interfacing despite her being an android. Checking the systems under the pod's cushion, he discovers her shortest simulation has been over two hours. Given she does not have her senses and is at her most vulnerable in that state, he victoriously says that is how they are going to get her.
Mother, meanwhile, hums as she scans the cave paintings drawn in the igloo's cubicles. Suddenly, she spots an image previously not there, reminding her of when she kissed her creator in the Simulation. She begins to furiously smudge at it.
Fighting[]
Paul shows Campion off what he built - a trap so that no one becomes hurt while hunting the animals. He apologizes, as he can no longer stomach that fungus. Campion thought Paul did not want to kill the creatures. However, Paul still wants to eat. The rest of the group come in, asking what Paul has. Paul uses a long bone to show off how the trap works. Hunter is dubious he built that by himself, though Paul states would not have been possible had Campion not found the bait. Campion angrily rejects the whole idea and proceeds to punch and attack Paul. Father pulls him off and drags him to Mother.
Father brings Campion before Mother and forces him to admit what he has done. Her mind initially elsewhere, she scolds him. The two discuss morality and the nature of violence. Campion venomously asks how many people she has killed, but Mother states he is better than her. He says he will commit violence again, to Mother's anger. Given her history of killing, she is not one to give out this advice and Campion knows it. Mother orders him to apologize to Paul, and when he leaves, Mother confronts Father. Believing he is the one who sketched on the wall, she asks if he has been following her. It is in Tally’s style and she questions him about the pod. Checking his dumbfounded expression, Mother eventually realizes Father is not the one responsible, though he is curious about what she has been up to. Wordlessly, she leaves the settlement.
This brings her back to the pod, alerting the Mithraic. She enters the Simulation. Outside, the soldiers bless themselves. Inside, she starts talking to the computer about the simulation, receiving confirmation. She shows signs of distrust and asks the computer various questions about who else has been accessing the simulation. She at first questions if the user is the computer itself, and then if the user is currently inside. Receiving no answer, she finds a hologram of her creator, the original Campion who admits to everything.
Mother is convinced that the hologram is a virus. She believes it has infected her system, convinced she is malfunctioning. The figure of Campion explains how she wants emotions and everything else human, yet when asked her exactly what she wants, she says to succeed the mission. The hologram goes on to tell her that the humans have no future and are only worth dying. Calling her eternal and pure as space, she finally admits she wants him. The computer inside the pod starts kissing her, and they physically touch.
Outside the Simulation, Marcus approaches and kneels beside the unconscious Mother, checking to make sure she is unresponsive. He plants the explosives and has Otho standing with the cell ready to try and destroy the android. Inside, Mother experiences the euphoria of a sexual encounter with the image of her creator. Suddenly the Simulation erupts into a bright light and liquefies her surroundings. She wakes inside the simulation as if nothing had occurred. She senses the primary cell at work and tries to fight it. However, her powers do not work against the dish and she passes out. As she does, Marcus asks the soldiers to detonate the explosives. Only, it does not work, and something goes wrong.
As the ground starts shaking, Mother lifts into the air and turns into her Necromancer form. Marcus and the others back up in fear as she screams at the soldiers, blasting shock waves toward them. Eventually, she races off into the distance.
Under Attack[]
Back at the settlement, Sue is keeping an eye on Paul. She tries to get a hold of Marcus but gets no answer. Unable to wait no more, she appears from their hiding place and runs, soldiers following in her steps.
Inside, Father makes their next meal, the oldest children with him. Campion encounters Vita and asks what she is doing. She replies she is playing hide-and-seek with Tally. Campion asks her to stop it, and Vita storms off. However, Campion suddenly sees a figure run behind him. Convinced it was Tally, he chases after her but loses sight of the figure. Vita, meanwhile, enters the igloo and tells her doll she is not lying. However, her attention diverts to the drawing on the wall, which blackens into a different, new image that frightens her.
Sue grabs Paul inside the mill. They fiercely embrace, and by the arm, she forces him to run.
Father, however, leaves the house, sensing that something is up. He urgently sends the older children to the lander and starts calling out for everyone. Gunshots pierce the air and soldiers close in on their location. The other kids herd Campion into the lander, and Vita safely tucks inside the igloo. The bullets whistle past Father as he races around the complex to outflank them. Using Paul's trap to kill one soldier and using another as a human shield, Father enters to hut to grab Vita and return to the lander. Leaving Vita, he says he will find Paul and commands them to find Mother if he does not come back. They watch as the soldiers start closing in on Father.
This leads Father to begin taking out the soldiers in a massive gunfight. Only, Hunter betrays the android and through the intercom tells the soldiers that Father is on top of the silo. As bullets continue to rain down, Father collapses on the floor. Campion, unable to witness it, tries to flee but Tempest and Holly hold him back. The remaining two soldiers reached the weakened android, but Mother arrives in time, killing a soldier. Lucius escapes, but Mother stops to check Father, hurt in a bad way.
Joyfully reunited with Marcus, Paul jumps into his arms. He asks about Lucius and the others, and she replies either dead or running. Sue thought he was dead, to which he snaps of course she did. Sue is adamant about running, though Marcus knows it is futile. He asks Paul to head into the settlement as a spy, though Sue begs him not to. Paul, however, complies and Marcus gives him a blade. Paul decides to return, to Sue's sorrow.
Paul watches in silence as Mother starts removing all the bullets from Father, with the other children gathered around. Campion gets up and accuses Hunter of betrayal, supported by Tempest. Holly reluctantly takes Hunter's side. Meanwhile, amidst the chaos of the fight, Paul breaks the necklace from Mother and rushes out of the settlement with it. She gives chase, begging Paul not to do this. Marcus, lying in wait, impales her with an axe to the chest.
Spewing white liquid from her mouth, Marcus continues to slash at the android. Just before Marcus delivers the killing blow, however, a strange voice accompanied with a chorus of whispers in the air tells him to let her live. Could this be Sol?
Marcus approaches his wife and son, telling Paul to come to him. Opening his hand, Paul gives him the necklace. They embrace Paul, crying into his shoulder. He calls him a good boy.
Cast[]
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