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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Would you give up your faith in exchange for a new religion? Raised by Wolves‘s second episode is titled “Pentagram,” written by series creator Aaron Guzikowski and directed by executive producer Ridley Scott.
Some spoilers ahead for those who have not yet seen this episode or the pilot episode. If you have not done so, get to that now, then return to this article!
In this second episode of HBO Max’s newest science-fiction drama, Mother (Amanda Collin) returns to Kepler-22b with a group of five surviving Earth-born human beings. Father (Abubakar Salim) is brought back to life, and Campion (Winta McGrath) is urged to befriend his fellow human.
Marcus Drusus (Travis Fimmel) is given a backstory and some development in the former half of this episode. He and his partner Sue (Niamh Algar) were originally Caleb (Jack Hawkins) and Mary (Sienna Guillory) but had to take on new human identities with the help of an android (Carel Nel)’s plastic surgeon skills. By doing so, they meet united with their counterparts’ son Paul (Felix Jamieson) to depart from Earth and into space. In the present, Marcus is separated from them and left alive on the extrasolar planet, unbeknownst to Mother.
Paul is separated and joined by other humans — Vita (Ivy Wong), Holly (Aasiya Shah), Tempest (Jordan Loughran), and Hunter (Ethan Hazzard) — who are “rescued” by Mother. She has taken human eyes to try and blend in with the newcomers, although she has them relinquish their Eartlhy religion in order to acclimate to her established atheistic civilization and matriarchal household environment. This is indicative of the colonist mindsets of societies in which only one belief system should exist. In juxtaposition, Father establishes himself more as a benevolent godlike figure to the humans, especially his son, to whom he tells, “Never hesitate to question me, Campion, but you have to accept the answers I give and have faith that I will always do what’s best for you.” Similar to the God from the Bible, Father gives his son reassurance that everything will be alright.
This episode of Raised by Wolves introduces a diverse cast of characters, some of whom share their own personal background. Hunter is the most intelligent of the group, while Tempest has been (or felt) sexually violated while in hibernation, having been taken advantage of during a shared simulation; every one of the surviving humans except the former has come from military families.
The children are terrified of Mother and the knowledge that she is an android, specifically a Necromancer, which is “built for mass extermination.” Hunter tells Campion:
Androids were built to protect us, to do our dirty work so we can stay pure. If they had feelings, they’d be useless. Have you ever seen how they look when they don’t know they’re being watched? See, the reason why they don’t want you to believe in [the humans’ religion] is because they’re afraid of what it’s going to open your eyes to, the power it will give you.
Mother develops some subjectivity as an android but deindividuates the humans when she prompts them to give up what identifies their very being. In a conversation with Father, she says, “I never lost control; I just drew on a part of myself I didn’t know existed.”
“Pentagram” gets its name from the five individual human children who represent their Earthly religion, although not particularly a Christian one, yet is one which is symbolized by a star-shaped polygon. The episode introduces the arrival of outsiders and intruders, such as more human survivors and extraterrestrial creatures on the Kepler-22b planet. It also goes in-depth on a possible post-apocalyptic Earth over a century into the future, where the looks of things are devoid of life and color.
What do you think of the series so far? Have you seen the show yet? Let us know! For more science-fiction, drama, HBO Max, and Raised by Wolves-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_).
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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