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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.
All it takes is human empathy to accepted as a just person. Raised by Wolves‘s penultimate episode of its first season is titled “Umbilical,” written by series creator Aaron Guzikowski and directed by James Hawes (Doctor Who, Merlin, Penny Dreadful, Black Mirror).
Some minor spoilers ahead for those who have not yet seen this episode or the previous episodes of the series. If you have not done so, get to that now, then return to this article!
In this second-to-last episode of the first season to HBO Max’s newest science fiction drama television series, the characters of the show are seen nourishing their spiritual selves. As the second-shortest running episode so far, not much occurs but some interesting events appear nonetheless. Picking up where we left off, Marcus Drusus (Travis Fimmel) and his small group of Mithraic human survivors travel back to the mysterious religious temple to ask their god Sol how to locate Sue Drusus (Niamh Algar) and the children, who are soon reunited, perhaps by the entity himself.
At the Ark of Heaven’s scattered remains, Tempest (Jordan Loughran) runs into her sexual assaulter Otho (Brendan Murray, Danie Janse Van Rensburg, voiced by Adrian Schiller) and his “mobile prison system” android LEASH (Fadzai Simongo), but Mother (Amanda Collin) stops the girl from killing him. Tempest soon learns that her android caregiver has been impregnated by her creator while in the Mithraic shared simulation pod. Mother needs the rapist’s blood to feed her fetus, and she and the girl also learn that he needs to be within ten feet of LEASH in order to stay alive. However, when Otho later deceives them, he takes back the blood and Mother is in dire need of carbon and plasma, nearly killing her fetus. Tempest takes LEASH’s head and throws it far, causing Otho’s head within the bucket to burst, killing him.
Father (Abubakar Salim) is revealed to have not fully been brainwashed by the sun god, and his coded message “Sol is the light” is actually the password required to restore his system back to its proper state. Marcus subjects Hunter (Ethan Hazzard) to Sol’s fire after not revealing the whereabouts of the children and Sue, but the boy is revealed to the pure and truthful. He and Father sneak from the Mithraic members and flee in a jump ship, which they use to reunite with Mother, Sue, and the children. Crazed further by Sol, Marcus tries to sacrifice one of the survivors to the god, revealing to Lucius (Matias Varela) and the other Mithraic survivors that the Drusus man is a false follower. He knocks Marcus down a steep cliff, beats him unconscious, and feeds him an eyeball, causing the man to foam at the mouth.
Sue and Mother eventually bond over their struggles of being mothers to their children, despite the android knowing the human woman is an atheist who took on a Mithraic identity to flee Earth. Sue tells Mother than she is infertile and cherishes having Paul (Felix Jamieson) as a son, although still not having told him the truth. Mother responds, “I understand that sometimes we must lie to spare the feelings of humans.”
Campion (Winta McGrath) tells Paul of a sister who fell down a pit and her spirit returning to visit him. He hopes that if Paul’s pet Mouse had survived the fall down the pit, then his sister may still be alive in some capacity. Holly (Aasiya Shah) and Paul continue to believe Sol is guiding the group’s way, and the god even begins speaking to the latter through whispers in the wind. Paul tells Campion, “[Sol]’s not evil … He’s trying to help us; and this baby, it’s going to change everything.”
“Umbilical” is a usual title to give this episode, however it isn’t so bad as the main women of the series earn what they so desire. Mother and Sue begin to establish some sort of friendship, and Otho finally gets what he deserves, bringing closure to Tempest. The mothers and the children find what looks like metal tarot cards, so here’s to guessing what this soon serves as the series progresses. Meanwhile, Marcus is given a third eye, which could be the very end of him, but who knows?
What do you think of the series? 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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