Raised by Wolves is a science fiction drama series developed by HBO and streamed on HBO Max. Famously proposed by Ridley Scott, it was intended as an introspective, almost arthouse masterwork.

The show’s premise is two androids, Mother and Father, crash land on planet Kepler-22b. They are atheists, fleeing an Earth ravaged by a war between atheists and the Mithraic, worshippers of the deity Sol. The androids carry human embryos, intending to start afresh. The first season opens as Mother, Father and Campion, their one surviving child, juggle the impending arrival of the Mithraic ark, survival and learning the mysteries of their new world. 

Early episodes of season one establish the characters and the bleak but not inhospitable world. The later episodes focus more on the Mithraic and emerging mysteries. Flashbacks expand characters’ backgrounds, such as Mother’s interaction with her creator, and develop the setting. The second season introduces an atheist ark. 

While there is a large ensemble cast, Raised by Wolves focuses on three main characters: Mother, Campion and Marcus, an atheist who replaced an ark crew member to escape Earth. Each is the focus of a theme.

Mother explores the ethics of artificial life, along with Father and later Vrille and Grandmother. She struggles with the human demands of raising children and defending atheist beliefs and her in-human capabilities as a necromancer, a military android impervious to most weapons and capable of gruesome and graphic destruction. She is the target and instrument of humanity’s negativity. Most humans see androids as disposable tools in Raised by Wolves. However, Mother has the firepower to demand respect. 

Mother also contrasts with Father. They invert the stereotyped sexual roles, unlike Marcus and his partner. Mother is the protector while Father is compassionate. She is single-minded and devoted to the atheist cause. He is more pragmatic. Both actors give great performances, personifying a slight unease amongst humans without the autism-like portrayals of yesteryear.

Campion explores self-determination. Without the biases from old Earth, Campion views Mother’s atheism and the Mithraic religion with fresh eyes. 

Campion is inclusive, as expected by contemporary culture. He eventually admires the Mithraic optimism and dedication but rejects their exclusory dogma. He concludes androids have souls and deserve an equal place with humans in society, although the story arc with Vrille feels superficial and rushed. 

Marcus follows the most circuitous route, exploring the impact of blind faith and the dangers of relying on things you do not understand. Raised as a child soldier, Marcus’s experience and trauma always emphasized pragmatism and survival. 

After arriving on Kepler-22b, Marcus is subject to apparently religious revelations and visions. Unprepared, he succumbs and villanizes Mithraism. We slowly learn the mysterious force guiding him may not be coherent or benevolent, mainly by looking through his eyes.

All three characters explore the meaning and implications of family. Whether it be Campion’s relationship with his android “parents” or Marcus’s love for his adopted child, the characters constantly weigh up competing demands. Mother and Father have similar goals but their different approaches drive tension. It shows how parents’ histories impact their children but also childrens’ resilience.

Unfortunately, while introducing many wonderful opportunities to examine these themes, Raised by Wolves comes to few conclusions or answers. The resolutions are either driven by short term goals like survival or complicated by the wider deus ex machina.

Raised by Wolves relies heavily on symbolism and imagery. However, the show avoids offence by not veering too close to any real-world religion or entity and keeping references varied.

Abrahamic religious symbolism is frequent, like serpents, virgin birth, resurrection, the tree of knowledge, the ark concept and Mother’s crucifixion-like flying pose. This imagery gives the show a tinge of credibility and biases our initial reactions subtly, particularly Western audiences.

Other references invoke a romanticism for myths and legends. Mithraism was a religion observed in the Roman Empire before Christianity, and Sol (the sun) was one of its deities. Mother feeding her embryos is reminiscent of a wolf feeding her cubs. This is just like the mythical founding of Rome, where a she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, and is a direct reference to the show’s title.

Lamia, Mother’s other name, is the name of a child-eating monster from Greek mythology, and who could also remove her eyes. This dichotomy questions Mother’s motives, especially as she makes a few dubious decisions in season one.

The use of symbolism goes on. The message cards left by ancient humans are traditional symbols of chance or luck. Mithraic vehicles and clothing are always white, a colour of purity and good contrasting with its genocidal view of atheists. The Mithraic dodecahedron is more reminiscent of science fiction, reminding us this is futuristic.

The technology in Raised by Wolves is also magic or mythic, capable of creating life-like human androids, holographic displays, exhaustless flight and immersive, realistic simulations. Interaction is through voice or hand gestures. There are no buttons, dials or switches and nothing mechanical like gears, levers or wheels. Even medicine is automated. Technology falls into the “uncanny valley”, where objects are recognisable but unusual enough to be unsettling. Its presence constantly removes the characters from the present day.

Raised by Wolves is a stream of “Genesis moments,” as if humanity is playing God by creating and manipulating life. Technology in Raised by Wolves is almost organic, like androids’ fuel blood, the internals of the Trust or repairing Grandmother. No character is a technology expert. While it can be damaged or destroyed, the show’s technology does not need regular maintenance. When we see repairs, they are done by a medic, not by a technician. Perhaps humanity’s utilitarian view of its life-like technology mimic’s the entity’s view of humanity.

Unfortunately, both seasons sometimes seem directionless. The character interactions and world-building consume a lot of screen time. In a world where Raised by Wolves’ contemporary shows demonstrate strict economy, Raised by Wolves either gets frequently distracted or focuses on seemingly less important or relevant points.

Raised by Wolves also abuses strawmen arguments by asserting that atheists would always create new gods to follow, like the Trust in season two. Rather than being a benevolent dictator, like the minds of Ian M. Bank’s Culture series, the Trust is manipulative and insincere. Without the Trust, the second season depicts atheists as ill-disciplined rabble and incapable of populating a new world. Perhaps the writers wanted to be even-handed, but they missed the mark if the writers intended metaphors for real-world religious conflict.

It is almost as if Raised by Wolves is a future Mithraic bible dramatization. It deemphasizes details the unseen author feels unimportant and focuses on parables to emphasize subtle points of wisdom.

Raised by Wolves frustrates me. It deals with relevant, timely themes in a novel setting that allows safe exploration. However, the sometimes meandering plot, reliance on strawman arguments and situational conclusions mean it does not realize its potential. Perhaps there is more to come, which will tie it all together, or its point is there are no easy answers to difficult questions.

However, Raised by Wolves excels at promoting thought. The symbolism and imagery are deliberate and the layers deep. I find myself constantly reevaluating what I watched. Maybe its real achievement is promoting discussion into its real intent and meaning via our introspection.