Control
Episode 4 of Raised by Wolves Season 2 begins with Marcus thanking Paul for coming to warn them. Paul’s faith is clearly wavering, and he calls out Sue for being an atheist and how she’s beyond redemption. As he steps up though, strange particles lift from the bag and he immediately starts breaking out into hives. It turns out The Trust have actually put a bio-bomb in his mouse, which explains what’s happening. Marcus brings Paul outside and under Sol’s light, trying to save him from the infection which continues to spread. Eventually Paul loses consciousness. Marcus realizes the real fight was actually this cowardly chemical attack, with the mouse used to try and wipe them all out. Marcus encourages the others to keep the faith, deciding to move them all away while he stays with Paul, intending to pray to Sol for help. Campion is convinced that Mother wasn’t part of this and hurries off back to the Trust. Decima follows, with orders to bring him back. She’s then followed too to make sure she follows protocol. Meanwhile, Father uses his newly won fuel to try and bring the android he’s working on to life. Despite dousing the skeletal remains in fuel, it doesn’t seem to make any difference. That is, until Father leaves. In his absence, the fuel is absorbed. Out by the lake, Decima catches up with Campion. Only, she’s grabbed and pulled into the acidic water but a strange creature. Thankfully Campion manages to save her, bashing this strange creature in the head with a rock. However, Campion is soon shot at and forced to flee, straight back into camp where he tells Mother about Paul’s sickness. Unfortunately in the process of this, Decima is seen as not following direct orders and forced to pay for it. The other Believers hold her down as Vrille slashes at her wildly. In doing so, she takes off a layer of skin to reveal the cold, synthetic remains of the android underneath. As Decima jumps off the cliff, Vrille watches in stunned silence. Mother shows up to see Paul and decides to take him back to the Trust. Marcus is having none of that though, encouraging her to back off given he needs prayer. As the two inevitably skirmish, Mother comes out victorious and realizes Marcus has her Necro-eyes in his stomach. After extracting them, she replaces her real eyes and scoops up Campion, turning back into her Necromancer form and heading to the Trust. They’re given orders to shoot to destroy but of course, with Mother’s eyes back, she’s fully weaponized. Mother thwarts their threat, brushing off the soldiers and forcing them to open the doors. With the collective’s algorithm fixed and allegedly no antidote for this infection, Mother regrettably shuts the great machine down, plunging the central core into darkness. The thing is, this causes absolute chaos as the Trust are fractured and unsure what to do. Mother tries to step up as leader – at least until another human leader is chosen anyway – but that too falls on deaf ears. Some of the crowd murmur discontent, refusing to follow another machine and walk away. In camp, Father heads back into the shed and finds the strange skeletal remains gone. Father believes that Mother has taken it away… until he opens the doors and stares upon the brilliant orange light of this humanoid creature.
The Episode Review
So it seems like Father has awoken another strange creature on this planet as the plot continues to thicken. We’ve got three different creatures here now, which complicates matters considerably. The acid water monsters, this orange glowing thing and then the serpent that’s still stuck in the cave and makes a random cameo appearance. The story this time centers on Marcus losing Mother’s necro-eyes and Mother gaining back her strength and combat skills, using them to protect her family and thwart the Trust. It’s certainly ironic that they’re called the “trust” given there’s been very little of it toward the kids. The fate of Paul is still unknown at this point and with there allegedly being no antidote, I have a feeling that’s going to fall on either the serpent or the glowing-creature to come up with a solution. However, we’re 5 episodes in and this series is every bit as mysterious as it was the first time around. The trouble is, mystery and atmosphere will only get you so far and this season’s story feels unfocused and somewhat muddled. Let’s hope we get a clearer roadmap of what’s happening as the season progresses.
