Raised by Wolves Season 2: TV’s Most Uniquely Bizarre Series Remains a Glorious Sci-Fi Journey

One of the best perks critics get is access to screeners, or episodes of TV shows before they are generally released. A pitfall to this, though, is that they usually don’t come with with subtitles or “previously on,” which can be a problem. While HBO Max’s fantastically bonkers Raised by Wolves doesn’t necessarily need subtitles (although I would argue everything needs subtitles), a “previously on” is something you really can’t do without. It’s been almost a year and a half since the refreshingly unique sci-fi series first aired, and not only has a lot happened in that time generally speaking, the show itself is completely nuts. I went back and re-read my thoughts on the Season 1 finale as a refresher, and that helped a little; but frankly I still found it a steep journey back to understanding even half of what was happening in front of me. And honestly, that’s ok. Raised by Wolves asks you to trust it, and so far it’s earned the right to do so.

As you may (or may not) recall, Raised by Wolves began by introducing us to two increasingly human-like androids in shiny spandex, Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), tasked with caring for and raising a host of children transferred via pods after the destruction of Earth. In this far future, Earth is annihilated by two warring factions: Atheists versus the devout followers of a God called Sol, known as Mithraics. The children were meant to be raised in a utopian atheistic community overseen by Father and Mother, as some of the only remaining survivors of the war.

But from the start, Raised by Wolves began subverting expectations. The religious Mithraics were not anti-tech; they embraced it, building androids and using them in their society. And the utopian atheist community? Almost all of the children were killed as of the first episode. But Raised by Wolves didn’t take sides; over and over again, it showed how fanaticism on either side is dangerous.

That general fabric of belief versus unbelief constantly simmers throughout the show’s return (the first three episodes of which were watched for review), but it never overpowers the narrative. There is a lot at play here between androids and humans, between various kinds of androids and various kinds of humans, between the rigidity of a “just” society and the relative freedom of a burgeoning cult. But once again, Raised by Wolves grounds these grand ideas with its excellent storytelling, balancing constantly expanding mythology with constantly evolving characters. And somehow, it all kinda makes sense.

There are some major changes, the biggest of which is that everyone has moved from the hostile desert region of the planet Kepler-22b to the Tropical Zone, a much more welcoming environment, but one ruled by an Atheistic collective. This of course delights Mother, while her new set of Sol-worshipping children (and those who remain on the fence) aren’t so sure. Though the AI that rules this human community, known as The Trust, instructs everyone to accept these new citizens, our heroes are met with hostility. At the same time, they are getting to eat tons of fruit, play video games, and have their own beds, so… how bad is it, really?