RAISED BY WOLVES Season 1: A Stylish & Intriguing Dystopian SciFi

Using technology, in particular artificial intelligence, to examine humanity and to comment on the current state of our society isn’t something that pop culture hasn’t done before. In HBO’s head-scratching Westworld, the lives of sentient and rebellious robots are explored to investigate the nature of free-will, while in AMC’s underrated Humans, it’s parenthood, race, and prejudice that become the main topics of the story. Even long before these two TV shows, Steven Spielberg has also examined human emotions and the future of humanity through his misunderstood 2001 film, A.I Artificial Intelligence.

And the latest to join on the trend is Raised by Wolves, HBO Max’s epic dystopian sci-fi from the mind of Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners). At its core, the show attempts to address the same subject that its predecessors have all tried to tackle before: the self-destructive nature of humanity from the perspective of A.I. But it does so in ways that are exciting and stylish. So even when some parts get overtly familiar throughout the season, it always finds a way to keep you hooked, thanks to Guzikowski‘s intriguing script, mesmerizing world-building, and solid direction from its talented directors (the first two episodes are directed by Ridley Scott, who also serves as an executive producer).

Being Parents In A Land of Despair

Taking place in a distant future, where Earth has been destroyed in a war between religions, Raised by Wolves centers its story around two sentient androids, Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), who are tasked with raising six human children on a mysterious virgin planet named Kepler-22b. When we first meet them, they have just arrived on the planet with nothing but a determination to raise and protect these children. But it doesn’t take long until their determination turns into fear and paranoia when the children die one by one, some due to mysterious illness and some others in an accident.

Only one child survives. His name is Campion (Winta McGrath), and he makes sure that he does everything Mother and Father tell him to do so that he won’t end up with the same fate as his other siblings. But of course, that’s easier said than done, especially when you live on a mysterious planet with dangerous creatures lurking at every corner and another colony who says that the two parental figures in your life will be a danger to you once they malfunction, which is not a lie at all. The human-like androids in the show can indeed get pretty vile when they start to lose grip of their reality. Even in Mother’s case, it doesn’t need a malfunction to show how terrifying she might get; one small threat is enough to turn her into a powerful, killing-machine with an ability to destroy everything and everyone in the blink of an eye.

The arrival of this colony from a surviving Mithraic community, as well as the revelation of Mother’s power, is what sets the plot of season one in motion. And in a classic sci-fi way, tension starts to arise and conflicts get pretty complicated real soon, mostly after the introduction of a character named Marcus (Travis Fimmel), a member of the Mithraic community whose son, Paul (Felix Jamieson), along with a few other children, is taken away by Mother after she single-handedly destroyed his community’s ark and kill everyone inside in cold blood.

This basic premise and the conflict between Mother and Marcus may not sound very exciting, and it’s obviously one that we’ve heard of before. But Raised by Wolves, despite this familiarity and its deliberate pace, always knows how to keep things inventive and intriguing each episode, especially when it zooms in on its exploration of parenthood through how Mother and Marcus act to protect their children throughout the season. Yes, humanity isn’t the only subject that Raised by Wolves focuses on; it also examines parental love, how parents are willing to do everything, including sacrificing themselves, to make sure that their children are safe. And this element, in particular, is what makes the show feel poignant despite its violent and gritty tone, with compelling performances from the cast drilling home the show’s emotional impulse even more.

Fimmel‘s performance as Marcus is driven by masculinity, but at the same time, it’s also filled with enough vulnerability that makes his portrayal all the more complex. Collin is also remarkable as Mother, conveying both the robotic nature of an A.I and the human qualities of a mother in an exceptional way. Her performance in episodes five and six, in particular, is a standout. Though the rest of the ensemble isn’t given the same meaty materials as the two aforementioned actors, at least in the first six episodes that are available for review, they each have done enough to bring more flavors to the story, especially McGrath who’s showing so much potential in his performance as Campion.

A Stunning Technical Work

The greatest achievement of the show, however, isn’t its philosophical exploration of humanity and parenthood, or the cast performances, but it’s from the technical aspect. Right from the get-go, Raised by Wolves offers us a world that looks equally mesmerizing and terrifying. It’s dry and gorgeous at the same time. And it’s obvious that the universe where the show takes place, which is designed and built by Tom McCullagh and Chris Seagers, is highly influenced by Ridley Scott‘s Alien.

What’s fascinating about the show’s production design is how minimalistic it actually is. Throughout the first six episodes of the season, the show mostly only takes place in three major locations: the desert in which Mother and Father live, the dark forest surrounding Kepler-22b, and the ruin of the post-war world. Yet all these three locations are crafted meticulously, and enough to evoke a sense of dystopian grim that Guzikowski is clearly trying to accomplish in the first place.

Ross Emery and Erik Messerschmidt‘s stellar cinematography captures that grimness even more. The visual is gray-ish, but never too dark or disengaging just for the sake of making the story grittier. There are even some interesting angles and attractive shots in the show’s action sequences, with Ben Frost, who was previously in charge of the music in Netflix’s Dark, doing a wonderful job of inducing the show with enough tension and a feeling of discomfort throughout every scene.

Final Thought

In the end, Raised by Wolves may not say something new about humanity and technology that other shows and movies about sentient androids haven’t said before. But it doesn’t necessarily make it unappealing. The stunning technical work, the solid performances from the cast — especially from Collin and Fimmel — as well as its intriguing examination of parenthood, are enough to hook you in every episode.

What do you expect will happen in the first season? Let us know in the comments below!

Raised by Wolves season is set to premiere on HBO Max on September 3, 2020.

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