The Raised By Wolves Colony Report: Sol's Servants Grow And A Serpent Returns

The second episode of season 2 of "Raised by Wolves" dropped alongside the premiere (read our recap for that episode here!), and thankfully was a little less dense than its predecessor. In episode 2, "Seven," some of the big questions left by the premiere were quickly answered and the series looks like it's starting to take direction. Then again, it's "Raised by Wolves," so everything could do a complete 180 by next week and no one would really be surprised. There's nothing as audaciously bonkers on television, and this week continued to up the ante with one of the series' weirdest moments yet.

In the premiere, we were introduced to the Collective, a colony of atheists living in the tropical zone of Kepler-22b. They are controlled by Quantum 6, a supercomputer created by the same designer as the android Mother (Amanda Collin). Opposite the atheists are the Mithraic survivors, led by Marcus (Travis Fimmel), who believes he is the chosen prophet of Sol. The two forces will battle for the right to rule Kepler-22b, as their ideologies are completely incompatible. Most of the colonists are just doing their best to survive, but there are lingering resentments between the atheists and the Mithraic survivors that aren't likely to go away any time soon. Then again, Kepler-22b and its native lifeforms might force the colonists to get over their petty differences, or die. 

Spoilers for season2, episode 2 of "Raised by Wolves" from here on out. 

This week kicks off with Mother having a quick conversation with Sue (Niamh Algar), who has remained at the colony despite threatening to leave. She explains that she was made Medic and was given access to the Collective's computers. She looked into the source of the voice that Mother, Marcus, and Paul (Felix Jamieson) have all been hearing and discovered that there's an electromagnetic field over the tropical zone that blocks the voice. Mother seems neither pleased nor unsettled by this knowledge, which is unsettling in itself. She then goes to get her assignment for the day and is instructed to be a "punisher," beating a man for his crimes on orders from Quantum 6. Later that evening, the man comes around to each of the living units and apologizes to the colonists. He apologizes to Mother, Father, and their brood, and Father is relieved that there is justice without the need for capital punishment. 

Campion (Winta McGrath), Mother's favorite child, tells Mother and Father about the items he and Paul found near the giant tree. Mother and Father decide to turn the hexagonal Mithraic artifact in, while they instruct Campion to return the stolen egg back to the nest. While he attempts to do so, he falls and breaks the egg, and his sibling, "Seven," the snake-baby, slithers out of the wilderness to check on him. The serpent has gotten much larger since Mother and Father tried to kill it, but it doesn't seem particularly aggressive. Mother goes to check on Campion and sees the serpent hovering over him and screams at it to leave. Without her laser eyes or her flight powers, she's not much use against the thing, but that's not going to stop her from trying. She checks on Campion as it flees, and in what might be one of the most bizarre moments in TV history, she begins to lactate from her six milk glands on her torso as she watches her snake-child fly away. She goes back to camp and informs them of the threat, then has Sue permanently seal her teats, informing her that it's no problem since she can no longer create life. Sue is hesitant, but Mother reminds her that even without her eyes she's better at protecting everyone from the snake creature than the humans. Everyone goes off to look for the serpent, and Mother takes a massive gun with her just in case. 

Meanwhile, Marcus is growing closer to his new recruit, Decima (Kim Engelbrecht). They discuss their faith and their possible future, and Marcus gives Decima some artifacts that may be able to guide them towards the Tree of Life. Later, Tamerlane (James Harkness), the man Mother punished, tries to escape the Collective, and Marcus and Decima go to rescue him. They find him before the atheists do and bring him back to their colony. He agrees to join their mission and quickly offers to sacrifice himself in the name of a mission to steal one of the atheists' tanks. Thankfully, he is able to stop the tank without injury, and Marcus quickly dispatches the atheist soldiers inside. This is all a little too much for Decima's android daughter, Vrille (Morgan Santo), who begins shutting down. Decima instructs Vrille to go back to the Cave and sleep, but along the way she is beset upon by another atheist tank. She manages to evade them and stumbles across Campion and Paul, who are both out looking for the serpent. She asks for their help — she injured her leg escaping the tanks — but they refuse. She offers to help them, explaining that she has tracking capabilities, and they relent.

The episode ends with Mother discovering the shed skin of her serpentine offspring. It's absolutely huge, which means snake-baby is still growing. She talks to it, telling her child that it is a beast and doesn't deserve her love or her tears the way her human children do — but she seems to be trying to convince herself of that as much as anyone else. She burns the skin, setting off to kill the terrifying thing she made. 

In the tropical zone, it looks like Quantum 6 is putting Mother to the test. His first task for her was to take care of the colony's children, something she thoroughly enjoys. Now, his task is for her to become a punisher, donning a Mithraic helmet and massive suit before beating the ever-loving crud out of Tamerlane. When she is given the command, it's with the explanation that they know she won't take joy in her task. Mother seems to enjoy hurting others, however, and doesn't mind doling out the punishment one bit. She is experiencing more and more human emotions, and she's not quite sure what to do with them. After she lactates, she asks Sue what to do with her feelings. 

"I assume you have had human emotions since birth," she says to Sue. "Unfortunately, yes," the medic replies, and Mother asks her for tips on how to suppress her feelings. Sue explains that she just pushes them down and keeps going, which isn't healthy but is what she knows how to do. Mother seems to take this advice to heart as she immediately sets out to kill her snake child after the conversation. 

Sue describes the tropical zone as "paradise" early in the episode, but it's clear that there are some real dangers lurking beneath the surface. The humans of the Collective seem to be decent enough people, but I have very little faith in Quantum 6. The punishments given seem unnecessarily harsh, and the computer's complete control over the Collective is unnerving. 

Over on Team Sol, things seem a little less dire. Sure, there are only three humans and one android up against a whole planet of things that want to kill them, but at least they have the power of faith! They also have a new recruit, which means they've exponentially increased their numbers. Tamerlane doesn't have quite as many useful skills as Decima or Vrille, but he's willing to put his life on the line in the name of Marcus' ideas, so that has to be good for something. Marcus seems downright gleeful this entire episode, which is just as unnerving as Mother's general demeanor. If Mother and Marcus ever decided to have a "creepiest facial expression" contest, we might all die from the resulting discomfort. 

The biggest problem facing Team Sol right now is that Vrille has been injured and is now wandering around with two members of the opposing faction, but they're all kids and will hopefully not start fighting among themselves. Campion isn't likely to do anything to hurt Vrille, and Paul is a fervent believer in Sol like her mother, so odds are good that they can get along. If Vrille reunites Paul with his father, Marcus, however, it would destroy whatever good morale the atheists have built, especially for his mother Sue and his adoptive mother, Mother. 

Where can we go from here? The hunt for snake-baby continues, and whoever finds it first is going to determine how things play out. The creature seems to have no interest in hurting Campion, so it would be interesting to see what happens if that trio stumbles across him first. With Vrille's tracking tech, they might. If Mother finds it, she's going to have to overcome her maternal love in order to take it out, and she's going to have to fight without her usual android superpowers. Either way, we're guaranteed to see more of the serpent soon. 

The tension in the Collective will continue to grow, and I see the potential for romance between Sue and Cleaver (Peter Christoffersen), the human leader of the Atheists who takes his orders from Quantum 6. There's some friendly history hinted at between the two, and they seem fond of one another. Sue deserves a break, okay? 

In the end, the battle may be a three-way bout between the humans and androids, Quantum 6, and the planet itself. Then again, maybe Sol is real and things are about to get even weirder. All I know is that I can't wait to see what the heck happens next week. 

New episodes of "Raised by Wolves" premiere Thursdays on HBO Max.