UNION OF THE SNAKE

ALL BACK TO KEPLER-22B TO CELEBRATE MOTHER’S NEWBORN IN RAISED WOLVES SEASON TWO

BRYAN CAIRNS

TALK ABOUT IMMACULATE conception. Raised By Wolves’ first season culminated with the somehow pregnant android Mother giving birth to a massive flying snake. This bonkers twist is par for the course for the sci-fi series, centred on two robots seeking refuge on the desolate planet Kepler-22b. In the future, the Earth’s been ripped apart by religious wars between atheists and the Mithraic, who worship the sun god Sol. Tasked with rebuilding an atheist human civilisation, Mother and Father must raise a brood of young children.

But the divisions between man and machine, faith and godlessness – not to mention monsters lurking in the dark – threaten to jeopardise their plans. When Raised By Wolves returns, it picks up several months after Father and Mother unsuccessfully attempted to destroy her creepy offspring in a pool of magma… and were left for dead in the aftermath.

TRUST ISSUES

“In season two, I kind of see this planet as a haunted house,” showrunner Aaron Guzikowski tells SFX. “The mystery is the engine in terms of what pulls us into the whole story. In season two, we go into the Tropical Zone on the other side of the planet. We are starting to get into a lot more of the relics and remnants of this civilisation that once stood here long ago; who these people were, and what this technology was that they were using, this technology that you actually grow – it’s more akin to farming than engineering.

“Last year, we discovered the creatures on the other side of the planet used to be human beings,” he adds. “The same goes for this side of the planet, except the devolved creatures on this side are marine creatures. Opposed to hiding in the subterranean darkness, they fled to the water.”

It doesn’t take long for Mother, Father and their dysfunctional family to reunite. Thought to have been burned to a crisp at the core of the planet, the two androids were actually transported to another region, the Tropical Zone. Coincidentally, the children end up there as well.

“The kids have been captured by these atheists, who are setting up this huge colony,” Guzikowski says. “The Tropical Zone is the most bountiful part of the planet, where everyone wants to plant their flag. They join this atheist colony, which is run by a supercomputer called the Trust.

“It’s this special kind of organic computer that cannot be reprogrammed. It can just give you the answer that will benefit the most people. It can’t lie. It’s supposed to be the perfect leader. There’s actually some connection between this supercomputer and Mother.”

As the family joins this collective, Mother comes to discover that her serpent baby is still alive, and targeting the colony. And there’s other trouble in paradise: Mother finds the creative and intellectual calibre of the community quite disappointing.