Praise Sol as the show penetrates the mainstream! Joined by Season Two renewal news and an energizing focus on Fall TV,  the show is developing and merging its own fandom on Reddit. I came into this week’s episode of Raised By Wolves with the most energy and excitement yet. Episode 5’s flashback of Campion the creator and Mother’s romance was a heart breaker, yet I begin to worry about the negative aspects of Ridley Scott’s production seeping in: firmly established characters making dumb decisions in the way of plot mechanics.

RBW has many distinguishable and interesting characters but given the grand scope of its first two episodes I am suspect that this is a premise a la Counterpart, that might exhaust its premise after one season.

Father at this point, has become the most fascinating character. He is one of the few Sci-Fi drones who has become enriched, not cheapened by being brought back to life and achieves a level of resonance like Teddy (James Marsden) did on Westworld only it has yet to be wasted. His first death cemented the power status between him and Mother. His second this week reorients him alongside the Sol cult without complication and allows every character with their own shared histories with him, most prominently Campion among them, view him in a different light.

Further among the change front Marcus continues to hear voices while trying to ignore them. These voices remain a mystery. Similar to what is at the bottom of that hole though, it would be nice if the writers (who have been rotating weekly) would give hints as to what is actually down there and not simply use these elements as strictly as plot devices. Moreso world building mechanics. Marcus has Mother’s death in his sights and she is completely under his thumb the first time after they meet face to face and yet a voice whispers to him: “No! Don’t kill her!” Why wouldn’t the main antagonist kill the main protagonist? It’s J.J. Abrams style mystery box all over again. Although I will admit so far these creators might put on a better poker face. The character I’m most looking forward to development of next and I think deserves it given their screen time and support alongside Marcus is Sue. Niamh Algar does a lot with a little, but given strong female characters get the headlines I would like to see a more grounded character alongside mother get to do some heavy lifting.

It’s hard to get over how much the show looks like Alien Covenant meets The Martian. It gives the show a very distinctive look that sets it apart from every show on right now, which might be harder on the eyes, but is nonetheless cool. The show has 3 episodes left with the last two written by creator Guzikowski that I hope ties up some loose ends. This isn’t a show I want to drag on, but it has been one of the funner new TV shows I’ve experienced this year. I look forward to following along with the community to see how the show turns out its first season. And I’m glad for old school Science Fiction (strange new world) that it serves of the first proper hit of the HBO Max era.