Raised By Wolves Episode 8 & 9 Mass, Umbilical All Your Biggest Questions Answered

It all has led to this. An explosive Raised By Wolves Episode 8 and 9 doubles down on the mythos of Sol, Kepler-22b, and Mother’s story.

In much the same way that Battlestar Galactica was a sci-fi show about religion and technology but told the deeper story of love, compassion, and relationships, Raised By Wolves dives deep into what it means to be a parent. Questions of humanity and empathy are explored brilliantly with the use of androids. Just as BSG shone a harsh light on the cruelty of humans by exposing the kindness of other lifeforms, Mother and Father show just how terrible biological humans can be to one another. In Raised By Wolves Episode 8 and 9, everything changed. What we thought we knew was but a drop.

Hidden amongst all the talk about pacifism and survival, there has always been the underlying thread that we were misled. Deliberately distracted from a truth right in front of us. A prime example is Mother’s confusion over the need to play war despite being raised passivist. The concept that fighting is fun makes no sense to an intelligence coded for nurturing. That may be the biggest prestige of them all. Humans programmed androids to do what we can not, care unconditionally for life.

Parallels are everywhere in Raised By Wolves Episode 8 and 9. Mother and Tempest both being impregnated without consent, Paul and Campion as the Romulus and Remus of this new world, and the duality of Sue and Mother both being loving mothers even though neither was a natural parent.

Why was Father’s passcode “Sol is the light”?

For an android programmed by the atheists to raise human children and save humanity, that seems like an odd choice. Perhaps what we think we know is twisted. Campion Sturgis programmed Mother and Father, we believe. What if the simpod didn’t show a memory, but rather a fable of what happened with the reality being something altogether? There might be a third faction that believed both sides were wrong and sent Mother and Father to try a different tactic? It is also possible this all was put in place by whatever is on the planet now. These could have been machinations put in place when the planet was first discovered as a way to repopulate Kepler-22b and save their race. Sol is a superbeing who uses religion to manufacturer faith and obedience. If you weren’t a fan of Prometheus, you might find yourself unhappy in Season 2.

Who is the biological father of Mother’s baby?

In keeping with the Sol exists but is an alien theme, he is the father. With the babies craving for human blood and rapid growth, it is safe to say it isn’t human. In another simulation, Campion Sturgis tells Mother he gave her a child because that was the primary mission all along. The human children were rehearsals for this more significant task. That seems to indicate Campion and the others were expendable in the eyes of Sturgis. That’s a decidedly not parental emotion. Regardless of what impregnated Mother, it did happen similarly as Tempest. Both did not give consent, and both are scared and alone.

What are Dark Photons?

Dark Photons are a hypothesized particle right now. The new gauge boson is speculated to be the balance of the visible or light photons. It is one more example of balance and symmetry for Raised By Wolves. Very little is known about the mysterious theoretical particle. The medical android tells Mother it was written in the scriptures how to use Dark Photons. He also curiously says Necromanbcers continually surprise him. What else might Mother be capable of moving forward?

Why didn’t Hunter’s arm burn?

It was nice to see Hunter be something other than an entitled turd. With the way he initially acted, it was often difficult to remember he was a child who was brought up to believe and act as he did. He made some unfortunate choices, including getting Father captured and reprogrammed. Hunter saw the light(pun intended) this week and reverted Father to his previous programming.

He is genuinely happy to see Sue and the others later and looks to be firmly on their side moving forward. The scare with Marcus testing him by burning his arm has solidified what we have known for a while now. Marcus has lost it. It also raised a red flag. Why do some people burn, and others do not when they touch the temple? Hunter was saved by something supernatural. No amount of alien technology can explain away why he wasn’t burned. Marcus must serve some purpose, moving forward. As the only technology genius left on the planet, that may be why he was spared. Mother and Father will need work, and he will be able to do it.

What did the electronic tarot cards show Mother?

When Mother realized the tarot cards weren’t just metal kid’s toys but scannable programs, she read the card with five children and one adult in the middle. It showed her a vision or a memory of robed people in a circular congregation praying over a creature in a round cage. There was zero context given, but the creature appeared to be in pain and was presented as if it were an infant. Curiously the spiral pattern of the robed people looked suspiciously like the spiral pattern of the crops on the planet.

We don’t yet know what is in Mother, but we can safely say it won’t be strictly human. Something has taken drastic steps to ensure the survival of their species. Kepler-22b has secrets to tell yet, and those include how did the tarot cards get there containing memories. Something landed there years ago, and this has all happened before and will probably happen again. Mother and Father were potentially not the first attempt to colonize the planet. It has perhaps all been a repeating cycle. We are doomed to repeat the tragedies again and again until humans learn to be peaceful.

Why did Paul throw the remaining cards in the fire?

Paul is being guided in much the same way that the rapist was compelled to rape Tempest and the others. Like Marcus, the voice is manipulating him into doing its bidding. Sol spoke to him and told him to do it, so he did. He is a devout believer that can’t seem to reconcile his love her Sol with his care of Mother, Father, and Campion. He thinks he can convince Campion of Sol’s existence and that Marcus is an aberration, not the norm.

The bigger question is, what else was on the cards that they didn’t want Mother to see? Sol may just be a placeholder for a survivor with advanced skills from our own. Some humans are more vulnerable to their tactics. Mother didn’t understand what she saw on the tarot card, and Sol doesn’t want her to. If she did, she might learn that this was never about the survival of the human race, but some other alien lifeform.

Is Marcus dead?

Travis Fimmel does crazy like no one else. Over the last few weeks, he has begun displaying all the classic signs of manipulation and mental illness. He is willing to hurt Sue and Paul, kill members of his group, and burn a child’s arm to get back Sue and Paul and maintain control of the group. Someone is speaking to him, and he believes it is Sol. I think it’s safe to say it isn’t the benevolent God he believes it is.

The likelihood of the shows biggest star, who has turned in some of his best work in the last several episodes dying is slim. His group may have turned on him and choked him using Mother’s eye, but that hardly means he will die. The poor decision to kill him with Mother’s Necromancer eye is a clever plot beat used to reunite Mother with her weapons. She will need all the help to protect the human children, Sue, and her unborn baby. Raised By Wolves Episode 8 and 9 proved they weren’t afraid to shoot for the moon in the freshman season of the wildly successful HBO Max hit. Marcus is too vital for the story to be dead. He will be saved or resurrected as one more example of his connection to Sol.

Raised By Wolves boldly opens with a horrific scene, not for the faint of heart. This heavy sci-fi series isn’t afraid to be gory. By the end of the episode Sue, Mother, Father, and the children are all together in hiding. There are two babies of some kind on the way, and Marcus is foaming at the mouth. With only one episode left in the first season of Raised By Wolves, suffice it to say we won’t get all the answers, but the final should bring some whopping reveals. Catch up on all our Raised By Wolves coverage here.