Raised by Wolves Review: Faces (Season 1 Episode 7)

Everyone wants the same thing: peace. On Raised by Wolves Season 1 Episode 7, “Faces,” we find that peace can’t be possible when some can’t even find peace within themselves.

The episode’s focus on Marcus goes a long way, and becomes one of my favorite episodes of the series in the process.

The conversation between Mother and Marcus is like a great battle of the wills where they essentially want the same thing but have gone about it in different ways, thus leading to their impasse.

They could forge something better, but the scars of the past are too deep. Marcus can’t trust her because of his prejudice towards androids, and Mother can’t trust him because he is made entirely out of deception.

The fact that she knows this and is toying with him shows that she does have some clout, and while Lucius does not believe her when she says it aloud, the seed has been planted, whether either of the three realize it yet or not.

Marcus, throughout the episode, is at battle with himself. That this becomes literal at the end is a neat way to show his internal struggle, but it also places some doubt on whether or not he is hearing Sol or some distant version of himself fighting to come out.

It’s a theme on the show, people hiding behind a larger ideal when their heart is elsewhere, but with Marcus, he appears to fall further into delusion and self-importance when he’s brought back to the settlement.

He now believes he is the one mentioned in the prophecy, and that he will bring peace. It’s a deep irony based on everything he has done to get to this point, but furthers the direction he’s headed where he cannot be challenged, and cannot be stopped.

Sue, though, looks like she is nearly at her breaking point with Marcus.

The man she knows is gone now, even if he’s fighting himself, and given that she’s the most levelheaded person on the show, she may be the key to the prophecy more than anyone else. She sees the hypocrisy, she sees the pain, and she just wants to give Paul a better life.

Marcus hurting Paul is likely to be the last straw, even if she rushes to help him. The decay of their relationship may be too great at this point.

The Mithraic using their settlement is something that has not crossed my mind, but it’s such a great way to keep the focus intimate.

It also shows how cold the Mithraic are to the children now that they are welcomed back into the fold. But it also shows how nothing matters to them unless it’s to advance their own agenda, like when they use the graves of Campion’s siblings to build their church altar.

The Mithraic don’t see the issue, creating this unending cycle of hypocrisy and damage. The cause is more important than decency, and they are willing to abuse a child (Campion) in order to get it.

Campion finally gets a big chance to stand out, and this episode does so fairly well. His conflict isn’t entirely about being a non-believer, but also in the way violence and chaos follows any side trying to assert its dominance.

As Mother says to Marcus, they all could thrive, but dominance and control is all that matters to them.

Father’s reprogramming, and the way he continuously taps his finger almost like a sign of life trying to fight back, is a dark idea, that he’s possibly still in there but is trapped behind this servant role. That he manages to save Mother at the last instant is a triumphant moment for him.

Mother will likely try to rescue Campion and the two will come up with a plan together to salvage their settlement. Tempest may prove integral to that, as she ranks second-most levelheaded of the characters.

There’s a case to be made that there’s something bigger at play, or perhaps this is all a simulation, as well, based on how reality seems to be glitching: Tally is being seen by more than a few people, the mouse returns, and maybe Marcus isn’t losing his mind and can’t control himself.

Maybe it’s Sol, maybe it’s a simulation, or maybe Mother’s power is manipulating people’s minds. It’s hard to say for certain which is a possibility yet, but it’s creating this eerie feeling to everything now, where death is an illusion and coincidences are what rule the day.

It’s done in such a clever way, too, where it’s not cheap or frustrating, but another wrinkle to decipher on top of the hell everyone finds themselves in.

This episode gives Travis Fimmel a chance to be front and center, more than previous episodes, and he’s great here. As a fan of Vikings, he’s been a fantastic and commanding lead, but here it’s more internalized and deep as Marcus’ suffering tries to take control.

Hopefully now that Marcus feels more important than ever, it gives Fimmel more chances at that, as Marcus is growing more unnerving as a central figure.

This episode is a great magnifying glass on the battle between science and religion, where only one can win out. But it’s more personal and internal with its focus, where the struggle is tearing some, like Marcus, apart. He’s growing more reckless and dangerous, and growing more isolated.

Will madness win out, or reason? Raised by Wolves is doing a fantastic job keeping the tension as tight as it can get, and is still firing on all cylinders.

Some stray thoughts on the episode:

• Congratulations to the Raised by Wolves team on the second season renewal! It’s great to see such a science fiction-heavy show succeed like this, and hopefully it ushers in a comeback of shows like this that have fallen away since the mid-2000’s.

 

What did you think of this episode of Raised by Wolves? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Raised by Wolves streams Thursdays on HBO Max.

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