Raised by Wolves Review: Lost Paradise (Season 1 Episode 6)
The illusion of power and control can be a powerful weapon, but once it’s taken away, dynamics shift in unthinkable ways. On Raised by Wolves Season 1 Episode 6, “Lost Paradise,” Marcus and Mother realize that wins and losses only leave destruction in their wake.
Marcus (and by extension, Caleb) continues to be a fascinating villain/antihero. His conversation with Lucius, and finally hearing the full story of Lucius’ father, comes as a moment where he realizes his role’s deficit.
He is still during the moment, but Travis Fimmel smartly plays the scene as though Marcus is appalled at the action, killing someone for an act of kindness.
These little glimpses into the imposter are giving a broader view of a character who is incredibly ruthless but has pangs of goodness to him. But these are just pangs, momentary lapses, where underneath there is something far darker.
Marcus is willing to put his own kid in danger (well, the kid of the person he’s impersonating) in order to win a battle, much to Sue’s objections. He poisons Paul against her for his own selfishness, refusing to leave a battle that’s, for the most part, won.
It’s a moment that really shows how far Marcus is willing to go to in order to come out on top: disparage and hurt those around them. It’s an any and all cost way of doing things that will surely leave him alone by the end, as Sue will start to realize he’s only out for himself.
Or is he? The voice of Sol, or whatever it is that speaks to him, appears to have some sort of control over him. Not only does it give him pause, it’s almost like he can’t control himself. He has to stop. It’s a curious moment, but the bigger story is likely that dissolving trust between Marcus and Sue as she realizes he’s not in control.
The battle at the settlement may be the most exciting moment on the show so far (as cool as moments on Raised by Wolves Season 1 Episode 1, “Raised by Wolves,” may be). Abubakar Salim dominates the scene with his physicality, giving Father an intensity as he closes out his prime directive: protect at all costs.
It’s like the science fiction version of Home Alone and Skyfall, the way Father manages to take the trap Paul makes and perfectly throws a projectile at a Mithraic solder. It’s a riveting fight, even if that feeling of dread, knowing he will likely not make it, rests in the back of the mind.
Hopefully this isn’t the end for Father (yet again), as he is that core for the settlement’s story where his kindness, compassion, and curiosity brings this sense of childlike inquisitiveness to the show. The kids are mostly disillusioned or somewhat scheming, and so Father is the source for a lot of neat little moments.
Plus Salim is so great to watch on the show. His presence will be missed if Mother is unable to bring him back online.
Besides, she has her own problems and damage to deal with.
This is the episode we have been waiting for. Raised by Wolves has dragged a little to get here, but it doesn’t disappoint. It is a climactic battle between two sides, and while neither side technically wins this round, Marcus and the Mithraic have taken their largest threat off the board now that they are in possession of Mother’s power.
But the episode kind of tips its hand a bit, as we see that Mother is capable of even more than we have seen. The rock levitation and ability to call on the real Campion speak to new powers starting to come to her, and her anger about Tally and the drawings may be hints to something more.
Maybe the visions of Tally everyone is experiencing are powers Mother may not know she has yet. The drawing of Mother and Campion kissing immediately corrupts in front of Vita, as though the memory has been ruptured or destroyed. Maybe it’s a symbol of Mother’s memories, imprinting on the dome.
This also could lead to the possibility that Mother is the voice inside Marcus’ head. Perhaps she is the voice of Sol he is hearing, and she just doesn’t have control of those things yet.
But there’s a wrinkle to Marcus and Sue rescuing Paul: the other children are left behind. Could this leave a rift among the others, who have been told all children are the priority? Only getting out their child and leaving Mother alive could easily leave behind a sense of privilege and opportunity that hurts their standing.
One of the most profound and beautiful moments comes from within, when Mother and the original Campion embrace and make love. Science fiction sex scenes definitely love to get artistic at times, but this one has to be in the running for most striking.
Floating together in the great hall and the pools of white blood that flow around them is the kind of imagery that the show does well with, and continues Sergio Mimica-Gezzan’s gorgeous direction from the previous episode.
Raised by Wolves continues to build on itself through smart character choices and developing surprising emotions that run deep, like for Mother’s love for the original Campion. That’s an area full of potential, and hopefully there’s a little more, though it seems that may be at an end.
The fallout of this episode will be enough to last the rest of the season, and it’s an exciting place to jump the story off from.
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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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.
One thought on “Raised by Wolves Review: Lost Paradise (Season 1 Episode 6)”
As somebody who appreciated the sex-scene, I am befuddled as to why your fellow critics at competitor’s are so (ahem! )hot-&-bothered by it?
To spell-out, I did not mind that psychedelic sex-scene, since anything: It was annoying that given this show was made for “basic cable”, (TNT)® — the standards-&-practices were on the same ol’, same ol’ “basic cable” level as every other sister-concern and rivals have, including but not limited, certainly the now TWDC-owned “prestige” FX® Networks. But when you see that MTV® Studios-reliant networks( {coughs}‘Yellowstone®’{ /coughs}, quite a most-watched show still on “tV iS dEaD!” prophecies and considering the maturity majority( 🫣😉😬) of its audience-demo as well as settings based on the words of very same “pRoPheTs”, the unlikeliest output you would expect to have that type of content-parameters) have already pushed the envelope and in spite of “MTV censorship” part of the history, used to do so as latest the late 90s before the debacle that was “Justin Timberlake” at oh-so-moral NFL®’s cashgrab-vanity. Ergo, that excuse hardly makes sense once you realise that (TNT)® is the costliest of all “basic cable” networks and yet, they are as less gutsy as they are bold in gouging the prices from their subscribers.
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