Raised by Wolves Review: Mass (Season 1 Episode 8)
The battle for Paul’s soul makes for a gripping hour on Raised by Wolves Season 1 Episode 8, “Mass.”
Marcus and Sue trying to mould Paul more in their respective images leads to a great condensing of conflict, where it’s almost like a mother and father fighting over custody but on a much grander scale. This isn’t only about Paul, but about the future of humanity on this planet.
Marcus is falling apart, whether he will admit it or not. His self-inflicted wound may be on the mend (well, until Sue knocks him around), but his mental state is still on the decline, what with his vision of tearing off his new face and the way he corners and threatens Paul.
He’s on a path of destruction, and while the Mithraic who follow him may not see it yet, it’s clear as day to Sue, who has reached her limit.
She even says as much to him, when she says she can’t remember his original face anymore. But instead of seeing the sadness behind that, his response is for her to just close her eyes and accept him.
Marcus still believes he’s the same person that left behind Earth even as he’s been told time and again he is not. He can’t accept it, or perhaps he’s too afraid to accept it now that he has a taste for power.
The burning down of the church is a deep irony, that he sees it as a sign of Sol rather than Campion just burning it down. Everything is a sign if you’re looking for them, but it’s yet another sign that Marcus is on a losing path of bad choices.
The medical android Mother encounters as she attempts to heal herself is a great little character, this stuck-in-his-ways robot who is a little smarmy as he talks with her. It not only allows for Mother to speak about the things going on inside of her, but also as a reminder that the Ark holds a lot more than just the people who have died.
There are likely great untapped resources in there, waiting to be discovered.
Mother becomes almost like the titular wolf as she goes searching for blood, on all fours and sniffing for android blood (and later Tempest). The tumor, the black cylinder inside of her, is corrupting her into an animal of sorts, tearing control away and making survival her prime directive instead of caring.
Now that Mother has been adding non-synthetic blood to her system, will she turn on all humans now in a need to self-sustain?
It’s a curious concept, that she may turn dangerous towards everyone, but it could also lead to a great conflict inside of her as she tries to fight her own needs.
But the twist seems to be that it’s life growing inside of her, and it’s siphoning off of her to survive. This could very well be true, a rather interesting way to keep life possible in case the settlement failed, but it’s also possible that it’s the corruption lying to her, playing with her mind.
It’s a great thought to leave the episode on, in the horror of the Ark wreckage, showing the damage that’s been caused when life may have been inside her this whole time.
Raised by Wolves Season 1 Episode 8, “Mass,” is a rather snappy, straightforward episode, but it’s doing so by planting seeds for the remaining two of the season.
Most of those who do not fall under the Mithraic are on the run, and Marcus’ delusions are likely to continue to grow rather than dissipate.
It’s likely Mother and Tempest will join up with the others and make a last stand, but with Father and his axe somewhere out there, it may not go as planned.
We need more of that medical android, though, hopefully he comes back in some way.
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.