A previous version of this article on Raised by Wolves contained factual errors regarding the Necromancer Androids. You can read the corrected version below.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Raised by Wolves, available now on HBO Max.
Ridley Scott's Raised by Wolves takes its time to slowly unravel why Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim) have gone to colonize the far away planet, Keppler-22B. They arrive and set up camp, and over 12 years, they artificially produce human kids to start society anew after some mysterious event razed Earth.
In time, it becomes clear that it's not a natural occurring apocalypse or disease that forced them to the planet; it's all due to mankind's hatred and lack of tolerance in a religious war.
Bit by bit, with the Gen-1 kids, Mother and Father reveal they're atheists, sent by the non-religious sect back home to find a haven and raise children. And so, Mother constantly reminds them, particularly the leader, Campion, science is the one true god. To the religious sect, known as the Mithraic, androids raising kids is a sin, but Mother makes it clear her makers, the non-believers, were peaceful, technocratic atheists and science will always be the only path to progress. The kids are even forbidden from praying to Sol -- this show's version of god -- even when they start dying out.
Campion alone survives and he contemplates religion because he's looking for hope on the desolate planet, but a lot more backstory comes to light six years later when the Mithrians arrive via the Ark, Heaven. Travis Fimmel's Marcus leads a group of sinister scouting soldiers that attacks Mother's settlement, but she fights back as the Mithraic reveal they're here on god's mission. In addition, to them, the child in a barren alien wasteland is the one of prophecy who'll lead them to the promised land, meaning now more than ever, they have to continue this war.
This tension leads to flashbacks about what ravaged Earth, and by the third episode, "Virtual Faith," it becomes clear how Marcus' fate is tied to the robots back home in 2145. Apparently, the disagreements over Sol and religion got so heated that the Mithraic led an army, dressed as knights, and waged a religious war, looking to purge the world of non-believers. They also had unforgiving war machines known as Necromancers by their sides, who could kill humans with a scream, alter their appearance, use freeze and heat breath and fly like a god. The atheists believed the only way to course-correct Earth was to purge the religious, with Marcus and his wife, Sue, initially being non-believers called Caleb and Mary who fought for science.
They'd go on to kill the real Marcus and Sue, adopt their identities and sneak off-planet to survive with the Ark, knowing the world was broken beyond repair. Marcus and Sue 2.0 assimilated into the religious zealots, seeing how kids were subjugated, how clerics were pedophiles and how holy men wanted to be treated like royalty. It was just the age-old argument of faith versus science, but the atheists got it wrong too as they were just as self-righteous and indignant. Apart from an aggressive approach that saw them going after the Mithraic helicopters and medical robots on Earth, the atheists were up against a tough foe in the form of the Necromancers, which ultimately led to their downfall.
Created by Aaron Guzikowski and produced by Ridley Scott, Raised by Wolves stars Amanda Collin, Abubakar Salim, Winta McGrath, Niamh Algar, Jordan Loughran, Matias Varela, Felix Jamieson, Ethan Hazzard, Aasiya Shah, Ivy Wong and Travis Fimmel. New episodes arrive each Thursday on HBO Max.