'Raised by Wolves': Through Father, Episode 7 proves once and for all whether the androids have free will
Spoilers for 'Raised by Wolves' Season 1 Episode 7 'Faces'
'Raised by Wolves' dives into a lot of heavy philosophical questions, especially concerning artificial intelligence. Do androids have a soul? Do they truly feel or are they faking emotion to make humans comfortable? Can an android have faith? Can androids start civilization anew? While the answer to those questions remains debatable, the world of 'Raised by Wolves' manages to resolve at least one important question once and for all - do Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim) have free will?
At first, it would seem not, especially after viewing Mother's origin; she was a killer, programmed by the Mithraic, but with months and months of reprogramming, Campion Sturges (Cosmo Jarvis) was able to turn her into a completely different kind of android, one that nurtured instead of killed. The thing is, his programming was far from perfect. Though Mother is deeply dedicated to his cause, we've seen that Mithraic zealotry still lies deep inside of her. She has faith in her creator and a belief in atheism that ironically mirrors religious fervor more than anything else. Also notable is that she's still very much a genocidal killer while her priorities and hardwired programming may have shifted, the core of who she is, and what guides her decisions, remains the same.
A more clear cut case is that of Father, who was reprogrammed this episode, with all of his memories wiped away. Even with his mind having been rewritten by his original Mithraic creators, however, Father's compassion still struggles to come to the fore and his love for Mother isn't something they've managed to erase. Manifesting in the android body's hand, Father's spirit is very much alive and well, saving Mother from being thrown into the pit despite Marcus's (Travis Fimmel) direct order. This is no mere programming glitch - the Mithraic society's hierarchy isn't one that's open to interpretation and someone as high up the ladder as Marcus should have been obeyed, completely.
New episodes of 'Raised by Wolves' Season 1 will release on HBO Max on September 24.