'Raised by Wolves' Episode 9 Review: Sue and Mother emerge as strange allies in strange circumstances
Spoilers for 'Raised by Wolves' Season 1 Episode 9 'Umbilical'
As the first season reaches its penultimate episode, its mysteries keep increasing, with fewer and fewer explanations, almost as if the show is pushing us towards faith as surely as its events are pushing its protagonists towards the same. If Sol is real after all, he works in mysterious ways, as Marcus (Travis Fimmel) loses the voices in his head and Mother (Amanda Collin) crosses paths with Sue (Niamh Algar) in one big family reunion featuring a surprising amount and variety of blood. It's definitely an episode for motherhood to shine - though what the show has to say about motherhood itself is rather unclear.
In this episode, we see Mother, weakened by her impossible pregnancy, run across Otho (Brenan Murray/Adrian Schiller) and Tempest (Jordan Loughran). Mother realizes that she can use Otho to feed her fetus' need for carbon-based red blood and attaches what amounts to an umbilical cord from Otho to herself. The strange trio run across Sue and the rest of the escaped children and are soon joined by Hunter (Ethan Hazzard) and a restored Father (Abubakar Salim) - just in time for mysterious, hallucination-inducing tarot cards to reverse the flow of blood to Otho, which empowers him before Tempest finally manages to kill him. In the meanwhile, Marcus's erratic behavior leads to some extreme measures, leading the Mithraic to turn on him and leave him for dead - though that might not be the end of this story, as apparently empowering android blood from Mother's Necromancer eyes pools from his mouth.
The episode has a fair amount of bizarre and inexplicable circumstances that are promising either an earth-shattering finale or one with more bleak violence than answers and even this close to the end, it's hard to tell which it will be. It doesn't stray too far from its themes, however, as we're reminded once again that Mother's devotion to her creator sounds just as religiously fanatic as that of Mithraic faith. We're also reminded or for those unaware of the legend, explicitly told, about where the show gets its name from as the legend of Romulus and Remus apparently survives well into this alternate future. What's notable here is the focus on one key part of the story that the wolf who raised the twins did so after the death of her cubs.
For all its strangeness, this episode does not lack for emotional beats. The meeting of Mother and Sue, beyond the brief skirmish that allowed the Mithraic to take control of the settlement, has been long overdue, given how much their stories have in common. Both atheists, both forced by circumstance and well-meaning men into entirely new circumstances and faiths, both mothers who lost children and would do anything to protect the sons they have. More pressingly, both are on the run from the Mithraic and manage to find mutual understanding in each other's predicaments.
The family reunion is also quite heartwarming. Some of the best parts of the series have been the quiet moments of this family being raised out on the settlement. Despite the fact that the children were kidnapped by a genocidal murderer, the bonds the family made obviously still remained. With Marcus (Travis Fimmel) having gone off the deep end, this puts all of the show's ostensible good guys in one place. Father is an especially endearing character and his return is one of the brightest spots in a very bleak series - especially his reunion with Campion (Winta McGrath).
Anyone hoping to see Tempest's story reach a satisfying resolution, however, will be disappointed as Otho's inclusion in this episode amounts to nothing more than a device to show that android blood somehow empowers humans, leaving the door open to a transformation by Marcus after the Mithraic finally turn on him. What this means or how this works are all vague enough to allow for pretty much anything to happen in the finale and it's at this point that many may find their suspension of disbelief strained to its breaking point.
Even though the finale is just an episode away, it's still impossible to tell just where this show is leading, what the main threat is, or even if there's any at all. A lot of puzzle pieces have been introduced and there is a lot of pressure on the season finale to try and piece them all together. Whether or not it can do so remains to be seen and the fact that the show has been renewed for a second season does not leave room for a lot of hope that things will be satisfactorily resolved.
The next episode of 'Raised by Wolves' airs October 1, on HBO Max.