RAISED BY WOLVES: SEASON TWO (2022) – A worthy follow-up to an excellent series

Ridley Scott and Aaron Guzikowski who created one of 2019’s most compelling sci-fi TV series, have once again given us another season of Raise by Wolves for us to gush over. Season One was admittedly a tough act to follow but happily this follow-up season still have a lot of chops to follow.

Once again we follow the story of androids Mother and Father as they fulfil their programmed mission to raise a new human civilisation on a new planet. Last season ended with a cliff hanger that left the fate of everyone in limbo. Season 2 takes off immediately after that and a word of advice here. Since the series does not provide any recap of season 1 you are best advised to watch any of the many recaps of Season 1 available on YouTube before attempting to watch the new season. Otherwise, if you are like me, I would have forgotten a lot of the details and watching the new season without the benefit of a recap would be a daunting task.

I have to admit that I found the initial episodes a little disappointing this time as the gathering of everyone safe and sound at a more friendly tropical environment of the planet just felt too easy and convenient. But as the new stories take shape and with the introduction of some interesting new characters, the series returned to form and is as addictive to watch as the first season. The story this time stays more focus on what is happening on the ground and there is less of the flash back and background stories that were covered in the first season. The introduction to an even more powerful Artificial Intelligent machine and menacing creatures, plus the birth of a new human being, provide some food for thought over the visual simulation.

What continues to make this shine above other sci-fi series is the vast imagination of the story and environment that is constantly fascinating while being so well visualised. In addition we have the excellent performances from the entire cast. I was especially impressed by the younger actors, particularly Winta McGrath and Felix Jamieson who plays Campion and Paul. The depth of their performance were crucial to the storyline this time and they really made it work.

The bad news is that season two only have 8 episodes unlike season one which had 10. Like season one, this season also ends with a cliff hanger. Even though the ending did tied up some key storylines and provided some level of closure for some characters, there are still many questions left unanswered. The new threats revealed or hinted at the ending suggest that there are much more stories to explore in this series and I simply cannot wait for Season Three.