Raised by Wolves S2 trailer promises another wild and crazy (perhaps maddeningly) ride

We finally have the full trailer for the second season of Raised by wolves, the visually arresting and sometimes frustrating sci-fi series created by Aaron Guzikowski, with Ridley Scott serving as executive producer. The series returns to HBO Max on February 3.

(Spoilers for S1 below.)

As I wrote previously, the series involves two androids serving as mother (Amanda Collin) and father (Abubakar Salim) figures on a strange virgin planet, Kepler-22b (an actual extrasolar planet observed), after Earth was destroyed by the outbreak of a religious war. They are programmed to incubate, give birth and raise human children in order to rebuild the population and establish an atheistic civilization to prevent the extinction of the human race.

The first teaser released last month and left us with decidedly mixed feelings. As I observed at the time:

For one thing, once again, the visuals are amazing, and we’re thrilled that the surprisingly androgynous Danish actress amanda collin returns to play the role of Mother. Her extraordinary performance anchored the first season’s story arc and creepy otherworldly vibe, and that same moody and ominous vibe is present in the teaser. On the other hand, we were seriously disappointed with the S1 finale, which shook our confidence that S2 will bounce back from this fiasco to become the truly original and visionary series it originally promised to be.

S1 wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but I found it atmospheric and weird in an interesting way – until that finale. The mother became pregnant after having virtual sex with her VR creator, “downloading” the required information. Except that instead of giving birth to a baby like she had hoped, Mother literally spewed out a creepy, flying alien sucker snake (FASS). In my review, I called it “a jarring, over-the-top ploy that just wasn’t enough for the viewer and clashed powerfully with the original setup.” And as we feared, the FASS seems to play an important role in S2.

According to the official synopsis:

Android’s partners Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), along with their offspring of six human children, join a newly formed atheist colony in the mysterious Kepler 22b tropical zone. But navigating this strange new society is only the beginning of their troubles as Mother’s “natural child” threatens to drive what little remains of the human race to extinction.

As the trailer opens, Mother and Father have moved with their children to the atheist colony on the other side of the planet, which seems far more hospitable to their well-being than their original settlement. We get clues to the planet’s still-hidden mysteries in the form of a desiccated alien body, as well as a strange skeleton, and we get scenes of what appears to be a gladiator-style battle stadium. Meanwhile, Marcus (Travis Fimmel) has become an avid follower of Sol and is intent on converting children to his way of thinking. “To be worthy of Sol’s love, children, you only need faith,” he tells them at one point. “And that’s one thing this robot can never take away from us.”

The mother and father are much more than just robots, of course, even afraid that they will become a little too much humans the more time they spend on the planet with their offspring. The mother’s more violent nature will always have a chance to emerge, including her signature sonic scream that reduces human bodies to so much gory blood. Overall, we remain hopeful that S2 will be a solid experience. But that may be because the FASS remains largely absent from the trailer, aside from a brief glimpse as it winds ominously around a tree, evoking strong garden vibes. ‘Eden.

The second season of Raised by wolves debuts on HBO Max on February 3, 2022.

Listing Image By HBO Max