Raised by Wolves 2.6: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

Raised by Wolves 2.6 -- the 6th of 8 episodes of this second season -- was easily the most and least science fictional of any of the episodes in the first and second seasons so far.  Which is saying a lot, since the whole series has been pushing the limits of science fiction into fantasy, from the beginning.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Three major interludes which stretched the boundaries of the story tonight:

1.  First, Sue turns into a tree.  Really.  The last time I saw a tree have such importance in a science fiction story were the Ents, in Lord of the Rings, which is generally regarded not as science fiction but fantasy.  I will say that science in our off-screen real world here on Earth is uncovering all kinds of sentient-like qualities of trees -- see, for example, Beronda L. Montgomery's article -- so maybe what we saw in Raised by Wolves 2.6 is not too much of a stretch.

2. Next, Tempest's baby taken by that sea humanoid creature.   The birthing scene itself was powerful, incredible.  But real.  And then ... to have that horror-show of a creature take the baby from Tempest -- that, in itself, was one of the most horror-story scenes in this science fiction series.  The last time I saw a monster like that was in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).

3. The further development of the Mother-like android now dubbed grandmother was a good step forward in the android anthropology which is the heart of the series.  Of course Father loves her -- there's too much of Mother in her for Father not to.  The big question now is to what extent does this new android have a mind of her own?   Clearly, Mother and Father do, vis-a-vis each other.  So ... we'll just have to see.  And, presumably we'll also find out when in human history the android was brought to this planet, if indeed she was brought there.

See you back here next week.

See also Raised by Wolves 2.1-2: A Viking Out in Space, with Androids ... Raised by Wolves 2.3: Marcus and the Android Skeleton ... Raised by Wolves 2.4: Kinds of Sentience and Conflicts ... Raised by Wolves 2.5: Science Fiction and Horror

And see also Raised by Wolves 1.1: Fast Action and Deep Philosophy  ... Raised by Wolves 1.2-3: More than Meets the Eye ... Raised by Wolves 1.4-5: Halfway to Dune ...Raised by Wolves 1.6-7: The Look on Mother's Face ... Raised by Wolves 1.8-1.9: Frankenstein and Motherhood ... Raised by Wolves Season One Finale: The Serpent