WARNING: Major spoilers for Raised By Wolves season 1, episode 10, “The Beginning”
The Raised by Wolves season 1 finale on HBO Max ended with several twists audiences did not see coming. Not only do Mother and Father discover definitive evidence of other intelligent life living on Kepler-22b, but Mother’s baby turns out to be a far cry from what anyone expected. On top of that, voices are revealing secrets and Marcus/Caleb has completely lost his mind.
Raised by Wolves has been building a number of enigmatic plot twists throughout season 1. From the very beginning, Kepler-22b has been shrouded in mystery. It started with Mother and Father, androids with a mission to raise human children on the seemingly barren planet. Soon enough, the Ark arrived, carrying a large colony of Mithraic, a devoutly religious group determined to start a new civilization in the name of their god, Sol. Mother turned out to be a necromancer, a type of android capable of exploding people with her eyes and a piercing shriek. She went on a rampage, crashing the ark and killing most of its crew.
For the rest of the season, audiences followed the challenges Mother and Father faced raising Campion and the surviving children while the Mithraic survivors set about getting their children back and establishing themselves on the planet. That is until Mother entered a simulation and somehow became pregnant. After that, things got interesting. While Caleb (Travis Fimmel), an atheist wearing the face of a devout Mithraic named Marcus, became convinced that he has been chosen by Sol to become king of Kepler-22b, several characters were plagued by visions and a whispering voice. The Raised by Wolves season 1 finale came down to several major reveals and some devastating truths for Mother and the others.
What Happens In Raised By Wolves’ Ending
![Raised By Wolves Season 1 Ending & Twists Explained](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/raised-by-wolves-finale-mother-father.jpg)
The Raised by Wolves season 1 finale offers several big takeaways. A major reveal is that Mother’s baby turned out not to be what anyone expected. It’s not a new race of humanity as Mother believed, and it’s also not the prophet Sol foretold. It’s actually a giant snake creature that is likely the same beast that Mother and Father thought was extinct after finding several skeletal remains of the animal on the planet. Interestingly, its birth is accompanied by visions Mother has of people in robes who are witnessing the birth of a similar creature, which comes out of the mouth of a human encased in a dodecahedron. This dodecahedron is small, but similar to the one the Mithraic found in the desert, likely left by the people who used to live on Kepler-22b — as it turns out, they’re not really dead.
One of these robed people comes out and tries to kill Mother before she gives birth by shoving her into one of the large pits that dot the landscape. Of course, Mother being an android, she’s much faster and stronger; she kills the person in the robe. Father then analyzes the person and discovers that it is carrying the skull of a neanderthal native to Kepler-22b. He surmises that humans de-evolved from neanderthals, becoming the race of humans, one of whom Mother has just killed.
Meanwhile, Paul discovers some hieroglyphs in a cave, presumably from the de-evolved neanderthals. Mary then tells Paul that Sol is not real, but a voice tells Paul the truth about Mary not being his real mother, so he shoots her, though not fatally. Then, after the snake is born, Mother takes it and, with Father’s help, tries to fly the lander into one of the holes to kill it. This action will kill Mother and Father, but keep everyone else safe. However, somehow the lander goes through the molten core at the center of Kepler 22-b; Mother and Father survive, along with the snake, and shoot out of a hole on the other side of the planet. Mother and Father then abandon ship and the snake grows very large very quickly. It bursts out of the lander and flies into the sky.
Is The Snake Creature A Threat To Everyone’s Survival?
![The snake creature Mother births in the Raised by Wolves finale.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/raised-by-wolves-mothers-baby-snake.jpg)
Given its size and the fact that it intended to suck Mother dry before going out to seek more blood, the snake creature appears to be a big threat to the survivors on Kepler-22b. If it indeed feeds on blood, then a creature that size is going to need an ample supply to sustain itself. Depending on its level of intelligence, it may scour the planet, hunting anything living that it finds. Of course, it may also turn out to be something completely different. All that is known so far is that it can fly, is very large, and has sharp teeth.
It’s also worth noting that the de-evolved human tried to kill Mother before she could birth the snake creature. He likely knew what was going to come out of her and that it wasn’t a good thing. That said, it also appears that his people at one time worshipped these creatures. Therefore, his people may have some insight into its behaviors and how to survive or avoid it.
How Will The Existence Of The De-Evolved Humans On The Planet Come Into Play?
![The de-evolved human native in Raised by Wolves.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/raised-by-wolves-devoled-human.jpg)
As far as the de-evolved humans are concerned, it seems they are still living on Kepler-22b. Now that the existence of one has been verified, there are bound to be others that appear in Raised by Wolves season 2. It’s clear they live hidden on the planet somehow—perhaps in caves—which would explain the hieroglyphics Paul found. These de-evolved humans have clearly been watching the colonists, probably studying them to see how dangerous they are. It’s possible they may be a large part of Raised by Wolves season 2, either revealing themselves to be a threat to the colonists or perhaps an ally against the snake creature. Given the nature of the hieroglyphics, which showed the lander and the coming of the earth humans, they may be secretly worshipping Mother, or even the rest of the colonists.
What Will Caleb/Marcus Do With The New Colonists?
![The new colonists arrive in the finale of Raised by Wolves.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/raised-by-wolves-finale-ship.jpg)
On another part of Kepler-22b, Caleb/Marcus is in a delusional state, convinced he is the king of the planet. After the Mithraic beat him and left him for dead, he stumbled after a lander he saw in the sky to discover that other people have come to the planet. Interestingly, they appear to be atheist, which is the side Caleb belonged to until he took the face of Marcus and came to the planet as a Mithraic. Now, Caleb has become convinced that Sol is speaking to him, although it’s likely the same voice that has spoken to several others on Kepler-22b.
When the small group threatens him, he quickly grabs one of their guns and kills all but one of them. He then asks that survivor to pray with him even as this new group’s ship comes in for a landing. It would seem that Caleb is in trouble. He will probably be captured by these people and questioned, and given that they appear to be atheists, they’re not likely to take his newfound beliefs very seriously.
Can Campion Lead The Surviving Children?
![Campion in the Raised by Wolves finale.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/raised-by-wolves-2.jpg)
When Mother and Father are plunging into the molten core of Kepler-22b, they speak briefly about how Campion has always been destined to lead. They believe he will gather the other children and help them live and survive on the planet. Being the only one born on the planet, he does have the most experience with its environment and how to forage. What happens next depends largely on whether or not he chooses to embrace the faith some of the children believe, such as Paul and Hunter, or if they will be united anyway by their shared need to survive.
Of course, the remains of the Mithraic are still living in the homestead Mother and Father built, so it’s likely some of the group will want to return to that. Others may choose to finally go to the tropical zone everyone’s been talking about. There, Campion could lead a small group as long as they aren’t discovered by the Mithraic or the new group of atheist colonists. Then again, Mother and Father survived, so the androids—who are similar to those in other Ridley Scott movies—will likely do everything they can to return to Campion and the children.
The Real Meaning Of Raised By Wolves’ Ending
![Caleb/Marcus in Raised by Wolves.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/raised-by-wolves-marcus-closeup.jpg)
The Raised by Wolves season 1 finale had some major reveals, but also left audiences with a lot of questions. One of the major themes of the season was about the Mithraic prophet and who it could be. At first, Campion seemed like the obvious choice. However, then it appeared to be Caleb after he began to hear voices and was able to assume control of the Mithraic. Then, Mother became pregnant, something that no one thought was possible; many thought her baby must be the prophet. While the finale did not reveal a prophet, it’s definitely not Mother’s baby.
The very fact that Mother gives birth to a snake-like creature is interesting symbolically. The snake corresponds with the serpent, a religious symbol of deceit that connects with the Garden of Eden. This may or may not be important for the overall narrative, but it is noteworthy. Also, there’s more evidence now that the voice several characters have heard is coming from the planet, perhaps from the de-evolved human natives somehow, rather than from Sol. In other words, the convictions of the Mithraic continue to be ambiguous.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that Mother and Father have both proven themselves as fallible and emotional, despite being androids. In a lot of ways, they’ve both become very human. Mother was clearly deceived when she became pregnant. She thought she was going to birth a new form of humanity, but instead created a monster. The others have also been shaken, such as Paul discovering that Mary is not his mother and instead believing she is evil. When he comes to realize where the voice is coming from, he may feel differently. Whatever happens, audiences eagerly await Raised by Wolves season 2.