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How Raised By Wolves Fits Into The Blade Runner & Alien Timeline
Raised by Wolves on HBO is Ridley Scott's latest foray into sci-fi, but how does its timeline match his other science fiction masterpieces, Alien and Blade Runner? Although Raised by Wolves was technically created by Aaron Guzikowski, Scott's influence is hard to miss as the show explores familiar themes and concepts.
For fans of Ridley Scott's classic science fiction movies, one of the obvious similarities to discover is the prominence of androids. In Raised by Wolves, two androids—Mother and Father—are sent to a distant planet known as Kepler-22B to raise the last generation of human children. While they have programmed emotions, they struggle to relate to the children as they begin to grow up. They also have the directive to raise the children, keep them safe, and prevent them from falling into the trappings of religious beliefs, although things get complicated as Mother and Father interpret their directive differently.
While it's important to realize that Scott only directed the first two episodes, the entire series feels like one of his creations. The world especially has the gritty feel of his previous work, and is explored in the same sensible manner. The androids (Mother and Father) are comparable to the replicants in Blade Runner and Ash in Alien. However, how do they fit into the timeline from Scott's other movies, and could they all be connected?
Raised By Wolves, Alien, And Blade Runner Timeline
Assuming Raised by Wolves, Blade Runner, and Alien all take place in a shared universe, the timeline begins with Blade Runner. The events of Blade Runner take place in November 2019, with the first replicant, the ancestor to future androids, created in 2005. This first android is known as the Nexus 1, and has a fully-robotic body covered in genetically-engineered human flesh. Further enhancements are developed until a combat team of Nexus 6 models mutiny in an off-world colony, and replicants are declared illegal in 2018. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) of the Blade Runner unit is hired to find and eliminate potentially dangerous replicants.
In subsequent years, terraforming of the Moon, Mars, and other moons begins after replicants are officially and indefinitely prohibited in 2023. The next android created is David (Michael Fassbender in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant) in the year 2030. Further David models are developed until consumers report the David 7 model failing to interpret certain human emotions and commands in 2071. From there, the events of Alien take place in the year 2122, after the Nostromo ship detects a distress signal on planetoid LV-426.
In the year 2145, the events of Raised by Wolves begin. More advanced androids have been created, and some of them have been outfitted as Necromancers, a model designed for war that can kill humans instantly with its eyes and a piercing shriek. Earth has been reduced to ruin as a conflict between the devoutly religious Mithraic wages with the Atheists who are determined to preserve science and reason. In a last-ditch effort, before the Earth becomes entirely uninhabitable, the Atheists dispatch a ship carrying two androids and some human embryos to raise on the planet Kepler-22B 600 lightyears away. They are followed by a larger ship called the Ark that is carrying a human crew of Mithraic. It takes thirteen years for them to travel 600 lightyears to reach the planet.
Does This Timeline Work?
Although Earth may be uninhabitable, the above timeline assumes that people are still living on colonies on Mars, the moon, and other planetoids. In fact, Ripley is found after drifting in stasis for 57 years after the events of Alien in the year 2179. She is then recruited to investigate the appearance of xenomorphs on LV-426 that have destroyed a colony that was established there in Aliens. Then, assuming the timeline continues, the events of Alien: Resurrection would take place in 2379.
So, if Raised by Wolves does indeed take place in the same universe as Alien and Blade Runner, the picture painted of the Earth in ruins is not as bleak as it first appears. Humans have since colonized all across the galaxy and have not yet gone extinct, despite the many threats to their wellbeing, including internal conflict, necromancer androids, and the genetically-engineered xenomorphs created by David. Overall, if this timeline is correct, androids appear to pose a very serious threat to the continued existence of human life, which would support the title Raised by Wolves. Or, as one might put it, wolves in sheep's clothing.
How Raised By Wolves' Androids Compare To Alien's And Blade Runner's
The androids in Raised by Wolves appear to be more advanced than those portrayed in Blade Runner and Alien. Given the timeline, this makes sense, but the biggest difference seems to be that the androids in Raised by Wolves have been built to do things beyond human capabilities, where those before them were always built to mimic human behavior.
Necromancer androids can fly and destroy life with a high-pitched shriek and a look from their eyes. In contrast, the replicants in Blade Runner were designed to mimic humans, which is why they were so difficult to discover after many of them went into hiding. Similarly, David was designed with the goal of representing human behavior and emotions as closely as possible. Conversely, the androids in Raised by Wolves don't seem to have the same level of human emotions. It's as if their designers were no longer concerned with replicating humans and focused instead on other qualities, such as superhuman speed, strength, and loyalty to their directives.
Although the androids in Raised by Wolves may not be as human-like as those from Alien and Blade Runner, they're not without their human qualities. For instance, Father attempts to connect with the children by telling jokes. Although they end up being overly-analyzed dad jokes, they're still an attempt to mimic human behavior. It's also interesting to note that Mother and Father are sexless, despite appearing feminine and masculine respectively. Androids designed in Blade Runner and Alien were capable of human sexual activity, particularly the replicants as seen with Deckard and the replicant Rachel.
Familiar Themes In Raised By Wolves
Whether or not Raised by Wolves really does fit into the Blade Runner/Alien timeline, it's clear the show explores some familiar themes of Ridley Scott's. For starters, it's set in a dystopian future. It then explores the nature of humanity and the trappings of faith. And finally, the theme that Scott continually returns to is the development of artificial intelligence and android technology.
Overall, there's a good argument that the events that take place in Raised by Wolves could happen in the same universe as both Blade Runner and Alien. The show also features many of Scott's favorite story elements. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether Raised by Wolves will offer any further glimpses of the universe and the timeline in which it takes place or if it will stay grounded on Kepler-22B for the remainder of the season.
