Good Creatures

Mother is on the hunt for the giant flying serpent, which she believes is responsible for the death of her husband and two children. With an enormous gun strapped to her back, she ventures across the great expanse. Only, she winds up running into Father and his band of sacrificial lambs.

Father urges her not to take any unnecessary risks, pointing out that the children (and himself) care deeply for her. After contemplating these words, the pair go their separate ways in search of the creature. They’re not alone though.

Marcus and his new believers are on the hunt for the serpent. They have commandeered a tank and sent out a sound-wave to try and lure it in. Unfortunately, it’s Father who is lured in by the sound-wave. ..

Marcus stops the tank and stands before him, seeing the believers and urging him to let them go. Marcus tries to encourage him to turn onto their side, but instead Father knocks him down. That’s an emphatic no then.

Marcus is not the same man he once was. He has lost some of his power and is now forced to work with Father to get back up and knock Father down. However, Lucius still spit in Marcus’ face and refuses to join him.

Paul and Campion arrive at the cave with Vrille, where they find the sigil of Sol and realize that she is part of Marcus’ group. Paul is concerned, and urges Campion (in vain) not to tell Vrille anything. When Marcus and his group return, the two children hide behind a rock. ..

Meanwhile, Mother runs into the Trust who aren’t best pleased with her destroying their trap. She believes the Serpent is atop the mountain and intends to go up there and kill it. Interestingly, the soldiers intending to get her into trouble are given instructions from HQ to head up and join her.

Mother makes it to the summit after a difficult vertical ascent. ..

When Mother finally comes face to face with the creature, she drops the gun and kills a nearby bird, offering it up as a sacrificial offering to the serpent. It turns out the creature is actually an herbivore and not lusting for blood after all. ..

Father is saved from being killed by his children when it is revealed that Mother has decided not to kill the creature after all. The creature is kept safe in a cave nearby and something else killed the colonists. ..

The Trust is not exactly happy when they find out that the serpent killed the colonists. Father is equally displeased and confronts Mother about her choice. Well, it turns out that the creature can’t withstand the acidic water, given its scales and biology, so it seems like there’s something else that killed the colonists. The serpent was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Father compares it to a parasite but Mother urges him to see her way of thinking.

Father found a strange corpse last episode. He managed to bring the bones together to form a skeletal outline and started using his own fluid to bring it back from the brink.

Father’s strange skeleton slowly starts to reform, and he continues to use fuel and fix it up to how it was before.

Father, on his quest for fuel, finds himself in a battle against Billy, an industrialist who is an elusive and dangerous fighting machine. With a chainsaw attached to one arm and a minigun on the other, it seems like a rather unfair fight.

Father uses his ingenuity to destroy the android and win the fight. The crowd cheers; Father bathes in the adoration of the crowd and also bagges himself a good deal of fuel too. ..

Meanwhile, Paul is interrogated by the Trust. The orb continues to show up and echo his voice across the room. Paul confirms he still wants Marcus dead. As he’s shown his mouse, Paul is urged to speak the truth. ..

Interestingly, Paul lies and claims he hasn’t had contact with Marcus. It seems to work, as the Trust confirms that there’s a search and destroy mission due to take place in less than 24 hours’ time. However, Paul’s mouse begins acting a little strangely, and it’s theorized that it may well have a brain chip installed in it.

Marcus soon has the kids working hard, handing out fruit to those who need it most. Paul, however, is not in the mood and warns the kids about Marcus. He believes they should warn Vrille. From afar, they watch as Marcus hands out fruit to the kids. ..

The camera pans over to show the sun, beaming into the camera lens as shadowing Marcus’ face; a beautifully eerie way to end the episode. ..

The Episode Review

The Wolves are back and they’re mean as hell. This season looks to build on the foundational work done the first time around to expand and develop each of the characters. Marcus is a far more intriguing enigma this time, with his motivations seemingly bathed in the goodness of the sun but still at odds to the Trust and what’s happening there.

It seems clear that Mother was never going to kill the creature, but learning that it’s actually a herbivore and not responsible for killing the colonists is an unexpected twist. This revelation proves that life is stronger than death, and it’s a good way off showing that life is a more important virtue than death. ..

Father’s journey has been equally intriguing and it’ll be interesting to see what direction this takes going forward.

This season, the kids are given more to do. Paul’s conflicting feelings about the Trust and his faith are opening up another plot that could well see him deciding to join Marcus. ..

The ending of the novel leaves the door wide open for what may happen next.