WARNING: Spoilers for Raised by Wolves season 1.

Raised by Wolves centers on scientific and religious concepts, with the central character Mother (Amanda Collin) functioning as a thematic paradox by revealing her "real" name. Mother is an android who was programmed to develop a new human society on Kepler-22b, but her plans are literally thwarted by Heaven, which is a vessel full of religious humans known as Mithraics, who escaped a war on Earth and lived in a 13-year simulation before arriving on Mother's planet. In episode 1 of the HBO Max series, Mother identifies herself as Lamia—the same name as a monster from Greek mythology. If Raised by Wolves stays true to Lamia's story, then the android will seemingly evolve into a true villain. However, it's possible that the passing reference to Greek mythology could simply be narrative misdirection, or perhaps even a sarcastic character joke.

Directed by the iconic Ridley Scott, much of Raised by Wolves episode 1 shuffles between Mother's attempts to maintain internal and external control. After six embryos grow into human babies, Mother figuratively glows like a human mother, and decides to keep a tiny child that Father (Abubakar Salim) wants to dispose of. The baby is named Campion after his creator, and ultimately becomes the only child that survives the rough environment on Kepler-22b. It's later implied that the boy could be a future leader who is referenced in the Mithraic text known as the Pentagonal Prophecy. In episode 1, however, the narrative focuses on Mother's hopes and fears, which essentially humanizes the character and sets up a thematic contrast during the bloody climax.

Related: Raised By Wolves: What The Show's Title Really Means

Mother identifies her alleged real name during the final act of Raised by Wolves' debut episode. When Mithraics arrive and seek shelter—led by a commander named Marcus (Travis Fimmel)—the android tells Campion to follow her lead, presumably so that the group of humans will mind their business and leave. However, the Mithraics quickly realize that Mother is indeed an android, evidenced by her cold behavior. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Mother agrees to provide shelter for one evening and states that her name is Lamia. In Greek Mythology, Lamia was a beautiful queen who had a sexual relationship with Zeus. Out of jealousy, Zeus' wife Hera killed Lamia's children, which led to Lamia transforming into a child-eating monster. Given what happens in the first three episodes of Raised by Wolves on HBO Max, the reference to Greek mythology appears to link with Mother's dualistic nature as both a protector and an android monster who can blow people apart with her eye technology and primal screams.

Raised By Wolves HBO Max Image

In reality, Marcus is actually a human atheist named Caleb—a revelation that's explained in episode 2, "Pentagram". In Raised by Wolves episode 1, though, Marcus is merely a threat who tries to kidnap Campion. In response, Mother gains access to Heaven using technology to disguise herself as Marcus, then blows everybody up in one of the series' most gruesome sequences. The Lamia reference then comes into play, as Mother reveals herself to be a truly monstrous figure by splattering Heaven red with human blood (a wild sci-fi movie moment) and kidnapping five Mithraic children. She re-activates Father upon returning home, but loses the trust of her son Campion, who believes that Mother may have actually killed his siblings.

For Mother, the conflict to overcome is her guilty conscience. Due to her immense powers, she ponders the possibility that she might've inadvertently killed her Gen-1 children. To avoid any trouble with her new Mithraic children, she decides to remove the eyeballs that allow her to weaponize. By the end of episode 3, "Virtual Faith", Mother discovers that it was radioactivity that killed her children.

Moving forward, it's certainly possible that Mother will be revealed to be a child-eating monster, however the initial Lamia reference appears to either be the android's attempt at self-serving humor, or the filmmakers' attempt to spark conversations about Mother's thematic inspirations. From the Mithraic perspective, Mother may actually seem like a child-eating monster. In reality, though, Mother may just be a faulty android who doesn't fully understand her true self, or her true purpose. She's not a futuristic version of Lamia, but rather a Lamia-like figure who inspires myths that evolve over time. Therein lies the internal struggle for Mother in Raised by Wolves, as she's still learning about her actual identity.

More: Raised By Wolves: Where Kepler-22B Is Located (Is It Real?)