One of the actual positive things that 2020 has given us is both some great streaming shows and the time to actually binge them.  From The Mandalorian to The Queen’s Gambit, we’ve all had the headspace to digest some great shows to keep us occupied.

A show that went somewhat unnoticed earlier in the year was HBO Max’s “Raised by Wolves.”  If you glance at just a moment or two of footage from a trailer, it appears to be a mid-budget SciFi show on the same level as Battlestar Galactica or Stargate.  But what isn’t promoted heavily is that famed director Ridley Scott serves as the developer and showrunner.

If you know Scott’s work, you already know that the director behind Blade Runner and Alien has a lot to bring to a SciFi show like Raised by Wolves.  The premise isn’t too different from 2012’s Prometheus, where humanity has to act as explorers out of necessity.  Without going into spoilers, while this could exist in the same cinematic universe, it tackles that idea a little differently.

Here’s the problem though: Raised By Wolves is another case of a lot of brilliant ideas without the best execution.  There’s amazing cinematic scenery to chew on and a lot of great characters to learn about.  There’s also some great ideas about where the future of humanity could go, alongside technology and religion.  But it’s almost as if all of those ideas weighs down the story, and it goes into every ridiculous direction that doesn’t answer the questions it brings up.

All of this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  A series or film taking some big swings at big ideas is something that’s worth something.  Raised by Wolves certainly doesn’t play it safe, but it would have been nice if those swings resulted in more hits than misses.

As a show that goes into a lot of philosophical corners, everyone’s mileage is going to vary.  It is a gorgeous show that plays around with concepts that hardly any other does, which does making it more than worth checking out if you’re subscribing to HBO Max.