Sarah Stretcher’s The Wilds, an Amazon Prime hit, was recently canceled for renewal. The fans patiently waiting and anticipating the release of Season 3 are left disappointed, as the series ended the last episode on a cliffhanger. This comes as a shock as the series saw success and acclaim. The show, based on a group of teenage girls and boys stranded on an island, was the perfect recipe for success as the pandemic hit.
The first season, which saw the girls grasping at straws and trying their best to fight, was later joined by the boys in the second season. The climax was as thrilling as any Agatha Christie epic reveal, but alas, it left fans wanting more when there was nothing left in the works.
The Wilds Season 1: Recap
The plot of the series revolves around a group of teenage girls that are left on an abandoned island after a plane crash when they are en route to a retreat in Hawaii. They say ignorance is bliss, but here, it is deadly. The girls are completely unaware of the fact that they are part of a scientific experiment orchestrated by Gretchen Klein, a scientist.
She heads the Dawn of Eve program, which seeks to prove that the gender system currently followed and leadership norms abided by are not by virtue but by oppression. She seeks to prove that women are better leaders and survivors.
The first season shows us three different timelines: the before, the time on the island, and the interview with police, aka Gretchen’s fellow scientists Daniel Faber and Dean Young. This gives us an insight into the problem that these teenage girls grappled with before coming to the island.
The series skillfully portrays the fight between the idea of self-image, self-esteem, and gender identity. Shelby and Toni have a same-sex relationship, which isn’t shown as all ‘flowers and roses’ but something that has very real consequences of societal rejection and family backlash.
The girls also portray how ambition puts a chokehold on everything in life, which makes you lose sight of the most important things, via the character of Rachel, who is a competitive diver and an acclaimed sportsperson. This all comes crashing down when her sister (who is a mole for Gretchen) dies.
It is revealed later that she was actually pulled out of the program to put a stop to all the suspicions that were quickly rising among the girls, endangering the project.
There are other issues at play as well, like heartbreak, friendship, parental control, acceptance by society, etc., which makes us more connected to these teenage girls and root for them at every step of the show.
The series is portrayed in the format of flashbacks, where the girls are still oblivious to everything and believe that it’s all just a simple plane crash. However, Leah starts to suspect something is going on and begins to uncover the facade laid out by the adults, which leads her to discover the Twilight of Adam project, and season one signs off with this cliffhanger.
The Wilds Season 2: Recap
Season 2 starts off with the boys being brought into the play via another one of Gretchen’s mastermind plots. They also experience a similar plane crash while leaving for the retreat and are stranded on an island, isolated, short of supplies, and terrified. Not a good combination.
We have the nerd, the dork, the jokester, the jock, the emo, and all the high school personality types on the island. But the island does what it does best, and that is peeling off the surface and bringing out the nuances of each character’s personality when faced with impossible choices.
The boys also struggle with issues, albeit a little different from their female counterparts. The toxic home culture, the medical issues, the issue of body image in teenage boys, and toxic masculinity are all persistent themes in the second season, which engage the viewers at all times.
They also live three simultaneous timelines: flashbacks to the life before the plane crash, the life on the island, and the interview with Faber and Young. The boys also have a mole, played by Seth. He is also an abuser but has quite an interesting yet horrible character to play.
The girls are getting closer and closer to the truth as Leah gives it her all and also figures out somehow to get access to the boys and talk to them. What she learns leaves her dumbfounded.
The climax leaves the viewers at the edge of their seats as it seems that all of Gretchen’s efforts will come crashing down as Leah does her best to foil her plans.
But our antagonist is not big on losing and restructures the plan that begins Phase 3 of the project, which leaves the boys and girls together and co-existing on the island. The show ends with Leah screaming her lungs out as Gretchen leaves in a helicopter.
The Wilds: Cast
The cast of the show is full of talent and expresses every minute detail of the role they are given to play.
We have Sophia Ali as Fatin Jadmani, Shannon Berry as Dorothy “Dot” Campbell, Jenna Clause as Martha Blackburn, Reign Edwards as Rachel Reid, Mia Healey as Shelby Goodkind, Helena Howard as Nora Reid, Sarah Pidgeon as Leah Rilke, Erana James as Toni Shalifoe, David Sullivan as Daniel Faber, Troy Winbush as Dean Young, and Rachel Griffiths as Gretchen Klein.
Season two introduces the boys. The cast is Charles Alexander as Kirin O’Conner, Zack Calderon as Rafael Garcia, Nicholas Coombe as Josh Herbert, Alex Fitzalan as Seth Novak, Miles Gutierrez-Riley as Ivan Taylor, Aidan Laprete as Henry Tanaka, Tanner Ray Rook as Bo Leonard, and Reed Shannon as Scotty Simms.
The Wilds Season 3: Renewal
The series first aired on 11th December 2022 on Amazon Prime. It received raving reviews and was praised by viewers and critics alike. The second season was quickly renewed and was released on 6th May 2022. This season didn’t receive its predecessor’s reviews, but it was considered pretty good.
However, Amazon Prime has canceled the third season of the show, which was set to release in late 2022 or early 2023. This left the fans completely shocked as the prior seasons were pretty successful, and even similar series were popping up in the mainstream, like Yellowjackets.
The Wilds Season 3: Expected Storyline
The show was left at a cliffhanger, with the third phase that was set to start with both girls and boys co-existing on the same island and battling all the same issues, but together. Seth was also at the island, in the control base, left a pariah but still working for Gretchen as the mole. The following tweet holds completely true.
THE WILDS (screams loudly) https://t.co/s9dclT7E4d
— roselie (@shelbystonis) October 7, 2022
His storyline was highly anticipated. Would he still torment his island mates or come to a consensus with them? How will he help Gretchen in her pursuit of scientific revelation? How will Gretchen conclude this study? What will be the outcome of this experiment?
How will the girls and boys co-exist? Will there be new romances in the air? Will old romances die out? Will Rachel get to know her sister was a mole? Is there a chance that new characters will be introduced? Will the teenagers ever get back to their homes? Is there a way they would be able to go back to their normal lives again?
There are still many questions that fans will have to answer via their imagination. Till then, binge-watching other shows seem like the only option left.
