Summary
It’s hard not to feel more drawn to the girls, as the introduction of the boys feels underwhelming — going through a similar story with a new set of characters is not having an impact so far.
This recap of Amazon original series The Wilds season 2, episode 1, “Day 30/1,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the season 1 finale.
It would have been a waste if Amazon did not renew The Wilds for a second season. The question is, can it sustain a decent story. The first season captured the hearts of teenagers, but the introduction of the boys may be a stretch. Let’s see.
The Wilds season 2, episode 1 recap – the premiere explained
The premiere of season 2 opens with the girls reliving their trauma and recounting their grief of losing one of their own. They discuss how they became close due to these events. They became “family.” It then flits to a plane of boys as the series opens up another camp of teens going through the same experiment. The series then shows a montage of the boys introducing themselves via social media.
One of the boys, Rafael, is interviewed at the Dawn of Eve. He’s asked to tell them about his days on the island. The island scenes show that Kirin tried to take the lead first — he wants to look for resources. The boys have hope of being rescued.
Episode 1 then flits back to the girls. Shelby lies next to Toni; she discusses her grief and how she feels good to be by Toni’s side. She confesses she has not been looking to God recently. The couple makes out intimately, highlighting how far their feelings have grown during hard times, but later on, Martha sees them kissing. Martha asks Fatin about them, but she already sensed they had something going on. Martha lets Toni know that she knows she is in a romantic relationship with Shelby, and she’s cool with it.
Dot and Fatin create a new “SOS” message on the beach in another resurged hope that they may get rescued. Dot then checks up on Rachel Reid, the sister of Nora, to check the dressing on her amputated arm. She also tells Rachel they are moving location, but she wants to stay in case Nora comes back.
Leah asks Rachel how Nora found out about this retreat and put the pressure on her. Rachel states that her sister wanted to save her, and she starts getting angry, blaming herself for her sister’s death. This causes a commotion as Rachel falls into a heap, sobbing. Fatin confronts Leah about what she just did to Rachel. And then, Dot tells Rachel she will stick by her until she’s ready to leave with them. Rachel eventually gets up to join Dot.
The boys were split up on the island momentarily, but then they find one of their own swept up on the beach and mutilated — almost like a shark had eaten him. He’s dead. In the present, Rafael states how no one knew what happened to him. He says many things haunted him on that island. On the island, the boys had no idea of what to do with the body. Rafael was one of the boys that dealt with the deceased with Seth, who picked him to help, nestling the body in the sea.
The ending
In the present, Rafael tells his interviewers that he’s not stronger after his experiences on the island. He doesn’t like how you cannot control what you turn into. He explains that they all wanted to be men, but some of them became monsters.
As the episode ends, it turns out that one of the boys is Gretchen’s son. He’s annoyed at his mother, calling her a psychopath. Meanwhile, in the present, as Rafael returns to his room at the facility, Leah jumps up behind him and says, “don’t scream.”
It’s hard not to feel more drawn to the girls, as the introduction of the boys feels underwhelming — going through a similar story with a new set of characters is not having an impact so far.
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