Summary
The finale of season 2 is not bad at all, but what’s frustrating is that it feels like the writers have tricked us a bit.
This recap of Amazon original series The Wilds season 2, episode 8, “Exodus” — the ending explained — contains spoilers.
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The finale of season 2 is not bad at all, but what’s frustrating is that it feels like the writers have tricked us a bit. The rest of season 2 feels like a filler by bringing in the boys and then bringing another twist at the end. In reality, the story has not moved forward much.
The Wilds season 2, episode 8 recap – the ending explained
The finale of season 2 opens with Shelby singing at a bar. Toni is at the bar watching her, and Shelby is shocked to see her, but she continues to sing. Gretchen meets in her dressing room and tells Shelby she was astonishing with her singing. Gretchen asks her to choose either a red or a blue gummy bear. But this turns out to be a dream as Shelby wakes up in the facility.
On the island with the girls, Shelby and Fatin investigate the jungle after Fatin’s discovery. They think they have a map of the island that will lead to other secrets. They see something at the top of a tree, so Shelby climbs up to get it, but she falls. Shelby doesn’t want to give up, but she’s hurt herself, so Fatin tells her to stop. Shelby is desperate to help the girls off the island — she’s doing it for Toni. Fatin decides to climb herself. When Fatin comes back down, the object looks like a radio; Shelby concludes they are not alone on this island. Fatin tells Shelby they shouldn’t tell anyone about the radio as it’s a big deal, and it will turn the group’s world upside down.
Toni wants to try again by putting Martha into the hot springs to see if it helps take her out of her catatonic state. Dot and Rachel help her. There’s a sense of unity between them. As for Leah, she’s still in the ocean, talking to the man she’s hallucinating. She’s in two minds about returning to the island. But then she realizes she’ll do anything for the girls on the island. The man calls her “a child,” and Leah gets angry — she’s sick of older men calling her that. The man tells her to prove it to the others, so they believe she isn’t a child.
Leah returns to the girls, and Fatin dries her down with a towel. Fatin calls her the strongest person she knows. And then, suddenly, a helicopter appears in the sky, and the girls are in total shock.
The finale then moves to the boys on their island. Kirin tells Josh that everything has “gone to shit” on his watch. After plenty of tension, the boys decide to let loose and throw the frisbee around. But then, Seth returns, and he shows the group the boat. He tells them he found it, but in the previous episode, we saw him attack the man picking him up. The group is surprised to hear that the motor works. Seth wants to use the boat and tell the coast guard about the others. However, the group feels that is risky because they do not believe Seth will help them, and they want someone to join Seth on the boat. Rafael and Kirin volunteer to join.
So the trio heads out to sea on the boat. However, the motor stops working, and Kirin loses his cool and fights Seth. Seth throws him into the sea and tells Rafael they will be leaving Kirin in the water, calling him a “ticking timebomb.” He asks Rafael to hit Kirin with the oar. Rafael hits Seth instead and then punches him repeatedly. Kirin tells Rafael to stop and tells him there’s a boat.
Back at the facility in the present day, Gretchen visits Leah. Leah wants to know what this experiment is. Gretchen tells her that she and the girls are now more fully-realized human beings, including Nora. Gretchen then shows CCTV footage of Martha and Toni together. Martha gets out of the wheelchair herself and hugs Toni.
Gretchen shows Leah a photo of her before the island, demonstrating her growth. She then tells Leah that she became so savvy she almost got her number. Leah asks Gretchen, “how do you know I didn’t?” Leah keeps smiling and tells Gretchen that the damage is done and asks her to answer her buzzing phone. Gretchen picks up the phone, and she’s shocked at who is on the other side. Flashbacks show that Leah has been playing a character all this time — she’s acted like a child to bring down Gretchen. In the real world, Leah manages to get her friend to report to the FBI.
As Leah gloats in her room, the lights turn off, and the doors unlock. When she goes into the corridor, she finds Fatin, and they bump into Kirin and Henry. The group then finds a room that looks like a prom night with a disco ball. Both the boys and the girls are reunited, but there’s plenty of confusion.
Gretchen then can be heard through the speakers, welcoming the revolution and calling it a bright future. Leah tells the others to find Gretchen immediately. So they all scour the facility, but it’s empty. Meanwhile, Gretchen is stepping off a plane, and she sees her son. She asks her son if he got what he needed to hurt her. Her son apologizes, and the mother and son hug. Gretchen tells him that they forgive but don’t forget and asks him to go on the plane.
The ending
Gretchen then accuses Dean of fucking her over by being a mole on her team. She provides him with a life where he can be reunited with his daughters, but she wants his silence in return, or he will be in danger. On the plane, Gretchen tells her small team that phase three has begun, and a new control group has formed. With all the bugs and surveillance removed on the island, Gretchen reveals she has someone on the inside. Meanwhile, the teenagers reach the facility’s roof to see they are on an island. Music plays on the speakers—Leah, filled with rage, screams.
Phase 3 has begun, and the last scene reveals that Seth is the guy on the inside for Gretchen.
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