‘The Wilds’: An addictive, masterful dystopian binge

We’ve all thought about it before: What would you do if you were stranded on an island without anyone around to save you? “The Wilds,” a survival drama television series, written by Sarah Streicher, examines this exact scenario. The plot is reminiscent of shows such as “Lost” and “The Society,” yet the characters feel nuanced and relatable, despite some of the stereotypical teenage tropes portrayed.

Released by Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 11, 2020, “The Wilds” has already gained popularity and been renewed for a second season. The show begins with one of the main characters, Leah (Sarah Pidgeon) being interviewed by trauma specialists Dean Young (Troy Winbush) and David Sullivan (Daniel Faber). A group of nine girls, including Leah, are stranded in the ocean near a tropical island, with no knowledge of their location or how long they’d been gone. The girls boarded a plane on route to a women’s empowerment retreat called the Dawn of Eve, but their trip quickly goes awry. 

The girls manage to make it to the island intact, and resourceful Texan Dot (Shannon Berry) instructs the group to take stock of their supplies. On the island alongside Dot and Leah are twin sisters from New York, Nora (Helena Howard), a quiet yet clever introvert, and Rachel (Reign Edwards), a type-a competitive diver. There’s hotheaded Toni (Erana James) and empathetic Martha (Jenna Clause), best friends from Minnesota. Shelby (Mia Healey) is a saccharine pageant queen from Texas, who also knows Dot. Popular, outgoing Fatin (Sophia Taylor Ali) is from California, alongside Leah. And then there’s cheerful, P!nk-loving Jeanette (Chi Nguyen), who is badly injured after the crash. 

At first, the group rations their food, builds shelter, and prepares for likely rescue. However, as time on the island progresses without any sign of help, some of the girls become suspicious about the circumstances of the plane crash. From the beginning, it becomes clear that there is something more sinister happening behind the scenes; in the first episode, the trauma specialists ask Leah if she ever noticed any signs that she wasn’t alone on the island. 

The show flashes from the girls’ time on the island to the present, where they are interviewed by Young and Sullivan. Each episode of “The Wilds” focuses on a different girl, delving into her past and the experiences that led her to the retreat. This style of storytelling helps viewers fully understand the characters’ complexities and provides a strong narrative arc that leads up to the ultimate plot twists.