Day 36/14
Episode 3 of The Wilds Season 2 starts back with the boys again on Day 14. While they huddle together on the beach, the guttural growl of a wild animal sends them all sitting upright and fearing for their livelihood. Henry is the bearer of bad news, poetically telling them all that the grim reaper is currently sharpening his scythe. So naturally, all the kids run into the water. Back in the present, Gretchen and Daniel both brief Dean on what’s going on with their “Leah headache.” Gretchen makes the tactical choice of switching places with her subordinate and teams up with Dean for the latest interrogation, pointing out she can “draw blood from a stone.” That stone happens to be Scotty, who immediately points out that she sucks at interrogations. However, he does agree to talk – but only as the other survivors have spoken up. Specifically, we cut to Scotty and Bo together, keeping up their shady dealings with the food. From the granola bar back in the first episode, Scotty points out that in order to get a step ahead, some people need to cheat. This is something that the pair have a history with, as flashbacks show Scotty and Bo starting up an exciting new business venture together. Specifically, they decide to buy up a whole stack of discontinued designer Collab T-shirts and sell them on for more money. Using Bo’s father’s car, they drive off to buy loads of T-shirts and head home. The trouble is, there’s a stain on the coffee table when Bo returns, and he worries that his father will figure out he’s been there with Scotty. Thankfully they both use a blow-dryer and hide the evidence. Unfortunately, the t-shirts -despite being sold – are completely soaking wet and ruined. They’re also spotted by Bo’s father, who ends up beating his son. This happens off-screen, but the nasty purple bruise above his eye is evidence enough of this. Back with the boys, Seth speaks to Henry about his constant outbursts and his “death lord shtick.” Specifically, he mentions how it’s causing everyone to feel downbeat and worried. Seth even tries to drown Henry too, pointing out that this is a game of survival and he’s doing this to show him that he needs to control the darkness inside him. It seems to work too, as Seth tells them they’re family. The pair eventually head back to the rest of the group, who decide to hand out up on a ledge for now, where they can’t get attacked by the jaguar again. Bo is flustered, and it stems from him and Scotty having found a suitcase of food earlier in the season. It’s always been Bo and Scotty VS the world but now, Bo is about ready to end that nine year pact and open up to the rest of the boys and share what they’ve found. Speaking of sharing, friendly banter soon turns nasty when, up on the rocks, Ivan points out that Kirin has gonorrhea. Ivan also tells the other guys that he’s been rummaging through Josh’s suitcase for his meds. After an earlier slur in “buttmunch”, this is Ivan’s retaliation. Meanwhile with the girls, we’re on day 36 and a falling tree almost wipes out Toni completely. This sends half the girls off on a mission of their own, with Fatin speaking to Martha about what she’s going through. Specifically, she admits that the idea of sex terrifies her. The pair have a really touching conversation in one of this chapter’s highlights. Toni and Shelby also have an important conversation too. The latter continues to follow Toni and make sure she’s okay, pointing out that she can’t stop seeing the falling tree. Toni reassures her, as the pair end up kissing again out in the woods. With the girls, Shelby happens to see the twinkling lights of a ship out on the horizon but given the fire isn’t burning too bright and it appears to be a long way away, she realizes that her chances of getting their attention is slim. As the episode closes out, Scotty and Bo decide to head out and kill this jaguar before it kills them.
The Episode Review
Another episode of The Wilds could have been good… but for how busy and sporadic the pacing and ideas are here. The timeline feels skewed between the boys and girls, and I honestly can’t help but feel this story would have worked so much more effectively had they decided to film this as solely the boys in season 2 and then added both the girls and boys together for a possible season 3. Imagine if Lost had the main island plus the tail section, plus flashbacks, plus time off the island all in one episode and you start to get a feel for how messy this year’s story has been. It’s a shame actually because the ideas are definitely here and you can see what the writers are trying to do but the execution is shaky and it really doesn’t work that well. Personally, I’d rather just have another season with the girls!
