The Wilds EPs Talk Gretchen's 'Brazen' Finale Twist, Seth's Story and the Future of 'Shoni' (Plus, Grade It!)
Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Wilds Season 2. Proceed at your own risk!
Welcome to Phase 3, The Wilds fans.
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The Season 2 finale of Prime Video’s teen survivalist drama revealed that Leah had been playing Gretchen and that she’d managed to get a call out to her friend Ian, who alerted the FBI. Now on the radar of the feds, Gretchen gathered all her things and fled the facility, leaving the girls and boys behind. But she reassured her cohorts that the experiment will go on, with a new control group for Phase 3 as she runs things remotely, with the help of someone on the inside.
Meanwhile, Leah and both groups of teens made their way to the facility’s rooftop, only to discover that they’re still stuck on an island. And perhaps even worse: Seth is still alive and there with them at the facility, blasting Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” over the loudspeakers.
Below, executive producers Sarah Streicher and Amy B. Harris answers some of our burning questions about the finale and what’s to come in a potential third season.
TVLINE | What can you say about the storylines that you’re hoping to explore in Season 3, coming off of the finale cliffhanger?
AMY B. HARRIS | I’m very excited to see how these two groups, who have really coalesced in a very strong way, protecting one another, taking care of one another, fighting with one another, how when these two groups kind of smash together, the chemistry and the explosions that will possibly come from that are very exciting, and I’m really eager to explore. Sarah and I both really love those scenes where it’s two people talking, and you’re shocked to see those two people having a relationship. And now we have 14 people to do that with, so it’s like ping-ponging, careening balls knocking against each other. We just get to explore character in such really deep, specific ways, and it’s exciting.
SARAH STREICHER | Leah felt quite close to “getting” Gretchen at the end of the second season, but now she’s more remote. So we definitely want to show how even though she has fled, these young people are still going to have means of unraveling her conspiracy and striking back.
TVLINE | Presumably the FBI is investigating. Ian did go to them, and they wanted information. Good sign?
STREICHER | He’s on the radar.
HARRIS | Yes, there’s definitely a race to those kids.
TVLINE | I’m a little unclear about whether Gretchen knows for sure what Seth did on the island and his background. Because even though, clearly, she doesn’t have these kids’ safety fully in mind, the fact that she would leave him in charge there, if she knew what he did, is kind of shocking.
STREICHER | Yeah, it’s brazen. It’s a brazen decision on her part. And we hope to unravel why she did that and what exactly her plans are for him, because they’re specific.
TVLINE | We didn’t learn, fully, how he became part of her operation. Is that something that we’ll see in Season 3?
STREICHER | I certainly hope so. Her operation is a huge question mark for a lot of fans, and understanding the gears, especially the recruitment gears. We saw that with Nora. But it’s definitely a point of curiosity that we want to chase.
TVLINE | Where is Nora, by the way?
HARRIS | She’s another mystery we’ll be chasing if the Amazon gods give us a Season 3.
TVLINE | And Shelby and Toni, are they on the mend? Do those ‘shippers have something to be happy about after their reunion at Gretchen’s headquarters?
STREICHER | It’s not all bleak, but it’s not all bright.
HARRIS | Like many relationships, it’s going to be very complicated. There was a big betrayal. The difficulty for Toni to deal with what Shelby had done, obviously now that Martha is up and around, that’s better. They’ll l have lots to enjoy because they’re obviously all going to be in very close quarters. But I think Sarah said it right — not all bleak, not all bright.
TVLINE | Gretchen said that she has someone on the inside back at the island. Obviously, there’s Seth, but the camera cut to Shelby’s face. Should I insinuate anything from that?
HARRIS | I think the camera chose somebody that’s very interesting… It’s very possible, but it’s also possible it’s elsewhere.
The Wilds fans, what did you think of Season 2? Grade it below, then hit the comments!
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