Review: The Wilds

The Wilds, an Amazon Original series that premiered on December 11th of this year, follows a group of nine girls as they attempt to survive on a desert island after their plane has crash-landed off the shore. Believing that they were going to a feminist retreat in Hawaii, each girl is lauded with a different sort of baggage that comes with being a teenage girl.

Let me be clear, it’s Lost meets Lord of the Flies. But somehow this take on the desert-island genre does not feel weighed down by convention. In fact, it uses its predictability to its advantage. It takes the recent debate of how William Golding’s novel might have played out differently if it had been a class of girls and plays it out to great success.

This take on the desert-island genre does not feel weighed down by convention

A lot of this is down to the cast of young women, too. The girls are diverse and compelling to watch. They also look believably unkempt from the moment they reach the shore; with each passing day they grow more sunburnt and their clothes more ragged, and not in a way designed to enhance their figures. It is sad that this is a noticeable improvement for this style of television show, but I am glad the effort was put in. This is down to, I am sure, the driving creative force behind the actors being predominantly female.

The show teeters on the edge of tiresome, as the first few episodes are formed around each girl telling their own story. But as their time on the island progresses, the way we hear and see these stories begins to change, keeping us all on our toes. Oh, and there is foreshadowing and red herrings galore. You can truly never trust what you are being told.

But the real reason I kept watching was not for the mystery, but for the girls themselves. Each backstory is handled with depth and grace: the cast of newcomers bounce off each other brilliantly. A favourite storyline of mine was the one that unfolded between Toni (Erana James) and Shelby (Mia Healey).

I had my suspicions about boisterous Toni from the second she was shown on the plane, and the show makes no effort to conceal or deny her sexuality. In fact, that’s a major high point for the characterisation of all the girls, from yet-to-be-kissed Martha (Jenna Clause) to loud and proud Fatin (Sophia Taylor Ali), all the girls are able to openly express and talk about their sexual desires in a space free from male judgement.

Tension was already brewing between pageant-princess Shelby and basketballer Toni, but when the girls are finally able to gorge on seafood that Rachel (Reign Edwards) found, Toni comments on its uncanny resemblance to a certain female body part. Shelby is visibly uncomfortable in this conversation and it’s not just because she’s allergic to shellfish. After revealing that her religious upbringing has taught her to believe that homosexuality is a sin, the girls suddenly turn on the girl who was once an island-favourite. ‘Aren’t I allowed to have my own beliefs?’ Shelby asks Dot (Shannon Berry), the girl she knows from her school in Texas. Astutely, Dot answers, ‘Not those ones.’

After recovering from the stomach bug given to them all by the oysters, Shelby must make the decision to give the only remaining medicine to either Martha or Toni. Toni is looking rather worse for wear, so Shelby force-feeds her the tablet despite her feeble protests. This then triggers a begrudging friendship between the two girls, and, in a plot twist we all saw coming, they even share a kiss.

In Shelby’s episode we get a greater insight into her home life and learn that her father (Warren Kole) is a deeply religious man and uses his home as a centre for conversion therapy, which Shelby frequently eaves-drops on. When Shelby is caught kissing her best friend Becca (Stefania LaVie Owen) by her dad, she immediately doubles down and blames it all on her. When she is free from the shackles of her religious parents on the island, Shelby shakes off some of that self-hatred and explores a relationship with Toni.

It’s great to see a tv show include both sides of the sexuality coin

This storyline is really well handled, from the writing to the acting of James and Healey. They have great chemistry and you really root for them. It’s also refreshing to get a character like Toni in a young adult show like The Wilds. Don’t get me wrong, storylines like Shelby’s are important, and many young people across the globe grow up in very similar environments. But it’s also important to show young queer people that you can be yourself openly. Whilst Toni’s storyline does touch upon homophobia, her baggage is explicitly her (mostly unrelated) anger management problems. It’s great to see a tv show include both sides of the sexuality coin, and great to see all the girls on the island unanimously side with Toni and not let Shelby get away with her beliefs just because she’s sweet.

Luckily, The Wilds has already been renewed for a second season so we will be able to see how Toni and Shelby’s relationship develops. Plus, there were a couple big cliffhangers revealed in the final moments that I need a resolution on.