Generally issues must worsen earlier than they get higher. Within the case of “The Wilds,” issues get method worse, like comically dangerous. The second season of the teenager survivalist story, which hit Prime Video on Might 6, exhibits the group combating excessive bodily and psychological exhaustion whereas progressively uncovering the Daybreak of Eve experiment that is the reason for their struggling. There’s additionally the introduction of male castaways, unknowing members of the Twilight of Adam program. Although each teams collectively insurgent by the tip, escape will not be but earned.
The solid equally skilled successes and obstacles whereas filming the difficult season. Sarah Pidgeon, who performs Leah Rilke, and Reign Edwards, who performs Rachel Reid, spoke to POPSUGAR about bonding with their costars, shaping their characters, and capturing their most tough scenes.
Pidgeon continues to painting the group’s relentless whistleblower, however in season two, Leah questions her judgment as she experiences vivid hallucinations. By the tip of the season, Leah’s having imaginary conversations along with her superstar crush, Ben Folds. (Sure, performed by the real-life singer.) These scenes, which additionally happen within the water, had been the toughest for Pidgeon. “It was only a problem to have the bodily problem of being in water and likewise the psychological area that Leah was in,” she says. “It was barely unfamiliar and extra heightened, in order that simply introduced one thing new to determine the best way to wrap my arms round.”
“That stubbornness turns into ferocity to get justice.”
Regardless of her anguish, Leah maintains her combating spirit. “There are such a lot of occasions all through these two seasons the place she’s gotten critically knocked down,” Pidgeon says, “and but regardless of that, she nonetheless challenges herself to determine the reality.” Pidgeon says she most admires Leah’s “energy to maintain persevering.” She provides, “I feel she’s extremely cussed, however she’s very good, and that stubbornness turns into ferocity to get justice for not solely herself however all the group.”
Rachel additionally faces insurmountable obstacles. The primary season revealed she misplaced her hand in an accident in some unspecified time in the future throughout her time on the island; the brand new season begins by exhibiting how that occurred, throughout a shark assault that seemingly killed Rachel’s sister Nora. (It is price noting Nora was additionally revealed in season one to be an informant for experiment mastermind Gretchen Klein.)
The primary episode, filmed over the course of three days in New Zealand, was “undoubtedly probably the most difficult and intense” for Edwards. Following her preliminary state of shock, subsequent episodes present Rachel vacillating between numerous grief levels, earlier than she finally makes peace along with her sister’s absence whereas in awe of bioluminescent waves crashing. The digicam abruptly cuts, nonetheless, to Daybreak of Eve headquarters, the place an unscathed Nora watches the surveillance footage.
Nora’s destiny is a serious query that looms over all the sequence; because it seems, Edwards knew about as a lot because the viewers throughout filming. “They had been conserving it beneath wraps as to what was going to occur with Nora, as a result of it was such an enormous shock what occurred on the finish of the primary season, so I did not actually know,” Edwards says. “I do not assume I knew till we bought that episode, really. They stored it beneath wraps from us for a superb minute.”
Whereas sure spoilers are stored secret, Pidgeon describes having a “collaborative” working relationship with showrunners, particularly “The Wilds” Creator Sarah Streicher and Government Producer Amy B. Harris. “There was at all times room for dialog,” she says. “They perceive these characters, at occasions, higher than I do. They’re simply such beneficial assets who had been at all times able to lend an ear and advise.”
Edwards chimes in with an anecdote: after filming the pilot, Edwards watched diving competitors movies as a part of her analysis for the position, and he or she was interested in how widespread it’s for divers to hit their head on the board. She talked about it to Streicher, and it later grew to become part of Rachel’s story. “It’s actually incredible to see them be keen to listen to us out and discover various things that we discover intriguing about our characters, they usually do incorporate it generally,” she says. “It is a actually rewarding expertise to have the ability to have that with the creators of the present.”
“It was like one huge slumber social gathering.”
For all its strife and sunburns, “The Wilds” does have moments of levity. For starters, there’s Shelby and Toni’s love story, which has since sparked a devoted Shoni fandom, and different snippets of pleasure, just like the campfire sing-along set to “Dwelling” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Pidgeon says that was her favourite scene to movie, whereas Edwards cites the bioluminescence scene. And although there wasn’t a lot onscreen overlap, the Daybreak of Eve and Twilight of Adam solid members spent a whole lot of time collectively throughout filming. “All of us lived in the identical lodge, so we might have barbecues, we might get on the bikes, go to brunch down the seashore,” Pidgeon says. “It was like one huge slumber social gathering, actually.” Edwards notes the group’s huge sport evening, and Pidgeon provides, “It bought aggressive.”
Although they maintain their very own in relation to board video games, Edwards and Pidgeon had one decide for which of their costars can be one of the best survivalist in actual life. “You understand who involves thoughts? Erana. I really feel like she simply is one which’ll shock you,” Edwards says. “”She has this calm on the market. She has this actually groundedness to once we’re out engaged on location, which I feel is basically cool.”
All eight episodes of “The Wilds” season two are presently streaming on Prime Video.
