With only each other on the island, the eight girls — all from different backgrounds — must stick together to survive. What the girls don’t know, however, is that they didn’t end up on the island by accident; rather, they are the subjects of a social experiment dubbed ‘The Dawn of Eve.’ The brainchild of psychologist Gretchen Klein (Rachel Griffiths), ‘The Dawn of Eve’ study intends to demonstrate how society would develop in the absence of a patriarchy, if not prove women are better leaders than men. As rivalries and relationships are built on the island, they do so in front of its secret cameras and undercover informant whose identity is revealed in the season’s finale.
The girls’ time on the island is intercut with scenes from before and after the crash, and it is in the latter — where the girls are trapped in a bunker after being rescued — that Leah makes a second, shocking discovery. After having already clocked Nora as the secret informant (her motivation being her personal connection to the study), Leah explores the bunker and stumbles upon a surveillance room with screens monitoring a group of castaway boys. Here, she also finds an envelope reading “Control Group: The Twilight of Adam,” before turning to the camera and exclaiming “What the f***.”
“What the f***” indeed; audiences learned the girls were part of a social experiment early on in episode one, but news that this was happening to another group of teenagers was a surprise to everyone. Of course, this new information forms the crux of season 2. And though audiences can expect Gretchen and the girls to return next season, they can also expect some new male faces. As with ‘The Dawn of Eve,’ ‘The Twilight of Adam’ consists of eight subjects, and the actors playing them vary in experience. Deadline recently announced these actors, along with brief descriptions of their characters; based on this information, here’s what we know so far:
Zack Calderon (FBI) will play Rafael Garcia, a shy teenager from Tijuana who attends high school in San Diego and, feeling split between the two cities, struggles with his sense of identity; Nicholas Coombe (Paper Planes, Midnight Sun) will play Josh Herbert, the black sheep of his family who suffers from hypochondria and chronic stress; musician Aidan Laprete (Alexa & Katie, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay) will play Henry Tanaka, a reclusive emo who likes to escape the world using his noise-cancelling headphones; and Alex Fitzalan (Slenderman, The Society) will play Henry’s step-brother Seth Novak, a gregarious and funny boy who is liked by everyone but Henry.
Charles Alexander (Mother Dearest) will play Kirin O’ Conner, a hot-headed athlete who likes to be in control; new-to-TV Miles Gutierrez-Riley will play Ivan Taylor, a creative type with a sharp tongue and enviable fashion sense; Reed Shannon (School of Rock, Station 19) will play Scotty Simms, a teenage entrepreneur who dreams of joining the likes of Bezos and Musk on the Forbes 400 list; and Tanner Ray Rook (Side Quest) will play Scott’s loyal best friend Bo Leonard, an introspective and optimistic teenager who had a rough upbringing.
Fans of The Wilds might notice some parallels between these boys and the girls they’ve come to know and love. For example, ‘The Twilight of Adam’ has two step-brothers, whilst ‘The Dawn of Eve’ has two sisters — Rachel and Nora — and both of these pairings have strained relationships. Moreover, Kirin O’ Conner sounds awfully similar to Toni who is also a hot-headed (ex) athlete with control issues, and Bo Leonard sounds exactly like Martha who is optimistic despite her horrific past, too. Other comparisons can, and surely will be made come May 6 when season 2 will be released.
As of now, there is no trailer for the second season, though The Wilds team have been very active on Instagram, sharing behind-the-scenes photos of the new season as well as flashback photos of the last. With season 1 ending on such a cliffhanger, fans have many questions beyond the obvious: who are the new boys, and when will the girls meet them? These other burning questions concern Nora’s whereabouts, Shelby’s sanity, and Martha’s death (is she really dead?) Fortunately, in only a couple of months, all will be revealed.
