Alright, my fellow The Wilds fans, the wait for season 2 is almost over, and despite the controversy of the show adding the boys this season, I am excited to see where this story takes our girls and us viewers. So I found it only fair that I compile a list of some of my favorite theories. So let’s jump in!
First, some easier to accept theories, such as when Gretchen ordered the removal of subject four and who that might be. I and several other fans believe that subject 4 is Nora. In her attempts to silence Leah, I think she was inadvertently ruining the experiment. Taking Leah out like Nora suggested would leave Gretchen without a catalyst for suspicion, which is what she needed (I’ll discuss this later). Despite her need for an operative on the ground, Leah is a more important piece of the girls finishing the puzzle than Nora is, which is why they had two operatives. Jeanette was the operative who fully knew the plan so that she could continue to fuel the fire, but without her, the only fuel she has is Leah’s suspicion. Since Nora does not understand that her suspicion is exactly what she needs, Gretchen has to take her out of the picture. Hence the shark attack. Part two of this theory is one I’m sure all the wilds fans are familiar with, and that is the shark attack was in some sense planned. While I don’t believe Rachel was intended to lose a hand, I do think that as she realized Nora was becoming more of a hindrance than a help, Gretchen used her motivation to protect her sister against her. Putting something dangerous (the shark) in the way of Rachel’s safety- the only thing that Nora truly cares about draws her into the water to protect her sister, where they create a diversion and extract Nora. This is further solidified by the trailer, where we see Nora standing in a room of monitors, seemingly watching the girls on the island.
Next is one theory that I haven’t seen gain much traction probably because it is a theory of my creation, and that is Fatin sent Jeff Leah’s birth certificate. While I find this totally in the realm of potential, it is also hard to validate, so let me list the reasons I first latched onto this theory. The first is because aside from Gretchen, who do we know that seems to be well versed in doing their research and utilizing the information they have to either manipulate or protect someone? Fatin! She does it with her mom when she finds out about her dad’s infidelity and even states that she encrypted the I.P. address within an inch of its life. Fatin knows how to keep her hands clean while also ensuring the information gets to where it needs to go. So why wouldn’t she use this power that we’ve seen her use once again when she finds out about a predatory and illegal relationship between one of her classmates and one of her school’s most notable alumni. It makes much more sense to me that Fatin would send it rather than Leah’s friend or even Gretchen because despite the party girl no fucks given exterior, we are shown that she has a great deal of care for those around her, especially the women around her who men are hurting that she deems as harmful or inadequate to them. So while I do fully stand by and support this theory, I also accept that it does leave a lot to be desired in terms of motive and how Fatin knew. Hopefully, we will get some answers on May 6th so that I can finally have peace.
Finally, the most difficult theory to explain and the one that encompasses the most information is Gretchen’s experiment’s true goal. Let’s start by looking at what we know of Gretchen’s hypothesis so far. The entire point of this experiment is to prove that women are superior to men and, therefore, should be in charge of society. That is why Gretchen used the boys as a control group. They are her way of embodying the patriarchal society we already live in, highlighting why there is war and violence. She seems at first to have a misguided belief about how the girls will behave on the island, as can be seen when she talks about a peaceful transition of power that immediately cuts to the girls fighting. However, this contradiction does not seem to phase her, and I think that says a lot about the activities and events that are supposed to happen on the island. For the boys, she sees it as something that will make them weaker and an obstacle they will barely make it through. While in the case of the girls, she talks about their personal growth studying the ways they don’t force the situation to bend to their will but instead; let the situation shape them. That is what she wants to show! All of these girls who were deemed weak or wrong in some way are coming into their own and figuring out her plan, whereas from what we’ve seen of the boys, they are becoming monsters. This is why I think an even larger part of Gretchen’s experiment will be revealed in season 2. That part will be that the boys and girls are in the same bunker (confirmed by the trailer). Still, while the boys have remained where they are, not questioning their situation instead of becoming complacent, the girls will take the lead to uncover what has happened to them. By doing that, the girls will be further proving her theory that the patriarchal society is the route of the problems as they are content to sit around while someone else, i.e., the girls, figures things out and solves the problem. Gretchen is trying to prove that while a matriarchal society is playing chess, the patriarchal society has given up on checkers due to the difficulty it presents to them.
Those are my main theories for now, and I know I’m probably way off in most of them, but with a show like this, I think being able to see what you thought was possible vs. what was done is always super interesting. Remember, on May 6th; season 2 comes out, so be sure to tune in and support our girls and guys!
P.S. No matter what, we will still have an amazing show revolving around the girls we have all come to love as complex characters. Bullying the newer members of the cast just because you think they are changing the show is unjustified and rude. I love this show, so I’m going to give everyone a fair chance. I hope you will all do the same.