EXCLUSIVE: Reign Edwards & Sarah Pidgeon Preview What’s to Come on Season 2 of The Wilds

Season 2 of The Wilds is set to premiere on Prime Video tomorrow, May 6, and we got the chance to sit down with two of the stars of the show, Reign Edwards (Rachel) and Sarah Pidgeon (Leah).

During our chat with the ladies, we talked the new additions to the series, their characters, the island, change, and so much more. Check out what they had to say below!

The first season of The Wilds was a fairly female focused show up until this point. How did adding all those new male characters change up that dynamic?

Edwards: “I would say the show still does have a female focus even with the male characters coming on. I think the male characters coming on helps [the audience] understand a little bit more of what season one is, and what the female experience is, while also understanding why males are, society-wise, the way that they have been through the experiences that they have and why then it impacts women. I think that there’s still a very strong female presence on the show and having the guys, interestingly enough, helps tell that story a bit more as well.”

Sarah, where do we find Leah this season?

Pidgeon: “Season two, she meets certain obstacles that I think may recalibrate how she is dealing with the conspiracy theory she has, and figuring out how she, I think, sort of self-soothes in a way throughout the rest of the season, but still maintaining the arc to get to where she is when we see her in the first day, in season one in the post-rescue.”

Do you believe she has changed from Season 1 to Season 2?

Pidgeon: “There’s definitely a change. There’s far more layers to Leah as there are to all these characters, as with the boys that were introduced to this season, there’s far more than meets the eye. There were surprises that Leah had that I was not expecting, and how she begins to cope with things this season. But her theories are never far off, no matter how tempered they may seem.”

How do you both think Leah and Rachel’s relationship has changed since Season 1?

Edwards: “I’d say that specifically between Leah and Rachel, that there is these two characters that are very extreme. They have these two different types of extreme, but that ultimately connects them in the sense of they learn there’s a way that they can actually bond, is that they both react in very intense ways to different things.”

How do you think all the ladies have changed over the two seasons?

Edwards: “I think they’re all just dealing with the trauma of being on an island together but allowing themselves to have the human experience within that. I think that’s really, really cool.”

Pidgeon: “I think so much of the tension in season one came from each character having their moment, because it’s unfamiliar because it’s new to this group of girls who did not decide to be put on this island together. They had to figure out how they would deal with that along with learning how to survive on this island. I think in season two, that becomes, although it’s still survival, a slightly more manageable task, and the idea of someone’s spinning out is not as rocking or terrifying. Obviously, there’s different degrees of that, but I think they’ve built a stronger web, so when that happens, it doesn’t rock the boat necessarily as much as it did the first season. They have all had a chance to realize that just, as much as they are different, they also have a lot of similarities, and their differences and similarities are what makes them strong as a group and ultimately helps them survive.”

Both of your characters go to really dark places in this series, how do you handle those scenes and then try to get back to real life after filming has concluded?

Pidgeon: “Your body, when you experience emotion, whether or not you’re acting, your body doesn’t know that you’re acting. So, there were certainly some long days and some hard days. But the storytelling and the writing is so strong in the series that I feel like it does so much of the work for you. It really is just trusting it and hoping that you’re ready to be in that place, and ready to be on the other side of it when you come out of it. I think it’s just sort of really taking in everything that this character’s experienced. Everything these girls and boys are experiencing is so overwhelming, so when you really just sit and think about, I think it’s not that hard to feel empathy for these characters and embody that emotion.”

Edwards: “I would say, like she [Pidgeon] said, your body doesn’t remember, doesn’t really know that you’re acting or not. What is also are really incredible is that we have cast and crew that really respects everybody’s process whenever we know that someone has a big emotional day coming up, everybody kind of goes along with whatever that person needs. It really helps us to go through our processes to ease in and out of these emotional places, because whether we’re build to net up for ourselves, for the character or from reading what the character has, or just something that we’ve personally experienced, it’s still a real emotion that we are conveying. And it’s definitely a lot of work.”

Was there something you learned about your character this season that really surprised you?

Pidgeon: “She has some comedic moments, which I wouldn’t expect as much. It was nice to see that written and be able to explore that.”

Edwards: “Yeah. Rachel and Leah together have some very comedic moments, which I think was really cool for us both to experience.”

Are you over the “beach life” yet or do you still love filming the island scenes?

Edwards: I’d say, second season, we didn’t have it as bad as like first season. First season we were on the beaches of New Zealand on the west coast beaches, which are a lot rougher. We got a pretty nice second season.”

Pidgeon: “Yeah. We had shade. Yeah, second season was like a walk in the park compared to the first season. But life’s a beach.”

One of the topics that surrounds Rachel this season and last is her role in sports and the expectations that come with it. Can you talk a little bit about that and what you’ve learned about that?

Edwards: “It was so interesting after season one. I got so many messages from younger people that were the teen athletes, and especially young black women that were teen athletes. And how, when our body changes, it’s not always accepted in the sport, and it is traumatizing. It’s like we can’t help how our bodies end up forming, that’s all genetics and things like that. So, to have that experience, there were a lot of people that messaged me connecting to Rachel’s eating disorder and the trauma of wanting something so badly and your body’s just changing, and you can’t help it, and trying to do whatever can not necessarily the healthiest way.”

When you read those messages, how did it make you feel?

Edwards: “I was very honored to be able to bring that story to life for a lot of people, and the person that helped me create that for Rachel is one of my closest friends. She actually has the same eating disorder as Rachel, so I was able to talk with her and work with her through a lot of it and what different things meant and implied and just the mindset of it. And I’m just glad that I was able to do it justice.”

The other topic this show promotes is that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover> Can you talk a little bit about that?

Edwards: “I hope that they get the message because I think especially in a time where the there’s so much going on in the world and everybody’s just battling opinions. I think it’s important to remember that we’re all human and we all just want to live life. We all just need some love. I hope that through seeing these teens in this extreme environment have to learn to become friends with people they never would have maybe if they were back off the island. But these people end up being people they’ll probably love and be with for the rest of their life. I think that’s a very powerful message. I hope they get it.”

Pidgeon: “I think in particular young people, are so connected because of the internet, and I think there have been some really beautiful things that have come out of that. At the same time, I mean, in terms of judgment, I’ve always been that what you judge in someone else is usually what you see in yourself. I think in that same space, the internet space, because of the profiles we have, it’s really easy to come up with an idea.”

What do you mean?

Pidgeon: “When I got this job, of course I’ve been stalking all of the girls on Instagram and coming up with these ideas of who, ‘Oh, how should I be myself around this person, and this person, this person?’ You get there and they just look like the photos, they are totally different from what you thought they would be. I think it’s like a sort of self-preservation and self-defense and it’s easy to go to because we don’t want to get hurt, but I hope people get the message that at least try to listen. There are definitely people that should not be listened to, but I think the majority of the time, give them five minutes, and see if they can change your mind.”

The island is clearly a place where they girls must confront a lot of their deepest fears but what positives do you think your characters take from being on the island?

Edwards: “I would say that Rachel learns to let life happen. She was so caught up in being strategic and trying to plan everything out because that’s what she did in diving. When all of that was taken away from her and then she’s on this island and even more things are being presented to her that she never would’ve thought she would’ve ever encountered. I think in a very abrupt and dramatic way, she’s learned to let life happen. But I think it’s also very helpful to be like, ‘I’m going to be miserable if I’m always trying to make life happen a certain way.’”

Pidgeon: “Leah understands the power of her own mind. I think just in general; she grows up a whole lot from her back story in season one, she’s dealing with a lot of things for the first time. Like all the girl roles, she sort of gets a crash course in life and really unpacking these feelings that she’s just experienced. She comes out on the other side with a lot more power, knowing herself a lot better, and she can use that to her advantage. She’s just much more of an adult. she has more tenacity towards life. Understands how it works a little better than she did at 16.”

Let’s talk about the make-up process you both go through this season, what is that like?

Edwards:” At the end of the day, you definitely want to get it off. But I don’t know if you found this Sarah, but I would forget I had it on in regard to other people seeing me with it on, so I completely forget that I look very different on set than I do offset. And sometimes scaring people with your appearance because you’re so roughed up. But you also end up just kind of getting used to it after a bit, but you’re wondering what’s on your face, something doesn’t feel right, and then you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I have all this stuff in my face.’”

Pidgeon: “I feel like it gave me a lot of freedom because… As a woman, and then as a woman in the industry, there’s a lot of lookism, and pressure to look a certain way and getting sunburn and peely, and you’re greasy and gross and dirty. It just sort of helped me hide behind my own insecurities of like, ‘oh, I don’t like how I look today,’ but then it just was such a great distraction. My skin is peeling, and I have a sunburn and I’m not supposed to look great. And these characters aren’t feeling that as well, I found it liberating. And it just made me not think about what I looked like, so I could figure out what I wanted to feel, I think. And what I would want the audience to take away from those moments. But I feel like I could really do some good effects makeup after this show now. Just watching it in front of my face every day.”

What are you both hoping fans get from this season?

Edwards: “I think something I always hope people take away from any project that I’m part of is just the humanity of people. I especially think to take away the humanity of these kids and kind of to apply that to their everyday experience. We’re all just trying and learning. There’s also so much pressure on kids as well to have everything figured out and to be this perfectionist at times. We don’t have it all figured out. Even when you get older, you’re not going to have it all figured out, but life is going to happen and flow. And there’s some really beautiful moments that come from not even knowing what’s going to happen. So, I do hope that is taken away from the show.”

Pidgeon: “I hope fans walk away with a feeling of being super satisfied and entertained and enthralled and heartbroken. It’s so fun to get wrapped up in something and I just hope they get wrapped up, and a little lost for a bit, and wish they didn’t watch it so fast.”

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity