Prime Video’s ‘Wilderness’ Is a Trashy Twisted Masterclass in Vengeance With a Dash of Taylor Swift: TV Review

One of the extraordinary delusions of patriarchy suggests that if women are good or wholesome, they will be rewarded. Those prizes can come in different forms but typically encompass an ideal life with a perfect partner and children. Any imperfections and cracks can only exist beyond the frame of whats being showcased to the public. In actuality, patriarchy has no winners. Its a suffocating mirage. The disillusionment of being an idyllic woman quickly becomes too much of a burden. While some people can stick it out to the bitter end, others claw their way out of this suppressed existence or lose themselves trying to escape.

Adapted from B.E. Jones novel of the same name, Amazon Prime Videos six-episode series Wilderness focuses on betrayal and vengeance. The revenge thriller begins on the open roads somewhere in the American West. A British couple, Liv (Jenna Coleman) and Will Taylor (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) are riding in a blue Mustang and basking in the sun. Though the pair look like they could be placed on the cover of a J.Crew catalog, their relationship isnt quite so picturesque.

Wilderness then pulls the viewer nine months into the past. Fresh from the U.K., Will and Liv are ecstatic to settle into a gorgeous New York City apartment. Will has been promoted to events manager at his hospitality company. Unfortunately, their relocation has put Livs career as a journalist on hold. Without a work visa, shes along for the ride, relegated to keeping house and working on her novel. Though things seem magical initially, the duos first Christmas in Manhattan crumbles in a frenzy of smashed pies and shattered ornaments when Liv learns Will has cheated on her.

After begging for forgiveness and promising his transgression was just a one-time thing, Will gives Liv the honeymoon of a lifetime, a road trip through the West Coast. At first, Liv seems intent on forgiving her husband and moving forward, resetting their life and marriage. Yet, just before the duo embarks on their adventure, Liv learns that Wills affair with his co-worker Cara (Ashley Benson) is much more involved than he admitted. Enraged by Wills deceit, Liv keeps these newfound revelations to herself and begins plotting her husbands accidental death during their vacation. However, her plans are thwarted when the pair crosses paths with Cara and her oblivious boyfriend Garth (Eric Balfour) during a hike in Yosemite National Park.

Female hysteria has been a label and tool used to control women for centuries. However, stories like Gone Girl, Promising Young Woman, and even the television adaptation of Fatal Attraction all centering vengeful ladies are finally unpacking the circumstances that would drive a clearheaded woman to the brink. Dealing with broken trust is painful in itself. But to be constantly lied to and gaslit by the person who promised to be your safe space could drive anyone to madness, female-identifying or otherwise.

Throughout the premiere and into the second episode, there is nothing spectacular about Wilderness. The typical plot points are all present as the audience waits with bated breath to see which of Wills lies might finally unleash the rage brewing beneath Livs skin. Yet, as the show moves into Episode 3, everything shifts. Livs plan is pushed off course, and the resulting action and violence are shocking enough to make the viewer sit up just a bit straighter. Additionally, creator Marine Dickens is careful to ensure the women in the series arent positioned in competition with one another. Talia Balsam as Wills boss, Bonnie, and Marsha Stephanie Blake as Detective Rawlins are great, but Coleman is wickedly fantastic as Liv. She can endear the audience to Liv and her plight in one scene only to unleash her monstrosity in the next. Similarly, Will slowly shifts from irritating to repugnant, leaving the audience with no one to root for, but still determined to see who might come out on top in the couples increasingly retaliative relationship.

Despite its enticing twists and turns, Wilderness has some blemishes that are so baffling and surreal that they lean into the realm of trash TV. Since the series central themes are infidelity and revenge, it has some soap opera-leaning elements with overtly predictable outcomes. After all, what is a scandal-fueled drama without a chaotic gunfight? The overdramatization is reinforced by fragments of Taylor Swifts Look What You Made Me Do (Taylors Version) playing across the show. Also, revelations about Livs past, including the reason for her strained relationship with her meddling and aggrieved mother, Caryl (Claire Rushbrook), are too belatedly revealed. Finally, Livs friendship with her neighbor Ash (Morgana Van Peebles), who is strangely besotted with the Brit, feels perfunctory.

Still, when its all said and done, Wilderness offers viewers more than a window into the mind of an aggrieved wife. Instead, it portrays a marriage built on lies and what happens when those deceptions fray, revealing the truth. As Liv and Will quickly learn, the facade theyve created for onlookers has subsequently imprisoned them, transforming them into the most diabolical versions of themselves. Thats the thing about marriage: Once the commitment is made, wrapping your world around someone elses, untangling the webs and roots merged in the union becomes nearly impossible. Its especially true when you become intent on being the last one standing at the expense of your better half.

Wilderness premieresSept. 15on Prime Video.