Riveting, compelling, beautiful, dark, funny; a wonderful series This series flew completely off my radar during its first run in 2020, and I only discovered it randomly after reading reviews for the recent "Yellowjackets"; to my surprise, it turned out to be even better than "Yellowjackets". It begins with a similar premise, but in its first season "The Wilds" has no male characters in the survival situation, making for a thoroughly refreshing all-girl dynamic; it also has no horror aspirations (although there are a couple of graphic and/or disturbing scenes), but it does have a "whodunit" aspect to it. The second season adds a boys' group to the mix, though it keeps them separate from the girls; I was wary of that development as soon as it became known, but I trusted the showrunners to....well, run the show as they see fit, and I have to admit my fears were not confirmed. Despite some slow spots, the second season is just as compelling as the first, with themes and twists that sneak up on you step by step. And even though the boys get technically more screen time in S2, the girls still get their moments to shine, particularly Fatin (she is so damn cool in this season) and Leah (she is so damn unhinged - and rightfully so). The show is well-made, well-acted (you can feel the personal investment of the young actors in these characters), well-scored, extremely well-photographed, and above all carries a touching message about empathy, compassion, acceptance, solidarity; it says that we should not judge people on first impressions, for better or for worse. You know you love a series when you actually HOPE there is a cliffhanger ending that doesn't resolve things just to increase the odds of one more season. 8/10 for both seasons so far.