[New post] ‘The Wilds’ Season 2: Sarah Pidgeon & Reign Edwards on Managing Leah’s Intensity and Keeping Nora Alive via Rachel
Admin posted: " The ladies of The Wilds went through a lot in Season 1 of the Prime Video show. Yes, Season 2 brings new challenges, but the Dawn of Eve subjects must now navigate those while trying to manage the weight of those traumatic past events. When Season"
The ladies of The Wilds went through a lot in Season 1 of the Prime Video show. Yes, Season 2 brings new challenges, but the Dawn of Eve subjects must now navigate those while trying to manage the weight of those traumatic past events.
When Season 2 opens up, Sarah Pidgeon's Leah is still reeling from being trapped in that hole by Helena Howard's Nora. And making matters worse, no one else believes it really happened. Leah's desperate to prove her suspicions true, but extreme self-doubt is starting to make her wonder, are the other girls right? Is she completely losing it? And speaking of Nora, she vanished out in the ocean while trying to save her sister Rachel (Reign Edwards) from a shark attack, an attack that resulted in the loss of one of Rachel's hands. As though things weren't tough enough already, now Rachel is being suffocated by grief and guilt.
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Image via Prime Video
All of the characters on The Wilds face enormous challenges and must fight through some especially low lows, but they do get some moments of levity and hope every once in a while. Leah, however, seems to get less of those than most. Her obsession with figuring out the truth has her operating at an 11, fraught with tension, almost every single second of the show. Pidgeon's ability to hit that level and keep herself there with such raw intensity is remarkable, but one's got to imagine such a performance is incredibly demanding. How exactly does one maintain that level of intensity without burning out? Here's what Pidgeon said:
"To be honest, I think playing this character has unlocked a new sense of anxiety for me because her heart is racing all the time. When you really think about what she's going through and what all the girls are going through, and then the crushing realization that no one really believes her or understands what she's trying to communicate about what she believes is happening on this island, when that comes into the reality as the actor, I think it would make anybody on edge and wired. It just sort of informs itself I think. But at the end of the day, it's the performances that everyone else is giving themselves too that make Leah seem as, I guess, neurotic at times as she is. She wouldn't seem as neurotic if it weren't for the reactions and the ripple effect that it has on everyone else on the island."
Edwards faces a different type of performance challenge that she navigates beautifully in the new season. Not only does she continue bringing Rachel to screen with great heart, nuance, and sensitivity, but, in a sense, she's also responsible for keeping Nora's memory alive through her performance. What's the key to juggling both? Check out with Edwards told me:
"Obviously remembering key moments and special moments between Nora and Rachel from Season 1, but also I think just for me, I have sisters myself, so to kind of somewhat walk a fine line of living in that world of imagining them not being with me is I think something anybody can relate to when you have siblings, or just someone that you love dearly, the fear of them not being there. And so I think that's how I played with Rachel really just coping and dealing with that throughout the entire season and that's the way I kind of was keeping Nora alive, as well as the writing giving me that as well."
Image via Prime Video
Looking for more from Pidgeon and Edwards on The Wilds Season 2? Be sure to check out our full conversation in the video interview at the top of this article!
'The Wilds' Season 2: Breaking Down the "I Love You" Scene with Mia Healey & Erana James
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About The Author
Perri Nemiroff (2900 Articles Published)
Perri Nemiroff has been part of the Collider team since 2012. She co-hosts Collider FYC, The Witching Hour and hosts the interview series, Collider Ladies Night. Perri's a proud graduate of Columbia University's Film MFA program and member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Perri splits her time between Los Angeles and New York, but devotes every waking hour to her cat, Deputy Dewey.
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