‘The Wilds’: Mia Healey Wants This to Happen Between Shelby and Toni in Season 2
Mia Healey and Erana James brought Shelby Goodkind and Toni Shalifoe to life on Amazon Prime Video‘s The Wilds season one. The actors played good-girl Texas Christian and trouble-making foster teen respectively. While the two initially seemed like polar opposites on The Wilds, their characters found common ground in a surprising way for viewers. Here’s what Healey had to say about what she wants for the two characters on The Wilds in season two.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for season one of The Wilds.]
Shelby and Toni’s bond in season 1 of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Wilds’
Shelby and Toni both got stranded on an island together among several other teen girls at the start of The Wilds. They had difficulty getting along at first, with Toni thinking that Shelby was homophobic due to her conservative upbringing.
However, as the series went on, it became apparent that Shelby was battling internalized homophobia after growing up with a family who believed in conversion therapy and that being gay is sinful. Shelby discovered she had feelings for Toni, and the two shared a blossoming secret relationship while figuring out how to survive on the island.
What fans know about season 2 of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Wilds’
Amazon green-lit The Wilds for season two soon after the first season premiered in December 2020. Showrunner Amy B. Harris spoke to Variety about season two potential ideas in a recent interview.
“For me, one of the fun things about a Season 2 is watching as [Gretchen’s] loyal team decides whether or not they feel the way this is going is worth the damage,” she told Variety.
While fans might have gotten attached to certain characters in the first season, they should remain guarded when season two comes out.
“One of the things we talked about very early on was, no one was safe,” Harris said about the characters on the show. “Talking about what happened next, it was the Game of Thrones of it all: Your lead dies at the end of the first season and you’re like, ‘What!?'”
She continued: “That is an incredibly exciting way to tell a story as a writer.”
Where does that leave fans of Shelby and Toni? Healey weighed in on the future of the couple in an interview herself.
Mia Healey wants this for Shelby and Toni in season 2 of ‘The Wilds’
Healey did an interview with Collider’s Ladies Night and revealed what she wants for Shelby and Toni in season two, as well as any production updates for The Wilds.
“I have no idea — I think it’s imminent, I think it’s around the corner,” Healey said about season two production. “We’re gonna get this done and dusted so everyone can get a season two as soon as possible. We all just love everyone’s love for this show so we want to give them back a season two as soon as possible. So I think everyone’s doing the best job they can at making that happen.”
As for where Shelby’s story will go in season two, Healey said she knows certain parts of her character’s final story but not the journey.
“I know where [the writers want] to see Shelby at the end, at the absolute end of the entire series, where [they want] to see Shelby and what she wants to see Shelby doing,” she continued. “I know that that’s where she’s going, but I have no idea what’s gonna be happening in season two.”
Healey said that she’s “definitely” most excited to explore Shelby’s sexuality and her relationship with Toni in season two.
“The relationship she has with herself, and her God, and her sexuality,” she said. “I really want to see some growth there. I think she’s grown so much already. So I don’t want to put any pressure. But I think there’s so much room there and I really want to see her find comfort in herself and not be afraid to be who she is. I really want to see that for her, personally. I love that about her.”
You can stream The Wilds season one on Amazon Prime Video.
