Wilderness

Amazon Prime's offering, Wilderness, faces the formidable challenge of adapting the gripping novel by B.E. Jones.

Set against a brooding, atmospheric backdrop, it serves up a blend of thriller and drama that delves into the deepest crevices of human emotion and morality.

Yet, despite its ambitious narrative arc and stellar ensemble cast, one can't help but wonder if this televised adaptation has achieved its lofty aim of not merely mirroring the novel's success, but eclipsing it.

As the old saying goes…hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And Liv Taylor is a woman who has well and truly been scorned.

What Is Wilderness About?

Live Taylor (Jenna Coleman) has been married to Will (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) for a little over a year. In that time, she has had to give up her job and move to the other side of the world – New York City – so that he can pursue his dream job.

All is going well, and without a work visa, journalist Liv has decided that she will finally write that novel she's been putting off. And then she finds out that Will has cheated on her.

After some begging and pleading from Will, she agrees to give the marriage another go. And, to kick things off, the couple go on their dream holiday, a cross-country trek across the US.

But as we soon find out, Will didn't just have a one-night stand, he's been having a long-standing affair with a work colleague. He just doesn't know that Liv knows.

So with the wilderness spread out in front of them, Liv decides that rather than potentially watch somebody else live the life that she should have had with Will, she'll kill him instead.

But the path to revenge doesn't always run smooth and Liv soon finds herself in a devasting mess even she can't clean up.

So how will it all end for the couple? With Liv's marriage hanging in the balance, will she kill him or will they live happily ever after? Watch Wilderness to find out!

Wilderness Official Trailer

Is Wilderness Worth Watching?

A Prime Video original, Wilderness kicks off with an almighty bang, namely by featuring a new re-recorded version of Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift over the opening credits. And if you know the lyrics to that song, then you know what you're in for.

Creator Marnie Dickens and director So Yong Kim have done a really fine job of balancing both the love and rage that Liv feels for her husband. Despite the lunacy of her plan, at every step, you can't actually help but relate to her, a testament to Jenna Coleman's acting chops.

And Jenna Coleman really is superb in Wilderness. She plays the wronged wife to perfection and excels at drawing you into her crazy plan in what is otherwise a twisted love story.

Should she just divorce him? Absolutely yes. But then we'd have no show! So instead we get a decent thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep you hanging on to see how the whole thing will unfold.

That said, it's not perfect by any means. Firstly you have to buy into the idea that somebody married to Liv/Jenna Coleman would actually cheat on her. Then you have to believe that said cheater is soooooooo dumb that he would leave cheating breadcrumbs all over his phone, laptop, bedroom drawer etc… It's like he wanted to get caught.

With maybe one or two episodes more than necessary to tell the story, there are plenty of times when believability gets stretched to near breaking point.

And that ending left me a little cold but Jenna Coleman is so good in this revenge role that I couldn't help but really enjoy it.

Wilderness TV Show Cast

Jenna Coleman as Liv Taylor, a Welsh woman who moved to the US for her husband's job before finding out that he's cheating on her

Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Hill House) as Will Taylor, Liv's lying, cheating husband

Ashley Benson as Cara Parker, the woman Will is having an affair with

Morgana Van Peebles as Ash, Liv's friend in New York

Claire Rushbrook as Caryl, Liv's mother who is back home in Wales

Talia Balsam as Bonnie

Eric Balfour as Garth, Cara's husband

Marsha Stephanie Blake as Detective Rawlings

Jonathan Keltz as Detective Wiseman