Wilderness episode 3 recap: the morning after the night before

Liv wearing a backpack in Wilderness episode 3
Liv is left facing the consequences of her actions in episode 3. (Image credit: Prime Video)

This article contains spoilers for Wilderness episode 3.

Wilderness has arrived on Prime Video, and episode 3 brings an almighty twist that left viewers reeling. 

Here's everything you need to know about what happened in Wilderness episode 3... 

So we left Liv at the end of episode 2 shoving Will off the edge of a cliff in the middle of the night, and episode 3 opens with her waking alone in her hotel room as the enormity of what she has done hits her. 

But after a few tears, Liv gets up and has a shower, before going into 'clean up' mode, getting rid of any evidence that the night before had been anything but normal. 

First, she clears up the empty bottles, then the broken glass from the tumbler that she threw at Will during their argument, before rehearsing in the mirror what she is going to say to the police when inevitably arrive with news of Will's demise. 

However, when the knock on her door comes, Liv braces herself to play the grieving wife, only to find Will on the other side of the door instead. Wait, hang on... isn't he meant to be dead?! 

Speechless with shock, Liv shuts the door in his face, and Will takes this to mean that she is still cross with him after their argument the night before, not because she thought he was dead after shoving him off a cliff. 

Once she composes herself, Liv lets her husband into the room and he is quickly apologizing for the things he said, explaining that he went to the bar for a nightcap and ended up sleeping in the rec room of the hotel. 

Despite the fact she wanted to kill him the night before, Liv seems surprisingly happy to see Will is, in fact, alive and well, and soon they are checking out of the hotel early looking like the perfect couple. 

They explain to the hotel receptionist that they're hoping to get to Vegas on the next leg of their journey - but Liv is thrown into a panic when Will innocently asks if anyone has handed in his red raincoat that he lost the night before. 

But wait, if Liv didn't push Will off the ledge, then who did she shove? 

Well, it turns out we don't have to wait long to find out. 

Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Will Taylor in Wilderness

Liv is speechless when Will comes back from the 'dead'. (Image credit: Prime Video)

As the couple head out to get some air, they bump into Garth, who is leaving a worried voicemail for Cara, who didn't return to their room last night. Garth explains that they had an argument and she walked out... but as Will tries to call Cara's phone, the penny drops for Liv and she looks like she's going to be sick. 

Despite the fact she knows exactly where Cara is (probably in a crumpled heap on the forest floor is our guess) Liv pretends to be as shocked as everyone else and soon the mountain rescue team is heading out on a search, complete with a helicopter as well as a team on foot.

Liv and Will head out to help the team search the forest, but Will doesn't get far before his bad leg from the previous day hurts and he's forced to stop for a rest. As he sits, Liv sees the infinity necklace that she tore off in a fit of rage before she shoved Cara lying on the floor, and she quickly sneaks it into her bag before anyone can see. 

It's not long before Cara is found, and to Liv's shock, she is still alive and being rushed to hospital. 

Liv drives Garth and Will to the hospital and Cara is awake, but the good news for Liv is that she can't remember a thing from the night before. While Garth demands answers from the doctors, Will and Liv leave Cara to rest. 

Ashley Benson as Cara in Wilderness.

Liv is stunned to learn it was Cara in the red coat, and not Will.  (Image credit: Prime Video)

The next morning, Liv seems to be in a good mood, and after ordering flowers to be sent to Cara in the hospital, she leaves Will sleeping while she goes for a run. But when she gets back to the hotel she is shocked to see Will, still in his hotel dressing gown, comforting Garth as the realization that Cara has died hits her. 

Running away before anyone can see her, Liv hides behind the hotel and calls her mum... who is worried to hear her daughter crying on the phone. After her panic attack subsides, Liv still refuses to say what has actually happened, but once again we get the impression that this has happened before and her mum says all the right things to soothe her daughter. 

With this now a potential murder investigation, the police are swarming the hotel, and no one is allowed to leave before they have been questioned. Liv and Will manage to make their escape where Will finally confesses that Cara is the woman he has been sleeping with, knowing that it doesn't look good that he was the last person to see her alive when they have been having an affair. 

Liv is incredulous as Will asks her to be his alibi as he chatted with Cara the night before while he was drunk. Although he promises that all they did was talk, Liv is stunned by the request... but little does Will know, this arrangement works out perfectly for Liv because she is the one who needs an alibi for real! 

Later the police quiz the couple and they stick to their story that Will had a nightcap in the bar and then went back to the hotel room to be with Liv at 11.30 pm. Will is grateful that Liv lied to the police for him... completely oblivious to the fact he has just given the real killer a fake alibi. 

Will Liv's lies catch up with her? There are just three episodes left to find out... 

All six episodes of Wilderness are available to stream worldwide on Prime Video now.

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.