Utopia Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Wilson Wilson is a main character during series 1 and series 2 of Utopia. Initially against The Network, Wilson defects to their side after learning what Janus does and deciding that their cause is just, and was brought on as Milner's protégé.

In Prime Video's remake of Utopia, Wilson Wilson is again a main character. He is a part of a group of fans of the comic Dystopia who learn of a sinister plot which is unveiled within the pages of comic's conclusion, Utopia. Similar to the original series, he joins his friends in trying to thwart this plot, but is eventually turned to the other side, Kevin Christie and the Harvest, after realizing that their worldview is similar to his own.

Utopia (UK)[]

"I have, over the last five years, using various international laws, data protection acts, and Internet know-how, wiped all trace of me from the world... I'm invisible."
—Wilson Wilson

Background[]

Wilson is a survivalist geek and a conspiracy nerd who spends far more time than is healthy on the Internet. Brought up by his oddball hippie dad, the two keep a nuclear fallout shelter in their back garden.

Wilson is an ardent believer in conspiracy theories, such as that the USA has developed and is testing a "tsunami bomb" that caused natural disasters in Asia, the CIA invented caffeine, and the Taliban alter Afghan heroin to make Western consumers infertile. His greatest flaw is that he is simultaneously suspicious of everything and extremely idealistic and trusting.

Season 1[]

In S01E01 He is one of the four forum users "chosen" by Bejan Chervo to view the Utopia 2 manuscript, along with Becky, Ian Johnson, and Grant Leetham. While arranging to meet at a pub, Wilson and Ian are initially unaware that they are meeting each other, Wilson failing to wear blue and only making himself known when Becky arrives. Although their meeting is awkward at first, Wilson only making it worse by chatting with Ian about how "I didn't expect you to be..." "Tall?" "No, black." Becky breaks the ice and they begin discussing their lives. They eventually go back to Wilson's and after meeting his dad, Milton, go upstairs and get drunk.

Bejan is killed before he can meet with the rest of them and the next day, Wilson tries to find him and learns of his "suicide" from detective Joshua Reynolds. Initially in disbelief, Wilson hacks into Bejan's medical files and learns that his apparent depression was added to his file recently. After informing Reynolds of this, he is told to just go home before a report is submitted about him. Ultimately Reynolds files a report about Wilson anyway, alerting Arby and Lee of his presence.

Arby and Lee knock on his door and threaten him with a gun, later tying him up and torturing him for information. Lee proceeds to rub chilis, sand and bleach into his eyes one after another each time Wilson fails to answer the question "Where is Jessica Hyde?" whom Wilson at that time had not yet met or heard of. Wilson's right eye is gouged out with a spoon by Lee when he attempts to lie in answering the fourth time Arby asks him with the answer "She's dead." Arby then leaves Lee to kill Wilson, but Lee ends up going for a cigarette. Lee's smoke break gives him time to dislocate his thumbs and escape his handcuffs. Lee returns and finds Wilson waiting with his gun, deeply worrying Lee until he notices that he is still partially blind. When he attempts to get towards Wilson to take his gun back he almost makes it but Wilson manages to shoot him in his abdomen and escape.

When Ian and Becky pick him up, he warns them they can't take him to hospital as they'll be looking for him there and begins worrying about his dad. While hiding at Becky's house, Becky bandages Wilson up as best as she can but tells Ian that he needs to go to the hospital. The group hear a knock at the door and Wilson exits holding Lee's gun warning them not to answer. Ian opens the door and on the other side find Jessica Hyde.

In S01E02, Jessica takes the group on the run and tries to help them adjust to the new dynamic. Wilson is given heroin as a painkiller and later complains about this, stating that the Taliban have been altering Afghan heroin to make consumers infertile. He manages to create a makeshift eyepatch and after Ian and Jessica leave to find out about Jack Tate, he insists they find out if his dad is alright, discovering that although Jessica said she sent someone to collect him, she only told him this to keep him from panicking. When Becky discovers that The Network killed Milton Wilson, she lies to him as she also doesn't want him to panic and put the group in jeopardy. When the family whose house they are staying in arrive home unexpectedly, Becky holds them hostage and ties them up with Wilson, an act later commended by Jessica.

When the group leave and meet Grant, actually an eleven year old boy, they have him sit with Wilson in the van. Wilson laughs at the fact Grant said he drove a porsche and shagged supermodels, after which Grant asks if Becky has a boyfriend.

In S01E03, the group head to another house and while Becky suggests they wait for Jessica, both Wilson and Grant know how to break in. When the group debates over what to do with the manuscript, Wilson points out that Grant is on TV, leaving him horrified and insisting that it isn't him that committed the school shooting. Wilson and Ian wake up the next morning to find Grant gone with Jessica.

Ian and Wilson argue over how to hack into the MI5 website, but are clearly struggling regardless of their methods. Becky suggests that they just call Milner using a phone, initially getting an amused reaction from them, but ultimately proving the best method. Wilson suggests that they can't be traced if the call is less than forty-two seconds which he just learned from Spooks, so they make it thirty. Ian gets through to Milner, telling her he's friends with Jessica Hyde, but Milner appears completely confused, unsure as to who she is. When she asks who Jessica is, he hangs up at thirty seconds.

However, they are almost instantly called back by Milner, who tells them that the previous line was monitored and that they need to leave immediately and meet her in a chapel which is usually empty. As the group leave, they are followed by a skinhead man in a car.

When the skinhead arrives at the chapel shortly after the group and has a standoff with Wilson, although Wilson is visibly shaking and unnerved, asking the skinhead nicely to lower his weapon. When the skinhead gives Wilson a countdown to lower his weapon, on three he is shot in the head by Milner. Milner removes her bullet from the man's head and asks Wilson to shoot both rounds of his shotgun into the man's head to cover her tracks. After doing this she points her gun at Wilson and asks why she should trust them, only to be met with the same response.

The group talk with Milner near the chapel about the manuscript and learn that The Network want it because it contains the identity of Mr. Rabbit. After Milner confirms that this must be the reason, she gives the group a phone containing only her number, stating that "I can't do this alone." and that they can work together against The Network. She later gives Ian Alice Ward's address and he relays this information to Wilson and they go there to find her. When they arrive however, they find Grant and Alice running out of her house after Arby's bargain with Jessica and yell for them to get in before driving away.

When Wilson sees a newspaper article reporting his father's death, he has a breakdown.

After hearing Conran Letts explain the Network's motivation for developing Janus, Wilson is swayed to their side. He betrays his friends by releasing Letts and stabbing himself in the stomach to fake a struggle, after which he follows Jessica to the Corvadt building and turns on her before she can track down and kill the Assistant, who they believe to be Mr. Rabbit. He draws a gun on her but can't work up the courage to injure her, and when Grant exiting the elevator distracts him, Jessica stabs him and leaves him in the stairwell to his fate.

Season 2[]

Wilson survives being stabbed and is adopted into the fold of The Network by Milner. She admires his dedication to the cause and attempts to show him the ways of well intentioned extremism, letting him in on top secrets about the upcoming release of Janus. Wilson is initially hesitant to commit violent acts, but after much coaching, he is able to kill two guards and Ian's brother in cold blood. Following Milner's death, Wilson takes on the role of Mr. Rabbit.

Gallery[]

Utopia (US)[]

Ep_339_-_Utopia-_Desmin_Borges_Interview

Ep 339 - Utopia- Desmin Borges Interview

Interview with Desmin Borges, Wilson Wilson actor

"I can hold my breath for 180 seconds to combat waterboarding. I can live off my own urine for an entire week should they withhold water, and I can dislocate both of my thumbs and my shoulder should I ever need to escape handcuffs and/or binding."
—Wilson, explaining the various things he's learned should he ever be captured and interrogated, "Just a Fanboy"


Wilson is a doomsday prepper who lives with his family.[1] Despite his various claims, he finds himself largely unprepared for the reality of real torture. Even so, he is not all hot air, as he actually does know techniques such as how to escape from handcuffs and does not reveal the truth even after having his eye scooped out. He has a complete underground bunker, filled with canned foods he hopes will sustain him should an apocalypse happen. He lives entirely off the grid, having no ID, credit cards or bank account.

Wilson Wilson is part of a group of fans of the comic Dystopia, along with Ian Ackerman, Grant Bishop, Samantha J. and Becky Todd, who study the comic hoping to discover clues to real-life viral outbreaks. The members of the group are delighted when they discover that Utopia, the conclusion to Dystopia, is going on sale, but find themselves drawn into a web of conspiracies when their knowledge of the comic makes them the target of a group known as the Harvest. They come face-to-face with the real-life Jessica Hyde of the comic and discover that the corporate mogul Dr. Kevin Christie is at the head of a conspiracy known as "the Undoing." While the others race to stop the plot, Wilson Wilson remains behind to extract a confession to the world from Christie, only to instead be turned to his point of view.

Seeking Utopia[]

I Contact You

Wilson Wilson places his bid for the Utopia comic

Wilson is one of several individuals who receive a text from Samantha J., informing them that Utopia has been discovered and will be sold at the comics convention Fringecon. Upon learning this, he asks his father for 30 bucks in order to get there. His father quips that he's borrowing 30 bucks to spend 200 dollars for a comic and when Wilson is not amused, he quips to take it from him that crackpots like them have to have a sense of humor to survive. Wilson leaves, his father shouting after him to remember to have a good time.

He sends a reminder to the others to not give out their contact details, that security is paramount. Upon seeing the comic, he recognizes it as being an original manuscript and sticks with the group's plan, bidding only $500 to try to damp down interest and for his contact details writing only "NO WAY - I CONTACT YOU." Later, on the convention floor, he discovers Samantha holding forth with a bunch of fanboys about how the characters in Dystopia aren't real, but the viral epidemics depicted within it are. They laugh her off, but he stands at a distance, soaking in her every word. Later, he meets up with the group, sans Grant, who has still yet to arrive. With no word from the comic's sellers, Ethan Lander and Olivia, he agrees to let them stay at his place for the time being.

Torture and escape[]

Utopia is Real

"Guys! Get in! Utopia is real!"

The group heads to Wilson's house and meets his family. They check out his underground bunker and study over a picture of a page of Utopia that Ian managed to sneak with his smartphone. They discover what appears to be a hidden virus and a message saying "This is our Undoing." They toast to their discovery and then decide to text Olivia, as they feel they can't wait any longer to get Utopia. They receive a text back asking if Grant is there and they lie that he is, not knowing that Olivia is dead and that her phone has been taking by Jessica Hyde, the main character of both Dystopia and Utopia. Everyone except Wilson then leaves in anticipation of Olivia's arrival to go get donuts and coffee, promising to bring him back a bear claw despite his protest that he's "not a pawn of Big Sugar." While they're gone, two assassins from the Harvest, Arby and Rod arrive at the home, having got a ping off the texts. They pose as gas officials and proceed to slaughter Wilson's entire family with deadly gas, then proceed to the underground bunker.

The two assassins handcuff Wilson to a chair and begin interrogating him. They demand to know three things - "Where is Utopia? Where is the boy? (Grant) Where is Jessica Hyde?" Wilson plays dumb, pretending not to know the answers to any of these things and claiming to be "just a fanboy." They torture him, first pouring salt in one of his eyes, then pouring bleach onto it, and then finally scooping out his other eye. Despite his obvious pain, he does not crack and they eventually conclude, incorrectly, that he is, in fact, "just a fanboy." Arby leaves the bunker to contact their base, Home. Rod remains inside to clean up and, does so, mocking Wilson, until Wilson escapes from the handcuffs and grabs Rod's gun. He tries to shoot Rod, but his vision is so messed up, he is unable to aim. Rod continues to taunt him, daring him to try again, when Jessica Hyde drops down and takes an axe to his head, killing him. She then advances to Wilson, demanding to know where Utopia and Grant are. He asks who she is, and choking him, she tells him that she is Jessica Hyde. He cackles at the seeming insanity of her statement and she presses on his throat. "Okay," he says, telling her that there's a man outside looking for her. He points at his empty eye socket, asking if she got his message.

The two leave and Jessica Hyde drives them away at high-speed. They pull up upon the group who are returning from their food and coffee run. Wilson pokes his head out the window, shouting at them to get in, that Utopia is real and that it's Jessica Hyde driving.

A new world[]

Attack of the Redhead

A redheaded-assassin takes aim at Wilson and Ian

Jessica Hyde takes the group to a safe house, where Wilson passes out on a couch, in shock from being tortured and the other events of the day. Hyde makes everyone else get rid of all of their personal possessions such as cell phones and disguise their appearance. As they all argue whether or not this woman is, in fact, actually Jessica Hyde, Wilson picks up a copy of the page of Utopia that Ian took a photo of and suggests that they could use it to try to figure out the new virus. He indicates a cross on a child's forehead and Samantha realizes that it's actually a T-shaped rash, just like the one seen on children in news reports about a new flu that's spreading throughout the country. Ian calls it all ridiculous, threatening to walk out. Samantha tries to talk him down and Hyde tells him to stop listening to her, that she's the one in charge. When Samantha keeps talking, she shoots her in the head, killing her. Everyone is shocked, but continues on, having little choice but to follow the instructions of the woman who is pointing a gun at them.

They attend the funeral of Olivia and Wilson and Ian are left inside the car while Becky goes inside the church with Hyde. Wilson escapes his handcuffs, complaining that they're just tools for Hyde's use, but Ian pleads with him to think of Becky's safety. The two are attacked by a couple of assassins from the Harvest, but are saved by the timely return of Becky and Hyde. Later, as the group investigates Olivia's home, Wilson drives the point home to Ian that the Harvest is after them and they need Jessica Hyde's help. He discovers an envelope labeled "River Park Asylum Art Therapy" and they learn that Hyde's father was placed in an insane asylum, which burned down. Hyde leaves with Ian to track a lead on her old protector Artemis. He and Wilson then receive a text message from Grant and manage to track him down and, with him, a number of pages of the Utopia comic.

Unraveling the conspiracy[]

Wilson Learns the Truth

Wilson learns the truth about his family's fate

The group beings laying out the pages of the comic, hoping to puzzle out more of the conspiracy. Wilson suggests that it could all take months to decode, leading Hyde to reply that they don't have months. They discover a clue, numbers on a clock, which Wilson recognizes as being a phone number with a Chicago area code. The numbers match numbers that Hyde discovered tattooed underneath Artemis's fingernails. Hyde calls the number, which is revealed to belong to a Katherine Milner of the Department of Homeland Security. She arranges a secretive meeting with the group, and tells Hyde to leave the way she was taught. When Hyde sends in Ian and Becky to meet with Milner, Wilson decides to stay in the car, wary of the possibility of again being tortured. The two return, explaining some of the secrets that Milner told them regarding Mr. Rabbit and Home. Wilson asks Hyde what she remembers about Utopia and Home and she explains that she was only about 6 or 7 when she moved to Home. She says that there was a man who brought her cookies and they point out that Dystopia ends with Mr. Rabbit bringing her cookies. He asks if she can remember the man who brought her cookies, but she says she doesn't remember. Wilson thinks that she might actually know who Mr. Rabbit is.

As the group continues their hunt, Wilson sneaks access to a laptop, where he learns the truth that Hyde hide from him: that his entire family was killed by the Harvest. Angry, he shouts out her, and she admits unapologetically that she lied, that wanted him to stay on focus and she didn't think it would help if he knew the truth about his family. Upon learning that Becky is "fine" because she doesn't have any family, he goes nuts, wondering how it is that Becky is "fine" when the rest of them have suffered. Hyde tells him to calm down, pointing out that members of the Harvest don't sew eyepatches for the blind. Wilson finally calms down and as things continue, he makes the connection between the flu outbreak that's being featured on the news and a past one involved Peruvian bats which featured a T-shaped rash.

Hyde says that she doesn't like puzzles, but Wilson expresses that the rest of them are good puzzle-solvers. He says that nevertheless, he wouldn't even want to be there if they could solve everything so quickly. He discovers a picture of a llama with bat wings in the comic and realizes that the conspiracy must be connected to the new flu that's going around. He thinks that Michael Stearns, the scientist who discovered the vaccine, is Mr. Rabbit, but the others are skeptical, saying that they think he's being manipulated by Mr. Rabbit. Wilson shows Hyde a photo from the asylum where her father was kept, which also includes Stearns. It turns out that Stearns was in the asylum at the same time as Jessica Hyde's father. Based on this, Hyde decides that it's time for them to pay a visit to Stearns.

The parting of the ways[]

I Trusted You

"I trusted you."

Wilson and the others travel Stearns's place, where they discover that Stearns is being controlled by his wife, Colleen, who is a secret sleeper agent of the Harvest. Alice, a young girl, ends up killing Colleen after Collen fights Jessica Hyde. Wilson is forced to help Hyde in torturing Stearns, as she is not entirely convinced he himself doesn't have something to do with the Harvest. Finally convinced, Hyde and the others visit a traveling petting zoo, which Stearns has discovered is the vector for the flu. They torch the place and claim a single rabbit for Stearns to test. He discovers that the virus within the rabbit is not actually his flu. They realize that it's Kevin Christie who is Mr. Rabbit, as he's the one pushing the vaccine for the supposed flu. Wilson suggests that they visit Katherine Milner and try to enlist her help, as in the Utopia comic, she's the Blue Fairy, Jessica Hyde's guardian angel. He is shocked when she declares that she won't help them, as they have nothing but a paranoid conspiracy theory to go on. They leave, saying they'll do it themselves. They return to Stearn's place and there is a ring at the doorbell. Wilson asks if they're home and Hyde opens the door, revealing Kevin Christie, heavily duct-taped.

The group gets to work on Christie, eventually getting him to reveal the true nature of his Undoingplot. Christie explains that rather than anything so simple as mass-murder, the ultimate goal of the Undoing is to sterilize people. The supposed vaccine for the flu is actually a compound which will do just that. He feels that overpopulation is at the heart of all of the world's problems, such as climate change, food and water shortages and pollution. He intends to shut down reproduction for three generations. The group is stunned by this and decides they must put a stop to it. They realize that even if they do, they still have to deal with Christie. Wilson tells them that he knows how to do this: he'll film Christie making a supposed confession that all of it was simply a massive scheme to make money and that he killed hundreds of children in the process. He'll then turn the camera off and shoot himself in the head, that it'll be the grandfather of all conspiracy theories that people will talk about for generations to come.

Wilson remains behind at the house, in order to extract the confession. He reads out the words of a speech, telling Christie to say the words, but Christie won't have any of it. He calls Wilson a "unique thinker" and tells him to just shoot him. He says that he thought Americans might like their plan because it requires no resolve and they're helping people to not do something. Wilson seems amused by the idea, but then says that Christie killed his family. Christie replies that he killed his his own protege even though she was like family to him and that he's killed children too even though he likes children and has five of his own. He tells Wilson to imagine the sigh of relief the country instead.

References[]

Trivia[]

Near the start of season 2 episode 5 of the UK version, Wilson appears with Milner's Remixed theme, essentially stealing Her leitmotif

  1. Hadadi, Roxana (September 15, 2020). Gillian Flynn's muted Utopia adaptation fails to say anything unique about our current moment. AV Club. Retrieved on September 21, 2020.
Advertisement