No one is safe from the cult-like grasps of the tiny town of Tall Pines in Mae Martin’s ‘Wayward.’ The 2003-set Netflix series follows two Canadian teenagers, Abbie and Leila, who have a taste for getting into trouble. Of course, they are at the top of the list to participate in the youth program at Tall Pines Academy, guided by Evelyn Wade. Conversely, Alex Dempsey is a police officer who is relocating to his wife, Laura’s, hometown. The couple, anticipating the arrival of their baby, seeks a fresh start in the tight-knit community. With the relocation, though, the demons of Laura’s past necessarily shadow the family’s future. In no time, Alex starts noticing the town for all its hidden quirks. Therefore, the more he burrows into Evelyn and her Academy, going so far as to find himself in the paths of Abbie and Leila, the nearer he is to discovering the town’s best-kept secrets. However, when truth finally comes out in the open, flee becomes a virtual impossibility. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Wayward Recap
Toronto teenagers Abbie and Leila are two best friends who enjoy smoking pot at rooftops rather than going to class. So they are stuck in the status of “troubled teens” as far as every adult in their life is concerned. Their teacher, Mr. Turner, comes up with a potential solution to whip the pair into line.
He decides to send Leila away to an American teenage program based in Vermont, hoping that distance would do the pair good. First, the student’s reaction to the proposal is to offer up one of her own, which is to sneak into the school at night and steal the answer sheet to an upcoming test. Abbie is still committed to the scheme and boldly sneaks out of the house when her parents attempt to ground her. The break-in is an acid-fueled fun but doomed endeavor. Also, Abbie’s previous stunt ultimately catches up with her later that evening when two masked men abduct her from her house while her parents silently observe from the sidelines.
When Leila finds out about the occurrence the following day, she’s naturally upset. Worse still, Turner tells her that since her mum can’t at the moment pay for the tuition at the Academy, there isn’t a chance for her to be sitting next to her best friend. Nevertheless, the teenager is not ready to let go. Consequently, she makes a call to her much older boyfriend/pot dealer, Kyle, and comes up with a plan to sneak over the border and save Abbie. Not surprisingly, the older man drops the teenager at the first sign of danger, forcing her to hitchhike by herself. At the same time, new townspeople move in within the town of Tall Pines. Alex and Laura are a pair of expecting parents, who can take advantage of the open-minded society the latter’s hometown offers. Moreover, her connection with Evelyn, born out of her own experience at the Academy, also assists the pair in establishing a new start in the town. But soon enough, Alex starts observing the town’s obvious peculiarity. On his first day of work as a cop, he encounters Riley Warrens, a tired-looking teenager claiming to be on the run from the Academy. Later, when the same boy arrives at the cop’s doorstep, seeking assistance, the situation becomes serious when his arrival is threatening to Laura. Consequently, his husband ends up killing the boy in self-defence by accident. Nevertheless, the town lets the matter be without there being a direct consequence for Alex. In addition, there is some on-surface snooping that indicates the town’s seeming history of vanishing teens, who were never discovered. Although this unfolds in the town, Leila is able to sneak into the Academy, reuniting with Abbie. All this does, however, is make sure now that both the teens are trapped in Evelyn’s creation.
The Academy is a nightmare setup in which adolescents are treated as criminals, required to follow handbooks, and placed into various developmental categories. Furthermore, Evelyn leads the pupils in a game known as Hot Seat, a ruthless exercise in the face-off against one’s trauma and errors through “radical honesty.” Later on, Alex becomes curious and visits the Academy in disguise to collect Riley’s stuff. Abbie and Leila also try to carry out an escape on the same day. Even though the two fail, they’re able to confront the cop and he recognizes that they appear just as frightened as Riley is. Thus, he secretly hands Abbie a walkie-talkie so that she can reach him even after he’s departed the building. In the following weeks, Abbie discovers more about the grisly rituals at Evelyn’s Academy and Alex catches on to the town’s sinister truth. Ultimately, a trip to the missing student’s father, a discovery of a teen’s dead body, and evidence of psychological abuse all open the cop’s eyes to the greater picture. However, his wife’s tragic history with the Evelyn, together with the fate of his own doing, cannot allow him to escape the town completely.
Wayward Ending: Does Evelyn Die?
The Evelyn is first an eerie but relatively distant presence in Alex and Laura’s life. She bestows them with the house that the couple makes their new residence and brings them into the community. But aside from a few spontaneous dinners and tense discussions, she doesn’t directly affect their lives. Or, at least, that’s what it looks like. The more that the cop investigates the town’s unexplainable history, the more he comes to understand that Evelyn is deeply involved with its origins. After Laura is able to pierce the veil of smoke in her past and sets up some boundaries between herself and her previous caretaker, the latter goes around and harasses the whole establishment. Moreover, she sets up several back-up plans to force Alex to obey her. At last, after Laura becomes braver in her efforts to free the town from Evelyn’s grasp, the latter becomes desperate to keep control as well.
This forces her to abduct Alex and take him down to the Academy’s ritualistic basement, where she leads young pupils through “The Leap.” It’s a manipulative procedure where the woman uses hypnosis and psychedelic drugs in order to cut the subject’s connection from a fundamental aspect of themselves. Based on her interpersonal relationships, Evelyn feels that a parent-child relationship is most often an abusive one. Because birth is a non-consensual process and opens the door for complex relationships between the parent and child, she feels that it leaves a darkness within nearly every person. Thus, she asserts that the only manner in which to rescue a child and allow them to grow up is by breaking this bond. To her, it’s only by destroying all the empathetic and compassionate sentiments between a child and parents that the former can be saved. The Leap represents the act of reaching the same. Kidnapping Alex, Evelyn takes him outside to conduct the same experiment on him. Of course, its invasive quality and that it might possibly destroy his capacity to engage in a relationship with his child persuade the cop not to submit. Help unexpectedly comes from a very unlikely source, however, as Rabbit, Evelyn’s second-in-command, betrays her and gives her the drug, which gives the to-be father a chance to make a break for it. Rabbit also has her own motivations for her betrayal, which primarily consist of a conversation she had with Laura beforehand and her own disdain towards Evelyn for depriving her of a family. While the older woman might have been able to survive the administering of the drug, Alex aborts any hopes for survival by stabbing her with even more psychedelic juice. Ultimately, as Evelyn embarks on a journey, with Rabbit reciting the hypnotic mantra over her, the woman continues to be hemmed in by the same metaphorical doors that controlled her ideology. Nevertheless, flight is an impossibility. Ultimately, Evelyn perishes as a victim of what she has created.
Does Alex Leave Laura? Why Does He Decide to Stay?
Alex has sensed the eerie character of Tall Pines from approximately his first day in town. The only reason he and Laura move to the latter’s hometown is a complication at his previous workplace, as they require stability for their child’s future. However, when the cop finally gets to experience the Tall Pines community firsthand, he comes to realize something is seriously wrong with the community. First, his encounters with the troubled Academy children more than likely indicate something strange is transpiring within Evelyn’s facilities. But sooner rather than later, Alex also comes to understand that the town is gruesomely bereft of any children. The town maintains a large population, given that it is a small-town society. But none of the inhabitants appears to have any children. Rather, the nearest parent-child relationship which is left in Tall Pines is that of Academy alumni, better known as young adults who have been assigned to a family after they aged out of the youth program system.
Alex expects this news to be as shocking to his wife as it is to him. However, what he finds out from Laura is still infinitely more horrifying. As it happens, Laura is well aware of the town’s strange “no kids” policy. As a matter of fact, she informs Alex that it is a policy integrated into the town’s culture and advocated by Evelyn. According to her, it is the town’s duty to rescue other children and save them before they can even think about having biological children of their own. No resident is permitted to have any children. However, the community is more concerned with “helping” the Academy children and making them a part of their society. Of course, Alex is afraid of this discovery and what it might portend for their child. Although Laura reassures him that Evelyn is receptive to making things different, beginning with their child, the father is apprehensive about the future of his family. Firstly, Laura vows her husband that they shall depart prior to the arrival of the baby. However, Alex knows his wife has no plans of honoring the vow once he catches wind of her clandestine meeting with some of the other members of the town. This is even more conspicuous after giving birth to their child. After Alex escapes Evelyn’s grasp, he returns to his wife in time for her to give birth and remains by her side. But soon after, the baby is removed from his arms so others can have their own skin-to-skin contact with the child to develop their own bond. So Alex sees that Laura’s plan to rescue the town from Evelyn’s control is to herd them under another’s authority: her own. The father is oblivious to what this might be for his child. Yet he is aware the uncertainty of the circumstances cannot be for the good.
For the same reason, on the same evening, Alex sees the very real potential to run off with his and Laura’s child. If he can get far enough away from the location, refusing to play along with their game, he can make sure that his child has a healthy and normal childhood. Nevertheless, there are some basic facts involved. Alex is a trans man who is married to Laura in a more of a show than any actively legal concretely thing. Further, since he came to town, he has murdered at least two individuals and can be held responsible for the deaths of two more. Therefore, there’s nothing preventing Laura and the rest of town from going after him and making sure that he will never lay eyes on his child again. Then, of course, there’s the reality that Tall Pines is actually able to realize his life-long fantasy of the nuclear, heteronormative family life, while also giving him the security and acceptance that he requires simply as a function of his social membership. So, in the end, Alex closes the door in the face of his freedom and decides to remain behind in the town.
Does Abbie Escape From Tall Pines?
Though Alex sabotages his own capability to exit Tall Pines, he is able to outfit someone else with the apparatus necessary for an escape. Since his spontaneous trip to the Academy, he has been able to contact Abbie on the walkie-talkie. At first, the pair tries to take advantage of this setup to exchange details in order to construct a case against Evelyn. However, in the days following the children’s failed rebellion attempt, it is clear that another line of action has to be taken. Rather than an overall toppling of the Academy, individual flight is the only path Abbie and Leila may use to preserve their own hides. Therefore, as soon as the pair is able to acquire fresh batteries for the walkie-talkie, a fresh plan starts to materialize. Abbie, with the assistance of Alex, acquires some stamps that are central to her, Leila, and Rory’s evasion.
At the same time, the cop tells the boy that he has left his car and some money a little way out of the woods. The kids carry out their plan from there. They first create a letter to one of the guards, Mule. Playing along the role of their France-born boyfriend, they organize a meet-up with the guard outside the premises of the establishment. They then stage a diversion after which they force themselves through the fence and sneak into Mule’s truck. Consequently, the children are able to reach the central town. Meanwhile, the adults start searching for them, and they settle in a house, gathering supplies. Sadly, in a twist of fate, Abbie becomes the sole individual who manages to escape town. Later on, the teen discovers Alex’s vehicle, as well as his dog, Toast. Eventually, no other person shows up to join Abbie as she speeds off to her freedom.
What Happens to Rory and Leila? Why Does Leila Decide to Remain Behind?
Although Rory and Leila stick with Abbie during her bid for freedom, they never really escape from the town. While supply-scouting at one resident’s home, Leila draws a jarring conclusion. As opposed to her friend, the teen has a much tougher road to travel. Abbie’s problems are brought about by her parents’ unrealistically high expectations of her, her dyslexia, and her bad habits. In comparison, Leila’s complications do not just stop with a rebellious nature. Her sister Jess’ death has had a tremendously adverse effect on her. The night she died, the young teenager was lying next to her sister and even witnessed her demise, though through a drug-induced haze.
So, in some manner of speaking, Leila and everyone around her blame her for Jess’ death. Therefore, she has her own problems in development, such as an ill-fated love life and a cocaine addiction. Similarly, for the same reason, her mother does not feel anything, in any sense except for financially, when her daughter is staying in Tall Pines. Similarly, in the latter part of the weeks at the Academy, Evelyn has been successful in giving her a more supportive environment. Although her motivation is clearly manipulative and designed to incite her own agenda, it is still very much special for the young child. In essence, just as Alex doesn’t feel brave enough to confront another world beyond the security of the town, Leila likewise feels she has a greater chance of survival in Tall Pines. As the same reasoning, she likewise remains in place. Rory’s case is somewhat unique, as he gives his life so that Abbie has a fighting chance of escape. But in the end, they will both have an unsure future after Evelyn passed away, with the Academy having no real leader anymore.
What Happened to Laura’s Parents? Who Really Killed Them?
One of the major secrets in Alex and Laura’s life is the death of the latter’s parents. She was taken into custody of the Tall Pines Academy during her teenage years. Hence, she has never stopped harboring a lot of resentment against her parents for abandoning her. But after Alex goes to Maurice, he understands that his wife might not have the whole picture. Turns out, not long after Laura’s admission into the facility, her parents started regretting their actions and attempted to come back for her. However, they could not help but disappear. Alex believes that Evelyn is behind the parents’ apparent deaths. However, before she dies, the woman shares a different truth.
It was Laura who murdered her own parents. By the time they came back for their daughter, she was already subjected to the process of “The Leaping.” As such, her bond with her family was already broken, and she did not have any genuine love for them. Thus, when they attempted to kidnap her from the Academy, the teen killed them, smashing in her own father’s head with a rock. In the wake, Evelyn covered for the murder and assisted her in hiding the memory in her subconscious. When she comes back to Tall Pines, this time as a wife and an expectant mother, Laura starts digging up the same memory. Therefore, her sentiments of revenge against Laura increase tenfold, which forces her to create the foundation of her own cult. Even though Alex is dismayed by the news, he eventually sees that it in no way douses his passion for his wife. The cop does not have a clean bill of health himself and blood on his own hands either. Thus, he makes the choice to accept Laura on her history and not reject her due to it. Read More: Where is Wayward Filmed? All Shooting Locations
