Saagar Kote
Netflix’s ‘Wayward’ deals with the happenings at the Tall Pines Academy and explores the secrets of the institution. Alex Dempsey, a new cop in town, gets obsessed with uncovering the mystery behind the academy, and also handles a complex relationship with his pregnant partner, Laura, who used to be a student at the institution. The previous episode ended with the police officer waking up due to a strange noise and finding his partner repeatedly opening and closing the door latch, in a sort of trance. The cop drags her away from the door and hopes to help her. Leila makes it all the way to the academy and makes contact with her friend Abbie. However, she is taken away by the school authorities against her will, leaving her fate in the balance. These shocking events set the tone for “Break” and “Mud,” the third and fourth episodes of the show. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Girl Obsessed With Oatmeal Cookies
Laura dreams about a scenario where she is dragged away by her parents from Alex, and wakes up terrified. Evelyn talks to Leila’s mother about her daughter’s actions and says she doesn’t want to surrender her to the police. The mother agrees to reverse-mortgage the house to pay for her daughter’s admission into the Tall Pines Academy. Leila talks to Abbie, who tells her to be careful in school. Alex looks for things to work on at the station and finds files related to the academy. It is revealed that the station used to be a school in the past. Rory introduces himself to Leila and says his father is a celebrity. Abbie takes Leila to see a girl called “Oatmeal Beth,” who arranges things for people who bribe her with oatmeal cookies. They plan to escape by bribing the girl with enough cookies and start to collect them discreetly.
Alex talks to Dwayne about 18 kids going missing from the academy over the years. Dwayne says they are all runaways, and some of them were found in different locations, and vouches for the safety of the academy. Leila gets into an argument with her roommate, Ello, who warns her to be careful. Leila, Abbie, Rory, and other students are taken to the “Hot Seat” area, where the students are expected to be honest. Daniel and Marty insult each other, and so do Stacey and Alexandra. Alex investigates the missing kids further and takes a call in place of Dwayne, wherein he is told that Riley Warren’s personal belongings are ready to be picked up. The hot seat gets hotter, and Ello insults Leila, followed by Stacey, who does the same.
The Hot Seat Gets Emotional For Rory
Rory gets emotional over the way people are behaving, and others tell him that he is desperate to hook up with Abbie, and Stacey insults him, saying that his father doesn’t love him. Rory breaks down as people keep hurling abuse at him. Evelyn says it’s important to confront grief, and asks everyone in the room to converge on Rory and hug him. This looks like a very claustrophobic exercise verging on cult-like behavior. Alex goes to the academy to pick up Riley’s stuff, and Rabbit welcomes him, offering to give him a tour. Alex observes the hallways and finds out from her tour guide that Laura was her roommate in the past. At the house, Laura keeps hearing the noise of a Toad. Abbie and Leila bribe Oatmeal Beth and tell her that they want to escape. She tells them to go behind the door in her office to find tools, but locks them inside.
Evelyn talks to Alex and tells him about her commitment to the students. The police officer questions her about the missing kids over the years, and Evelyn expresses regret over them. Abbie and Leila break into the drain pipes area from the room and hope to escape. Evelyn hands over a box of Riley’s belongings to the cop and offers him emotional support. Alex notices that the dead boy’s handbook is missing from the box. Abbie starts to fear when she notices a fingernail on their way stuck to a door placed in the middle of the water. Evelyn bids adieu to Alex after getting an important call about something. The two escaping girls spot a CCTV station in their path and see Alex on it, after which they plan to take his help to escape. They run towards Alex and beg him for help, saying they are not bad.
Leila Faces Her Fears in the Mirror Room
As the school authorities close in, Alex asks them to hit him to cause a commotion. In the ensuing chaos, he discreetly hands over one of his walkie-talkies to Abbie and tells her to call him discreetly at night. Evelyn walks in and takes control of the situation, and dismisses Abbie to the dorm. Alex goes back home and learns from his partner that the baby in her womb kicked. Laura starts to worry about something missing in her life, and Alex tells her not to worry, showing excitement about being a dad.
Evelyn takes Leila to the “Mirror Room,” which is supposed to be a soothing space of self-reflection, and tells her she will be spending the night there. She also shows her a painted door on the wall, and says that going through it would mean that one has achieved liberation from their mind. Alex continues to investigate the cases, and Laura keeps having nightmares. Abbie goes to the girls’ washroom and makes contact with the police officer, who asks her to tell everything she knows about the academy.
A Case of Moving Rocks
Abbie tells Alex about the kids being shot with tranquilizers and tells him that the place is definitely dangerous. The police officer asks her about Riley and his handbook, but gets interrupted by Laura. Abbie hides the walkie-talkie in the washroom and is later escorted out by Mule. Laura expresses concerns about her partner talking to a strange girl in the middle of the night. Leila spends the night in the mirror room and is later taken outside by Rabbit. Ello and Leila are ordered by Rabbit to move rocks from one corner of the yard to another, as punishment. Abbie asks Rory if he knows where Riley’s notebook is, and he agrees to work with her. Alex and Laura drive to the farmer’s market, where the partner sets up a massage table.
Francis, who is Laura’s past classmate, meets her and reminisces about their days at the Tall Pines Academy. Abbie talks to Mule in French to impress her, since she found out about her engagement to a Frenchman. The staff member allows her and Rory to work in the kitchen, where they hope to find Rory’s missing handbook. Daniel interrupts Abbie and Rory in the kitchen and tells the girl that Riley hated Rory and that Duck already found the handbook. Abbie becomes angry at Rory for lying to her about his friendship with Riley, and storms out of the kitchen. Ello and Leila continue to move the rocks in the yard and talk about the school. They develop a chemistry and converse about the way the academy gets to every student.
Alex is Surprised at the Farmer’s Market
Ello confesses that she used to be a junkie and that the institution helped her in a way to establish an identity. Alex sees that people seem to be behaving in weird patterns in the farmer’s market and that there are no babies in the area. Harper, a woman, starts touching Laura’s belly and becomes emotional about the baby. Meanwhile, Donny, Dwayne’s adopted son, tells Alex that there are no local kids. Laura begins to “heal” Harper by touching the woman’s belly, and the other members of the town gather around. At the school, Stacey says that she has been selected for a special therapy called “The Leap,” talking to Abbie. She also says that this therapy will help her get adopted. After Ello and Leila finish moving rocks, Rabbit only allows Leila to head back inside for dinner and tells Ello to move the rocks back again.
Rory apologizes to Abbie for lying to her, and they deduce that Riley was scared of being part of the Leap therapy, which is why he escaped from the academy. Abbie gets curious about Stacey’s upcoming therapy and asks Rory to help her. The boy consumes a lot of hand-wash soap and then pukes on Oatmeal Beth to distract her. Abbie secretly walks through the door of Beth’s office and enters the drain pipes area again, after which she witnesses the Leap, wherein Evelyn dunks Stacey into water and repeats words about her mother and father, and how this is a liberation from the bonds of family. Evelyn then “opens” the door in the middle of the water, seemingly liberating Stacey from her pain, who excitedly screams.
Laura Exhibits Strange Behavior
Alex talks to Laura about how the town is weird, especially since it has no local children. Laura tells her partner that the place hasn’t had kids since the 1970s, and that group of hippies thought that helping abused or troubled kids was better than giving birth to new kids, which is why the town has been childless for a long time. She promises her lover that their kid will be the first to be born in the town, which will be followed by the birth of other kids. Duck tells Leila that they are all very lucky to be at the academy, and she walks into Evelyn’s office. The head of the school cleans the girl’s hand, who apologizes for her behavior. Evelyn asks Leila about the death of her sister Jess, but she refuses to talk. The head of the school asks Leila to confront her feelings and leaves.
Alex parks his car near the woods surrounding the school and waits for Abbie to make contact. Evelyn visits Laura at night to have a conversation. The cop’s partner tells her guest that she would like to leave the town if her lover chooses to do so, but Evelyn warns her against it. Abbie finally makes contact with Alex and informs him about the Leap therapy, and also asks for his help to escape. The cop tells her that Riley is dead and asks her to be safe, as Duck Burns Riley’s handbook. Stacey wishes Abbie goodnight, and Alex returns home to find that Laura is in the pond, looking lost and disoriented.
Read More: Wayward Episode 1 and 2 Recap: Does Leila Save Abbie?
