Saagar Kote
In Netflix’s ‘Wayward,’ a police officer named Alex becomes obsessed with the secrets of the Tall Pines Academy. Facing a complex relationship with his pregnant partner, Laura, he goes through the ups and downs of family and love, while also dealing with dangers that threaten to upend his life. The previous episode showed Marty winning the Mount Otis challenge and refusing to leave the academy. Daniel is murdered by Stacey. Dwayne threatens the protagonist after framing him for the murder of the blogger Maurice.
Alex hopes to move out of the town at the earliest, but is refused by Laura, who intends to find out more about Evelyn’s plans for the future. When Alex reveals to his partner that her parents were most likely murdered in the past, she goes to the pond and dives in and finds an old car on the surface. These events lead to “Ascend” and “Leap,” the seventh and eighth episodes of the season. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Evelyn’s Past Reveals a Shocking Truth
In 1974, a younger Evelyn is part of a group following a man named Weldon, who gives a motivational speech about god and belief, which relates to an accident his father was involved in. He talks about how his father “leaped” after witnessing a “green door” that called to him. Evelyn says that this is an inspirational story that should be converted into a way of life. In the present, weeks after the Mount Otis incident, Alex’s birthday celebration takes place, and Evelyn tries to establish communication with Laura again, after their misunderstanding. Rabbit requests that the school head let her adopt Stacey, but her wishes are denied by Evelyn, who blames her for the chaos during the student rebellion and Daniel’s death. She then orders Rabbit to go to Alex’s birthday celebrations to spy on the couple on her behalf.
Dwayne keeps a watchful eye on the proceedings at the party. Alex talks to Laura about his anxiety and indicates that he wants to leave the town. However, Laura urges him to wait and find out about Evelyn’s plan by talking to Dwayne. With Laura due in three weeks, the situation seems more crucial than ever before. Alex tries to win over Dwayne and apologizes for his past behavior, and says that he and Laura are very happy. At the academy, Leila, Abbie, and the others reach the “ascend” phase, which means that they can make phone calls to their homes. Duck plays a Pink Floyd song for the students to uplift their moods. Laura talks to her friend Francis about what Evelyn took from them in the past, and they are suddenly joined by Rabbit, whose real name is revealed to be Rebecca.
Leila Becomes a Victim of Brainwashing
Rabbit talks to the pregnant woman and asks for her help regarding healing practices. Abbie and Rory bury a screwdriver on the ground to use it to escape later by breaking into the trunk of a car. Abbie worries about Leila growing distant from her, but Rory tries to comfort her. Laura works on Rabbit’s body and gives her breathing and healing therapy. Leila and Abbie discreetly talk in the bathroom, where the former gives her friend new batteries for the walkie-talkie and talks about a potential escape scheme. Laura tells Rabbit that Evelyn isolates people and blames her for “Leaping” students with the drugs and altering their minds. The pregnant woman says that she wants to take Evelyn down and build a new community where people support each other and young people can feel at home.
Rabbit walks away angrily after Laura tells her that she is just Evelyn’s foot soldier. Leila calls her mother and finds out that she doesn’t care much about her. The mother shows no interest in welcoming her daughter home. Evelyn goes on a walk in the woods with Leila and talks to her about the darkness in the student’s soul. The school head says that Leila is very bright and deserves more in her life, for which she has to cut ties with her friends and family. She also gives her own example, and lies, saying that her parents took her baby away from her in her teenage years. Evelyn also talks about her relationship with Weldon and his brutal, yet revolutionary ideas that helped a lot of young people in the past. She explains that the community at Tall Pines has no children because it is waiting to solve intergenerational trauma first, after which she offers to “Leap” Leila.
Abbie Desperately Seeks Alex’s Help
Alex and Dwayne have a conversation near a campfire, and the older police officer hands over the bugging devices to Alex, indicating that he is not being spied on anymore. Dwayne says that he left home when he was young to get new experiences in life. When Alex asks him about what happened to Laura’s parents, he refuses to reveal much. Abbie makes contact with Alex and tells him that she and Leila are planning to escape the next morning, and asks for some cash, a car, and stamps for the same. She also informs that Daniel is missing. The next morning, Alex questions Laura about why she doesn’t show more concern about her missing parents. The cop is taken aback when he sees Harper in the house. Laura says that Harper is there to help her prepare for the baby.
Evelyn makes Abbie and Leila face each other for an intimate hot seat session. Leila asks if her friend thinks it is her fault that she ended up at the academy. Abbie gets angry and shouts at her friend. The two of them argue about the past, and Abbie says that Leila is like a wrecking ball who destroys everything. They blame each other for things and get emotional, leading to a huge misunderstanding. Evelyn asks Abbie to end her friendship with Leila to save her, and also reveals that Alex had a role in Riley’s death. When Abbie secretly meets the cop, she finds out that he indeed killed Riley. Alex asks her about Daniel after giving her stamps, and also tells her that he has left a car with cash about a mile away from the school.
The Past and the Present Intertwine Disturbingly
Laura talks to community members about how Evelyn is their trauma against them, and says that they can liberate themselves from her clutches. She tells them that she wants to build a new community with love, and without chemical lobotomy and therapies like Leap and the mirror room. Alex sees all of this secretly and begins to worry. The police officer, along with his dog Toast, drives out to the woods to investigate Daniel’s disappearance. Leila asks Evelyn to complete her story from the past, and Alex finds Daniel’s body with Toast’s help. Evelyn talks about the rift between Weldon and her in the past, wherein she suggested using psychedelics to Leap people.
This caused Weldon to become angry and argue with the other members of the community. She lies, saying that she left Weldon peacefully. However, a flashback sequence reveals that she assumed leadership of the cult by killing Weldon. She is swarmed by her followers after the murder, which is scarily mirrored by the way people swarm Laura after her speech in the present, indicating that she is emerging as a new leader. It is revealed that Dwayne was part of the community that murdered Weldon. In the present, Dwayne attacks Alex from behind as he sees Daniel’s body, and makes him unconscious.
A Fake Letter Provides an Advantage
Evelyn goes to Laura’s house and spots many of her former students helping the pregnant lady. Laura and the school head have a conversation about the pregnant woman’s efforts to build a new community. Evelyn talks about how she saved herself from trauma in the past, but Laura argues that giving birth to kids is something that should be allowed. Evelyn warns her about Alex, saying that he is tormented and twisted, and requests that her former student let her Leap him to protect the baby. The school head leaves, saying that the plan to Leap Alex is already underway. As soon as the school head leaves, Laura’s water breaks. Dwayne kidnaps Alex and takes him in his car. Leila prepares for her Leap therapy, which worries Abbie.
Rabbit is shocked when she sees Stacey being taken away by new adoptive parents. Leila and Abbie have a secret conversation, in which they both apologize to each other for the earlier argument. Leila says she killed Jess, but her friend says that it is a false memory planted by Evelyn. The two friends reconcile, and Abbie tells Leila about the plan to escape. Dwayne blindfolds Alex and takes him to the Leaping room. Abbie and Rory cleverly plant a fake letter supposedly from Mule’s fiancé in the staff member’s work station. Mule spots the letter and gets excited to meet her fiancé. Abbie and Rory grab the buried screwdriver from the ground and secretly head towards Mule’s car. Power goes out in the school, which distracts Duck, letting Abbie, Leila, and Rory escape in Mule’s car.
An Unlikely Individual Saves Alex From a Terrible Fate
Laura prepares to give birth and is assisted by the others. Evelyn confronts Alex in the Leaping room and asks Rabbit to prepare the drug for the therapy. As Mule heads into a café to meet her fiancé, the three escapees start to run away. They hide from the cops and also spot other town members looking for them. They break into a house to grab supplies for their journey. Evelyn mentally tortures Alex to prepare him for the Leap. After Abbie grabs all the supplies for the journey, Leila makes a shocking decision. After spotting toys depicting families in the house, she realizes that she doesn’t have a home to go back to. She refuses to go with Abbie and tells her that she can’t picture her future. She says she doesn’t want to be sad anymore and decides to stay in the academy.
Abbie bids a tearful goodbye to Leila and joins Rory. The two of them begin to run and take refuge in a cabin. Just as Evelyn is about to prick Alex with the drug injection, Rabbit unexpectedly pricks the school head first. Evelyn tries to choke Rabbit to death, but falls into the water due to the effects of the drug. Alex frees himself and pricks Evelyn multiple times with the injection. Before he leaves, Evelyn tells him that Laura killed her parents and is dangerous. The pregnant woman is surrounded by the community members as she starts to experience labor pains.
A Choice Between Love and Freedom
Seeing the community members converging on them, Rory kisses Abbie and tells her to escape on her own, as he covers for her. He distracts the others outside the cabin, allowing Abbie to run away without being spotted. Alex heads back to the house, and Dwayne attacks him from behind. However, the protagonist gains the upper hand and then smashes the attacker with a huge rock, killing him. At the house, Alex finally joins Laura, who gives birth to a baby under trying circumstances. Meanwhile, Evelyn meets her end in Rabbit’s arms, due to the excessive drugs she was injected with.
In a shocking moment, Laura asks all the community members at the house to take turns lifting the baby, and says that the kid is not hers alone, but belongs to the entire community. This shocks Alex, who didn’t expect his wife to form a new cult. A false sequence tricks the viewers into thinking that Alex leaves the house with the baby and joins Abbie to escape in the car. In reality, Abbie heads to the car alone and escapes the town of Tall Pines with the dog Toast. Alex stays back in the house and chooses to sacrifice his freedom for the sake of love.
Read More: Wayward Episode 5 and 6 Recap
