Saagar Kote
Created by Mae Martin, Netflix’s mystery thriller series ‘Wayward’ deals with the happenings in and around the Tall Pines Academy. It follows the experiences of best friends Abbie and Leila, who are dragged into the institution meant for the care of troubled teenagers. The girls realize that the school is possibly hiding its true intentions, as they observe chaos around them. Meanwhile, a new cop in town, named Alex Dempsey, becomes involved in the investigation of the secrets of the institution. Mount Otis plays a major role as the primary setting of one of the show’s episodes. It leads to consequential plot points that determine the fates of important characters. Ponderosa is a company that is a major presence behind the scenes in the narrative. Both Mount Otis and Ponderosa are significant in the context of the fates of the students in the academy. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mount Otis is a Daunting Peak That Challenges the Rebellious Students
Although a fictional tale, the show is set primarily in the state of Vermont, where the Tall Pines Academy is situated. The setting stems from the mind of the creator, who also serves as writer, along with Ryan Scott, Alex Eldridge, Kayla Lorette, and others. Despite there being a real place called Mount Otis in Montana, visual comparison suggests that it is not the same as the one seen in the show, which, as mentioned earlier, takes place in a different state. Although a fictional creation, Mount Otis becomes a character in itself in the sixth episode of the show. The students who rebelled against the academy after finding out about Riley’s death are taken to the base of Mount Otis as a means of punishment.
They are ordered by the staff members to scale the mountain, who also promise that the first student to reach the summit will be given the chance to leave the school. The trek to the summit proves to be dangerous and exhausting for the students, who also carry their own guilt. The feelings of anxiety, insecurity, and desperation hit them like a ton of bricks as they attempt to make it to the top of the mountain. A lot of hikers in real life face daunting physical and emotional difficulties when they go out in the wilderness. There is also an interesting real-life case, as reported in 2025 by Good, wherein students at a school in Maine are given the choice to go on a hike instead of serving detention. Though the Tall Pines Academy and the real school are completely different, the use of hiking as an activity for the students is common between the two.
Morse High School in Bath, Maine, provides an alternative to traditional detention. Students can choose between quiet detention or a two-hour walk on nature trails with other students and school counselor Ms. Leslie Trundy, as per the report. Though the hike is supposed to be a positive experience, the counselor said that sometimes the students also think of it as punishment. Thus, although this real-life exercise has no direct connection to Tall Pines’ employment of the Mount Otis, it provides some off-screen context for the plot point. In the show, Abbie and the group face difficult choices as they hike, including abandoning or taking care of an injured Alexandra. Mount Otis not only tests the psychological stability of the students, but it also drives them away from each other and makes them more resentful and toxic towards each other. Despite its fictional roots, the mountain represents the reality of survival in increasingly hostile conditions.
Ponderosa is a Fictional Shell Company Serving a Cult
The shell company Ponderosa is first talked about by the blogger Maurice, who intends to expose the truth behind the Tall Pines Academy. He does so because his own daughter becomes a victim of the institution and goes inexplicably missing. Ponderosa serves as a front for the illegal activities happening in the school and tries to give it some legitimacy. It is revealed by Maurice that the shell company has been active since the 1970s. It can be presumed that the company is used to laundering money and securing drugs for the school. By creating a fake entity that exists only on paper, the cult of Tall Pines is able to hide its atrocities from the outside world.
Since cults are secretive, there are no direct real-life counterparts to Ponderosa. However, a 2023 report from NBC suggests that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was fined by the SEC for illegitimately hiding around 32 billion dollars behind shell companies. The SEC accused the church of illegally concealing its investments and their management through various shell companies from 1997 to 2019. This practice meant the church failed to disclose the true size of its equity portfolio to both the SEC and the public.
Though the show deals with an academic setting, the aforementioned example indicates that shell companies are used by real-life entities to illegally keep their wealth. Ponderosa remains invisible throughout the show, and no one related to it is seen. However, it is able to manage large funds through decades of experience, just like shell companies do in reality. In conclusion, Ponderosa, despite its fictional roots, represents a dangerous reality of financial dishonesty and ethical corruption in popular establishments.
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