Aahana Swrup
The Lifetime drama film ‘Wife Stalker’ presents a chilling story about a family who fall victim to wicked outside influence. Despite their small domestic problems, Joanna believes she has the perfect family in Leo Drake and the two kids, Evie and Aaron. Therefore, her reality threatens to come crumbling down once the lawyer crosses paths with Piper, a Yoga Instructor who instantly catches his eye. Thus, as a whirlwind romance sparks between the two, Joanna is pushed out of the frame and into the sidelines. Nonetheless, once she uncovers the new woman’s troubling past, she vows to keep her family safe from her. Yet, as she digs herself deeper into this obsession, she faces the risk of facing even more tragedy. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Wife Stalker: An Unnerving Drama With an Electrifying Twist
Directed by Elisabeth Röhm, ‘Wife Stalker’ starts off with somewhat shaky legs. The characters and their premise instill a certain expectation in the audience, which the narrative dutifully follows up on during its first half. Joanna appears to be a try-hard homemaker who is frustrated with her husband’s flippant disregard for her in favor of the alluring yet notably mysterious Piper. In turn, Leo comes across as exasperating from the get-go as he carelessly ruins his family, all for a surface-level attraction. Consequently, Piper—with her nebulous evil and cunning motivations remains the most intriguing of the bunch, compelling the audience to grow curious about her past. For some time, it seems the woman and her nefarious plans will be the nucleus of the narrative.
Nonetheless, once the film hits a certain mark in the story, it throws in a completely unexpected twist. For the most part, this subversion of genre expectation remains the best part of the entire affair, satisfyingly slotting every previous plot hole in its rightful place. Thus, while it certainly takes some time for Joanna’s character and her narrative to grip your attention, the climax makes it worth the wait. Whether or not the story is strong enough to hold the interest of the audience long enough to introduce them to this ground-shaking twist ending remains a different matter. Still, with quite strong performances and an interesting concept that allows plenty of space for entertainment enigma and entertainment, ‘Wife Stalker’ presents a fine drama that many will enjoy.
Wife Stalker Plot Synopsis
In the aftermath of some tough times, Joanna and her family continue to grow and flourish together as a unit. As such, she’s hopeful about rekindling the relationship between herself and Leo. Meanwhile, the man finds an easy connection with his yoga instructor, Piper, who seamlessly makes his days brighter. In turn, his interest seems to be notably reciprocated by the other woman. Thus, it isn’t long before Joanna grows suspicious of the whole ordeal, especially once Leo goes out to dinner with Piper. Even though it’s meant to be a professional affair, the two inevitably end up giving into their growing attraction and fall into bed together.
The next morning, Piper receives an unpleasant visit from Joanna, who warns her to stay away from her family, even escalating the situation to a violent altercation. Afterward, she tries to reignite the romance between her and her husband through a romantic dinner, which ends up getting cut short by a distressing call from her mother. As it turns out, the older woman had taken a fall in her house, which forces Joanna to move back in with her. However, this works out in Leo’s favor, who has decided to part ways with the woman after learning about what she did to Piper. Even though he insists he wants to end things on an amicable note, Joanna remains beyond frustrated with the whole thing.
Soon enough, before she knows it, Leo moves on with Piper and introduces her to his kids, Evie and Aaron. However, a promising thread also falls into Joanna’s lap once she realizes that Piper—previously named Pamela—has been lying about her identity. This sets the woman up on a quest to investigate the other woman and learn about her past. Consequently, she discovers that Pamela has been married twice in the past. Both times, her husbands ended up getting caught in a “tragic accident,” leaving her as the benefactor of their wealth. Worse yet, in the second instance, Piper’s stepdaughter passed away in a sailing accident along with her father.
For the same reason, Joanna grows infinitely concerned about her family, especially once she finds out that the newly engaged couple is planning on taking the kids on a sailing vacation. As such, she takes matters into her own hands and breaks into Leo’s house in the middle of the night to sneak away with Evie and Aaron. Nonetheless, their father and Piper catch on to her actions, leading to a tense confrontation between the trio. Ultimately, an increasingly frustrated Joanna—armed with a gun—ends up shooting at Piper. In the aftermath, the woman finds herself in prison, leaving Leo and the kids in Piper’s fickle hands.
Wife Stalker Ending: Did Piper Kill Her Ex-Husbands?
Joanna’s story comes to a startling halt after the events that unfold at Leo’s house on the night that the former attacks Piper. Ever since the woman entered the Drake Family’s life, she has effortlessly invited Joanna’s contempt. She hates the other woman for taking her life—Leo and the kids—away from her. However, while envy and anger certainly drive her distrust toward the yoga instructor, she also has some concrete reasons to be wary of the latter. Upon some digging, it’s revealed that Leo isn’t the first man with whom Piper has tied the knot. She has previously been married twice, and on both occasions, her ex-husbands have ended up in strangely dangerous accidents.
Her first husband, Eric, took a fall during hiking that sent him into a coma. Meanwhile, her second husband, Matthew, and his daughter, Mia, died in a sailing accident—with only Piper as a witness to the event. Even though the authorities cleared her of any suspicions, Matthew’s ex-wife and Mia’s mother blame Piper for her family’s fatal accident. Likewise, a visit to Eric and his mother allows Joanna the opportunity to get some confirmation about suspicion of Piper’s involvement in his accident as well.
Even though Joanna’s own disturbing revelations sidetrack the narrative from dissecting Piper’s past, the former doesn’t leave the other woman alone just yet. Even from prison, she calls Piper to inform them that she isn’t planning on letting her off the hook so easily. Nonetheless, the woman fights back, establishing that Joanna’s prison sentence has effectively lost her the entire game. Now, Piper is free to do whatever she pleases with the Drake family—just like she was with her ex-husbands. However, unfortunately for her, Leo is also on the same line, having picked up the landline from another part of the house. Therefore, although she doesn’t know it yet, Piper has effectively spilled her darkest secrets to the man.
What Happened to Leo’s Wife?
The aftermath of Joanna’s gun-laden attack on Leo’s house reveals a startling truth about the woman. Initially, her reaction to her husband’s blatant infidelity remains understandable. In fact, one can’t help but question the other characters, particularly Leo and Piper, for being exasperated or disturbed by the woman’s otherwise normal reaction to a life-changing betrayal. Furthermore, the legality of the whole issue, including custody rights, also stays in question. However, all of these doubts are cleared once Joanna’s mother visits her in prison. During this time, the woman tries to inquire about Leo and her kids—only for her mother to insist that she was never actually a part of the Drake family.
As it turns out, Joanna is actually only ever Leo’s personal assistant who also occasionally looks after his household complications. Instead, Olivia was Leo’s real wife and the mother of his children. However, the woman fell into a deep depressive hole in time, which had a negative impact on the family. Naturally, Joanna hated the woman. She blamed her for having the perfect family but wasting it all away due to her problems. Eventually, she began attempting to fulfill the woman’s emotional absence in the family—and soon got obsessed with the idea of replacing her.
For the same reason, once Olivia started getting hostile toward Joanna, the latter ended up drowning her in the bathtub. Even though Evie witnessed the entire thing, she convinced the young girl to keep her secret and made Olivia’s death seem like a suicide. Afterward, she started playing house with Leo and the kids, deluding herself into believing she had been a part of the family all along. Nonetheless, Leo was never actually in a romantic relationship with her. Instead, the entire thing was a delusion of Joanna’s mind all along.
Does Joanna Get Her Family Back? What Happens to the Drakes?
Although it’s easier to sympathize with Joanna at the start—when one is still under the illusion that she is Leo’s wife—it quickly dissipates by the end. Her delusions of a play-pretend family arguably put Leo and his kids in a harmful and dangerous situation. In fact, her attempt at essentially kidnapping Evie and Aaron from their father’s house speaks to the same. Nonetheless, Joanna’s potential for harm doesn’t negate the fact that Piper is an equally, if not more dangerous, threat to the Drake family. Initially, the woman starts off with every intention of disposing of the father and his kids to lay claim to their wealth.
Nonetheless, Piper eventually comes to a different conclusion once she realizes she can simply have a family with the Drakes. Despite the kids’ initial dislike of her, they start to come around to her in time. On the other hand, Leo remains entirely smitten with her, allowing her the potential for a loving relationship. Yet, as she warns Joanna, she’s willing to change her plans if the family’s attitude towards her changes. Fortunately, Leo overhears this entire conversation on the phone.
Therefore, it’s likely that the lawyer would be able to easily get himself and his family out of this mess by cutting ties with Piper legally. The woman seems to only have the potential to harm others in a controlled environment. As such, as long as Leo sets the stage by his own rules, he should be able to get rid of her fairly easily. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean he and the kids would be returning to Joanna anytime soon. Ultimately, the Drakes will likely distance themselves from both the women to ensure their own safety.
