Wayward ending explained: Do Abbie and Leila escape the school?

Seven episodes in, best friends Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) are close to breaking point, reckoning with the abusive principal Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette) and the surprising fragility of their own relationship. Yet still they plan to break out of the school they're trapped in, hoping for some help from police officer Alex Dempsey (Martin) who's been fighting in their corner this whole time.

Alex has more than his own fair share of problems to contend with though. The new cop in town can't leave Tall Pines yet, not until he has enough dirt on Evelyn to break free of her controlling hold on his family. He and his fiance Laura (Sarah Gadon) plan to escape together with their baby once it's born, except at the end of episode 7, Alex overhears Laura tell her support group that she's never going to leave town. Not ever.

It's then that Alex finally realises that Laura, who seemed to be rebelling against her former mentor, is actually becoming the new Evelyn herself. To make matters worse, it also looks like Leila is becoming the new Laura now that she's falling for Evelyn's cult-like control, just like Alex's wife once did all those years ago.

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So, will Laura turn to the dark side completely? Will Abbie and Leila's friendship survive long enough to escape? And will Collette deliver another raging "Mother" monologue, the likes of which we've not seen since her Oscar-worthy turn in Hereditary? Here's how Mae Martin's Wayward ends its first (and probably only) season on Netflix.

Wayward ending explained: Do Abbie and Leile escape?

Sensing that she's losing her grip over Laura, Evelyn shows up at Laura's house, but doesn't get a warm welcome. Her current number one disciple, Rabbit, isn't so keen on Evelyn now either after she watches the kid she hoped to adopt has been suddenly sent away with another family. The cracks in Evelyn's control over the school and this town are becoming too big to ignore…

Seizing this opportunity, Abbie finally puts her escape plan into action, using the stamps Alex gave her to trick one of the guards into leaving the compound using a fake love letter from a long-distance admirer. Yep, really. And it works. Through this elaborate scheme, Abbie is able to switch the power off in the school at a crucial moment, and when the guards run out to find her with Morty and Leila outside, the other students are all wearing identical hoodies to her so that Abbie's impossible to find.

While all this is happening, Laura suddenly goes into labour three weeks early, but that's OK. Someone in her new cult has to be a doctor, right? What's the point of starting a cult of your own if you can't enjoy a few benefits every now and again as leader?

Abbie and Leila get away, but Leila suddenly changes her mind, telling Abbie that the school can help her so she should stay. Evelyn has got into her brain, indoctrinating Leila completely. And not even her bestie Abbie can change her mind in time.

Meanwhile, Evelyn confronts Alex in the creepy basement of her school where the gross tadpole water baptisms take place. Have you ever heard a more unholy combination of words in your life?

Things aren't looking too good for Alex, but then Rabbit betrays Evelyn after she finally realises that her mentor doesn't actually care about her at all. Alex almost drowns, but he ends up turning the tables on Evelyn by injecting her with the drug she's been using on the kids. Rabbit points out that he's given her too much, a lethal dose, but honestly, it's what Evelyn deserves at this point.

High as a kite, Evelyn turns around and reveals a horrific truth to Alex – that Laura's parents weren't killed by her. They were killed by their own child, Laura, who smashed their heads in with a rock.

While Alex leaves to go be with Laura during the birth of their child, Rabbit talks an intoxicated Evelyn through her own version of The Leap, that horrendous procedure she frequently used to mind control the students.

In her visions, Evelyn sees her mother and then her mouth becomes a symbolic door of sorts. Evelyn proceeds to put her own hand into her own mouth because why not? And that freaky ass dream(?) sequence is the last we see of Evelyn. But is she still alive or has she died from an overdose of the Leap drug?

Wayward was designed to be a limited series, but given how often streamers like Netflix like to switch things up and change their minds, it makes sense that Martin might leave Evelyn's ending at least a touch ambiguous. What's not ambiguous, however, is just how messed up life is for Alex and Laura moving forward.

Despite almost dying at the school, Alex makes it home in time to greet Laura just as she's given birth to their child in a paddling pool. The pair bond over the fact they've both done "many awful things," and then Alex bonds with the baby by sitting with it in the pool, skin to skin.

That's when members of Laura's new cult interrupt and take it upon themselves to do the same, passing "their" new baby around like a hot potato, cuddling to ensure a bond is secured through plenty of skin to skin contact. It's weird and freaky and probably the ninth oddest thing to happen in this series.

Alex agrees, bewildered at what's going on, but Laura explains that their child should belong to everyone now because it's the "only way to break the pattern". The pattern being Evelyn's creepy grip on the town and how it was forbidden for new children to be born there for decades. Still though, it's pretty creepy.

The next thing you know, Alex is driving in his car with the baby and Abbie too, escaping town for good. Alex tells Abbie that she's "not a bad kid," pointing out the strength it takes for someone so young to know exactly who they are. Abbie says "You're a good person too, Alex," ending Wayward on the happy note they both deserve…

Except, it's all a lie. Alex isn't a good person and he's not a good father either, because this last sequence isn't real. We cut then to where Alex actually is, back at home, closing the front door of his house to return to his family. In doing so, he broke his promise to Abbie and condemned his child to a life in the creepy cult his wife just freshly set up.

And with that, Wayward ends with Abbie driving alone, free, but at what cost?

It's safe to presume that Abbie gets away, mostly unharmed, if not for all the psychological trauma that must come from what's happened. Alex, meanwhile, has given into the fake comforts of the cult family life Laura's dragged him into, but what of the school and the rest of the students?

Whether Evelyn is alive or not by the end, there's still a ton of corpses and messed up kids to sort out. Sometimes you're better off just not knowing, forced to imagine the best or worst for characters like this without forcing a second season where one might not be needed. But still, aren't you tempted by the idea of a sequel set years down the line that could revolve around Laura's new cult?

Wayward is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 25th September. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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