In Mae Martin’s engaging and intriguing Netflix series WAYWARD, a cop and his wife move to a town hosting Tall Pines Academy, a troubled teen home led by the enigmatic and strange Evelyn.
Alex and Laura move to the Vermont town of Tall Pines, where Laura attended Tall Pines Academy in her teen years. The town exists in service of Tall Pines Academy, a school for wayward (title!) children run by the enigmatic and weirdly energetic cult-leader-like Evelyn Wade. Of course, this is a horror show, so Tall Pines (and Academy) holds secrets, strange methods, and maybe more than a little danger. Leila and Abbie are high school students on the verge of ruining themselves with the dangerous over-dependent cycles. Sent into Tall Pines, they try to figure out what is going on, while Alex peels back the understanding of the town itself. It’s a creepy story of finding truths and histories, and one’s place in life. Yes, much of it falls into stories we’ve seen many times over: town with a secret, cult infiltration, weird academies, etc. Show creator (and star as Alex) Mae Martin’s tale is a mix of the familiar, but it does so with a fantastic nuance and care, pulling back just enough, and is continually engaging with great characters.
Wayward works in the way it raises and explores a range of interesting questions. What guilt do we hold, and how does it affect us? What is the true power of parentage? Nuclear family over a strong community? How much tough love is too much? How can we break out of our ruts to be better people? Is it internal or external? How much of our past has ramifications on our future? Does the Troubled Teen “industry” help, hinder, or fall somewhere in between?
I appreciate the nuance of answering these questions. There is no doubt that Tall Pines Academy has crossed lines. There is abuse, taking things too far. Under the surface of the terrible is something that works, it’s compelling in not being directly “hey this place is EVIL.”. I’m not exonerating Evelyn and her staff. There is horror in how she runs the place and how the townspeople act. There is something terribly wrong and off in Tall Pines, the town, and in Tall Pines Academy. It’s noticeable from the start with a prevalent cult atmosphere. I loved the unease. With our outsider audience surrogates of Alex and Abbie/Lelia, the layers are engaging to be pulled away.
The crux of the show is how changes can be made, and to what end. Many people are broken further, or broken in new ways, but just as many seem to leave Tall Pines okay. That they needed something like the academy to set them on a path. There’s a question of where the line is. Trouble is, for each wayward person, that line is somewhere else. It’s too easy to descend into a full-on abuse over time, for everyone who has helped another is hurt. For every staff member who likes this job because they can be a jerk or more to a vulnerable person, there’s a helper. For every good kid who either made a mistake or was railroaded despite innocence, there is one who just likes to cause pain and chaos. Tall Pines Academy isn’t The Institute (another 2025 program I initially connected to this show), with a clear delineation. That makes it intriguing to watch.
As Evelyn, the head of Tall Pines Academy, Toni Collette gives another amazing performance (has she ever not?). She’s the face of the show for good reason. Not only the biggest actor, but she’s also the most fascinating character. Like her Academy, she’s a terrifying presence initially, but shifts in our perception as we, Alex, and Leila know her more. She bursts into the show after a verbal lead-up to expect A Character (uppercase), in the same vein as Aunt Gladys of Weapons. Over the top, overy smiley and strange, but oozing menace. But as the cracks form in and out of the Academy, she becomes a character (lowercase) to debate and discuss. She’s absolutely still a villain, but one where we see she’s lost sight of the trees through the forest, who still believes in her heart she’s doing something good. This makes her a fascinating character study. But it still remains thrilling as the tables are turned against her empire.
Evelyn isn’t the only complex character. Cop Alex, his wife Laura, teens Leila and Abbie, among others, are dug into, their pasts explored, and they experience real character growth. I feel for each, no matter their mistakes, pasts, or experiences. Comedian Mae Martin created the show and leads as Alex, a trans man (while it comes up, there’s never anything anti-trans, thankfully. That’s not the story they want to tell). Martin continually has a perplexed and/or worried expression, but it works, and the full performance is great. I always love Sarah Gadon, here as Alex’s wife, Laura. Nice to see her in a meaty role as an expectant mother dealing with her world and understanding shifting in front of her. While initially I felt she was a sounding board/thankless character, where she goes is intriguing. A good return after the metaphoric punching bag she was just weeks ago in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. Alyvia Alyn Lind of the Chucky TV show and Sydney Topliffe bring complicated teen angst, pain, and confusion for Leila and Abbie, respectively. All the teens give real performances.
Thus, Wayward is a complex show of many approaches to the ideas it discusses and the questions it answers. In this way, it’s wholly engaging. The slow reveal across the eight episodes is expertly handled, with fantastic pacing of the in-episode arc and overall. This length is just right. Each director holds the characters well and provides a creepy visual dynamic, without leaning too much into overdoing visuals, saving the strange for noted moments to have more power. It lets the plot and characters do the heavy lifting. Heck, even in this review, it’s been nearly all the writing.
Many might be disappointed that Wayward doesn’t go as far or as wild as expected with the setup, as it would have in the titles it has similarities to. I liked how well it was handled, with a more complex worldbuilding and character shifts. Wayward is a solid series, with great performances, strong writing, and a continual unease. While a limited series officially, I wouldn’t mind seeing where it goes if a second volume comes around.