Wayward Review: When Alex moves to the idyllic small town of Tall Pines, he hoped for a new beginning with his pregnant wife, Laura. However, what starts off as a hope for an easy life turns into something sinister as he gets deeper into the town’s school for troubled teens.
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Wayward Netflix Cast
Mae Martin, Brandon Jay McLaren, Sarah Gadon, Patrick J. Adams, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Patrick Gallagher, Sydney Topliffe, Joshua Close, Toni Collette
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Wayward Series Creator
Mae Martin
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Wayward 2025 Showrunners
Mae Martin, Ryan Scott
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Wayward Directors
Euros Lyn, John Fawcett, Renuka Jeyapalan, Mae Martin
The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 50 minutes.
Wayward Review
In Netflix’s Wayward, a small town’s skeletons stumble out of the closet when a new cop arrives with his pregnant wife. What follows is ~8 hours of madness that redefines the word “cult” in more ways than one. I found the series to be arresting. Jumping from one character’s perspective to another, this series is a thrilling ride from start to end that does a great job of creating a mystery, keeping small-town secrets in mind.
We are always told about how small towns have a lot of dangerous secrets, and Wayward brings that feeling forth to a T, making Alex our eyes and ears as we learn about one shocking secret after another. The series hinges on its shock factor and slowly unravelling this mystery, and, personally, it does a phenomenal job. The topic of the troubled teen industry is haunting in and of itself; add cults to the mix, and you have a recipe for disaster and intrigue.
I found this addition of cults to be quite interesting. As mentioned previously, we all know that teens being whisked away from their beds in the middle of the night is a horrifying reality for many children across the world. I think the series’ addition of cults makes it all the more interesting and intriguing. Now, it’s not just the fear of young children living in harrowing conditions and being mistreated; it’s also that they are being manipulated and brainwashed by someone, often under the influence of drugs.
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The added layers add a lot of horrors to the story and, moreover, they tie in Laura’s story beautifully. Although at first, I thought Laura would be a side character, I think they tied her character into the story really well, so much so that it made the flow of the story better. Laura’s character is the turning point of the show as she hits you when you least expect it. I found her to be quite interesting, and the way that she plays with everyone is nothing short of horrifying.
The series, however, hinges primarily on all of the actors, who do a phenomenal job in their roles. Collette, who is one of my favourite faces in horror/thriller shows/movies these days, is fantastic. She’s so eerie and makes you feel so uncomfortable that it’s difficult not to feel some sort of way around her. Mae Martin, as Alex, is all of us as he sees the world around him collapsing. I think they are phenomenal in the series and feel very grounded.
Alyvia Alyn Lind and Sydney Topliffe, as Leila and Abbie, are great as well and make your heart ache for their youth being stolen from them. Lastly, Sarah Gadon, as Laura, increases the intensity of her character and sneaks up on you so suddenly that you won’t know what hit you.
Final Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Wayward. It does a great job of holding the tension and playing with its characters’ emotions, so much so that it’s hard not to feel attached to the characters. As one shocking twist comes around after another, viewers will find themselves completely at a loss, and the feeling of heartbreak and loss stays with them after the end credits roll. All in all, this one’s quite engaging and entertaining.
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