‘Wayward’ Ending Explained: What Happened in the Netflix Series?

Warning: If you have not yet seen or finished Netflix’s ‘Wayward,’ this article contains spoiler about the ending of the triller.

Netflix seems to have another phenomenon on its hands with Wayward.

The mystery thriller debuted on the streaming platform as the most watched series on September 25 and has remained in the top spot ever since. But with more twists and turns than a roller coaster, those who binged the series may be wondering, ‘what the did I just watch?’

So whether you’re curious or confused, we’ve got you covered.

What is Wayward about?

Wayward is set in the fictional town of Tall Pines, VT, which is home to the Tall Pines Academy, a mysterious school for teens led by the malevolent head teacher Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette). In the beginning of the series, Alex Dempsey (Mae Martin), a transgender man who is the town’s new police officer, moves to Tall Pines with his pregnant wife, Laura (Sarah Gadon), a former student of the academy.

Meanwhile, Canadian teen Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) is forcibly sent to the school by her parents as a result of repeatedly getting in trouble with her best friend Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind). When Leila goes on a mission to rescue Abbie, she too becomes trapped at the school and forced to attend. Though the pair initially scheme to break out, they quickly learn of the nefarious underbelly of the school, which involves torturing and brainwashing the students. And those who refuse to comply or attempt to escape tend to mysteriously disappear and never come back.

Soon after arriving in the town, Alex encounters one such escaped student Riley (Gage Munroe), but before he can help the teen, Riley becomes violent when learning that Laura is also a former student, and is killed in the ensuing confrontation.

Before infiltrating the academy, Leila also encounters Alex when she arrives in Tall Pines, and he begins covertly working with the teens from the inside to get to the bottom of just what is going on at the school.

Adding to the mystery, Alex and Laura discover a hidden room in their new home with a painted door and blood stains on the ceiling, presumably having leaked down from the floor above. Laura also begins sleepwalking shortly and experiencing hallucinations after they arrive in town, and Alex catches her trying to leave their home in the middle of the night.

The couple also dine with Evelyn, who Alex finds to be a cold and foreboding presence. Evelyn, along with Alex’s partner Dwayne (Brandon Jay McLaren), also deter his repeated attempts to investigate what’s going on at the school.

What happens at the end of Wayward?

In the penultimate episode, Alex is attacked and abducted by Dwayne after discovering the body of a student named Daniel, who was killed during a wilderness survival challenge that the students were punished with after an attempted revolt. Alex awakens in a room filled with several feet of water, where Evelyn and her right-hand Rabbit (Tattiawna Jones) prepare to perform a drug-induced ritual on him called The Leap.

But before Evelyn can inject him with the drugs, Rabbit betrays her, and the escaped Alex jabs her with the syringe several times. As she begins to drift off into the drug trip, Evelyn informs Alex that Laura actually killed her parents and that she’ll never love him. She also tells him that Laura underwent The Leap procedure as a way to erase the memories of killing her parents, which likely explains the sleepwalking and hallucinations.

Alex then proceeds to rush back to the house, having learned that Laura has gone into labor three weeks early, but on his way encounters Dwayne, who once again attacks him. Dwayne attempts to strangle Alex, however he manages to fight him off, and then smashes a large rock onto his head, presumably killing him.

Back at the school, Abbie and Leila orchestrate an elaborate escape plan along with a fellow student Abbie befriended, Rory (John Daniel), and successfully stowaway on a school bus headed into town. However, the trio quickly find themselves subject to a town-wide manhunt, and when they break into a nearby home for a change of clothes Leila reveals to Abbie that she wants to return to the school, as her mother has since abandoned her, and take part in The Leap.

Abbie and Rory flee the house but soon find themselves surrounded by the townspeople. They share a kiss, and then Rory sacrifices himself by distracting the mob so that Abbie can safely escape, telling her that it’s “the best day of his life.”

As Alex arrives back home, he finds Laura about to go into labor, surrounded by a “therapy” group she started with former Tall Pines Academy students to overcome their trauma. However, it’s since become clear that the group has become a cult with Laura as the leader, mimicking previous flashbacks of Evelyn starting her own cult. She performs a water birth with Alex joining her in the inflatable birthing pool, and the cult begin to remove their clothes and pass the infant around.

“It’s everyone’s. It’s the only way to break the pattern,” Laura tells a wide-eyed Alex.

Later, Abbie finds a car that Alex has left for her, but before she can drive away, Alex comes running with the baby. As they drive off into the night, Alex tells Abbie that he has a cabin in update New York that they can head to as the plot their next moves.

Except… Alex never actually escaped and only fantasized about leaving. As Abbie is seen leaving Tall Pines in the rearview, Alex grapples with his new reality, living amidst a cult, on the site of a former murderous cult (as he also learned in a previous episode, explaining the blood and fake door).

Will there be a Wayward season 2?

Wayward was marketed as a limited series, and at the time of publishing this article, it has not been renewed or canceled.

But given the reception, and the fact that the finale leaves a few major loose ends flapping in the wind, it would not be shocking if it came back for a second season.

Will Abbie ever reunite with Rory and Leila? Will Alex escape the cult with his child? Did Evelyn’s brain turn to mush after receiving several doses of The Leap drug? Inquiring minds want to know!