Wayward Episode 8 recap: The finale shatters old bonds and births a new era of control

Netflix’s psychological thriller Wayward reached its season finale with Episode 8 titled Leap, which was released on September 25, 2025.

The limited series co-produced by Canadian actor and comedian Mae Martin is about a fictional town in Vermont called Tall Pines where police officer Alex Dempsey (Mae Martin) and his partner Laura (Sarah Gadon), along with two teenagers Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind), are on the trail of discovering the terrible truth about Tall Pines Academy, a correctional school for kids run by the mysterious and controlling Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette).

Across its eight episodes, Wayward dealt with the problems of emotional control, indoctrination, and the human price of “therapeutic” manipulation. At the center of the academy’s ritual, called “the Leap,” was the inhalation of psychedelic toxins extracted from toad venom that were supposedly intended to get rid of the emotional attachment and trauma of the person involved, but, in fact, would lead to psychological collapse.

In Leap, Evelyn tries to perform the ritual one last time while the uprising is going on among her followers.

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Wayward Episode 8 recap: Evelyn’s downfall and Alex’s breaking point

The ending of Wayward gives the series its most tumultuous and disturbing episode, blending a long history of trauma, cult domination, and the false notion of freedom, all under the Tall Pines Academy’s sinister influence.

At the start of the episode, Laura (Sarah Gadon) acts as a refuge to other Tall Pines graduates while she and Alex (Mae Martin) are waiting for their baby. However, the tranquility does not last long. Dwayne (Brandon Jay McLaren) kidnaps Alex under the orders of Evelyn (Toni Collette), who is planning to “leap” him, the Academy’s grotesque ritual that is designed to take away one’s emotional aspect completely.

On the other hand, Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind), Abbie (Sydney Topliffe), and Rory (John Daniel) pull off the impossible and break out of Tall Pines, with a commandeering Mule (Tricia Blacke). They enjoy their freedom only for a short while, and it turns out to be bittersweet when Leila chooses to go back, saying that the Academy is the only place where she has ever felt “safe.” Abbie begs her to think again, but Leila is firm, and the two are separated, vowing to meet each other again someday.

Alex’s “leap” back at Tall Pines turns grim when Rabbit (Tattiawna Jones) betrays Evelyn, injecting her with the very same hallucinogenic drug that she had used on the others. Just as Alex is about to make his escape, Evelyn gives him the bombshell confession: it was Laura, not Evelyn, who killed her own parents. When Alex flees, he murders Dwayne in the same savage way that Evelyn had previously outlined, indicating that the violence cycle might start all over again.

A nightmare sequence seals Evelyn's destiny as she takes too much of the drug and gets caught in a psychotropic limbo, a labyrinth of infinite green doors. Rabbit softly rocks her as she “leaps” in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Abbie and Rory find themselves trapped in a barn. After sharing a tender kiss, Rory chooses to sacrifice himself so that Abbie can live. She reaches the car that Alex had stashed in the woods, with only Toast, the loyal dog of Alex and Laura, and drives straight to Vancouver, the only way out of Tall Pines that is left unguarded.

In town, Laura goes into labor just as the whole community, all the former Academy students, comes together to see the first birth in decades. While Alex watches with discomfort, Laura declares:

“It’s everyone’s. It’s the only way to break the pattern.”

Her disturbing tranquility and the collective ritual of the people imply that the hold of Evelyn’s cult has only changed its form, with Laura now at its core.

The finale of Wayward presents an eerie parallel: Alex pictures himself taking the child away, but it is merely a dream. In truth, he closes the door of the farmhouse, enclosing himself along with Laura’s new “order,” while Abbie goes off, taking with her the bad dream of Tall Pines.

It is still unclear if Alex will ever be able to break free completely or if Laura has turned into the next Evelyn. However, there is one certainty: Wayward concludes with a plethora of questions rather than with clarifications, and gives a spooky expectation for Season 2.

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Will there be a Wayward Season 2?

Wayward has not received an official renewal for Season 2 from Netflix as of October 2025. Nonetheless, the creators and cast of the show have been vocal about their desire to keep the story ongoing. The production was first presented as a limited series, but due to its enormous success and increase in viewership, there is a possibility that Netflix may change its mind.

Since its release, the viewership numbers of Wayward have risen significantly, with Netflix recording a 3,500% increase in audience engagement over the first week of October alone. This has already made the show the most-watched program worldwide on that platform. Some industry analysts, such as Variety and Forbes, have pointed out that Netflix has reversed the “limited series” classification of its titles in the past based on public demand, such as with Monster and Untamed.