Toni Collette has long been an icon of our screens, but we've never seen her quite like this before. In Wayward, she plays Evelyn Wade, the enigmatic head of a teen rehabilitation centre that’s as mysterious as it is sinister.

It's a fitting time for a series like this, following exposés from celebrities like Paris Hilton, who has come forward in recent years to discuss the real-life harm she experienced at institutions just like the one in Wayward. Although fictional, the show is about as eery as they come, blurring lines between control and care, trauma and healing. Below, exactly why this series is so impossible to look away from.

Warning: Spoilers below.

What is it about?

Wayward is set in 2003 at Tall Pines Academy, an isolated institution for “troubled teens.” The story follows Alex Dempsey, a police offer who moves to the town with his pregnant wife, Laura, seeking a fresh start after a traumatic work incident.

When a runaway from the academy disappears on Dempsey's first day at work, he begins digging into the school’s secrets, discovering that not everything is as it seems. The show weaves together his investigation with the perspective of two teenagers, Leila and Abbie, best friends from Toronto who are sent away to the academy, and immediately begin plotting their own escape.

Amplifying the intensity of the isolation and helplessness felt by the characters is the show's clever setting in the early 2000s, before smartphones and social media could offer any consolation.

What happens in the end?

Wayward doesn’t offer a clean or comforting resolution, but there are a few things that are cleared up by the end.

What happened to Jess?

One of the show’s central mysteries — what happened to Leila’s sister, Jess — finally comes to light in episode 6. Through fragmented memories and Evelyn’s manipulative “Leap” therapy, we learn Jess drowned after a night of partying, but whether Leila tried to save her — or let her die — is left disturbingly ambiguous. Evelyn insists Leila hated Jess and allowed her to drown, but the truth may lie somewhere between memory, trauma, and suggestion. The show leaves viewers questioning how much of Leila’s “confession” is real, and how much was coerced.

What about Laura's parents?

Laura also discovers the truth about her own past. Her long-lost parents didn’t abandon her — they tried to rescue her from Tall Pines. Their car is discovered at the bottom of a nearby pond, and Evelyn claims it was Laura herself who killed them in a fit of rage, and that she helped her to cover it up. Whether that’s the truth, a manipulation, or some mix of both is left unresolved.

Does Laura become the new Evelyn?

By the finale, Evelyn’s grip on the academy is slipping. Laura rises to power, embraced by alumni as a new, enlightened leader, She promises a better future for troubled youth. But the parallels between Laura and Evelyn are impossible to ignore. Laura now sits in the same room where Evelyn once ruled, with a loyal following hanging on her every word. Whether she’s a reformer or a successor in disguise remains an open question.

Who is involved?

Mae Martin, who you might know from their semi-autobiographical comedy-drama series FEEL GOOD, not only wrote and created the show, but also steps into darker territory as Alex. They're joined by Toni Collette, who commands the screen as Evelyn Wade, the head of Tall Pines who is both hypnotically charismatic and terrifyingly unyielding. Sarah Gadon adds emotional depth as Laura, whose own past with the academy complicates the narrative.

The young leads are Alyvia Alyn Lind and Sydney Topliffe, who play Leila and Abbie respectively, and embody the resilience and desperation of youth caught in a system designed to control them.

Where can you watch Wayward?

Wayward is now streaming on Netflix.

Feature image via IMDb.