what happened to leila in wayward

In the Netflix series "Wayward," Leila is one of the troubled teens at Tall Pines Academy who undergoes intense therapy under the school's headmistress Evelyn. Throughout the series, Leila struggles with the trauma of her older sister Jess's death, which Evelyn manipulates her to believe was caused by Leila pushing Jess into a pool, although it is strongly implied this memory was fabricated as part of Evelyn's control tactics. In the finale, after planning to escape Tall Pines with her friend Abbie, Leila unexpectedly chooses to stay behind, feeling that she has found a sense of community and belonging at Tall Pines that she never had before, despite its manipulative and cult-like environment. This decision shocks Abbie and reflects how deeply Evelyn's influence has affected Leila. The actress who plays Leila, Alyvia Alyn Lind, has mentioned that Leila's belief in her role in her sister's death deeply haunts her, but she likely was manipulated into this belief. Leila's fate remains ambiguous, with the implication that her spirit is broken and that she is institutionalized within the Academy's system. Thus, Leila's story ends on a haunting, uncertain note where she stays in the troubled environment of Tall Pines, feeling lost and without a real home outside of it.