Wayward

A sniper named Mustin watches over the town of Wayward Pines from a guard tower, killing a humanoid creature, an “abbie,” that approaches the valley. He observes Sheriff Ethan Burke, the town’s new leader, who is aware of the town’s secret. Wayward Pines is a preservation project set nearly two thousand years in the future, created by the billionaire David Pilcher to save a remnant of humanity after the species devolved into aberrations. Ethan maintains the facade of a perfect town for his wife, Theresa, and son, Ben, while struggling with the knowledge of their reality.

Ethan travels through a hidden tunnel to the mountain superstructure where Pilcher resides. Pilcher gives Ethan a surveillance report on Peter McCall, a resident showing signs of rebellion. That night, Pilcher calls Ethan to report that McCall is attempting to escape. Ethan confronts McCall near the electrified fence, but McCall, desperate for answers, commits suicide by throwing himself against the high-voltage wires. Pam, Pilcher’s nurse and enforcer, reveals she was watching the encounter. While driving back, Ethan hits a body in the road and crashes his Bronco. He discovers the corpse of a young woman, naked and covered in stab wounds but clean of blood. He hides the body in the woods.

The next day, Pilcher confronts Ethan and reveals the dead woman was his undercover agent and daughter, Alyssa. He explains that Alyssa was infiltrating a group of dissidents called the “Wanderers,” who have learned to remove their tracking microchips and move about undetected. Pilcher tasks Ethan with finding Alyssa’s killer, revealing that Ethan’s former Secret Service partner, Kate Hewson, now Kate Ballinger, is a key member of the group. The narrative shifts to Theresa, who attends a mandatory therapy session with Pam. She expresses her profound unhappiness and alludes to a relationship she had before Ethan’s reappearance. A flashback reveals that Theresa and Adam Hassler were in a loving relationship in the years after Ethan’s disappearance. Ethan examines Alyssa’s body in the morgue and later attends a tense dinner party with Theresa at the home of Ben’s teacher, Megan Fisher.

The perspective shifts to Tobias, a “nomad” on a reconnaissance mission in the dangerous wilderness outside the fence. Back in the mountain, Ethan visits the main surveillance center, where a technician named Ted explains the system’s limitations. A person without a microchip is invisible to the cameras. They review footage showing Kate and Alyssa exchanging secret notes inside bell peppers. Ethan reads Alyssa’s reports, which confirm she was scheduled to meet Kate’s group on the night of her murder. On his way out, Ethan sees Pilcher experimenting on a captured abby and is shown “Margaret,” a highly intelligent female abby held captive.

Ethan contacts Kate at her toy store, passing her a note to arrange a secret meeting. Theresa sees him leaving the store and confronts him later. That night, Ethan meets Kate at the cemetery mausoleum, where she denies her group’s involvement in Alyssa’s murder. Later, in his bedroom, Ethan tells Theresa the entire truth about Wayward Pines, the year, and Pilcher’s project. A flashback to 2013 reveals that Adam Hassler, Ethan’s former boss, was secretly working for Pilcher. Hassler, who is in love with Theresa, arranged for Ethan to remain in suspension so he could be with her in the future.

Tobias, the nomad, is forced to kill an abby scout, which alerts a massive swarm. He hides and recalls his most terrifying discovery, a colossal structure built by the abbies that resembles a city, suggesting they are building a civilization. To speak freely with Theresa, Ethan cuts the tracking chip out of her leg in a surveillance blind spot in their house. He then attends a secret party with Kate’s group in a hidden cavern, where he learns they are not revolutionaries but simply people seeking moments of freedom. Kate reveals that Alyssa was a double agent, secretly working with them against her father.

Upon returning to town, Pilcher’s man, Marcus, captures Ethan at gunpoint. Ethan lies to Pilcher, claiming Kate’s group is a violent militia. In an elevator, Pam reveals she saw Ethan and Theresa on their unsanctioned night walk and blackmails him. To test his loyalty, Pilcher orders Ethan to call a “fête,” a public execution, for Kate and Harold Ballinger. He has a disturbing conversation with Ben, who reveals Pilcher has been indoctrinating the schoolchildren, presenting himself as a godlike protector. Ted contacts Ethan and shows him deleted surveillance footage proving Pilcher and Pam tortured and murdered Alyssa on the hospital’s autopsy table.

Ethan finds a secret tunnel under the fence and captures a live abby, hiding it in his Bronco. Pam confronts him in the forest, and they fight. Ethan stabs her, knocks her unconscious, cuts out her microchip, and leaves her on the abby-infested side of the fence. A flashback to 2013 shows Pilcher’s wife, Elisabeth, refusing to go into suspension. Pilcher takes Alyssa anyway, and it is implied that he has Elisabeth killed.

The nomad Tobias, camped just outside Wayward Pines, writes a final journal entry revealing his full name is Adam Tobias Hassler and that he is returning for Theresa. The fête begins, and Ethan hijacks the event to reveal the truth to the town. He releases the captured abby and kills it in front of the horrified crowd to prove his story. He leads the stunned residents into the theater to explain everything. Pilcher interrupts via a live video feed, confirming the truth but reasserting his control. Enraged, the townspeople destroy the screen. Pilcher calls Ethan, taunts him, and then shuts off all power to Wayward Pines, deactivating the electric fence. As Ethan and Brad Fisher gather weapons from the sheriff’s station, an abby attacks their Bronco, killing Brad. Ethan discovers the fence is off and the main gate is open. He hears an immense abby swarm approaching and runs back to warn the town, realizing his actions have doomed them all.