Devan Walters (Johanna Liauw) is the main villainess from the 2020 Lifetime film, The Wrong Cheerleader Coach (alternately titled The Wrong Coach, airdate October 17, 2020).
Backstory/Introduction[]
Devan Walters is the assistant to cheerleading coach Janice Burke, however, her backstory revealed that her mother committed suicide after catching her father with another woman. In addition, Devan also had a history of unstable and psychotic behavior, dating back to when she was a cheerleader in junior college, as she began hitting on the single father of her fellow cheerleader, Kelsey Riggins. Devan developed an obsession that became psychotic when she threatened to accuse Riggins of sexual assault after he turned down her advances, and she later broke into his home and stabbed the object of her obsession to death in a rage.
Devan eventually became a coach herself, though she developed a pattern of getting close to a particular girl in order to seduce her widowed father. When her affections were denied, Devan unleashed her anger towards her target's daughter, with her behavior resulting in court-ordered psychiatric sessions with her therapist, Dr. Gordon; sessions that Devan hated.
Events[]
Devan stalking Jon and Melissa
Devan was hired at Lincoln High School, which was attended by main protagonist Hanna Thompson, who moved with her widowed father, Jon Thompson, from Chicago. Upon meeting the Thompsons, Devan became infatuated with Jon to the point where she even mentioned her "relationship" to her workout partner, Jack, as well as to Dr. Gordon in her sessions. She quickly began stalking Jon at his workplace, where she spotted him talking to his project manager, Melissa Ross, sparking jealousy from the villainess. Her anger increased following her session, as Jack suggested to Devan that she continue seeing Dr. Gordon for another two months, with Devan responding by bludgeoning Jack to death with a barbell.
Devan later approached Hanna and suggested private cheer sessions at her home, doing so to continue her attempts to see Jon. She continuously made attempts to flirt with Jon, with her persistency continuing despite Jon's disinterest. All the while, Hanna was unaware of Devan's true motives, though she began to learn the truth after her best friend, Claire Harris, informed Hanna about Devan's incident involving another cheerleader. The insane villainess continued to stalk Jon during the film's progression, even tracking Jon to his dinner date with Melissa, while scowling over seeing them together.
Reveal[]
Devon smiling evilly while targeting Melissa
Afterwards, Devan began wearing glasses (similar to Melissa) under her belief that Jon would be into her if she did, displaying her new look at school before taking Hanna to her home and cooking for her and Jon. However, Jon--having had enough of Devan's obsessive behavior--ordered Devan to no longer see Hanna outside of her duties as coach, while also ejecting Devan from the house. An angry Devan lashed out at Jon in response, and later in the film, Devan berated Hanna during practice, taking her anger at Jon out on Hanna.
After informing Jon about Devan's outburst, Hanna and her neighbor and boyfriend, Ben Freemont, looked in to Devan's history and learned about her past as a college cheerleader, who was coached by Janet Hughes. The pair went to Hughes' home, where Hughes revealed Devan's past history regarding Kelsey Riggins' father, as well as her role in his murder. Later on, the evil Devan stalked Melissa at her workplace and waited in ambush before running her down in her car (Melissa survived), and participated in another session with Dr. Gordon; lashing out at her therapist before strangling her to death with her bare hands.
Climax & Aftermath[]
Devan holding Hanna at knifepoint
In the film's climax, Hanna confronted Devan regarding her actions, with the villainess warning Hanna not to cross her, while stating that she cared about her and Jon. However, the deranged Devan later attacked Hanna and held her at knifepoint, with Ben pleading with the psychotic madwoman to let his girlfriend go. After Devan mocked Ben, Hanna told Devan that she could have what she wanted and they could be a family together, only for Devan to respond with the claim that it was too late for both Jon and Hanna, right before she was knocked out with a hockey stick by Burke.
As Jon arrived with Detective Sherman, they were shocked to discover that Devan had escaped, and the film's final scenes (taking place a year later) showed Devan at the home of one of her cheerleaders, while conversing with her widowed father. The scene revealed that Devan was hired for the same position at another school, and she had her psychotic sights set on another potential target.
Victims[]
- Mr. Riggins (stabbed)
- Jack (bludgeoned to death on a barbell)
- Melissa Ross (attempted to hit and run while being ambushed, failed)
- Dr. Gordon (strangled)
- Hanna Thompson (attempted to stab on a neck, before knocked out by Coach Burke)
Trivia[]
- This was Johanna Liauw's very first film role.
- Johanna Liauw later appeared as the evil Beth in 2021's College Professor Obsession.
[]
| The Wrong (film series) Villainesses |
|---|
| Janine Haight | Madeline Sawyer | Maddie Sawyer | Mrs. Sawyer |Phoebe Sutton | Emily Miller | Kristen Turner | Mandy Raines | Devan Walters | Anna Barton | Liz Kimble |
Gallery[]
