Vengeful psychopath Elena Johns (aka Claire Bigelow)
Elena Johns, aka Claire Bigelow (Sydney Meyer), was the main villainess from the 2020 Llfetime film, Remember Me, Mommy? (originally titled, Daughter Dearest; airdate March 29, 2020).
Backstory[]
Claire Bigelow was the biological daughter of main protagonist Rebecca Barton, though Claire's backstory revealed that Rebecca was only a teenager when she became pregnant, and she gave up her daughter for adoption, believing that she was ill prepared to be a mother. Claire went through many foster homes, including an abusive one where her foster father often beat her with a belt, and another where food was scarce due to Claire being one of many foster children.
Her most recent foster home belonged to Helen and Robert Shaw, and she served as the older foster sister of Elena Johns. Claire often clashed with Robert on numerous occasions, and it was two years prior to the events that Claire killed Robert via electrocution; dropping his operating clippers inside the bathtub. She later took a pendant belonging to Helen and escaped, leaving Robert's death to be classified as a freak accident.
Events[]
Elena holding a knife while confronting Rebecca
The film's opening saw Claire gain access to her file and learn that Rebecca was her birth mother, as well as a professor at Clark Academy. Afterwards, Claire transferred to Clark under her foster sister's name, Elena Johns, and was introduced as a bright student who was befriended by Grace Walker--while also on the receiving end of hazing from "queen bee" Janie Wade. She was also greeted warmly by Rebecca, but later on, Elena vandalized Rebecca's car and placed Janie's school ID at the scene in a plan to frame her.
The film's progression saw Elena form a bond with Rebecca, while her friendship with Grace became distant, as Grace began to notice Elena's strange behavior--which included lashing out at Grace when her old ID with Claire's name was found. After Grace warned Janie about Elena, she went to Elena and informed her that she was moving out of her room with Elena, leading Elena to suspect that she was the reason. Elena apologized, but afterwards, she entered the bathroom and wrapped Grace's neck with a towel, after which she dropped Grace on her head, killing her instantly. After killing Grace, the evil Elena falsely claimed that professor Jason Lewis (Rebecca's boyfriend) had been making passes at her, doing so after placing racy photos of Grace inside Jason's room.
Rebecca later informed Elena that her essay qualified her for eligibility into a prestigious college, though it was later revealed that Elena plagiarized most of the essay. After learning that Grace's necklace wasn't hers, Rebecca went to a pawn shop, where the owner gave her Helen Shaw's name, as she was the actual owner. It was from Helen that Rebecca learned that the woman known as Elena was actually Claire Bigelow, and once she returned home, she ended up encountered by Claire/Elena, who (while wielding a knife) revealed her true identity as Rebecca's long lost daughter.
Climax and Death[]
Afterwards, the deranged villainess accused Rebecca of selfishly giving her up for her own reasons, while also revealing that she went through hellish foster homes throughout her childhood and teen years. She also revealed that Claire was one of many names she went by, and indicated that she killed others before Robert and Grace, adding that Robert was one of many who had it coming. Regarding Grace, Elena stated that while killing her friend was difficult, it had to be done because she was digging into her too much.
The villainess later went after Rebecca, chasing her to the living room before she was taken down by Janie, who struck her with her backpack. After macing Janie in the face, Elena regained her knife and ignored Rebecca's attempt at offering affection to her; stating that while it was what she wanted for all of those years, it was too late for her. Just as Elena was closing in on Rebecca, she was stabbed with a fire iron by Janie. Rebecca cradled her mortally wounded daughter as Janie called 911. Elena forgave Rebecca before succumbing to her injury.
Trivia[]
- This was Sydney Meyer's very first Lifetime film and first villainous role.
- Later in the year, Sydney Meyer played villainess Madison Willits in Pretty Cheaters, Deadly Lies.
Gallery[]
