The psychotic Evelyn Hayden
Evelyn Hayden (Leah Merritt) is the hidden main villainess from the 2021 Lifetime film, Friendship Never Dies (alternately titled, Best Friends Forever; airdate April 2, 2021).
Introduction[]
Evelyn Hayden is the daughter of widowed Lucy Hayden, and the best friend of Breanna McMillan. The film established Breanna and Evelyn's friendship as a close one, with the latter enjoying the kinship, as it was revealed by Lucy that Evelyn had problems making friends. Because of this, Evelyn became obsessed with maintaining her friendship with Breanna, as she voiced her plans to go to CalArts with Breanna, doing so in response to Lucy's suggested plan for her daughter to attend Berkeley.
Heel Turn[]
Evelyn's gun as she kills Mindy McMillan
However, Evelyn discovered that Breanna's mother, Mindy McMillan, was set to move to another town with Breanna, who voiced her objection to the eventual move, as Breanna had to do so two years prior after being expelled from her last school. Seeing Mindy's plans as a threat to her friendship with Brianna, Evelyn turned heel and murdered Mindy, doing so by firing a pair of Mindy's own tranquilizer darts at Mindy--with the second one striking Mindy's chest and killing her. The villainess committed the murder while posing as Breanna, while the real Breanna expressed her shock and sorrow over her mother's sudden death.
As a result of Mindy's death, Lucy took temporary custody of Breanna, while preparing to send Breanna to live with her mother's cousin, Sarah-Louise Goff. Evelyn was elated to have Breanna living with her, but after learning about Lucy's search for Sarah-Louise's address, the villainess tracked her mother to Breanna's house, where she tossed a package toward Lucy--who badly injured her ankle attempting to dodge the attack. As the film progressed, Lucy learned about Breanna's history at her last school, as well as the discovery that Breanna and Evelyn's essays were similar. When Lucy confronted Breanna with the latter discovery, Evelyn confessed to copying Breanna's essay, leaving Breanna angry at Evelyn that she would be branded as a liar with her confession.
Despite this, Lucy continued her suspicions towards Breanna and later phoned Sarah-Louise after finding her address, as she planned to relinquish her temporary custody of Breanna. Meanwhile, the evil Evelyn discovered her mother's plan and went to Sarah-Louise's house in Mindy's car, and later shot Sarah-Louise to death with the same tranquilizer gun. Suspicion towards Breanna increased due to Lucy catching her returning home, as she scolded Breanna for going somewhere without telling her, and while Evelyn's heel persona remained masked, a sign started to emerge following Lucy's confrontation with Breanna, as Evelyn slapped her mother and informed her that she and Breanna were "best friends forever."
Climax & Reveal[]
Evelyn disguised as Breanna during her reveal
The film's climax saw Evelyn defy Lucy's order to stay in her room, and later sent a message to Breanna telling her that she found a way to keep her in their home. However, upon seeing that Breanna arrived with Alex Tyler (Breanna's love interest), Evelyn shot and killed Tyler with the same aforementioned weapon, and afterwards, the maniacal villainess took Breanna to her old house and tied her up, with plans to kill her as well. Lucy, believing that Breanna had abducted Evelyn, went to the house and found a girl tied up with a sheet covering her face, and later rescued her believing she was Evelyn, only to be shocked to discover that the girl was Breanna.
After Breanna (who was covered in gasoline) revealed everything to Lucy, Evelyn emerged in a blonde wig and revealed herself as a deranged murderess who had been killing disguised as Breanna, and later activated her lighter while lashing out at her mother for attempting to sever her friendship with Breanna. The psychotic villainess confessed to the murders, and in response to Lucy's statement that she wanted to make her daughter happy, Evelyn stated that Lucy should have kept her and Breanna together, adding that she was nothing without Breanna. Evelyn revealed her plan to kill both herself and Breanna so they could be friends forever, only for Lucy to take down her deranged daughter before Breanna knocked Evelyn out.
The film's epilogue took place four months later, which saw Lucy visit Evelyn at a mental hospital, where it was revealed that Evelyn had been making friends. Evelyn expressed sorrow over her actions, with Lucy informing her daughter that she should have seen the signs and that she would always watch out for her before Evelyn hugged her mother.
Trivia[]
- This was Leah Merritt's very first villainous Lifetime movie role.