Tanya Jackson (Allison McAtee) is the main villainess from the 2020 Lifetime film, Deadly Mile High Club (alternately titled, Deadly Flight, airdate May 2, 2020).
Backstory/Introduction[]
The film began with Tanya's backstory, as she was once a pilot who was shown on a flight through the Rockies with fellow pilot Jake Matthews. The plane ended up crashing, with Tanya badly injured but alive, though Matthews was killed. Since then, Tanya became a flight instructor and taught her own class, while taking in Jake Sherman (one of the main protagonists) as a new student.
Tanya quickly became infatuated with Jake, who was at odds with his wife Annie Sherman (the other main protagonist) regarding his plans to become a pilot. It led to Jake being invited to Tanya at her place, where her seduction continued and resulted in the pair making out, only for Jake to back away. On the following day, Tanya invited Annie to fly with her and Jake, though she imagined ejecting Annie out of the plane mid-flight. She continued her pursuit of Jake, while Jake moved out of his house with Annie after seemingly seeing her kissing another man at their house during a flying lesson with Tanya.
Heel Turn[]
Tanya attacking Annie Sherman
Tanya later lashed out at a pair of flight attendants who were attempting to get Jake to take a flight class taught by veteran pilot Gonzo Rogers, with Jake meeting Gonzo later that evening, where Jake learned about Tanya's past as a pilot. After Jake phoned Tanya and informed her that he would drop her class in favor of Gonzo's, Tanya sabotaged Gonzo's plane on the following day, knowing that he would be flying and also marking Tanya's official heel turn. That same day, Gonzo invited Jake to go on the demo flight with him, only for Tanya to try to talk Jake out of it, knowing that he'd be killed due to her sabotage.
Jake was (unknowingly) saved when his mother-in-law and boss, Margaret Harris, angrily confronted him regarding his fight with Annie, and as for Gonzo, he went on the plane on his own and ended up crashing to his death. Later on, Tanya consoled Jake after he vented about Annie and Margaret not wanting him to fly, only for Margaret to walk in on their conversation. Seeing them furthered Margaret's belief that the pair were having an affair, leading to Margaret confronting Tanya later that evening and telling her to stay away from Jake. Tanya stated that nothing was going on between them, and even offered to fly Margaret to Santa Barbara free of charge. During the flight, Margaret continuously ranted about Jake and insulted him in response, while also insulting Tanya for seeing something in him and mocking her crash, leading to Tanya ejecting Margaret out of the plane, sending her to her death.
The aftermath of Margaret's death saw Annie and Jake talk things out, and upon learning this, the evil Tanya increased her manipulation, showing video of "Annie" with another guy and revealing that Annie's affair wasn't a one-time thing. Fully convinced that his wife was continuously cheating on him, Jake gave in to Tanya's seduction and engaged in an illcit tryst with her after a flight. Meanwhile, Annie saw the material and a license plate that led her to a model whose home Annie visited, after which Annie learned the truth: the woman was approached by Tanya, who posed as a photographer and paid her to take pics of her and an unknown man kissing and massaging together. The woman was unaware of Tanya's plans for the videos, and was asked to wear clothes similar to Annie's. Annie sent texts to Jake about Tanya setting her up, only for Tanya to intercept them and respond as Jake, after which she appeared at Annie's home and chlorformed her.
Climax and Arrest[]
Tanya knocking out Jake Sherman
Tanya placed the incapacitated Annie inside a crate before tying her up and gagging her, and the film's climax saw Jake help Tanya place the crate inside her plane, after which the pair had sex on top of it, with Jake fully unaware that his wife was inside the box. The villainess instructed Jake to drop the crate (which Tanya claimed had fish food inside) into the ocean, as Tanya was planning to kill Annie. However, as Jake was about to do so, he heard Annie screaming inside the box, with Jake shocked to learn that his wife was inside.
Jake confronted Tanya afterwards, with the deranged psychopath setting the plane on auto-pilot before confessing to attempting to kill Annie, stating that she wasn't good enough for him and didn't appreciate him. She also admitted to killing Margaret as well, claiming that she was liberating Jake from his mother-in-law and that he's a happier person because of it. Jake informed Tanya that he was going to call the police, only for the villainess to knock out Jake with a fire extinguisher before putting on her parachute and jumping out, as she decided to kill both halves of the couple.
Tanya made it out to safety, but inside the plane, Annie escaped the crate and co-piloted the plane with Jake, with both of them flying towards Tanya. The breeze knocked down Tanya, who was later picked up by a police officer and arrested, with Tanya looking up at Jake and Annie in the plane as she was taken into custody.
Trivia[]
- Tanya Jackson is similar to fellow Lifetime villainess Lisa Wolf from 2022's My Nightmare Office Affair. Each women befriend with the film's protagonist and subsequently having a secret relationship, causing to stir an affair from their wives and sabotage their sinister plans to eliminate them during the quest. The difference that Tanya has two protagonists, while Lisa has only one. Coincidentally, both villainesses are going against a protagonist played by Marc Herrmann and both films share the protagonist character's last name Sherman.
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| Allison McAtee |
|---|
| Claudia | Kathleen Strickland | Tanya Jackson | Dianne | Elizabeth Newman | Victoria Jones | Liz Kimble |
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Hitwoman with chloroform and latex gloves