Evil star Christine Lahti reveals what she hopes will happen to the villainous Leland Townsend. Lahti plays Sheryl Luria in the Paramount+ supernatural drama, which follows forensic psychologist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) as she works with Catholic assessor David Acosta (Mike Colter) and contractor Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) to investigate cases that could have a decidedly metaphysical component. Over the course of its run, and in its move from broadcast network CBS to a streaming service, the series has introduced more and more long-term stories to go along with its case-of-the-week elements.
One of the more perplexing long-term stories has to do with the relationship between Sheryl and Leland (Michael Emerson). Sheryl, who is Kristen’s mom and the grandmother to Kristen’s children, has increasingly moved closer to the dark side in her begrudging interactions with Leland. In fact, in Evil season 3, Leland and Sheryl work together to paralyze Kristen’s husband Andy (played by Patrick Brammall) and hold him captive. This once again has viewers asking: What exactly is going on with Sheryl?
During an interview with Screen Rant at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Lahti revealed what she hoped would eventually happen to Leland. The Emmy-winning actress said that she hopes, in the end, that Sheryl will bring Leland down and believes that it’s her character’s ultimate goal. She added that, in spite of Sheryl conspiring to abduct and paralyze Andy, her dream would be for Kristen and Sheryl to work together to stop whatever Leland is planning. Lahti’s quote is included below.
“I hope that Sheryl brings Leland down. I think that’s Sheryl’s ultimate goal. She’s pretending to be under his influence. She has need of him and [had] used him, but I think it’s all about eventually bringing him down.
“My dream would be that Kristen and Sheryl together bring him down. There’s some redemptive thing, [because] I know she’s gonna be a little mad at me when she finds out about her husband on a shelf.”
Lahti’s comments give a bit of a positive outlook on the fact that Sheryl has increasingly turned villainous herself, even working for a company that essentially specializes in creating hate and discord. It could certainly be the case that Sheryl is still working some sort of long-con. After all, she was humiliated by Leland more than once and she isn’t likely to forgive and forget. Or it could be the case that she’s somehow been possessed by Leland more than viewers have realized. Evil season 3, continuing the show’s established trend, has picked up stories and dropped others at will. And, as a result, it’s hard to be completely certain of what’s going on.
But one positive of that approach is that anything remains possible. It’s too late to count Sheryl out entirely. And if Lahti’s hopes come to pass, we might just see mother and daughter working together despite their differences. It could be the case, even, that once Leland’s threats to her family and grandchildren become clear, Sheryl’s loyalties will crystallize. With not long to go before Evil season 3 wraps up, viewers could soon find out.
