Peyton Lane (Cariba Heine) is the hidden main villainess of a three-episode Season 2 arc of Designated Survivor (airdates October 25 and November 1 & 15, 2017). She is the longtime aide for Charlotte Thorne, a member of the United Kingdom's parliament and a potential future Prime Minister.
It was later discovered that Peyton had been in love with Charlotte for years; the latter was finalizing her divorce from her husband. However, Charlotte was also having an affair with former President and current Secretary of State Cornelius Moss, which drove Peyton to jealousy. After Charlotte ended things with Moss, Peyton stated to Charlotte that they could finally be together, only to be turned down by Charlotte.
Enraged over being jilted, and believing that Charlotte led her on, Peyton turned heel and planned murderous revenge against the woman she loved. At the beginning of the arc's first episode, "Suckers," the evil Peyton tracked Charlotte down while she was jogging and shot her to death. After the murder, the villainess stole Charlotte's friendship ring and began wearing it. Hannah Wells and Damian Bennett went on the case and met Peyton, who directed them to notorious arms dealer Darius Cray, stating that Charlotte had been pursuing him.
In the arc's second episode, "Two Ships," Peyton was abducted by a pair of men who were demanding that Darius be extradited to Malaysia, but she was rescued by Hannah and Damien right as she was to be murdered. Darius ended up being cleared in Charlotte's murder, as was his wife, Catherine, who was revealed as the true head of the arms business and the mastermind behind Peyton's kidnapping.
In the arc's third and final episode, "Family Ties," Peyton was interrogated about Charlotte's affair with Moss, stating that Moss couldn't have killed Charlotte due to him being a former President. Peyton was finally revealed as the villainess in the episode's climax, as Hannah and Damien learned that Charlotte's ring was missing, and they found photos of Peyton wearing the ring. The pair showed Peyton the photos, and it was at that moment that Peyton revealed her love for Charlotte and confessed to killing her, stating that Charlotte betrayed her. Following her confession, Peyton was handcuffed and arrested.
Trivia[]
- Peyton Lane shares similarities with Lifetime villainesses Laura Stevens (Running for Her Life) and Opal Sinclair (Devious Maids). All of them had married women as the objects of their affection, and resorted to murder when they were rejected by the women they loved. One difference is that Laura (Michelle Nolden, who appeared during the three-episode arc as Catherine Cray) was unsuccessful in her murder attempt; both Peyton and Opal successfully murdered their crushes/lovers.
Quotes[]
- "She was in this terrible marriage for years, and she finally gets out of it and then I have to watch as she falls for Secretary Moss, who doesn't care for her at all! (Hannah: "She broke up with him.") Yes. And I went to her and I told her that we could finally be together, but she said that she didn't want me. All these years of doing absolutely everything for her; of leading me on, and she was just... just using me! (Damian: "So you shot her?") Yes. She betrayed me. I loved her, but she betrayed me." (Peyton revealing her love for Charlotte and confessing to Charlotte's murder)
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