Top 10 Lifetime Villainesses of 2022 (Part 2: The Top 5)

As I said while writing the first half of this list, it was hard to whittle this down to the top 10, and even the top five was difficult, a contrast to last year, when I had my top five decided. It took a lot of thought and a lot of time, and a lot of time, but I finally have my top five cemented. With that said, they are as follows:

5. Samantha Sloan (Are My Friends Killers?)

I remember eagerly waiting for the evening of September 9, so I could watch Are My Friends Killers? on LMN. As I expected, the film was every bit as thrilling as advertised, centering Zoey Connors' quest to find the truth about the sudden death of her best friend, Lauren Price; a quest that was led by Lauren's mother. Zoey was placed in the same college that Lauren attended, and it was there that she David Devine and Samantha Sloan, who were members of a group known as The Select, which consisted of legacy students. This brings me to the main reason for my excitement. As any of us who watches Lifetime movies knows, factions like this are usually evil, and this film was no exception, as Samantha was the true villainess in this go-around.

As it turned out, Lauren was writing a piece that would take down The Select, and once Samantha found out, she poisoned Lauren to silence her. She also killed Zoey's roommate, Ming Hui-Wu, in her quest, and after Zoey realized how truly sinister Samantha was, she attempted to trap her, which apparently failed. However, fellow student Adam was also recording, and the climax saw David hold Adam hostage while Samantha (villainous attire and all) attempted to kill Zoey to obtain Lauren's extra copy of her story, which, of course, fails.

The evil Samantha Sloan was played by Shaylaren Hilton, with this film being her second Lifetime film following Pom Poms and Payback. In contrast to that film, Hilton dips into the world of Lifetime villainy for the first time, and this was an absolute treat. Samantha Sloan was mercilessly ruthless, with a hint of desperation; she was hellbent on eliminating anyone who could pose a threat to the faction. I've watched the climax a number of times, mainly because it's Hilton's best work in the film, as we see her act out Samantha's fiendish nature to perfection. Shaylaren Hilton really needs to keep up this whole "villainess" thing; it's working for her.

4. Sofia Aquino (Alone in the Dark)

We have Tubi to thank for this one; Alone in the Dark hit the site on October 7, and centered on Bri Collins, a divorcee who was placed under house arrest for a year for crimes committed by her estranged husband Michael Miller. She is visited and backed up by her best friend and lawyer, Sofia Aquino, who recommends a personal security guard for Bri. Xavier Johnson takes the job, though both he and Bri find themselves in danger as they search for the truth regarding the disappearance of a woman named Cheyenne Clark, who is revealed as Xavier's sister.

Xavier's secrecy made him a suspect, and it increased when Michael was run down. However, it turned out that Cheyenne's killer was Joe Hall, who was a con man who posed as a detective, and was planning to eliminate Bri and Xavier. After Bri kills Joe, she later learns that the true mastermind behind everything was none other than Sofia, as she was one of Michael's many mistresses and was deeply obsessed with him. She paid Joe to kill Cheyenne, and also sent him to eliminate Bri and Xavier, while also running down Michael to set up the latter. The villainous Sofia admitted to everything, adding that she wanted Michael all to herself and was going to handle killing Bri on her own, only for Bri to reveal that her ankle bracelet recorded Sofia's confession. Game, set, and match.

Kimberly Daugherty was amazing as the evil Sofia Aquino; she was a slithery villainess who acted like a supportive friend, only to plot against Bri and orchestrate a murderous scheme for her own goals. Even though her villainous persona's on-screen time was brief during the reveal, Sofia was still an amazing villainess, as she pulled out all stops in her diabolical quest. Kimberly Daugherty is another actress who needs to play more Lifetime villainess; I just know she'll absolutely shine!

3. Jodi Byron (Dating Hell)

Dating Hell, which premiered on LMN on September 15 (a Thursday) gave us Jodi Byron, a detective who was on the case regarding the sudden murder of Kara Jackson, who was a neighbor of main protagonist Hannah. In the film, Hannah was in a new relationship with Daniel, but she would be suddenly fighting for her life, as she was attacked by a masked assailant inside her workplace's steam room. The entire investigation saw Hannah on the receiving end of Jodi's suspicions towards Daniel, which ended up increasing when Hannah's best friend, Charlotte, is strangled to death.

The climax saw Hannah receive a message regarding information about the case, while Daniel was at the police station trying to contact Hannah. It was at the station that Daniel became shocked by the name Jodi Byron, as that was the name of a deranged ex of his that he mentioned to Hannah, who ended up face to face with Jodi, the true murderess. Jodi had been stalking Daniel ever since they broke up, and committed the murders in an attempt to go after Hannah, who she accused of "stealing" Daniel from her. The women engaged in a scuffle, with Hannah taking Jodi's gun and shooting her (non-fatally), prior to Jodi's arrest.

I absolutely loved Jodi; she was a police detective turned deranged and scorned murderess (we seriously need to see more of those) with the added bonus of a masked disguise to boot. Diana Lovell portrayed Jodi Byron in this film, and she truly went all in on Jodi's psychotic and maniacal demeanor. I absolutely loved this performance, as well as the villainess overall. It was an absolute treat for this fan of villainesses!

2. Megan Devereaux (Stolen in Her Sleep)

On May 20 of this year, LMN gave us Stolen in Her Sleep, which centered on Hallie Reynolds, an artist and the mother of an infant daughter, Ava, who was the recipient of a heart transplant. She later runs into Megan Devereaux, an art PR, and the two become friendly, though Hallie finds herself stalked by a hooded figure that (seemingly) only she can see. Various mishaps occur, which include Hallie's medication being tampered with, as well as Ava's babysitter, Mary, being drugged and murdered. Hallie suspects her mother-in-law, Lynne Reynolds, and ejects her, but afterwards, Hallie's husband, James Reynolds, is run down and hospitalized.

Hallie's visit to Megan's home revealed quite a bit. For one, Megan had a nursery despite claiming to not have children, and as for the hooded figure, it was Luke Devereaux, Megan's husband, who revealed that Megan was after Ava. In addition, it was their baby's heart who was transplanted into Ava, and after the loss of their infant (named Lily), Megan went into a mental tailspin and longed for her daughter. She tracked down Hallie's information and killed the doctor who caught her, and she had committed the aforementioned mishaps, including killing Mary. Regarding her profession, Megan was a psychiatrist, and her plan was to have Hallie permanently institutionalized while Megan had Ava as her own. Luke had suspected that Megan turned heel in her quest and had been tracking her, and stopped Megan's latest attempt to kill Hallie. Megan was arrested, but not before Hallie allowed her to say her final goodbye to Lily.

Alicia Leigh Willis played Megan Devereaux in this film, and I truly loved this villainess, as well as the fact that Willis was playing her. Willis has a bit of a villainous look to her, so the casting was perfect. Also, this was Willis' second time playing a baby-obsessed villainess, though as amazing as Raquel Blackwell was, Megan Devereaux has her beat. Megan was in control of her psychotic demeanor; she did a terrific job of masking her villainous persona before her ultimate reveal. Megan was very calculated in her quest, and regarding Willis, this was an absolutely stellar performance.

1. Lark Embridge (Bodyguard Seduction)

With some things, you just know. When the Atlanta Falcons have a double digit lead, you know they're going to blow it because that's what they do. In the case of this list, this is a year long job cooking this up, from the year's first thriller to the last, and when I watched the first few minutes Bodyguard Seduction on August 27, I knew that Lark Embridge would be the villainess. During and after Lark's reveal, I knew that not only would she make the top 10 list, she'd be #1. No other Lifetime villainess was topping Lark this year.

In the film, Lark and main protagonist Charly Huxton were co-owners of Singular Sportswear, a clothing company, though Charly was the senior partner. However, Charly was on the receiving end of death threats, prompting Lark to hire a bodyguard, Jonathan Makepeace, to protect Charly, though that relationship is a bit chilly. Godfrey Lewis, a recently fired employee, is suspected of being behind the threats, which included nearly running down Charly. The latter part is true, but following Godfrey's reveal, Lark turned heel and revealed herself as the true mastermind when she met with Godfrey late at night. Lark shot and killed Godfrey to cover her tracks and set up Jonathan, and she later continued her attempt to have Jonathan and Charly killed, revealing her jealousy of Charly and accusing her of shutting her out, though her confession was recorded and sent to the police, and that was the end of Lark's attempted reign of terror.

What can I say about Lark Embridge that I haven't already said in a loop after the film's end? Speaking of loop, that's how I watched Lark's heel turn in the film, the way she exited that car was just absolute perfection. Alicia Blasingame absolutely hit it out of the park with this role and her performance as the evil Lark Embridge. Lark was ruthless, failure-intolerant, bloodthirsty, and absolutely psychotic. Blasingame acted out all of those facets very well, especially in that scene where she knocks off Godfrey. This was Blasingame's first Lifetime film, yet she manages to play not only an evil businesswoman, but her character truly proved that she is the year's best Lifetime villainess. I hope I see more of Alicia Blasingame on Lifetime films in 2023! It would be such a pleasure!

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