Villainess Review: Jillian (Deceitful Dating)

This past Friday's LMN movie, Deceitful Dating, centered on the Logans--widowed John and daughters Chelsea and Sophie, all still dealing with the loss of their matriarch, Sarah, just six months prior. As the film showed, their family friend, Jillian, had been a means of support for them ever since, as Sarah was her best friend, though the film later sees John meet next-door neighbor Alice King, and--by happenstance--a relationship starts to blossom.

Within moments, Chelsea is not happy with her father's developing new relationship with Alice, voicing her objections to the thought of Alice (in Chelsea's mind) replacing her mother. As for Jillian, she voiced her happiness for John finding someone after Sarah's passing, though after Chelsea's friend Rose ended up attacked after she was caught with Chelsea's boyfriend, Derek, Rose's description of a "deep" brunette woman leads to suspicion towards Alice, with Jillian and Chelsea later discovering that Alice hadn't been truthful about her college and work history. It gets worse for Alice when her ex-husband, Toby, is found murdered, as she faced accusations of that crime as well.

However, the truth would suddenly come out when Chelsea went to Jillian's home to tell her about Alice. Upon finding ID cards belonging to both victims, as well as a deep brunette wig, Chelsea comes to the shocking conclusion that her "kindly" mother-figure is a villainous psychopath. Jillian's confrontation with Chelsea revealed everything: while claiming that she loved Sarah like a sister, she developed romantic feelings for John, and after mourning Sarah's death, Jillian decided to use it as an opportunity to attempt to become John's wife. Once Alice entered and served as an obstacle, Jillian originally planned to kill Alice, but decided to spare her and set her up as a madwoman and murderess. She admitted to attacking Rose and killing Toby (adding that she enjoyed the latter), while lambasting Chelsea for "digging" for the truth. Jillian even resorts to going after Chelsea as well, but her rampage ends when she is run down and killed by Alice--who also realized that she was being framed by Jillian.

Where do I start? For one, I love that Jillian falls into one of my favorite tropes; an apparently caring family friend who is, in actuality, a fiendish and deranged villainess. The False Friend tends to be a near regular trope in these Lifetime movies, but the way that actress Lisa DiGiacinto played Jillian was just amazing. DiGiacinto's pre-reveal portrayal was beautiful; she truly portrayed Jillian as a woman who showed a deep care for her longtime friends, especially Chelsea, and especially in the scene where Chelsea vents over her boyfriend and her best friend's betrayal.

As a fan of villainesses since the age of eight, I always love a good reveal, but Jillian's reveal really stood out with me. I truly believe that viewers saw the true depths of Jillian's villainous persona--her claim that she loved Chelsea like a daughter, but that moment when she grabs the knife and goes into madwoman mode truly showed how ruthless Jillian was; willing to eliminate her longtime daughter-figure to fulfill a long hidden fantasy. In this regard, DiGiacinto truly went all out in her portrayal of Jillian's insanity and ruthlessness; it was a very dark and gripping performance.

Some more info on Lisa DiGiacinto. She has appeared in a number of Hallmark Mysteries and Movies films, most recently Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek, which aired in 2020. DiGiacinto also recurred as Ali, Mick Rory's ex-girlfriend, on DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Her villainous appearance in Deceitful Dating was her first foray into the fabulous world of Lifetime movies, and she truly delivered. I hope to see more of Lisa DiGiacinto in upcoming Lifetime movies, either as a lead protagonist, a secondary protagonist, or playing another villainess. I think she would shine regardless of the role.

Click here to check out Jillian's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!