Villainess Review: Olivia McLeland (All Rise)

First off, I want to say that I am still upset over CBS cancelling All Rise after just two seasons. This was a very good and gripping show that featured an amazing cast and touched on various issues that are hitting society right now. I loved watching this show, but sadly, the show is no more. The show did deliver a bit when it came to villainesses, and the best one, IMO, was featured in the episode "Fool for Liv."

The titular "Liv" in the episode was Olivia McLeland, a woman who was being held on trial for murder. The victim was famed reality TV star Hayley Halliwell, who had Olivia as her personal assistant, and true to form, we see Olivia looking very prim and proper in her introduction. The trial had one big hiccup in the form of Olivia's defense lawyer, Adam Pryce, who did everything and (pretty much) anything to turn it into a big publicity stunt, but in all this, one thing that came up was Hayley's drug habit, with Pryce claiming that Olivia was a victim of Hayley's addiction.

In spite of everything, Olivia claimed that Hayley was a true friend to her, but prosecutor Thomas Choi showed evidence that disputed Olivia's claim that she and Hayley had a close friendship: a social media photo of the pair that hinted that things were contentious between them. Olivia explained that she had to put on a brave face for Hayley's fans, but that wasn't the only curveball that Choi tossed to the defendant. Choi also revealed that the medical examiner who worked on Hayley stated that the victim had bruises that were consistent with someone restraining her as she was being injected with a lethal dose of heroin--bruises that were not shown in the photo taken prior to Hayley's death.

So Olivia really did kill Hayley, but why? As it turned out, Olivia had been stealing from Hayley while working for her, but on the night in question, Hayley caught Olivia during one of her thefts, leading to Olivia injecting the heroin into her boss to silence her. Olivia's villain rant was true to form; justifying her heel turn by accusing Hayley of throwing everything she had away on her addiction, and stated that she had to "do something" to stop Hayley from phoning the police. So that's that, Olivia was exposed and convicted.

"Fool for Liv" was the sixth episode of All Rise's first season, and aired on October 28, 2019. The villainess, Olivia McLeland, was played by Bianca A. Santos, who also starred as the main protagonist in the horror film, Little Dead Rotting Hood. I was elated seeing Santos playing a villainess, and she did a stellar job in the episode. Olivia was greedy and self-serving; her villainous actions were evidence of those traits, as well as her justification of her crimes in the episode's climax. I did love Olivia's introduction; her prim and proper look being done to portray her assumed innocence and mask her evil demeanor. In all regards, Santos portrayed all facets of Olivia very well: her attempt to convince others (herself included) of her innocence, and her callous defense of her villainy when she is exposed as a greedy murderess.

Bianca A. Santos also appeared in films such as Ouija and The DUFF, and regarding the small screen, she has recurred on The Fosters and Legacies. I do hope to see more villainous roles from Santos; she definitely can pull it off.

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Click here for Olivia McLeland's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!