The School for Good and Evil

Kerry Washington showed up at the premiere of her new Netflix flick, The School for Good and Evil, on Tuesday as she rocked a dramatic bob haircut.

Among those in support of the look was [Ozark](https://people.com/tv/ozark-jason-bateman-marty-byrde-faces-new-inside-threats-in-season-4-trailer/) star Jessica Frances Dukes, who thanked the actress for "inspiring us on the daily!" [@schoolforgoodandevilmovie](https://www.instagram.com/schoolforgoodandevilmovie/?hl=en) is out NOW on [@netflix](https://www.instagram.com/netflix/?hl=en)!!!! "They're like, 'Mom, can you just be the princess for once?' " 👸🏾✨😇" [Charlize Theron](https://people.com/tag/charlize-theron/), on the other hand, plays Lady Lesso — the teacher for the evil students in the film. As Theron noted, there's not a lot of films in her resume that "they're going to appreciate anytime soon." [the movie's trailer](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj6XiIKg8cu/?hl=en).

How does The School for Good and Evil end? Do Sophie and Agatha defeat Rafal? We reveal all with our ending explained article!

The true love’s kiss between Agatha and Sophie opened up a portal that would allow them to go back to their town. Just as the film is about to close, a portal opens up nearby and Tedros’s arrow flies through it, getting lodged in a tree. She then tricks the students from the School for Good into attacking the School for Evil. The deans of the school – now released from the spell that captured them – arrive to see all the students mingling together. Although, they still get teased and taunted by the other kids in town. But Sophie pushes Agatha aside and takes the blow instead. Unable to find her way into the School of Good, Sophie soon begins to make herself at home in the School for Evil, egged on by Rafal and his promises. Agatha and Sophie return home, hand in hand. Read on to find out how The School for Good and Evil ends. The School for Good and Evil follows the story of two young girls, Sophie and Agatha, who are transported from their small medieval town to the fantasy world of the titular school. They kiss and it gives Rafal all the power he’s ever wanted. Ever since then, Rafal has been running the school under the guise of Rhian.

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc. Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.

highlight of her experience, as was working with director Paul Feig and the kind overseer of the School for Good, and the latter leading the School for The actress’s mother was battling health issues at the time she was

'The School for Good and Evil' star Sophia Anne Caruso on playing Sophie, working with Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington and how she got the part.

And I would just sit there and watch.” And I think that as the ladies of the film, we kind of held the fort down,” she says. “I was nurtured in an artistic sense,” Caruso says. All the women of this cast really held it together, I feel like. It turned out that Caruso’s portrayal in the trailer had been so spot on, she was hired for the part. She’d been tapped to show what one of the characters would look like, and while on set that day she met the author, Soman Chainani.

The School for Good and Evil” star Sophia Anne Caruso tells Teen Vogue about playing complex women, her favorite costume in the movie, and being a Never ...

Now, the 21-year-old is bringing that talent to the screen for one of her first major film roles as Sophie in the [Netflix](https://www.teenvogue.com/tag/netflix) fantasy film The School for Good and Evil. Sophie saw attending the school as her ticket out of her “mediocre” provincial village life. Performing her way from her hometown of Spokane, Washington to New York City, the actress collected a handful of onstage and onscreen credits before she even turned 16.

In “The School for Good and Evil,” two best friends are whisked away from their stifling small town and dropped into a magical school where all fairy tales ...

“I hope that teenage girls are able to walk away from the film with a sense of confidence, and what being confident means, what being beautiful really means,” she said. We’re meant to believe that Sophie gets dropped – literally, from the talons of a giant bird-like creature – into the “good” school while Aggie gets dropped in the “evil” school. The movie, and the book it’s based celebrates the power of friendship. The set design for “Beetlejuice” was eye-popping, and won awards from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk. It’s a lesson that Caruso hopes resonate with the young girls and teenagers who watch the film. “She’s obviously a really dynamic character, really multifaceted, and it’s a very exciting role,” Caruso said by phone from Los Angeles, where she spent Monday doing press for the film. “There are all sorts of different challenges with that,” she said. And I was really excited to wear prosthetics, and do a few things that I haven’t done before, which was its own challenge and something I really enjoyed doing. Already ostracized in their hometown of Gavaldon and accused of being a witch, Aggie sees herself as a realist, and the idea of learning about life in fairy tales is not for her. In “The School for Good and Evil,” two best friends are whisked away from their stifling small town and dropped into a magical school where all fairy tales begin. One girl has only ever wanted to be a fairy tale princess, and she gets dropped in the School for Evil. This is the premise of the best-selling book series from author Soman Chainani, aimed at readers ages 8 to 12.

Let's start with the actress behind Agatha, Sofia Wylie. (L-R) Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wyle). Source: ...

Agatha never wanted to go to the School for Good and Evil in the first place — it was just something Sophie wanted. The School for Good and Evil wasn't Sofia Wylie's first acting role. Sophie is mortally wounded in the process. [PopBuzz](https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/news/school-for-good-and-evil-sofia-wylie-sophia-anne-caruso-wicked/) that she had just seen Wicked a couple months prior and loved learning about the Wicked Witch of the West's backstory. After all, evil people aren't entitled to a happy ever after! The problem?

We then suggested that the girls would be great as Elphaba and Glinda in Wicked together and Sofia said: "That would actually be so sick. Like a teen, young ...

We then suggested that the girls would be great as Elphaba and Glinda in Wicked together and Sofia said: "That would actually be so sick. When asked who the most iconic witch of all time is, Sofia explained: "I just saw Wicked for the first time a couple of months ago and I really liked to see the background of the Wicked Witch of the West. However, Sofia said: "I just don’t mess with those things cause I don’t want to invite it into my world. [Will there be a The School for Good and Evil 2? The movie follows best friends Sophie ( [Sophia Anne Caruso](https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/features/sophia-anne-caruso/)) and Agatha ( [Sofia Wylie](https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/features/sofia-wylie/)) and their journey as they are taken to a magical school where all is not as it seems. The stars also let slip who their favourite witches are and Sofia even responded to

Based on the novel of the same name by Soman Chainani, the Netflix movie follows two childhood friends, Agatha and Sophie, who attend the titular school.

When the Headmaster is revealed as Rafal, the villain's true motives during The School For Good And Evil are explained, adding context to earlier scenes in the movie. Sophie’s steadfast belief that she is Good and her desire to change schools leads her to make selfish decisions with no regard for the ramifications, which is what makes her turn Evil. Though this scene shows that Agatha is different from her classmates and belongs in the School Of Good due to her selflessness, it has a deeper meaning. However, when the rest of the School of Good transform, Agatha (played by Sophia Wylie of During the entirety of The School For Good And Evil, Agatha has asserted that she doesn’t believe in Good or Evil, advocating for a more gray view of the world. During her turn with the fish, Agatha wishes “for home...for all of us,” which in this scene manifests as her helping several students who failed out of the School to return to their human form in the real world. The pair insist that Sophie is actually Good, and the Headmaster ( [Laurence Fishburne, known for Morpheus in The Matrix](https://screenrant.com/matrix-resurrections-morpheus-yahya-abdul-mateen-different-how/)) tells them that they must undergo a Trial By Tale to prove it. Since Sophie chooses not to defend Tedros, something fundamental to being Good, the truth that Sophie is Evil is revealed. [the Netflix movie’s](https://screenrant.com/netflix-2022-movies-reveal-teaser-explained/) events, but challenge the notions of good and evil altogether. Here’s the ending of The School For Good And Evil explained. Believing that they are both in the wrong schools, Agatha and Sophie attempt to prove their true natures to get sorted into the correct schools, but instead they end up uncovering the truth behind their school.

When a movie boasts a cast including Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, and Cate Blanchett, our butts are seated. Well, all of these talented ...

Apparently, Netflix happily made it rain on The School for Good and Evil. Estimating the film's budget is a tough call. However, Paul Feig did say it was a pricy film and that everyone involved was "able to get a lot for [their] money” when As we went along, when we realized we would need more money for this and this, [Netflix] would pony it up," Paul relayed. [Agatha](https://www.distractify.com/p/who-plays-agatha-school-for-good-and-evil) find their bond put to the test when they're whisked away to a magical school for future fairytale heroes and villains." [Charlize Theron](https://www.distractify.com/p/charlize-theron-boyfriends), Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, and Cate Blanchett, our butts are seated.

Chainani has gone on to write five more books in the popular series, and the film version of the first novel arrives at a time when fantasy adaptations are ...

Sophie wishes to be whisked away to the mythical School for Good and Evil, which trains fairy-tale heroes and villains, and when a strange force comes to grant her wish, Agatha tags along because she can't let her friend go. Director and co-writer Paul Feig has proved adept at bringing comedy into genre storytelling, in action movies The Heat and Spy and murder mystery A Simple Favor, but there's almost none of his comedic sensibility in The School for Good and Evil. It's no surprise that Soman Chainani's 2013 novel The School for Good and Evil, set at a secret academic institution for young people with magical talents, was a bestseller in the wake of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Agatha (Sofia Wylie) and her best friend Sophie (Sophia Ann Caruso) are separated from the get-go, with Agatha being sorted into the good school while Sophie is ...

Another one of Agatha's fellow good classmates is Millicent (Rosie Graham), the great-granddaughter of Sleeping Beauty and Prince Robert. Another student we loved learning about at the School for Good was Beatrix (Holly Sturton). It turns out Anadil is the granddaughter of a witch who met a terrible end (it involves a barrel). So, Sophie is sharing a bedroom with the daughters of the Sheriff of Nottingham and the Wicked Witch! Let's start with the parents of the Nevers at the School for Evil! The classmate in question is Hort (Earl Cave), the son of Captain Hook.

Paul Feig's adaptation of Soman Chainani's beloved YA novels is another VFX-powered fantasy epic from Netflix.

[Snow White And The Huntsman](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-2012), there’s a missed opportunity here, perhaps to sink her teeth into what should be the campiest of characters. [The School For Good And Evil](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/the-school-for-good-and-evil-2022), fantasy-powered fluff for the whole family that’s positively swimming in CGI. Dumb jock and son of King Arthur, Tedros (Jamie Flatters), wields Excalibur to such dazzling effect that he tempts both Sophie and Agatha into, you guessed it again, a love triangle. Wylie makes for a suitable audience stand-in (too convincingly, in fact, as her skepticism often points out the ridiculousness of this segregated school’s very premise), and looks gorgeous in Renee Ehrlich Kalfus’ costumes, which are eye-popping fun. [Shadow And Bone](https://www.avclub.com/netflix-s-shadow-and-bone-will-enfold-viewers-in-its-lu-1846738631)), Good And Evil immediately feels both rushed to check every major plot point off its list, and obligated to explain and re-explain those points. Dreaming of escaping her narrow-minded village and wearing princess gowns, Sophie writes a letter seeking admission to the fabled School for Good and Evil, from which it turns out all fairy tale characters graduate and protect the world’s balance of, you guessed it, good and evil.

Empty and endless, and too often leaves you wondering what's going on and why we should bother.

And the production design on both sides is enjoyably over-the-top in its contrasting extremes: the School for Good essentially looks like a wedding cake you could live inside, while the School for Evil is like a goth version of Hogwarts. Here, fellow students are whittled down to a single trait, and—as in the Disney “Descendants” movies—most are the offspring of famous cultural figures, like Prince Charming, King Arthur, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Deauville [Cate Blanchett ](/cast-and-crew/cate-blanchett)as Narrator (voice) But when the bird drops Sophie on the evil side and Agatha on the good side, they figure it must have been a mistake and struggle to switch places. [Soman Chainani](/cast-and-crew/soman-chainani), “The School for Good and Evil” focuses on two extremely different teenage best friends looking out for each other in a harsh, fairy-tale land. The much taller, wild-haired Agatha ( [Sofia Wylie](/cast-and-crew/sofia-wylie)) lives with her mom in a cottage in the forest, where they concoct potions together; she has a hairless cat named Reaper and dresses in all black, so she must be a witch.

Although immersed in fantasy, "The School for Good and Evil" gets lost in a nether realm somewhere between Disney Channel fare like "Descendants" and more ...

Netflix is perhaps to be forgiven for wanting a piece of Disney and Warner Bros.’ action in this fertile genre, with dreams of sequels dancing in its head. There’s plenty of action along the way, as well as more wasted cameos, like Patti LuPone and Michelle Yeoh. Both operate under the oversight of the headmaster (Laurence Fishburne), in a place billed as “where the true story behind every fairy tale begins.”

Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso hold hands and smile in a scene from Th School. A fairy-tale cast. Co-written by Feig and Academy Award nominee David Magee ( ...

Overall length aside, The School For Good and Evil delivers just enough on its potential to provide a stable foundation for what Netflix is certainly hoping will become a new fantasy franchise. It’s a pretty-looking (and pretty funny) film with some promising narrative threads for future sequels or spin-ffs, but even the most entertaining elements of the film wear a little thin around the second hour. Wylie and Caruso do a fine job of keeping the story rolling along, even as it heads in predictable directions a little too frequently. Washington and Yeoh similarly elevate their goody-goody roles from obnoxiously positive to over-the-top silly, keeping the story fully rooted in its fairytale aesthetic. Co-written by Feig and Academy Award nominee David Magee (Finding Neverland), The School For Good and Evil follows best friends Agatha and Sophie, played by Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso, respectively, whose mundane lives are upended when they find themselves spirited away to a magical school where heroes and villains are trained for fairy-tale adventures. Laurence Fishburne portrays the school’s headmaster, while Michelle Yeoh plays another professor at the school for good, and Cate Blanchett voices the school’s historian — a magical, sentient quill forever recording the students’ stories.

Paul Feig waves a very attractive wand at Soman Chainani's book for his take on the fairy tale world.

There’s great balance to the whole piece, but the real heart is firmly focused on the friendship between Sophie and Agatha which is what really pushes this through as a memorable and fun watch. Cate Blanchett is also given a purposeful narrator role that is vital to the story and plays into the fairy tale tweaks that work well overall. There’s also no shortage of big sequences and scenarios thrown at us, from magic trials to two balls in each house so The School for Good and Evil never gets boring. In fact, the strongest moments throughout the movie are the smaller ones between Agatha and Sophie, as well as Evers misfit Gregor (Ally Cubb) and the initially haughty but empathetic Tedros. Clarissa Dovey (Kerry Washington) of the Evers – and the whims of their flighty Schoolmaster (Laurence Fishburne). [Harry Potter ](/movies/franchise/harry-potter)series and the musical book by Winnie Holzman for [Wicked](/movies/wicked), The School for Good and Evil explores the black-and-white notions of good and evil under the roof of a magical school that teaches the next generation of both.

Obviously, the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants didn't invent the idea of a magical school for children who fall into classic fairytale tropes of ...

And unfortunately, The School for Good and Evil missed. But the comparison doesn’t do The School for Good and Evil any favors. The costumes are gorgeous, and the effects are impressive. While Descendants embraces campy, fun, and silly musical theater vibes, The School for Good and Evil feels more like those overstuffed fantasy films studios were churning out post-Lord of the Rings. The School For Good and Evil also has Prince Charming’s son, an anxious boy named Gregor (as opposed to Descendants’ himbo Chad Charming). [The School for Good and Evil](https://decider.com/movie/the-school-for-good-and-evil/) introduced a character as Captain Hook’s son, I knew that this YA fantasy film—which is now streaming on [Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80218885)—was in trouble.

Complications arise when Sophie and Agatha meet Tedros (Jamie Flatters), a fairy tale prince with all the trimmings. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of ...

Before the credits role, we see one of Tedros’ arrows piercing the vortex between worlds with a message: “I need you, Agatha!” Needless to say, though Blanchett still says it, this is “only the beginning” of the story. Or as Rafal puts it, “Welcome to Never After!” Agatha and Tedros show up for the final battle against Rafal, one that ends with Agatha delivering the final blow. With Rafal defeated, the two schools are finally united, allowing Good and Evil to coexist in harmony. [The School For Good and Evil](http://www.tvline.com/tag/the-school-for-good-and-evil) follows two best friends — Sophie ( [Sophia Anne Caruso](http://www.tvline.com/tag/sophia-anne-caruso)) and Agatha ( [Sofia Wylie](http://www.tvline.com/tag/sofia-wylie)) — who are whisked away to the titular institution where fairy tale heroes and villains are made. The schools are plunged into chaos, Sophie and Tedros are punished, and the girls’ friendship is virtually severed. Complications arise when Sophie and Agatha meet Tedros (Jamie Flatters), a fairy tale prince with all the trimmings.

Fear not, theater fans: Patti LuPone says she's leaving Actors Equity, but not the stage, at the "School for Good and Evil" premiere.

I think in the past we've prioritized romantic relationships so much," she says. "I hope that young girls see the importance of friendship. "They've seen the film and they love it." "I'm actually interested in the next chapter," she says. "I think the excitement to share something with my kids. "I just didn't want to be a member of Equity any more," LuPone continues.

Kerry Washington shows off a brand new bob haircut with bangs at the premiere of her Netflix movie, "The School for Good and Evil."

Patti Lupone, Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett and more also appear in the flick. “This is kinda Dora The Explorer Eleganza Extravaganza,” another said. “The School for Good and Evil,” out now and based on a book of the same name, features Washington as the head of the “good” section of a fantastical school for heroes and villains, with Charlize Theron as her “evil” headmaster counterpart.

Sofia Wylie wore a feathered Nicole and Felicia dress to the premiere of the Netflix's 'The School for Good and Evil' with Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron ...

Theron went with an all-black Dior collared shirt and an open-slit maxiskirt, and “Scandal” alum [Kerry Washington](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/kerry-washington-the-school-for-good-and-evil-ralph-lauren-1235394404/) looked to Ralph Lauren’s green cropped polo, paired with a ruched, long-trained skirt. Wylie arrived in a [Nicole and Felicia Couture](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/splurge-or-purge-bridal-brands-adjust-to-a-changing-market-1235382770/) pale yellow gown from the brand’s spring 2022 evening collection. She wore diamond drop earrings and accessorized rings for the star-studded premiere.

Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, Sofia Wylie, and Sophia Anne Caruso lead Paul Feig's adaptation of Soman Chainani's boarding-school ...

Watching both of them evolve into the “good” and “evil” labels they resisted is satisfying, and watching their relationship grow and change is even more compelling. It’s a fairy tale where the witchy outcast girl can be a hero, and the girl who wants to be a princess falls in love with her inner dark side. Agatha is prickly, rude, and defiant, but she’s also one of the few students in the good school who actually cares about other people. But because the lead characters are so multifaceted and their relationship is so compelling, those tropes don’t weigh down the movie. Sophie, meanwhile, is so determined to make something of herself and prove she matters to the world that her ambition clouds her judgment. Fairy tales do tend to boil down to black-and-white thinking, and the main characters — who live in a more nuanced world, but are expected to take on fantasy roles — recognize that there’s something off about that. But much to their dismay, Sophie is tossed into the evil program, while Agatha ends up among the spoiled, glittery princesses of the good one. Designed to fit, then subvert and smash, archetypes, the two leads of The School for Good and Evil and their strong friendship turn the movie from fantastical fun to memorable delight. For instance, while the good-program princesses take lessons in smiling (which Agatha miserably fails), the bad school has an “uglification” class — because of course ugly is “evil,” in fairy-tale logic. But while Netflix’s new movie The School for Good and Evil does indulge all those beloved ideas in ways that might seem familiar, Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) treats the conventions with love and care, turning the movie into a compelling fantasy adventure. Sophie dreams of a life beyond their tiny hometown, but Agatha just wants to keep her mother and Sophie safe. Everyone calls Agatha a witch, because she’s sullen, she wears ragged, dark clothing, and her mother makes herbal remedies on the side.

At The School for Good and Evil premiere on Tuesday, Charlize Theron shared a critique her daughters August, 7, and Jackson, 10 have about her character in ...

I always send the final look to my friends." News that [her kids "really liked" the film](https://www.eonline.com/news/1351176/charlize-therons-new-role-scored-her-major-cool-points-with-her-kids-but-they-had-one-complaint) after getting the chance to see it a month ago. "My girls always hate when I get a new look," she said at the time. As Sophie seems to dive deeper into Lady Lesso's world, Agatha begins to worry about the "dangerous evil" at play. "I mean, it was a huge part of why I wanted to do it and they really loved the film. "They're like, 'Mom, can you just be the princess for once?'"