Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for School Spirits Season 1.
The Big Picture
By the end of School Spirits Season 1, Maddie is not actually dead, her body was possessed by a spirit named Janet. Mr. Martin and Janet have a deeper connection and have been lying for the entire season to cover it up. Maddie must regain control of her body and convince Simon of her situation to defeat Janet and solve her murder.
On School Spirits, everything is not what it seems. Maddie Nears (Peyton List) awakens in the afterlife as a spirit tied to Split River High School, presumably the location of her death, with no memory of her final moments (or quite a bit of time beforehand). She finds that several other students have died at the school over the years, like Charley (Nick Pugliese), Wally (Milo Manheim), and Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin), who become her guides to her new post-death life — in addition to former teacher Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman), who continues his lessons in this new plane of existence. What is strange, though, is Maddie’s memory loss, as every other ghost remembers their final moments eerily well. Likewise, unlike the other ghosts, Maddie is able to communicate with one of her still-alive friends, Simon (Kristian Ventura), who becomes her right-hand man and assists in trying to solve her murder.
As they dig into Maddie’s final day, well into the season finale, there are revelations that change just about everything we thought we knew about this story. The shocker of the episode is that Maddie isn’t actually dead, but instead, her body was possessed by Janet — a spirit that everyone believed had moved on shortly before Maddie arrived in the afterlife. After Dawn (RaeAnne Boone) moved on, the other spirits felt a shift in the universe, which they did not feel with Janet’s so-called passing, leading Charley and Wally on a wild goose chase. In turn, with Rhonda’s help, they discover that Mr. Martin has been lying to them and has a connection to Janet. With each revelation and twist comes several questions for the series to explore. With the series renewed for a second season, these are our biggest unanswered questions.
School Spirits
Set in the fictional town of Split River, Wisconsin, the show follows Maddie, a teen girl stuck in the afterlife investigating her own mysterious disappearance; she goes on a crime-solving journey as she adjusts to high school in the afterlife, but the closer she gets to the truth, the more secrets and lies she discovers.
Release Date March 9, 2023
Cast Peyton List , Kristian Flores , Milo Manheim , Spencer Macpherson , Rainbow Wedell , Sarah Yarkin , Nick Pugliese
Seasons 2
Number of Episodes 8
What Is Mr. Martin and Janet’s Deeper Connection, and Why Did They Lie?
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After learning that Dawn was able to move on because she confronted her final moments with Maddie’s help, Wally and Charley dig into Janet’s history to see how she may have been able to move on. Using newspaper microfiche, they dig through headlines for mentions of Janet’s death but don’t find anything in 1960 — the year she died — to go on. So, Wally goes back further, discovering an article about Mr. Martin’s death. However, unlike what he claimed earlier that very same day, he didn’t die alone in the fire. Janet died with him, both in the old chemistry lab that was later converted into the fallout shelter. And, Charley finds a clipping of an article where Janet’s parents claimed Mr. Martin set the fire on purpose. So, what is going on between Mr. Martin and Janet? He covered for her when she took over Maddie’s body, and the two were arguing about something rather passionately before Maddie stumbled onto them. Most importantly, why did they both lie to completely cover up their connection?
What Is Mr. Martin’s Goal?
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After stumbling onto Mr. Martin’s lies, Wally and Charley go down to the fallout shelter — the location of Mr. Martin’s death – to look for other secrets he’s keeping. What they find is beyond their imaginations. He has notebooks filled with information about each of the spirits, which he has gathered over the decades they’ve been together. He has the obituaries he encouraged them to write for themselves. Rhonda arrives to show that he also has objects related to each of their respective deaths, like Rhonda’s Berkeley acceptance letter and the football from the game where Wally died. A collection of sorts, which is only made stranger when they find a notebook that discusses “thinning” as a subject relives their final moments. Notably, as they observe themselves, there’s nothing about Janet in his collection. Therefore, it seems like they’ve been in this together since the very beginning. But, what is his ultimate goal? It seems like, possibly, it’s about taking control of bodies, as Janet did with Maddie; however, Mr. Martin tried to get Janet to stop before she took over Maddie’s body, so maybe not.
Can Maddie Ever Get Control of Her Body Back?
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Here’s where it gets a little complicated. Can Maddie regain control of her body? Presumably, but how? We need to know more about how Janet possessed her in the first place. It was strange that Maddie, while still alive, was able to see Mr. Martin and Janet on that final day in her body. Surely, it’s also tied to that being the location where Janet died, too. That said, Janet has her own plans. As we saw in the final moments of the season finale, Janet buys a bus ticket and is planning to leave town. It’s unclear if she’ll be successful yet or not, but that definitely will make things harder and prolong Maddie’s time with the other spirits. Also, why is Janet seemingly running from Mr. Martin?
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Will Xavier Survive?
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One character’s life was left up in the air in the finale as well. After Xavier (Spencer MacPherson) stole a tip from his father, Sheriff Baxter (Ian Tracey), he goes to the address with Claire (Rainbow Wedell), and Nicole (Kiara Pichardo) to find out who has been breaking into houses around town. After a confrontation with the hooded figure inside the house, Xavier runs outside to stop the person from taking off in his truck. But, the person suddenly backs the truck into him, knocking him to the ground. While Nicole discovers it was Maddie (a.k.a. Janet in the truck), Xavier discovers his head is bleeding and passes out. When an ambulance and the Sheriff arrive at the scene, his father is startled when the first responders ask if he would like to accompany Xavier to the hospital, as he didn’t realize the injury was that bad. He’ll likely survive, as Janet in Maddie’s body killing Xavier would essentially ruin any future she could have if she regains control of her body, but it’s still a possibility.
What Does This Twist Mean for Wally and Maddie’s Potential Romance?
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Discovering she isn’t actually dead, at least not completely, will certainly impact Maddie’s relationships with just about everyone in School Spirits. After all, until further notice, Maddie has a chance to reclaim her life, putting her in an awkward position with the ghosts who are actually dead with no such hope — unless that’s Mr. Martin’s evil scheme. However, while her friendships may survive this, albeit with a little bitterness, this throws a major wrench in her blossoming fan-favorite romance with Wally. It pretty much seems like all hope is lost for Wally and Maddie now, and not just because Maddie is realizing how important Simon really is to her.
Where Do the Ghosts Go From Here?
Likewise, how will Mr. Martin’s betrayal impact the ghosts? He’s been their guide since they died, supposedly trying to help them make peace with their deaths and move on. With his schemes now (mostly) in the open, is what they believe of the afterlife even true? They’re going to have to rely on each other more than ever, but it also seems like they will have to take matters into their own hands to try to figure out how to move on. Plus, has Mr. Martin hurt their chances with his tricks? Will any of the ghosts be tempted into helping Mr. Martin with whatever he’s working on for a second chance at life like Janet?
How Can Maddie Convince Simon She’s Real?
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Lastly, after Nicole saw Maddie’s face in her video, she sent it to Simon. From there, he drew the conclusion that the Maddie he’s been seeing around the school — the real Maddie as we know — is a figment of his imagination. He thinks this has been his mind’s twisted way of coping with the reality of Maddie being gone, now believing she has really run away from her life and didn’t care enough to tell him. As he is Maddie’s only connection to the world of the living, and she will inevitably need help to find Janet and bring her back to school, Simon’s role is more important than ever. How will she manage to convince him of what’s going on?
School Spirits Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
Watch on Netflix