Sumith Prasad
The first three episodes of the second season of Paramount+’s supernatural teen drama series ‘School Spirits,’ titled ‘Whatever Happened to Maddie Nears?’ ‘Field of Screams’ and ‘Can’t Hauntly Wait,’ respectively, follow the aftermath of the startling revelation that Maddie Nears was not killed as she believes. She explains to her companions how Janet possessed her body, leaving her spirit without a “home” to remain alive. The mystery behind Janet, who is believed to have crossed over, makes the protagonist and her friends embark on a journey to find answers to their puzzling questions. Meanwhile, the imposter returns to her hometown to process her past, evading the people who are after her! SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Mystery Behind Mr. Martin and Janet Remains Vague
The second season of ‘School Spirits’ begins with Maddie chasing after Mr. Martin to put an end to the mystery behind her existence as a spirit without her body. Instead of answering her questions, the teacher runs away and disappears without a trace. When Wally, Rhonda, and Charley reunite with her, she explains the predicament to her friends. They tell her how their mentor has been hoarding materials that belonged to the dead students for an inexplicable experiment. The group even starts to doubt whether crossing over is really possible, as Martin has promised. To solve the mystery, they need the help of Simon, who is still convinced that Maddie is the creation of his imagination.
Whenever Maddie tries to talk to Simon, he avoids her. The latter even considers changing schedules to avoid returning to their classroom filled with her memories. The school principal then lets him spend time in the greenhouse to help him process the loss of his dear friend. While Simon ignores her, Maddie and her friends come across a map that has been hidden among the things Martin has collected. She realizes that the marks on the document denote the places where people have passed away, which are the only areas the spirits can enter. The protagonist uses the map to find Simon in the greenhouse and tries to talk to him.
Simon once again ignores Maddie, but she gains his attention by talking about a particular day that is significant for both of them. She also asks him to Google Janet Hamilton, someone he does not know in any way, to prove that he hasn’t imagined his friend mentioning this person. Simon notices a discrepancy in Maddie’s recollection of the aforementioned day, which is a mistake he wouldn’t have made, and learns about the late student from the internet for the first time. These factors convince him that his friend is really communicating with him, making him return to her to promise his assistance.
Xavier Baxter Clings to His Life After Confronting Death
While Maddie deals with the mystery behind Janet and Martin, her former boyfriend, Xavier, fights to stay alive in the Red Pine County Hospital. He is surrounded by Nicole and Claire, who have conflicting ideas about how to move forward with the situation. When the latter suggests reporting Maddie to the cops, the former dissuades her, stating that her beloved friend may have a reason to hide herself. Claire also starts to live with Nicole since things aren’t ideal at her home with her parents, which paves the way for her introduction to Diego, her new companion’s brother.
One night, Xavier gains consciousness, walks through the hospital corridor, and meets several strange people. He also notices that whatever is in the establishment belongs to a past period rather than contemporary times. As he processes the same, he sees himself on the hospital bed, with doctors and nurses trying to save him using a defibrillator. Fortunately, he remains alive, but he realizes that he has been introduced to the world of the dead. This otherworldly experience makes him believe Simon’s claim that the latter has been communicating with Maddie. He even discusses the matter using an anonymous account in an online forum.
By then, Simon explains to Nicole and Claire that Maddie’s body is alive and possessed by Janet Hamilton’s spirit. They don’t believe him immediately, but his words make Nicole learn about spirits, leading her to the same online forum. She comes across Xavier’s thread without knowing that her friend is the author of the same. They then start to communicate with each other about ghosts and spirits without being aware of the real identity of their chatmate. Back in Split River High School, Maddie and her friends find out that Janet was locked up in the fallout shelter for months.
Janet Hamilton Returns to Her Home and Her Traumatic Past
After disappearing from Split River, Janet boards a bus and eventually reaches Bingham County, where her family lived in the past. The young girl grew up in a highly conservative environment, where she was only expected to find a husband and satisfy him by delivering healthy children. This expectation hindered her wish to attend college and pursue chemistry with the encouragement of her teacher, Martin. Her father even beat her up when he knew about her wish to continue studying beyond schooling. In the present day, her ancestral home is abandoned. She recollects her past while spending time in the house and her nearby grave.
After a while, Janet decides to burn the house down, possibly to free herself from the traumatic memories attached to the establishment. Meanwhile, Claire learns that the Maddie she saw boarded a bus after their confrontation. She uses the information to track her down and finds out that the person she is looking for was last seen in a general store in Bingham County. Simon and Xavier arrive at the house first and see the same burned to the ground. They are also informed that the fire didn’t kill anyone, which means that Janet in Maddie’s body is technically still alive.
Janet loses her bag filled with money in a supermarket, which makes her hitchhike to a nearby university to avoid getting recognized. Interestingly, she is identified as Maddie at the institution by Diego, Nicole’s brother, who calls his sibling to inform the same. Simon, Xavier, Nicole, and Claire arrive at the university in no time to find their friend. Claire even succeeds in meeting her eye to eye, but the latter disappears from her before others can meet her.
Janet’s Secret Journal Reveals Her and Martin’s Intricate Companionship
Maddie and her spirit friends continue to dive into the secrets Janet and Martin harbor in an attempt to unravel their true intentions. They use the map once again to track down Yuri, a silent witness to whatever has happened in the school for decades. Even though he does not have any significant information to share with the group, Maddie finds a journal that belongs to her “body-snatcher” in Yuri’s room. Since the same was written in shorthand, she finds it difficult to read the book. That’s when Quinn shows up to the rescue. The marching band member decrypts the writings, which reveal that it was Janet who collected the personal belongings of the dead students rather than just Martin.
This new revelation makes one thing clear: Janet and Martin have planned to cross over using these collected materials together, which explains their intricate relationship. While this realization sinks in Maddie and her friends’ minds, Rhonda and Wally recollect one of Janet’s birthday parties. That day, she promised the football player that she had a “gift” to give everyone. However, Martin stopped her from revealing the same, causing an intense argument between them. While the group ponders over the reason behind the conflict between the two, Quinn decodes the usage of the word “key” in Janet’s journal.
Upon hearing the word “key,” Maddie connects the dots. She realizes that the collected materials that belong to the dead students serve as a key to another realm. Janet and Martin wanted to use them to explore or cross over to this “Newfoundland,” which is why they have nurtured an alliance for a long time. Their relationship turned sour when Janet decided to reveal the “keys” to other spirits, which Martin disapproved. That was when he locked her up. This theory turns out to be true, as Rhonda uses her acceptance letter to enter the realm, which is in Mr. Anderson’s office. However, this realm unsettles Rhonda immensely. She meets her killer, Mr. Manfredo, there, making her storm out of the room as soon as possible.
Janet, as Maddie, Meets an Unexpected Person
Ever since Maddie’s death, her mother, Sandra Nears, has been struggling. She activates an alert system in her phone to identify the body of her daughter day after day, hoping that she will be able to meet her one last time. She also attends the meetings of a support group for former alcoholics to change her habits. During one of these meetings, she encounters Mr. Anderson. He extends his support to her, especially to take a look at dead bodies and confirm whether one of them belongs to Maddie.
Anderson’s presence comforts Sandra immensely, and she returns to her home after gaining a friend. Before she enters her house, she meets Janet, who appears to be Maddie to her. The grieving mother runs to the young girl and embraces her. What is puzzling is that Janet has no reason to meet and comfort Sandra. She is not connected to the old woman or even her daughter in any way, although she uses the latter’s body to exist. This meeting and their warm embrace can also be the creations of Sandra’s mind. The mourning mother can be seeking a sense of relief after looking at dead body after dead body to find her daughter.
Read More: School Spirits Renewed For Season 3 at Paramount+
You must be logged in to post a comment.