School Spirits Season 2 Finale Recap and Ending, Explained: Is Simon Dead or Alive?

The second season finale of Paramount+’s supernatural teen drama series ‘School Spirits,’ titled ‘Fire, Talk to Me,’ revolves around Maddie Nears and Janet Hamilton’s confrontation with Mr. Martin, who has been manipulating the spirits in the Split River High School for decades. After tolerating the atrocities of her chemistry teacher for a long period, Janet finally decides to cross over against his wish. However, before she steps onto another realm of the afterlife, she learns the truth about her death. Meanwhile, Maddie’s return to her body becomes imminent after Janet leaves it to pursue her fate. The sophomore installment then ends with a breathtaking cliffhanger concerning the life of the beloved Simon! SPOILERS AHEAD.

School Spirits Season 2 Episode 8 Recap

‘Fire, Talk to Me’ begins with Mr. Martin, who resides in the body of Mr. Anderson, meeting Janet. He tries to convince her to rebuild their alliance, only to be confronted by Wally Clark, Rhonda, Charley, Quinn, and Yuri about the torture they had to endure because of him. Even though he does not hesitate to admit that he has been treating them as lab rats, he adds that he will take Janet away from them. When he tries to do it, he fails to touch her, revealing that the latter is actually Maddie impersonating her counterpart. Janet, who is still inside the protagonist’s body, uses a Taser gun to attack him.

Martin then gets tied to a chair on top of a stage. He is pushed from the height to the floor, only to get separated from Anderson’s body. The rest of the spirits take the teacher to the boiler room, demanding an explanation regarding his compassionless actions. He replies that there is a lot they do not know about their high school, hinting at unrevealed secrets concerning its ability to accommodate ghosts. Martin is ready to explain everything to Janet, but he wants her to return to her original form. She does what he wants her to do, freeing Maddie’s body for the protagonist to inhabit. That’s when Nicole, Claire, and Xavier arrive in the boiler room with an important discovery.

After learning the truth from a news tape featuring Eugene, the trio of Nicole, Claire, and Xavier reveals that Martin started the fire in the chemistry lab after Janet’s father pulled the strings to ensure his termination from Split River High. When this revelation further turns the spirits against him, he enters his scar with Janet. Wally, Rhonda, Charley, Quinn, and Yuri set out to rescue their friend from the hands of the vicious teacher by entering their scars. Maddie concludes that Martin ran away to the shelter to force the others to enter their scars, which is what he needs to complete his experiment. To eliminate this trap, she chooses to follow her spirit companions to save all of them rather than inhabit her body to leave the afterlife.

School Spirits Season 2 Ending: Why is Simon in a Scar? Why Does He Ask For Maddie?

The second season of ‘School Spirits’ ends with a cliffhanger featuring Simon, who is inside Mr. Martin’s scar. Interestingly, he can also see and communicate with Martin and Janet, just like any other spirit. These factors raise the question of whether he is really dead or alive. While the emergency responders set out to take Maddie’s body from the school premises, Simon rushes back to the institution to find her spirit. In his rush, he ends up in the boiler room. What happens next has paved the way for his entry to Martin’s scar. The obvious possibility is Simon has tragically passed away, which explains his presence in the spirit world and his interactions with other spirits.

However, Maddie and Xavier’s experiences are enough to state that one does not need to die to enter the afterlife and interact with other spirits. A spirit we are unfamiliar with may have hijacked his body and left his spirit in Martin’s scar, just like what has happened to his best friend. If that’s not the case, Simon must have been severely hurt one way or another and is fighting for his life. Xavier has shown that it is possible to see and interact with spirits in this particular state between life and death while he is hospitalized in the earlier episodes of the second season.

All three of these possibilities directly explain how Simon can be in a scar. Having said that, these may not be the only ways to explain his current predicament. The events that have led up to Simon’s entry to Martin’s scar are highly charged emotionally. He faces the possibility of never seeing Maddie again when emergency responders take her body away from the school premises. Furthermore, her decision to follow her spirit companions rather than reunite with him after returning to her body may have affected him severely. These factors must have triggered his traumas and concerns extremely, building a bridge between the worlds of the dead and alive.

The scar is the creation of the traumas of a particular spirit. Simon’s emotions when he does not see Maddie inside the boiler room must have built a pathway to Martin’s scar if he is truly alive and well. His question to Janet regarding his best friend can be his wish to know what has happened to her. Unlike his friends, he does not know whether she has made it back to her body since he is inside the school at the time. Thus, he can be trying to find out from Janet whether the protagonist is still in the world of the dead or has returned to the world of the living.

Will Wally Cross Over? Why Does the Exit Door Open For Him?

While Simon tries his best to learn Maddie’s whereabouts, Wally realizes that he has been given an opportunity to cross over. He comes across the exit door at the end of Split River High’s football field, similar to how Janet sees one within her and Mr. Martin’s shared scar. The athlete is given the chance to cross over because of how well he manages his trauma when he enters his scar. The football player bravely confronts his horrifying death while attempting to save Janet from Martin. He even scores a touchdown during this short period, revealing how he has strengthened himself to deserve an opportunity to move on.

Wally is no longer stuck in his traumas. He courageously faces and conquers them with the help of Maddie and his companions, which is conveyed through his touchdown, explaining why the exit door opens for him. The decision to cross over may seem an easy choice he can make, especially since he is no longer with his girlfriend. He possibly cannot see and interact with Maddie anymore, which may turn out to be a motivation to cross over. However, the protagonist is not the only person Wally cares for. He still has to think about Charley and Rhonda, who have been there for him for decades.

Rather than crossing over as soon as possible, Wally may wait for Charley and Rhonda to secure their exit doors. The football player will most likely choose to stay with them rather than step into a highly unfamiliar world that awaits him beyond the door. In other words, he may want to cross over only if he can do it along with Charley and Rhonda.

Why Does Not Janet Cross Over? What is Hidden in the School?

The revelation that she hasn’t killed Mr. Martin severely affects Janet, who has been carrying a sense of guilt for decades. The truth finally liberates her from the clutches of her teacher, who continues to try to manipulate her. He asks her to forgive him for accidentally killing her, which is necessary for him to cross over. However, she not only decides against forgiving him but also frees herself from the guilt to move on. She clarifies that she does not deserve the hardships and torture she has experienced over the decades before and after her death, which opens the exit door for her to cross over.

Still, Janet chooses to stay back in the school over crossing over to an unfamiliar realm. The main reason behind her decision is her curiosity to find the answers to her yet unanswered questions. While she and her companions demand an explanation from Martin regarding his condemnable actions, he replies that a lot is going on in their school hidden from them. As a curious scientist, Janet wants to unravel these mysteries and learn more about the afterlife within Split River High. The young protégé has always wanted to cross over to escape from her guilt and the tortures inflicted by Martin.

Now that Janet does not have to worry about either, she can pursue truth and answers without any worries. This can also be her way of making Martin accountable to her. She does not want to leave him alone after crossing over as soon as possible. Janet must be expecting her teacher to explain each and every secret he knows about the existence of the afterlife within their institution. These secrets may also reveal how Xavier encounters and interacts with spirits in a hospital. Janet’s expedition for explanations will most likely uncover the links that exist between the buildings in the town and how they accommodate spirits like her.

Maddie Regains Her Body and Returns to the World Without Simon

Ever since learning that Janet has stolen her body, Maddie tries to regain it to leave the afterlife and return to the world of the living. Her supernatural existence comes to an end after Janet makes a significant decision concerning her fate. The protagonist waits for her new companion to cross over, like Dawn, so that she can leave the afterlife. Once Janet decides not to do it, Maddie does not have to stay behind in the world of the dead, especially considering that she has already chosen to bid adieu to Wally. Before the emergency responders can take her body away from the premises of Split River High, she reclaims her physical self.

However, Maddie is currently in a world without Simon, her best friend. Ever since her entry to the afterlife, her beloved companion has tried his best to help her regain her body. If not for him, the protagonist may still be stuck among the spirits, causing immeasurable pain to her mother and other friends. Therefore, she won’t be able to accept her “rebirth” without Simon beside her, especially since he leaves the world of the living while trying to help her. In the third season of the supernatural teen drama, we can expect Maddie to find a way to save him from the afterlife if he isn’t really dead for good.