With just 2 more episodes to go, “School Spirits” has safely crossed the threshold of doubt and secured its footing as a slow-burn mystery that isn’t fatiguingly slow. While it could hardly be blamed if it didn’t treat the tenderness of the peripheral drama with the same care it allotted for the mystery, the Paramount teen show attests to the fact that the two don’t necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. Hauling us closer to the vile face of the truth is only made a journey worth taking by incorporating characters that tug at our heartstrings and make us linger lest we miss out on their emotional bloom.
Spoilers Ahead
Nothing Adorable About Territorial Tendencies
Thank heavens we’re past the dreadful time (mostly) of romanticizing obnoxious possessiveness or sympathizing with the same for the sake of mollycoddling emotionally stunted men. Seeing how mutedly aggressive Simon gets at the idea of Maddie going to the homecoming dance with a “jock” ghost, he may as well have cloaked himself in a red flag. Also, did anyone else pick up on the major Lucas Scott energy? But Maddie has grander things to turn her eyes to with the looming pain of having to watch her cheating dumpster of an ex-boyfriend accompany her cheating ex-best friend to the dance. Claire’s friends aren’t too thrilled about her going on a date with the guy who was originally suspected of being the perp in Maddie’s disappearance. But Maddie has a thing for Xavier’s cryptic appeal, or as I call it, “the Hannibal Lector-ness of a guy.”
It’s of no consequence now just how badly I wanted the Nicole and Xavier romantic trope to be dropped. Just how eager she is to follow him to the ends of the earth, or in this case, to the mall to get him a suit, makes Nicole’s crush on her missing best friend’s ex-boyfriend a tad more irrefutable. My theory about Simon not really being the “nice guy” that he would like everyone to think of him as is also transforming more and more into a fact now that he is suspiciously hell-bent on forcing Xavier’s hand into getting a confession out of Claire. Being cornered by Claire in the boy’s locker room and having to make his romantic intentions toward her sound credible only renders Xavier thoroughly intimidated and makes him wonder if he wouldn’t end up dead meat by the time he even hops into her car. All Claire’s convoluted mind had in store was getting to inquire about the recent developments in Maddie’s missing case from Xavier’s cop father when she offered to pick him up for the date.
Pros And Cons Of A Ghost Life
In the ‘School Spirits’ universe, you would be in serious trouble if your immune system was wonky. Apparently, the ghosts can still feel the paraphysical symptoms of an allergic reaction even if it doesn’t lead to death. So no peanut M&Ms for Charley and a lot of sneezing for Maddie as she ruffles through the old costumes to pick out an outfit for the dance. Her dreamy “6 feet, 2 inches, half boy, half golden retriever” has a fun night to look forward to, considering that the perpetually pubescent spirits can, in fact, do the deed. Being thrilled not to have to go to the dance alone for the first time in 37 years will likely land Wally in a well of disappointment as Maddie’s entire attention will be commanded by Xavier and Claire.
Claire is clearly down in the mouth and suspicious of Xavier’s devious questions about Maddie’s backpack being found in the house owned by her stepdad. But she can hardly combat the charm Xavier lays down thick as he guides her to the boiler room, the very scene of the crime, hoping it would have an effect on her. Mid-fooling around with Claire, Xavier is caught red-handed attempting to record their conversation, leaving him no way out other than facing her down without any mind games and asking her about her involvement in Maddie’s disappearance. All I can pick up on are the sincerity and the traces of guilty conscience in Claire’s voice as she comes clean about swapping Maddie’s phone to delete the blackmail video that Claire and Mr. Anderson believed to have been recorded by Maddie. The extent of Claire’s incriminating involvement in the ordeal was handing Mr. Anderson a large sum to buy off Maddie’s silence.
The existential equilibrium of the ghostly ballroom is achieved by two hearts; one broken and another mended. He may have been swaying around by himself while Maddie was busy looking over her shoulders, but Wally soon comes to realize, albeit morosely, that the night will not turn out the way he had dreamed. The other side of the room faithfully accompanies a ghostly, forsaken lover as he bides his time and longingly stares at his past boyfriend, who’s receiving a letter from the beyond.
‘School Spirits’ Episode 6: Ending Explained – Is Nicole Involved In Maddie’s Murder?
Bickering with Xavier has gotten to Simon to the extent of his dodging a call from Sandra. Nicole rushes to Sandra’s aid when she gets a call and learns of the suspicious presence of someone in Sandra’s backyard. There’s time left until Sandra can get herself to come to terms with the fact that she shouldn’t hold out hope for Maddie’s return. The aggrieved mother is still of the belief that Maddie will go off to Chicago and join a good school with her two best friends. When she is rattled by a disturbance in her backyard, Sandra’s first thought is that her daughter may have come back. She’s wary of alerting the police, lest it scare Maddie away. A thorough search of the area surrounding the house where Maddie’s backpack was found turns up a possible murder weapon with the school’s initials on it.
Nicole is right on time to lend a shoulder for Sandra to cry on when she gets the devastating news from the cops. Any evidence that could indicate the possibility of murder would’ve been the last straw for Sandra. The cops may not want to reveal their suspect’s name to the deceased’s mother this early into the investigation, but as we see the man getting arrested and Maddie overhears a hush hush exchange throwing light on his identity and possible motive, we know that it is Roger South, the school’s custodian. The cops are of the opinion that South nicked the weapon from the school’s toolbox to murder Maddie and bag the money she had gotten for keeping mum about Claire and Mr. Anderson. Just as one layer of the mystery is peeled off, several brain-scrambling questions emerge about people we had no reason to sniff out before. Rhonda seems to be engrossed in a search for something in the fallout shelter.
Deep in the woods, Nicole is busy digging up the ground with a shovel. If it is Maddie’s body, what reason would she have to unearth it from the ground? Getting closer to the revelation of the circumstances of her death, however, seems to have a calming effect on Maddie. And so does Charley, as he tries to pass on the torch of emotional enlightenment to Maddie after finally being able to have the weight of decades worth of guilt lifted from his chest after seeing Emilio tear up while reading the letter. The discovery of the murder weapon has only led Maddie to start letting go of the sentimentality that has been keeping her bound to the life of a living human being. Now that she’s gotten a nudge to reconcile herself to the truth of her death, she can finally start to follow her own advice to Charley and “live her death.” And her first step towards making the most of her time until she gets to cross over is kissing Wally and making the sweet guy’s long-suffering dream of a perfect homecoming dance come true.
