Ghoul Intentions – As the episode opens, Madeline “Maddie” Nears (Peyton List) gives up on trying to guess the passcode for Mr. Derek Anderson’s (Patrick Gilmore) phone. Anderson repeatedly ignores his phone when it beeps. Maddie orders Simon Elroy (Kristian Flores) to tell him to check his email before asking if he wants to know the origin of the hidden money. When the bell rings, Simon drops his paper on Anderson’s desk and grabs his phone before heading out the door.

Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman) and his students are planning weekend activities when Maddie enters the gym. She asks if they saw anything odd about Anderson. Wally Clark (Milo Manheim) suggests Anderson’s misspelling of “fundraiser” is suspicious as he teaches English. Charley (Nick Pugliese) says it was probably intentional. Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin) apologizes for the group not spending their day watching the living.

Simon hurriedly locks Anderson’s phone in his locker when Nicole Herrera (Kiara Pichardo) approaches. She informs him that the police followed Maddie’s bootprints in the woods to a service road. She suggests it validates Maddie is still alive. He claims to be talking to Maddie. She says her Horror Con tickets will give them a safe place to meet. He assures her that Maddie isn’t alive.

Maddie questions if Dawn (RaeAnne Boon) knows anything. Charley and Rhonda assure her that Dawn knows nothing. Maddie claims to have no fear of the walking dead before asking for names.

Grief counselor, Ms. Chung (Patti Kim) is trying to convince Simon to open up to her when a Lost Phone alert pops up on Anderson’s phone. He looks down the hall to see Anderson tracking his phone in his direction. While fleeing, he tosses the phone on top of a row of lockers.

Nicole interviews Claire Zahler (Rainbow Wedell) for The Daily Bandit. When asked about her rescuing swim student Ava, Claire says she just happened to be there when it happened. Nicole asks what she thinks about being homecoming queen. Looking straight into the camera, Claire says Maddie’s return is the only homecoming that truly matters in Split River. She agrees to give up her homecoming crown to bring Maddie home before wishing she could have saved her like Ava. Nicole says she never spoke to Maddie but now her posters are everywhere when Andy (Christian Lajole) cuts her off.

Charley and Rhonda tell Maddie that Mina (Zoe Christie) died in 1987 after a stage light fell on top of her. Wally says Yuri won’t be much help because his only language is Russian. Simon orders Maddie to meet him at the bus stop. When she rushes out of the cafeteria, Wally questions what just happened.

Simon admits to taking Anderson’s phone. Maddie suggests he talk to Chung or Principal Hartman (Alex Zahara). He asks if he is supposed to tell them the truth. She reminds him of Anderson keeping the fragment from her phone when Wally and Rhonda approach. Rhonda scolds Maddie for not telling them. Maddie claims she wanted to tell them before looking at Charley. While they argue with him, she slips away to find Mina.

Hartman tells Simon that the school will notify the police.

Mina complains about not getting any appreciation for keeping everyone safe in the theater.

Nicole watches Claire trying to buy votes with cupcakes when Xavier Baxter (Spencer Macpherson) approaches. Claire gives her a cupcake and her poster.

Dawn denies seeing Anderson act suspiciously. She joins Maddie to speak with the BG Marching Band (Casey Thomas-Burns, Jordan Landingin, Miakay Scott, Alex Kerry, Alex Robbins, and Tina Wu). They refuse to talk to her.

Anderson speaks to a female police officer. Staring at Simon, Wally questions why he is only capable of seeing Maddie. Rhonda suggests they share a bond. Maddie watches as the police escort Simon out of the school. She vows to never forgive herself if something happens to him.

Nicole complains to Xavier about Claire pretending to not care about homecoming. When he doesn’t respond, she demands to know more about their relationship.

Simon claims Anderson has a lot of money hidden in his room. He suggests Anderson killed Maddie to keep her quiet. The officer shows him the fragment from Maddie’s phone from Anderson. Simon says it was in the old auto shop. The officer asks why give it to Anderson. Simon tells them that we thought he could be trusted. The officer asks who is “we.” Simon corrects himself before they hand him Maddie’s file. The female officer suggests Maddie staged the crime scene before running away.

Nicole says Maddie ran away because he cheated on her. She orders him to stay in the car while she searches for Maddie. No one has seen her. When Xavier approaches, she takes her frustration out on him.

Charley tells Maddie that he has unfinished business with Emilio Figueroa (Andres Soto). In a flashback, young Figueroa (Andrew Alvarez) asks Charley if he’ll share his tent. Teases from the other students prompt Charley to suggest he find another place to sleep. Emilio claims to have been teased by his former classmates before setting up his tent. Emilio sensually touches his hand while listening to “Crash” by Dave Matthews Band. Back to the present, Charley admits to having been angry with Emilio for telling his parents that he was gay. In a letter, he denied ever loving him and refused to see him again. He tells her that they’re in it together.

Wally and Rhonda ask Maddie to not tell Martin about her talking to Simon. They thank Mina with a bouquet of flowers. Mina opens the hatch to the costume room. Wally finds a Unifining invoice for marching band gear. Anderson signed the invoice totaling $40K.

Simon tells Maddie that the police believe he helped her run away. After she tells him about the invoice, he barges into a faculty meeting with the new band uniform. He says the Boosters raised money for the new uniforms that Anderson volunteered to order. He suggests Anderson didn’t order new uniforms but revived retired uniforms that have been in storage for decades. Anderson denies the allegations. Simon shows them the fake invoice before pulling off the new mascot to expose a partial imprint of the old mascot.

Nicole tells Xavier that she expected to find Maddie at Horror Con before suggesting Simon is right.

Simon and Maddie watch as the police put Anderson into a cruiser. Removing his sweater, he says it’s impossible for him to hug her but it can. She suggests he retrieve Anderson’s phone before going home to rest.

Maddie joins the others to watch a movie. She tells Charley to write Emilio a letter and she’ll see that he gets it. When Rhonda joins the movie, Martin asks if she’s okay. She says after 60 years of graduation, she is ready to leave. He agrees to help her as he did Janet. Dawn takes a selfie with a student’s phone she found in the theater. Maddie asks if it was locked. Dawn claims to know everyone’s passcodes.

Simon is getting in his car when Maddie calls off Anderson’s passcode. Claire overhears a student saying Anderson may be arrested when her phone rings. Simon and Claire are calling her from Anderson’s phone as the episode comes to an end.

 

School Spirits Review

Believing Maddie will be at Horror Con, Nicole invites Xavier to join her. Xavier comes clean about cheating on Maddie with Claire. She sets out on her own to find Maddie but no one reports seeing her.

Simon takes Anderson’s phone but is unable to unlock it without the passcode. He tells Principal Hartman about the money hidden in Anderson’s classroom. The police escort him to the station to question him about Maddie running away. Maddie finds out from Mina that Anderson has been altering retired band uniforms. He created a fake invoice to conceal his defrauding Boosters of $40K.

Claire is running for homecoming queen. During an interview, she claims to have no interest in homecoming, only Maddie found alive. Later, she bribes the students with cupcakes.

Rhonda and Wally discover Maddie talks to Simon. Charley tells Maddie about his relationship with young Figueroa. She suggests he write him a letter and she’ll make sure he gets it. Rhonda asks Mr. Martin to help her leave Split River High.

Claire is concerned when she discovers Anderson may be facing criminal charges. Dawn provides Maddie with the passcode to Anderson’s phone. A number stored on the phone goes to Claire’s phone.

The episode is plagued with an annoying female police officer. The character was over-acted which may or may not be the actor’s doing. I don’t make it a habit to actor-bash but the female officer was poorly portrayed.

I rate the episode a 6. Get more School Spirits recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Our onsite advertisement builds brand awareness in multiple countries.