School Spirits Season 1 Episode 8 Recap

Madison’s Body – As the episode opens, Simon Elroy (Kristian Flores) searches Sandra Nears’ (Maria Dizzia) house for the blackmail money. He finds the yellow envelope in Maddie’s dresser drawer. Preparing to walk out the door, Sandra asks if he found Maddie’s history notebook. He says yes before leaving.

Simon shows Madison “Maddie” Nears (Peyton List) a necklace. Maddie claims to have been wearing it while searching for Sandra but not when she arrived at Split River High. Simon tells her there could be a reasonable explanation in which murder isn’t involved. Maddie suggests bringing Sandra to the school so she can assess her body language. He asks if she really wants to know if Sandra is her killer.

Nicole Herrera (Kiara Pichardo) and Claire Zahler (Rainbow Wedell) agree confessing to blackmail could be harmful to their future. Xavier Baxter (Spencer Macpherson) says what about Mr. South’s (Peter New) future. Someone vandalized the custodian’s room. Nicole and Claire believe the real killer will walk free if they confess now.

Charley (Nick Pugliese), Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin), and Wally Clark (Milo Manheim) discuss the strange noise before Dawn’s disappearance. Mr. Everett Martin (Josh Zuckerman) suggests Dawn’s (RaeAnne Boon) and Janet’s experiences are entirely different. Wally asks if he detected any odd noises or lights when Janet disappeared. He claims Janet just disappeared. Charley asks why not try reminiscing to see if it helps them cross over. After warning it’s painful, Mr. Martin explains how he saved his class from a fire but not himself. Rhonda asks if he would be considered a hero. He admits to having failed his students and doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake. Rhonda says he has tried to help them. Charley questions if his mock trials and personal obituaries are helpful.

Maddie tells Wally that she apologized to Dawn for how her so-called friends treated her. Wally admits the ghosts didn’t always treat her nicely. She suggests Dawn finally heard what she needed to move on. She asks how he would feel if his only protector failed to keep him safe. She admits to fearing the truth. He says she taught him how to face his own fears.

Ms. Fields (Kalyn Miles) asks Simon about his college admission interview. He admits to no longer wanting to attend Northwestern University. She asks if he would like to accept the fall English award on Maddie’s behalf. He recommends Sandra do it.

Xavier claims to have been with Mr. South when Maddie disappeared. He assures Sheriff Baxter (Ian Tracey) the person jumping out the window at the abandoned house wasn’t Mr. South. Sheriff Baxter asks if he confesses to being there. Xavier demands he finds the real killer. Sheriff Baxter tells him to go home, he has work to do. Xavier snaps a photo of an address – 4916 Quebec Street – on a notepad before leaving.

Charley tells Rhonda that Dawn discovered something big at the anti-séance. Rhonda reminds him that no one saw her cross over. He assures her that she can always talk to him but she refuses to open up.

Sandra questions where everyone is at. After suggesting they work on her speech, he opens the door to Maddie’s classroom. She asks which seat belonged to her. He points to the seat where Maddie is sitting. She looks over to see the seat empty.

Xavier, Nicole, and Claire arrive at Quebec Street. Nicole says there was a break-in a block away. The door appears to have broken in. Claire suggests they stake out the place for a bit.

Wally and Charley search newspaper archives for an article on Janet who died in 1960. Charley admits to feeling bad about not saying goodbye to Dawn. Wally finds an article about Split River High being chosen for a nuclear strike pilot program. A fallout shelter would be erected below the east wing where a fire destroyed the chemistry lab on January 14, 1958. The article shows two fatalities, Mr. Martin and student, Janet Hamilton. Charley says Martin claims only he died in the fire. Wally questions why they lied to them.

Sandra says Maddie would have considered the away “silly.” Simon asks Maddie would say. She suggests Maddie wouldn’t have thought it pointless without a cash price. When he asks about the day she came to school looking for Maddie, she puts on her jacket to leave. He asks what she is doing with Maddie’s necklace when she claims to have never seen Maddie that day. Maddie stares at Sandra when he says she had it on when she left study hall. Maddie has a flashback of seeing Sandra drive over the curb at the school. She leaves study hall to meet her. Back to the present, Maddie says they met in the hallway. Sandra admits to being ashamed.

In a flashback, Sandra tells Maddie that she utilized her college fund to buy a cabin. Maddie says it was her father. Sandra assures her the schools up north are inexpensive. Maddie admits to wanting to go to school in Chicago to get away from her. When the bell rings, Maddie escorts Sandra into the boiler room. Sandra tells her that she gave the man a cashier’s check. Tossing the necklace on the floor, Maddie suggests pawning it before asking her to leave. Sandra picks up the necklace before leaving. Maddie breaks down in tears. Back to the present, Sandra claims to have left Maddie in the boiler room and gone home. Maddie assures Simon that she is telling the truth. Ms. Fields comes for Sandra.

Nicole leaves Simon an urgent voicemail. Xavier says they owe it to Maddie to go inside the house. Claire says in the vehicle while they go in.

Charley and Wally discover their obituaries and notebooks of Mr. Martin’s documentation of their deaths. Maddie sits in the bleachers while Sandra gives a heartfelt speech when Mr. Martin joins her. She tells him that she would like to write her obituary now.

Xavier suggests to Nicole that they split up while searching the abandoned house. Claire is staking out the property when someone enters the house. She rushes in to tell Nicole what she saw when the door slams shut. They all run out of the house as the individual jumps into the truck. Xavier tries to open the door while Nicole records the incident. The driver backs into Xavier before fleeing.

After finding the football play that claimed Wally’s life, he suggests Mr. Martin has been documenting their deaths. Charley finds a newspaper clipping about Janet’s parents demanding the school is held accountable for her death. The survivors accused Mr. Martin of starting the fire. Charley says Mr. Martin blamed it on the students.

Xavier comes through only to faint at the sight of his own blood. Nicole sends the video of the truck to Simon.

Rhonda reminds Charley and Wally that she told them to drop it. Charley says she knew what Mr. Martin was up to. She shows them relics from their deaths. Wally questions if it’s really Mr. Martin. She says no one knows more about them than him. Someone locks them inside the fallout shelter.

Maddie tells Simon how she feels about him before thanking him for being there for her. He shows her the video Nicole took of the truck speeding away from the abandoned property. Maddie’s face appears in the driver side mirror. He says she is a coping mechanism to help him deal with the pain of losing her. She assures him that it’s real as he walks away.

Sheriff Baxter hopes in the ambulance with Xavier before it pulls away.

When Maddie tries to go after Simon, she lands in the boiler room where she hears someone calling for help. In a flashback, she hears someone calling for help. As she opens the door, Mr. Martin demands Janet explain what she felt. When Janet flees, a force shoves Maddie backward. Back to the present, Maddie hears Charley calling for help. While she tries to open the door, Rhonda warns her to not trust Mr. Martin. She looks back to see Mr. Martin staring at him.

The bus station attendant (Janet Walmsley) collects $25 for a ticket. The girl identifies herself as Janet but quickly changes it to Maddie. She removes Maddie’s missing person poster from a bulletin board, wads it up, and tosses it on the ground.

 

School Spirits Finale Review

Simon finds the necklace Maddie was wearing when she disappeared in a dresser drawer at Sandra’s house. He grills her about the day she came to school to see Maddie. They speak in the hallway until the bell rings, at which time, they move to the boiler room. Sandra tells her about utilizing her college money to purchase a cabin up north. Devastated, Maddie rips her necklace off her neck for Sandra to pawn. Sandra takes the necklace when she leaves.

Xavier fails to convince Sheriff Baxter to look outside Mr. South as Maddie’s killer. He spots an address on a notepad. He and Nicole search the house while Claire stays in the truck. Seeing someone enter the house, Claire rushes inside to tell Nicole and Xavier. The individual jumps into their truck. Xavier is standing behind the truck when the driver mows him down. Nicole records the incident and sends the video to Simon.

Charley and Wally discover Mr. Martin was responsible for the chemistry lab fire. He died in the fire, along with his student, Janet. After Sandra leaves the boiler room, Maddie hears someone calling for help. She opens the former chemistry room door as Mr. Martin asks Janet to explain how she felt when she died. Janet appears to enter Maddie’s body. Nicole’s video of the driver who ran over Xavier looks like Maddie.

The ending is a bit confusing. Is Maddie truly dead or did Janet take control of her body and leave her spirit at the school? The episode deserves a 6.8. Get more School Spirits recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Our onsite advertising builds online awareness.