Paramount+
Warning: Significant spoilers for the first season of “School Spirits” are included in this article.
Teenage murder mysteries have been a staple of television for years, making it challenging to create a unique narrative. However, the Paramount+ series “School Spirits” dared to stand out with its inaugural eight-episode season. The storyline revolves around high school student Maddie Nears (Peyton List), who finds herself in a strange school in the afterlife. The series’ supernatural element already differentiates it from others, but the season 1 finale takes it a step further with an unexpected revelation: Maddie is not actually dead.
While this plot twist was hinted at in previous episodes, the finale of “School Spirits” leaves viewers with more questions than answers. It provides just enough information to shock fans but doesn’t delve into the intricate details surrounding Maddie, a ghost named Janet, and a chemistry teacher turned therapy group leader, Mr. Martin. In this article, we’ll decode the finale’s significant moments and predict the future of this metaphysical teenage mystery series.
The Actress Behind Maddie Nears in School Spirits
Paramount+
Peyton List, a seasoned actress, portrays the ill-fated teenager Maddie Nears. List has been in the acting industry from a very young age, and you may recognize her from the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series or the controversial Robert Pattinson drama “Remember Me”. She also made a name for herself during her teenage years, starring in Disney Channel’s “Jessie” and “Bunk’d”, as well as Disney’s body swap comedy “The Swap”.
Recently, List has been seen in the popular Netflix series “Cobra Kai”, a sequel to “Karate Kid”, and provided the voice for Barbara Gordon in “Batman: Hush”. Prior to “School Spirits”, she was a part of the main cast in another supernatural teen murder mystery series, Hulu’s “Light as a Feather”.
With “School Spirits”, List has added a producer credit to her repertoire for the first time on a TV show. “I’m more excited than ever to take on new projects because as a producer on the show, I could make sure that my opinion was heard,” she expressed in an interview with the Associated Press last year.
The Truth About Maddie’s Fate in School Spirits
Paramount+
Throughout the season, the teenagers of Split River, Wisconsin, both living and deceased, were on a quest to uncover Maddie’s killer. However, they were asking the wrong question. When her friends, who are still alive, nearly discover the truth about Maddie’s fate, they have a close encounter with a pickup truck driven by Maddie herself.
While it’s undoubtedly a relief for Maddie to know that her mother, her boyfriend, or another loved one didn’t cause her death, the encounter with her doppelganger is certainly a mind-bending experience. It also means that while her soul is in purgatory, someone else is in control of her body. As it turns out, a spirit named Janet, who Maddie’s deceased classmates thought had moved on, ended up possessing Maddie, pushing her spirit into the afterlife. As of the “School Spirits” season finale, Janet, wearing Maddie’s face, is leaving town.
The Possession of Maddie’s Body by Janet
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It’s not entirely clear how Janet ended up in Maddie’s body. However, Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman), the unassuming group leader and former chemistry teacher who welcomed Maddie to the purgatorial support group where she spends most of season 1, plays a significant role. Mr. Martin had previously told everyone that he died in a fire in the ’50s, along with a girl named Janet. However, evidence unearthed in the finale suggests that he started the fire himself, and he appears particularly sinister when he shows up in front of Maddie at the end of the season 1 finale.
Mr. Martin had also been counseling Janet, and in a last-minute reveal, we see how she took over Maddie’s body. When Maddie was alive, she came to her school’s basement after a fight with her mom and stumbled upon Janet and Mr. Martin arguing. “No, I don’t want to,” Janet told the teacher, while he pressured her for information about a recent experience. “We have to find out exactly what happened. What did you feel?” he asks her. When Maddie walks in and sees the two — Mr. Martin looking human, Janet as just a black outline — the ghost seems to get spooked, and either purposely runs into Maddie’s body or takes her over while attempting to run from her teacher. Either way, the effect is the same: when she makes contact with Maddie, she possesses her, apparently dislodging Maddie’s spirit.
Hints That Maddie Was Alive During School Spirits
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While much of “School Spirits” kept audiences focused on the hunt for Maddie’s killer and the storylines of her new friends in the afterlife, there were definitely a few hints about how all of this likely went down. At a certain point, Mr. Martin’s therapeutic exercises feel like a distraction technique meant to keep Maddie from gleaning more information, and he also at one point
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