Though an official announcement about the cancellation or renewal of School of Lies hasn’t been made, given how all the character arcs were resolved in a haphazard manner, it’s okay to assume that the showrunners will be looking to flesh them out in a potential second season. Given my hatred for the first season, which stems from the poor handling of its queer characters and the theme of neglect, I am certainly not looking forward to more of this show. But if Disney+ Hotstar and BBC Studios notice a significant amount of interest amongst their viewers, it’s quite possible that they’ll greenlight another trip to the mysteries of Dalton Town. So, allow me to speculate on the directions in which School of Lies Season 2 can go and hopefully make things interesting.
Spoilers Alert
Vikram is a murderer. He has killed two people. One of them is an accident (Shakti), and the other one isn’t (Bhola). He is probably not going to face any charges for killing Bhola because of the circumstances in which he was found with him. Also, since Bhola was a wanted criminal, it’s highly likely that the police were thankful that he was killed. When it comes to Shakti, though, I don’t think that Trisha (Shakti’s mother) is going to let him off the hook, especially after getting a hint from Vikram that he has, in fact, killed Shakti. Going by Trisha’s desperation, there’s a good chance that she will try to kill Vikram, and that can start a different chain of events, much like the one in Season 1. Pallavi’s concerned look at the end of the show is also troubling. Maybe she is going to stop treating him like her son and see him as the criminal that he has become. I won’t be surprised if Pallavi goes into full-on Vaastav mode and kills her own son instead of letting the law take its course. As for Nandita, even if she comes to her senses and realizes that she shouldn’t protect Vikram, nobody is going to believe her statement. So, all in all, Vikram can enjoy his impunity until Trisha or Pallavi breaks.
TK isn’t a murderer, but he has obviously helped cover up Vikram’s crime. The way he looks at Vikram when he subtly admits that he has murdered Shakti, something about it tells me that he’s going to have a pang of righteousness, and he’s going to blurt out the truth. There’s a problem there, though. As soon as he speaks up, the authorities are going to question him for not speaking up sooner and shifting everyone’s focus to his illegitimate relationship with Sam. I want to believe that he’s going to face the consequences for implicating Sam like that. But due to the legitimacy of the case and Sam’s confession tape, it’s probable that that’s not the thing that’ll bite him. It’s actually the fact that he’s putting up an act in front of his future wife, Mahima, that he’s straight that’s going to constantly haunt him. Unless he admits to Mahima that he’s queer because he promised that there wouldn’t be any lies between them, he’s going to buckle under the pressure of pretending to be someone he’s not. Also, if Vikram learns about TK’s relationship with Mahima, it’s going to create a lot of tension between them, which will only add to their shared trauma around Shakti’s death.
Chanchal is in a weird spot, literally and metaphorically. I don’t know what the religious seer is capable of, but I’m sure he’s not powerful enough to erase the image of Chanchal’s father, Bhola, dismembering Shakti. Since Chanchal doesn’t know about Shakti’s actual killer, it’s possible that he thinks that Bhola is the one who killed Shakti. With Bhola dead, he doesn’t have anyone to blame. If he questions the potential reason behind Bhola’s horrific act, it’ll probably lead him to Vikram and TK. If he is in a vengeful mood, then he can hold Vikram and TK responsible for committing such a heinous crime. A major theme in School of Lies is the cyclical nature of abuse and neglect. Chanchal can break this chain by refusing to be abusive. Maybe he’s going to find peace under the religious seer’s watchful eye and realize that violence begets only violence. As for the neglect, his parenting skills will be tested if and when he has kids. If Chanchal chooses a life of celibacy, then the chance of being a bad father like Bhola is out of the question. However, if the writers want to be cruel, they can find a way to bring Chanchal back into all this mess and force him to deal with it.
Now, I’ve already talked about Trisha, but what about Anirudh? He has a history of running away from his responsibilities. He has not been a good husband. He has not been a good father. He has not been a good man, period. But up until now, the things that he has run away from have been handled by someone else. He left Trisha, and Adil was there to pick up the pieces. He abandoned Shakti, but Trisha, Trisha’s aunt, and Shakti’s friends at River Isaac Secondary Education were there to help him out. But now his son is dead. And maybe this is going to be the catalyst for Anirudh’s change. No, it’s not going to make him a better human being, mend his relationship with Trisha, or bring back Shakti. But if he gets justice for Shakti, at the very least, he’ll be able to move forward knowing that he has done one right thing in his miserable life. Additionally, Anirudh is played by Jitendra Joshi. I don’t think the showrunners have brought him for such a small role, and they’ve got something more in store for him. If they don’t, people will still remember his turn as Anirudh as a good cameo.
Last but certainly not least, there’s the story of Sam. Technically, he’s done. He has accepted his fate, and he’s not going to fight the charges placed on him by Vikram and TK. But he’s a victim of Alden’s abuse. Don’t you think he deserves justice for that? I don’t have the answer to that question. Maybe the showrunners do. Does Sam harbor any ill feelings toward Vikram and TK? Like I said before, he seems to have accepted that he is guilty of basically grooming two minors. However, if he somehow manages to get out of jail and the loneliness and unemployment creep up on him, who knows what he will be capable of? It’s quite possible that he’s going to become the main villain of School of Lies Season 2, if the second season is greenlit. With all that said, these are just my predictions and opinions based on the first season of the show. Please watch all eight episodes of the murder mystery, form your own opinions, and let us know what you expect to see in the currently hypothetical second season of School of Lies.
