Our previously mentioned cautious optimism continues with “School Spirits” Episode 3. Our trust issues with high school dramas run deeper than the ocean, and we have no intention of letting them go anytime soon, especially for only 3 episodes. But on a lighter note, we believe it was in our review of Episode 1 that we spoke about how we were disappointed that the ghosts from the 90s did not have over plucked eyebrows. Well, in “School Spirits” Episode 3, we noticed that Charlie had carefully highlighted hair. Now, we don’t know if that was part of the hair fashion in the 90s, but why does nobody else, maybe except for Rhonda, have anything distinctly 90s? Where is the ‘young lion haircut,’ the frosted tips, the bowl cut, the mullet, or even the long bedhead look? Charlie would have looked great with a mullet, and we are sure that Mr. Martin would have been so cute with the ‘nazi cut.’ On the plus side, that is our only criticism of the episode. Let us see what happens here.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Does Maddie Support Mr. Anderson?
Picking up from the end of “School Spirits” Episode 2, Mr. Anderson leads Simon out of the school and advises him to tell no one that he is snooping around. He doesn’t say what he was doing there, either. Simon is forced to leave for now, but when he speaks with Maddie the next day, she doesn’t believe that he could be involved in her disappearance or her murder. The previous night’s events have convinced Simon that there is something very wrong with Mr. Anderson, but Maddie believes otherwise. The reason for that is that Mr. Anderson supported her when she needed it the most. Head had a similar home situation to Maddie’s, with his father being an alcoholic, and he told Maddie that even though he wasn’t the one with the problem, he was allowed to take things at his own pace. He was actually saying that to Maddie, who was struggling with her mother, and he even gave her his number.
Maddie seems to see things in black and white a lot. She thinks Claire is innocent because she saved a girl, and she thinks the same about Mr. Anderson because he was kind to her once. Simon seems to think the same as us, which is why he asks her to keep an eye on him regardless. He talks to Nicole about his suspicions and asks for her help in investigating him. Nicole is really a good friend, and she distracts Mr. Anderson while Simon steals his car keys. When he checks his car, he finds the piece of the phone they had given him, which means that he hasn’t given that to the authorities. He tells this to Maddie, who finally tells Simon why she supports Mr. Anderson so much. A few months back, Maddie had been in an accident, and he had been the one to come and help her. Because he was such a stand-up guy, she couldn’t believe that he would kill her. But Simon asks her why she never called him for help and questions her, saying that if she insists on keeping her walls up, how is he supposed to help her at all? An angry Maddie declares that she will solve her mystery by herself.
Rhonda And The Field Day
The support group organizes a field day to help Maddie feel better. She is initially reluctant as she thinks that she will have to play sports, but it turns out to be something recreational, with them bashing into things to let out their anger and frustration. After doing some destruction of her own, Maddie talks to Charlie about what is happening with Simon. He tells her not to be so optimistic just because Mr. Anderson is a teacher, and he gives Rhonda as an example, who was murdered by her guidance counselor.
This makes Maddie speak with Rhonda as to what happened to her, and she tells her that Mr. Manfredo was the only person who paid attention to her and believed in her when no one else did. But when she finally got into the college of her choice, instead of being happy for her, he became angry. Mr. Manfredo was under the impression that there was something romantic happening between them, whereas Rhonda saw him as a teacher guiding his student. That had caused the fight that led him to murder her. He was arrested and died in prison, but just as Rhonda says, what good does that do for her? In her words, things only ‘reset, not change’ in the school. That gives Maddie an idea, and she goes through some of the school’s yearbooks. She figures out that the classroom where she speaks with Simon is the renovated guidance counselor’s room. She has only been able to communicate with Simon in some places, and in all of them, someone has already died. Split Rivers High School is a very suspicious place.
‘School Spirits’ Episode 3: Ending Explained – Is Mr. Anderson Involved In Maddie’s Death?
Before we talk about Mr. Anderson, we have to remember that Xavier is rather creepy. He was clearly eavesdropping on Simon and Nicole’s conversation, and we completely believe that it was he who sent the picture to Nicole that made her think Maddie was in the elevator control room. When she got there, she did not find anyone, but Xavier was there within seconds. He tells her that he came there because it is Maddie’s favorite hangout spot. He also tells her that he has an alibi for the last period but hasn’t said anything because no one would believe him anyway. We can’t believe that Nicole falls for that. Nevertheless, they form a search party with Maddie’s mother, Sandra, to go look for her. Sandra is upset that the police have halted their search because it would look bad for the coming elections. When the three go into the forest, they find Maddie’s ticket for the event she had been planning to go to. They also found some boot-prints.
Back in the school, Maddie tells Simon the truth about why she has been supporting Mr. Anderson. The previously mentioned accident had been caused by her mother and not her; when she was driving completely drunk. Mr. Anderson had taken care of that. She hadn’t told Simon or anyone else because they would have freaked out and not understood why she was protecting her mother that way. She tells Simon that things at home were very bad, and what he knew was just ‘the tip of the iceberg.’ While talking, they are forced to hide when they spot Mr. Anderson coming into the classroom. He is talking on the phone and says that he should have never given Maddie the money. After he leaves the classroom, Simon asks Maddie about it, but she has no idea, and that is when she spots a shifted tile. When Simon pulls it out, they see wads of cash hidden inside the wall, and all of it undoubtedly belongs to Mr. Anderson.
Final Thoughts
Maddie noticed that she was missing her backpack. Maybe it had the money in it. Additionally, Xavier has started keeping an eye on Simon and Nicole only after the former’s run-in with Mr. Anderson. It could mean that he is in on whatever illegal operation is going on with Mr. Anderson and is checking to see if Simon and Nicole know anything. Maybe the ticket and boot prints were also plated by him as a misdirection? The plot has beautifully thickened, and only the future episodes of “School Spirits” will tell us whether the investigative ghost can solve her own murder mystery.
