School Spirits season 3, episode 4, might have been one of the most, if not the most, entertaining episodes in the show so far. Not only do we get a musical number out of nowhere, but we also get some insights into what happened in Split River before the school was built and specifically on the site where it was built, making us way more curious overall than ever before. I thought, after the second season, the show would go downhill because it felt a little bit draggy, but if any of these elements had been introduced back then, I feel like we’d have liked it even more. But all that aside, I do love the direction the show is taking now, and I quite like that Maddie has to open up to everybody finally and get back to the real world. She’s still in this limbo, but that’s also because she’s finally seeing things fully now, so whatever happens, she needs some serious help. Hopefully it’ll all be alright soon, though. With that said, let’s jump into season 3, episode 4.
Spoiler Alert
What’s Happening With Simon?
School Spirits episode 4 sees Simon distance himself from Maddie a little bit, because he wants to get out of this mess, but she’s worried about him and won’t let him do anything that she thinks is remotely dangerous. He lies to Maddie that he didn’t go into the hole in Martin’s scar, which leads to Wally lying to her, too. But Simon was the one who brought back a Bible-looking thing from the basement-like scary place, because apparently there used to be a church on the site way before Split River High came up there. On the surface, Maddie seems to be at least a little bit okay, but she’s fully breaking on the inside. Ever since her mother brought out the dollhouse her father made for her, she imagines it turning red when she looks at it, in the same way that the scars do. At first, it seems the house and everything around her are leading her somewhere, to the answers she’s been looking for, but every time this happens to her, it’s usually Xavier who shows up to take her out of her trance.
In this case, he comes over because she doesn’t answer her phone, and her mother’s gone off for a detox. The thing I don’t understand is why Sandra needs a detox when she didn’t drink again. I was so sure she actually got better, but maybe Maddie just doesn’t believe it, so she has no choice but to go. Xavier asks Maddie if he should stay over to make sure she’s fine, but she says no and sends him away. He’s just trying to help, though.
Later, Maddie gets super upset at Simon because she can’t find him, but he’s right there with Wally. Wally talks to Maddie, and Simon overhears her say he’s annoying her, but she’s also worried that she might lose someone else she cares about. She thinks she’s all alone now, but she’s got people. Wally’s a sweetheart and teaches her an exercise his coach used to make the team do when they were stressed out back in the day.
What Happens With Detention?
Back in school the next day, the quartet of Xavier, Nicole, Claire, and Maddie have to do detention while the rest of their class goes on a school trip. Fortunately, the principal gets distracted by Deborah, who is examining the school to see how flawed and accident-prone it is. This makes everything much easier for the 4 friends, who need to devise a plan to figure out how to save Simon and also understand what happened in the school before their time. Anyway, Rhonda and Charley seem to observe everything, and Maddie tells the alive kids that the school used to be a church. Now, Maddie goes away to look for Simon, and Claire reveals she’s Finnish to the other two, and also to Rhonda and Charley unknowingly. It seems like the church stuff is Finnish, so I guess that’ll be something to look into later.
Now, while trying to figure out what the translation of the words means (Claire can speak it but struggles to read), they bring out Simon’s tablet from Maddie’s bag. Unfortunately, they don’t have a network or wifi, but they do see a message from Simon’s dad that freaks them out a little bit. His parents are now worried enough to ask to hear his voice, so Nicole realizes they can use the podcast he made a while ago, called the “Let’s Get Real” podcast, to get his voice. Xavier’s the only one who doesn’t have any real work on his plate, so they leave him on assignment duty, while the girls all have something to do.
What Happens With The Shrooms Gang?
On the other hand, Yuri wants to take shrooms, but Mr. Martin and Quinn spot him with them. Yuri gives Martin a dose, because he seems to be curious, but in the meantime, Quinn takes 4 doses, and Yuri ends up having nothing left. You’d think this would affect Quinn a lot, but at first, she can’t feel anything, and neither can Mr. Martin. But soon enough, Quinn breaks into a dance routine that’s actually great to watch. But I think it’s them accepting themselves for who they are. It basically seems to be self-motivation, which ends with the words “Go Quinn Go” plastered on the wall behind them, and they are dressed as a version of Prince in their head. On the other hand, Martin sees his mother, which is certainly something.
But in the meantime, Yuri goes to his scar with a lighter, and what he sees isn’t anything super scary in the traditional sense, but might well be the scariest thing ever to Yuri. Turns out the thing he’s most afraid of is the future he thought he would have. It wasn’t the wife or the kid; it was just him turning into a potbellied old man with nothing to his name. Later, Charley comes for Yuri after Quinn tries to kiss Rhonda, and they split off. Yuri tells Charley what he saw and that he trapped himself. Yuri could’ve had a great life even if he’d become a father. But now he’s certain of one thing: he wants to make sure he keeps Charley by his side.
What’s The History Behind Split River?
Maddie gets seen by the janitor, Salv, who Wally fell on in the previous episode. She tells him that she knows he sees things too, and admits she’s on his side. He takes her out of school and shows her a rock, saying how things like rocks and trees have memories, and though people forget, they remember. He believes this place itself is trying to tell them something, but they haven’t figured out what just yet. Finally, Principal Hartman returns to check on everybody, and the gang comes back together, hearing Xavier’s bird call, and Maddie sees him being a maniac in the window. She finally bursts and tells them that she’s not happy, because her mom is going to keep going back to detox, and it’s not that big a deal that she’s getting help, because at the end of the day, Maddie always goes back to being alone. Xavier tells her she’s not alone, but by the time he can continue, they have to run back to the library.
Now, Claire finally learns that Split River used to be called Still Water many years ago. At the same time, Rhonda and Charley learn that 9 people died in the church, 8 of whom were children. October 28th, 1912, is when this happened. Now, Mr. Martin, who’s been high, also remembers, because he can finally see things clearly on the shrooms. He remembers his mother telling him that the kids died the day they “split the river.” It was meant to help the town become more prosperous and make things easier for the farmers. But something went wrong, and there was a flood. So now the memory of whatever happened back in the day is still trapped under the school grounds.
What Happens When Wally and Simon Go Back?
Simon’s lost the watch, but he desperately wants to go back, so he asks Wally to take him with the use of the football as a key. Wally admits to Simon that he finally has his door (to the other side) and doesn’t know how to tell Maddie or the others. Simon’s the only one who knows. But for now, instead of thinking of goodbyes, Wally’s eager to help Simon.
In the ending of School Spirits episode 4, Simon and Wally return to the hole at the same time that Dave, Maddie’s father, meets an old nurse who died in the hospital way before him, too. She tells him that they’re not stuck there, but there are spirits from way earlier who are truly stuck forever, and the spirits now refer to them as the forgotten. Meanwhile, Maddie’s scared by her visions, this time seeing the house burn up in flames, so she decides to stay with Xavier. I guess Maddie’s vision is indicating that she’s not doing too well on the inside. She sees her own doll break in her hands, as if she’s the reason for all her problems, almost. The episode ends with one of the Forgotten grabbing Simon, maybe to show him what’s coming for him or to show him what happened in the past. Whatever it is, if they’ve kidnapped him, it’s just gotten much harder for him to come back to the real world.
