And we're back! The house fire is out, and Simon, Xavier, Nicole, and Claire are on the hunt for Janet, hoping she made it out alive. Meanwhile, Maddie and the teen ghost gang continue working together to figure out the mystery behind Janet and Mr. Martin's falling out. What was their master plan? Here's everything that goes down in the third episode of School Spirits season 2, titled "Can't Hauntly Wait."
Spoilers ahead from the third episode of School Spirits season 2!
Actually, maybe Mr. Martin is the problem...
The third episode kicks off with Simon, Nicole, Xavier, and Claire combing through the aftermath of the house fire, searching for any evidence that Janet may have survived. Later, Xavier shares that he spoke with the police and learned that no one perished in the fire. This means Janet is still out there. Where could she be? Meanwhile, Maddie’s mom, Sandra, is preparing to identify a body at the morgue. Although she doesn’t want to face the possibility that her daughter is gone, she needs closure and hopes for answers about Maddie’s fate. Of course, we know that the body isn't Maddie's since she's still alive.
Alright. We know where Janet is now. She's made her way to a grocery store to buy food and other essentials, trying to stay under the radar as she navigates her next move. But things take a turn when Janet accidentally leaves her bag in the store’s restroom, and someone steals it. As she searches for her bag, Janet spots two college students loading groceries into their car. Believing they have her bag, she decides to approach them. However, their bag turns out not to be her bag.
The students assume Janet goes to the same college and offer her a ride back to campus. While Janet initially declines their offer, she changes her mind after she sees one of the store employees talking to another. The other store employee starts calling someone on his phone, and Janet panics, thinking he might be calling the police. That's why she takes the two college girls up on their offer.
At Split River High, Maddie and the teen ghosts discuss what they learned about Janet and Mr. Martin so far. They know that Janet and Mr. Martin were working together on crossing over, and that's why they were keeping their personal belongings and documenting their traumas. However, what they don't understand is why Janet and Mr. Martin were keeping their items from them. They know there's an importance to the death items, and they’re determined to figure out what that importance is. They’re also focused on understanding why Janet and Mr. Martin’s partnership fell apart.
At Nicole's house, she and Xavier continue to exchange messages on the online paranormal discussion board, bonding over their shared interest in ghosts. However, neither of them realizes they’re actually talking to each other, as they’re using random usernames. Suddenly, Claire bursts into Nicole’s room, grumbling about a run-in with Nicole’s brother in the restroom. Nicole’s brother, Diego, enters the room, and it’s clear that some chemistry might be building between him and Claire. In this scene, we also learn that Diego is a college student.
Back at Split River High, Xavier approaches Simon and asks if he can pass a message along to Maddie on his behalf. However, Simon tells him that he can't. With no word on Janet’s whereabouts, Simon doesn’t want to be the one to deliver the bad news to Maddie. So, he's basically hiding from her. Elsewhere at Spilt River High, Sandra sits in a support group meeting but leaves after Mr. Anderson shows up. He follows her outside, and they have a brief conversation. Sandra explains that she’s going to a nearby river, where a body has been found. Remember, she's thinking that Maddie's body may eventually turn up. Concerned, Mr. Anderson suggests she shouldn’t go alone and invites himself on the trip.
On the trip, Mr. Anderson offers Sandra some advice. He tells her that constantly visiting different places in hopes of finding Maddie's body will take a serious toll on her mental health. As Sandra listens, it seems like she's receptive to what he's saying.
Janet and the two students finally arrive at Western Wisconsin University. The girls invite Janet to their party later that evening, but she doesn’t commit. Janet decides to roam the campus and unknowingly runs into Diego. As she continues walking, Diego stares at her in shock. Diego has no clue about the body-swapping situation and believes that who he just saw was Maddie. That's why he's so surprised to see her.
Back at Split River High, Nicole and Claire are sitting together in the cafeteria when Nicole gets a text from Diego, saying he thinks he just spotted Maddie at his school. Simon is also getting himself lunch in the cafeteria, but Maddie interrupts him. She asks if he has any updates on Janet’s whereabouts, and Simon admits that Janet set fire to the farmhouse. Maddie presses him for an explanation, but Simon avoids the question. Hearing Nicole and Claire call him over, he heads toward them. Nicole then shows Simon the text her brother sent. Maddie storms off.
At Western Wisconsin University, Simon, Nicole, Claire, and Xavier show students on campus a picture of Maddie on their phones, hoping someone will recognize her and say they've seen her. However, no one pays attention and simply walks past them. Later, while scrolling through the "Western Wisconsin University" tag on social media, Claire stumbles upon a photo posted by a student. In the background, she spots Maddie/Janet. Simon recognizes the location in the image, and they all head there. The location is the dorms where the two college girls from earlier are staying. Their party is now in full effect, and Simon, Xavier, Nicole, and Claire are determined to find Janet.
Back at Split River High, Maddie urges Rhonda, Wally, and Charley to recall any details from the past that might shed light on why Janet and Mr. Martin had a falling out. When they struggle to remember anything, Maddie asks about Janet’s last day, hoping it will jog their memory. Wally then recalls that Mr. Martin threw Janet a birthday party on her last day to lift her spirits. The episode shifts to a flashback.
What we learn from the flashback is that Janet was going to tell Rhonda, Wally, and Charley about what she and Mr. Martin had been working on, but she never got the chance to because she had a big fight with Mr. Martin that led to her being locked up in the fallout shelter. The fight stemmed from a watch that Mr. Martin gifted her on her birthday. While everyone else is partying, Rhonda overhears them arguing. Furious, Janet asks Mr. Martin why he gave her the watch. He responds by saying it's hers and explains that he gave it to her as a symbol of them continuing their work. The work he refers to is their experiments, but Janet no longer wanted to be a part of it. Before walking away, Janet tells Mr. Martin that she'll do something herself and "give them all away."
Back in the present, Rhonda deduces that when Janet said, "give them all away," she was referring to all their personal belongings. She believes that Janet wanted to reveal the truth and return their death items, but was ultimately stopped by Mr. Martin.
We're then taken back to Western Wisconsin University, where Simon, Xavier, Nicole, and Claire search for Janet at the party. Nicole and Claire spot her walking through the house and follow her. After taking clothes and a bag from a room, Janet tries to leave, but one of the college girls from earlier stops her. Nicole notices them arguing and attempts to approach, but the sound of sirens causes everyone at the party to start scattering.
As Claire and Diego talk outside the house, Claire notices Janet coming her way. However, it's important to mention that Claire still doesn't think that Janet is possessing Maddie's body. She thinks who she's seeing is actually Maddie. That's why when Claire approaches her, she calls her Maddie. Claire basically tells Janet that everything will be okay and that she can come back home. Janet just stares at her in shock. Suddenly, Nicole and Xavier show up with a drunk Simon, and Janet uses this time to escape.
At Split River High, Rhonda walks through the halls, holding her college acceptance letter aka her death item. She becomes emotional as she relives the day she died. She eventually comes to a stop in front of Mr. Anderson's room, which used to be the guidance counselor's office. This is where she was strangled to death by Mr. Manfredo. Rhonda approaches the classroom door and notices a glowing red light coming from the bottom. This is the same type of red light Wally saw in episode 2.
Rhonda enters the classroom, and the experience of reliving her death continues. However, she runs out of the classroom just as Mr. Manfredo is about to grab her in the memory. As the door to Mr. Anderson's room shuts, the glowing red light fades. But when Rhonda approaches the classroom again to pick up the death item she dropped, the bright red light appears again. That's weird. What could this mean?
Elsewhere, Maddie, Charley, and Wally discuss the new information they have about Janet and Mr. Martin. During their conversation, Maddie comes to the realization that the watch Mr. Martin gifted Janet on her birthday is actually Janet's death item. Dun dun duuun!
After leaving the party, Simon, Nicole, Xavier, and Claire arrive at Nicole's house. While Nicole and Claire head inside, Simon and Xavier get into the car to go home. Before driving off, they have a heart-to-heart conversation. Xavier promises to help Simon break the news to Maddie about losing Janet, and Simon assures him that he’ll help pass along any messages he has for Maddie.
The final scene of the episode shows Sandra arriving home. As she's about to walk to her door, she notices someone watching her from a distance. It's Janet! However, unaware of the body-swapping, Sandra calls out Maddie's name instead. Janet then speaks, saying, "Hi, Mom." Overcome with emotion, Sandra rushes to her and embraces her. The episode ends as the screen cuts to the credits.
Wow! What an episode. Why did Janet decide to come back? Could it be because of what Claire said?Whatever her reason is for returning, it can't be good. I highly doubt she's suddenly going to have a change of heart and give Maddie her body back.
A new episode of School Spirits season 2 will be released on Paramount+ next Thursday. Stay tuned for our recap!