Will Maddie reclaim her body from Janet? That's been the main question lingering throughout School Spirits season 2. Fortunately, the season 2 finale, which just dropped on Paramount+, finally delivers an answer. But it also raises even more questions. The second season doesn't end with a neat resolution but instead leaves fans with unresolved storylines and a cliffhanger that deepens the mystery. A School Spirits season 3 seems almost inevitable as the season 2 finale sets up even more complex layers to the story. Paramount+ just needs to give the green light!
But that's not the focus of this article. We're here to assist those who might have missed some details while watching the season 2 finale. Below, we've provided a breakdown of everything that happened in episode 8 of School Spirits, titled "Fire, Talk to Me."
There are School Spirits season 2 finale spoilers ahead! Proceed with caution!
Mr. Martin returns to Split River High
The School Spirits season 2 finale opens with Maddie, Simon, Janet, and the other teen ghosts waiting for Mr. Martin’s arrival at the school. Janet assures the others that he will come back because he wants her. Their plan is to force him to swap bodies back with Mr. Anderson and hold him accountable for his actions. They also want answers on why he did everything he did.
Once Mr. Martin arrives, they lure him into the school’s auditorium, setting a trap by making him believe he’s speaking to Janet. As he reaches out to grab what he thinks is her, his hand passes through her, revealing he's actually reaching for Maddie. At that moment, Simon emerges from behind the stage curtains, and a confrontation ensues. As Mr. Martin gains the upper hand, Janet unexpectedly appears and tases him. Mr. Anderson arrives at this moment as well.
With Mr. Martin now restrained, Mr. Anderson works to make him feel guilty for his wrongdoings, and it starts to have an effect. Mr. Martin begins to unravel under the pressure, growing emotionally distressed. This was part of their strategy. In his weakened state, they're able to force him to switch bodies back with Mr. Anderson. It's similar to how Janet took control of Maddie’s body. Maddie was in a vulnerable position, giving Janet the opportunity to possess her. Once Mr. Martin is at his breaking point, Simon pushes him into Mr. Anderson, forcing him out of his body and returning Mr. Anderson to his own.
Mr. Anderson leaves the school and heads to the police station, where he finds Sheriff Baxter and Sandra in conversation. He informs them that he has crucial information about Maddie and urges them to come with him immediately. Meanwhile, Maddie and the others bring Mr. Martin to the entrance of the fallout shelter for questioning. Mr. Martin begins by apologizing and then asserts that his intentions were always good and that he had everyone's best interests at heart. He reveals that there is more to Split River High than they currently understand.
He then turns to Janet and tells her he's ready to explain everything, but only if she returns to her body first. Janet agrees to go along with it, and she and Maddie begin preparing to switch bodies. After heartfelt conversations and emotional goodbyes, Janet exits Maddie's body and tells Simon to catch her. Now, all Maddie has to do is enter her own body again, and she'll be back in the living world. But she hesitates. In that moment of doubt, Nicole, Claire, and Xavier burst through the door to reveal something crucial about Mr. Martin.
Mr. Martin was responsible for the chemistry lab fire
In the previous episode, Janet admitted to being responsible for the chemistry lab fire, but this episode reveals that Mr. Martin was actually behind it. While Maddie, Simon, and the others confront Mr. Martin at Split River High, Nicole and Claire arrive at the Red Pine Village nursing home to find information on the 1958 chemistry lab fire.
Eugene, an old friend and classmate of Janet's, never believed the official story about the fire. He believed there was more to it, so he tried to open up an investigation several times. Unfortunately, no one took him seriously, so he eventually dropped the matter. However, he kept the information he gathered about the fire and Janet's death and put it in the storage room of the nursing room he resides at. He told Nicole this in a previous episode.
Nicole and Claire are left with no choice but to break into the storage room at Red Pine since they don't have a key. While rummaging through the boxes, Xavier suddenly shows up. They find a VHS tape including coverage from the 1958 fire, and place it in a VCR. The tape consists of an old interview of Eugene talking about the fire. In the tape, he reveals that he knows for certain that Janet's strict father was the reason Mr. Martin was fired from Split River High. He explains that he heard them talking about it the day after Janet passed away. He tells the interviewer that he believes Mr. Martin deliberately started the fire as an act of revenge.
Later in the episode, Nicole, Claire, and Xavier share what they've discovered with Maddie and the others. We also hear the true account of the fire directly from Mr. Martin. He reveals that he never intended for Janet's death to happen. It was purely an accident. Angry at being fired by the school district, he had initially planned to burn down the school but backed out at the last moment. However, he had already released gas into the lab, and unbeknownst to him, Janet had been testing flint torches. When she entered the room and lit a flame, it ignited the gas, causing a fire to break out.
Mr. Martin and Janet's scars somehow combine
After Nicole, Claire, and Xavier reveal to Maddie and the others that Mr. Martin was responsible for the chemistry lab fire, Mr. Martin quickly grabs Janet and drags her into the fallout shelter before slamming the door. Once inside the scar, Janet soon realizes that they’re not just in her scar. Somehow, their two scars have merged.
Mr. Martin tells Janet that if she says she forgives him out loud, they’ll be able to leave. But Janet is confused, unsure of what she's supposed to be forgiving him for. She demands to know the truth about the fire. Meanwhile, the teen ghosts try to figure out a way to get inside the fallout shelter. Simon opens the door for them, but they find the scar closed. They then decide to go through all their scars, which will eventually lead them to Mr. Martin and Janet's scars.
Outside the fallout shelter, Simon warns Maddie that she needs to return to her body now or she'll die. However, Maddie doesn't want to leave her spirit friends behind since they're in trouble. As mentioned in the previous episode, Janet revealed that she and Mr. Martin believed that if all the spirits entered their scars at the same time, it would generate a tremendous amount of energy that would overpower the electromagnetic barrier surrounding the school and allow them to break free. At that moment, Maddie realizes it's a trap and she must get to her spirit friends as soon as possible.
She looks over at her unconscious body on the floor and sees her necklace glowing red. Her necklace is her key to her scar! She takes the necklace and tells Simon to keep her alive before entering her scar. Once Maddie enters her scar, she finds her feet glued to the floor as the fallout shelter fills with water. Strange versions of her mom and dad also appear in her scar. As she swims her way back to the surface, Wally stretches out his hand in the water and pulls her up. The other teen ghosts have made it to Maddie's scar as well. After rescuing Maddie, they find the door into Mr. Martin and Janet's scars.
Mr. Martin paces back and forth before abruptly stopping and staring into the distance. Maddie follows his gaze and spots a fake version of Janet. At that moment, she realizes the truth. Mr. Martin keeps returning to the school because he feels guilty for causing Janet's death. She’s haunting him, and he won't find peace until she crosses over. After everyone learns the truth about the fire, an emotional Janet then expresses her disappointment in not being able to make anything out of her life. Suddenly, a glowing exit door appears in Janet's scar.
Mr. Martin immediately starts running to it, hoping to escape, but Janet knocks him down before he can. She vents her anger at him, then takes his watch (his key). Maddie urges her to cross over now, but Janet refuses, explaining that she’s not ready because she still has unfinished business. Janet and the others then leave the scars, trapping Mr. Martin inside his own.
Maddie returns in her body
After emerging from the scars, Maddie scans her surroundings but quickly realizes that Simon, her other living friends, and even her physical body are nowhere in sight. Unbeknownst to her, they’ve moved her body outside as paramedics arrive. Simon begs for the paramedics not to take Maddie's body past a certain point because he knows that if they do, her body won't be able to go with them. However, they don't listen to him. Simon then runs back into the school to find Maddie. But when he returns to the fallout shelter, he can't find Maddie anywhere. All he sees is a glowing red light coming from the room. Uh oh!
Meanwhile, Maddie and the teen ghosts rush outside just in time to see her body being loaded into the ambulance. With one final round of emotional goodbyes, Maddie sprints toward the ambulance and leaps back into her body. Later, she wakes up in a hospital room, surrounded by her mother, Nicole, Claire, and Xavier. The first thing she asks is where Simon is. They explain that he went back to find her but assure her that he'll return soon.
Sandra, Nicole, and Claire step out of the room, leaving Xavier behind. He takes the opportunity to apologize to Maddie, and she appears to accept it. Just then, Maddie’s deceased father enters the room. Xavier acknowledges him with a casual "hey" and a wave. Confused, Maddie asks Xavier who he’s talking to. That’s when he casually mentions that he forgot to tell her something. He tells her that he's met her dad. Maddie stares at him in shock. How can Xavier still see spirits if he's alive?
Elsewhere, Wally decides to go back into his scar and looks around. Suddenly, a glowing exit door appears. It seems that's what he was looking for. Now that Maddie has returned to the living world, he's done being at the school. He's ready to cross over. He takes a step toward the door, but we don't actually see him enter it.
Simon is in Mr. Martin's Scar
The most jaw-dropping moment in the School Spirits season 2 finale comes with its cliffhanger ending. The day after Maddie returns to her body, Janet makes the bold decision to step back into Mr. Martin's scar. She’s determined to confront him, seeking answers about the school and the mysterious dangers he claimed to be protecting them from. However, when she enters the scar, she doesn't only see Mr. Martin. Simon is in there, too. Huh? How could this be? Well, that's for a potential School Spirits season 3 to explore.
However, there are several possible explanations for how Simon ended up in the scar. One theory is that he's still alive and somehow found his way inside. Simon was searching for Maddie, and when he returned to the fallout shelter, he saw a glowing red light emanating from the room. This was a sign that a scar had opened. Up until now, only spirits have been able to enter scars and they would usually need keys to do so. Simon isn't a spirit, nor did he have Mr. Martin's key to enter his scar. So, he shouldn't have been able to cross over. But Mr. Martin had previously hinted that there was more to the school than they understood. Perhaps living people can enter scars under certain circumstances, and a key may not always be required.
Another possibility is that Simon has become a spirit, and that's how he was able to enter the scar. However, it's unclear how that could have happened. We never saw him die at the school, nor did we witness any spirit taking over his body. Whatever the reason is for Simon ending up in Mr. Martin's scar, it leaves viewers with more questions than answers.
We'll keep you updated on the School Spirits renewal process for a potential third season. So, stay tuned to Show Snob!