Written by Corynn Winston
Spoiler Warning: This review references major cliffhangers from School Spirits Season 3.
By its third season, School Spirits faced a challenge that many mystery-driven shows run into: how do you keep the story compelling once the audience already understands the rules of the world? Instead of simply repeating the same formula, Season 3 keeps the series fresh by flipping its central dynamic and leaning heavily into the twists that have always made the show so engaging.
The biggest narrative shift comes from the reversal of the show’s original premise. For the first two seasons, Maddie Nears (Peyton List, Cobra Kai) existed in the ghost realm while her best friend Simon Elroy (Kristian Ventura, Reboot) remained in the living world trying to help solve the mystery surrounding her death. Season three turns that dynamic on its head, placing Maddie back among the living while Simon becomes trapped in the ghost world. That change immediately alters the tone of the season.
What makes this twist effective is that it complicates the emotional structure of the show. Maddie once navigated the afterlife largely on her own, slowly forming connections with spirits like Wally Clark (Milo Manheim, Zombies), Rhonda Rosen (Sarah Yarkin, Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and Charley (Nick Pugliese, Dramarama). Now those relationships exist across a barrier that Maddie can’t fully cross anymore. The show uses that distance to create tension, particularly in Maddie’s relationship with Wally, which becomes even more bittersweet now that they exist in completely different realities.
More importantly, the role reversal forces the series to explore the ghost world from a new perspective. Simon entering that space highlights how strange and restrictive it actually is, reminding viewers that the supernatural rules governing Split River High are far from normal. This shift keeps the show from feeling stagnant, because the story isn’t simply repeating Maddie’s earlier journey, but instead it’s reframing it.
Season 3 also works because it continues to expand the mythology surrounding Split River High. Earlier seasons largely confined the mystery to the school itself, but this season begins to suggest that the supernatural events tied to the building may have deeper roots. The introduction of the abandoned church beneath the school in the ghost realm is one of the most effective examples of how the series raises the stakes. Rather than simply adding another spooky location, the church reframes the mystery entirely, suggesting that the forces trapping the ghosts may be connected to something older than the school itself.
At the same time, the show never loses sight of the relationships that make the story work. Even as the supernatural mystery grows, School Spirits continues to ground its twists in character dynamics. Maddie’s evolving relationship with Xavier Baxter (Spencer MacPherson, The Way Home) reflects how much the characters have grown since the beginning of the series, while the ghosts themselves are given more emotional depth as they begin questioning what their existence in the afterlife actually means.
What ultimately makes School Spirits Season 3 successful is its willingness to disrupt its own structure. Instead of staying comfortable within the boundaries of its earlier seasons, the show introduces twists that push the story outward. The season’s final cliffhangers suggest that the supernatural rules that once confined the ghosts to Split River High may be changing, hinting that the mystery could soon extend beyond the school entirely. That shift opens the door for a much larger story moving forward. School Spirits began as a mystery about one student trapped in the afterlife, but Season 3 makes it clear that the secrets of Split River High may be far bigger than anyone originally thought.
