By Sara Ashton

Contains spoilers for episode 5.

These characters are coming into their own in this episode as more backstories are revealed, even the dead ones.

This episode follows directly on from the cliffhanger with Claire, and the same question is on everybody’s lips… what was she doing having her teacher’s phone number? Rainbow Wedell plays this character with a gripping intensity that keeps the audience wondering whether Claire is guilty of having something to do with what happened to Maddie, or was it something else?

It is a treat to revisit the dead club as they have a groupchat, all while decorating for some event which seemed unfamiliar to begin with. But the banter between these dead friends.. Or acquaintances are a great addition to the show which mostly engages in heavy storylines, so it is good to have their banter, even in death which breaks it up a bit.

We then learn that Claire and Maddie were neighbours growing up, and not is all that it seems. They appear to share similar backstories, however Maddie appears to have pushed Claire away and clearly regrets it.

Maddie’s backpack also gets found, which adds more mystery to this tale. Who has her backpack? The killer? Was it found somewhere and ended up in this house which Xavier knows? 

Simon and Nicole do clash heads in this episode over their differences, but ultimately they want the same thing – to discover what happened to Maddie – despite Xavier. These teens should put all that behind them in her name, in my opinion. 

We then learn that the reason the dead friend group – who I once likened to The Breakfast Club – are celebrating, or honouring the anniversary of Wally’s death. It seems tradition for these dead souls, but I suppose they have nothing better to do!

Maddie’s mom shows up again in this episode, and is sober. This is a rare sighting for the teen which results in some contemplating moments for her. Peyton List plays into the emotional vulnerability with poignance. She wishes to put her investigation on hold for her mom, if it means she gets to remain sober.

Claire and Anderson also buttheads in this episode. Yes – there’s a lot going on. Prior to this, Simon discovered Claire was receiving straight As on her essay in class but kept turning in exactly the same paper supposedly for different books. Everything between these two keeps getting more and more shady, even as the seconds go by at this point.

Claire seems hung up on asking Anderson whether he mentioned her when he spoke to the police – why? It almost seems too obvious that Claire would be the one who sent Maddie to an early grave. I have a small suspicion there is more going on between these two characters than we realise, especially when a video surfaces of Anderson and Claire arguing in what appears to be the school parking lot. The video had to be recorded by someone, right? Perhaps it was Maddie? Who knows.

This episode also proved that even ghosts have their demons… 

Maddie and Wally open up to one another in an emotional exchange where they discuss their moms. Even in death, Wally seems to be stuck in a rut regarding what his mom wanted for him. This results in emotional exchanges and truthful moments between these characters as List and Manheim channel this emotional, charged energy.

Simon hatches a plan to attempt to uncover the truth about Claire – his idea being Xavier asking Claire to the homecoming dance, even when Xavier is in her bad books… Good idea? We shall see. Will the cheerleader crack? Time will tell. 

Maddie revisits the place where she woke up, down in the basement of the school. She and Simon discover a fallout shelter – being able to converse down there meaning someone had to die in that specific place for this to have occurred…

On the surface, Nicole is exchanging words with Maddie’s mom. Nicole seems to be very on edge as she opens her car to put something into the trunk. Maybe I’m just on edge and am reading too much into things? But she has officially made it onto my suspect list. Kiara Pichardo does a great job at projecting some kind of urgency from this character, it appears uncomfortable – perhaps she is hiding a secret? 

Another standout from this episode is Rhonda’s desperation to crossover from the dead club to find peace. And who can blame her? I’m sure as the episodes progress, she will either get what she wants or we shall see her tough exterior soften as a result of Maddie. These ghosts are sure to work together at some point or other! Maybe we will see them at homecoming if we’re lucky?

As far as episodes go, this was a slower one but things did pick up midway through.

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