In Paramount+’s School Spirits Episode “Grave the Last Dance”, Maddie Nears’s (Peyton List) disappearance is now being investigated as a homicide when a possible murder weapon lands a new suspect behind bars the night of Split River High School’s Homecoming dance.
Operation Claire | “Operation Claire” is put into motion when the namesake cheerleader captain accepts Xavier’s (Spencer Macpherson) apology and agrees to be his date to the Homecoming dance. Claire’s (Rainbow Wedell) confirmation panics Xavier, so he consults Simon (Kristian Flores) and Nicole (Kiara Pichardo) over lunch on next steps in the plan to probe her for information on her involvement in Maddie’s disappearance. With Maddie’s input, Simon instructs Xavier to coax their suspect into a confession and record it on his phone. “Charm her,” Maddie says. Simon relays Maddie’s two-cents to Xavier and recruits Nicole to aid him in picking out a suite to woo Claire during the dance.
Soon thereafter, Claire corners Xavier in the boy’s locker room demanding he explain why he had not apologized sooner. Xavier keeps his cool and conveys that he wanted to but needed time to process everything. Claire seems convinced that he genuinely missed her and tells her date that she will be picking him up and driving them to the dance. Claire’s demeanor only adds to his reluctance with the entire operation. He is concerned that he is running into a death trap with their plan, but Simon (and Maddie) will not let him back out. “You owe it to Maddie,” Simon tells Xavier.
The Question | Maddie and Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin) flip through a rack of dusty costumes hung in the school’s drama closet in search of outfits for Homecoming. The two girls discuss Wally’s (Milo Manheim) excitement over the dance. For the first time in almost 40 years since dying at a Homecoming game, Wally is going to the dance with a date. Rhonda can peer right through Maddie’s nonchalant façade and knows she is just as excited to be going with the jock. And then comes the question, which Maddie prefaces her inquiry with telling Rhonda not to laugh: “Can ghosts have sex?” Rhonda can not help but to snicker. “I said we can swell, didn’t I?” Rhonda responds. Just as Maddie unintentionally reveals she died a virgin, Wally waltzes in to check up on her. The awkwardness of their interaction has Rhonda reveling in entertainment.
The Plan | Simon visits Maddie’s mom, Sandra (Maria Dizzia), at her home after she finds an essay Maddie wrote for her college application. Sandra wants him to turn it in for her daughter, but Simon lets her know that Maddie already applied. Maddie, Nicole and he had a plan to attend college together in Chicago so they could remain close after graduating high school. Sandra, still optimistic that Maddie will return home, tells Simon it is still a plan. “I have to believe she’s still coming back,” she tells her daughter’s best friend. Simon knows the truth about Maddie and it weighs his heart to the floor. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” Simon says. Sandra then asks if he has been in contact with Maddie since she has gone missing. There is no way that Simon can tell her the truth – that Maddie has in fact been in contact with him daily and she will not be returning home to Sandra because she has been murdered. Instead, Simon ensures the grieving mother that he will let her know if Maddie reaches him. Sandra tells him she always thought the two of they would be going to the dance together. Simon pulls Sandra in for a hug. “You are her best friend, Simon,” Sandra states. “I don’t know what [Maddie would] do without you.”
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Later that night, Sandra sits on the couch with a bowl of popcorn watching an old timey movie when she hears something in the yard. Startled, she pauses the film to look through the front window but sees nothing. As soon as she settles in to resume her flick, there is a loud banging on the back door. Sandra gasps and jumps to her feet. With a bright flash light, she goes onto the porch and searches the backyard. She shouts “Maddie” into the black of the night. Only silence is returned.
Live Your Death | Charley (Nick Pugliese) has finished his letter to Emilio (Andres Soto), aka Mr. Figueroa, sixteen pages front and back. After reading it, Maddie suggests that he try writing it as if it was written twenty-eight years ago. “I think this should read like 1994 when you were alive,” she tells him. Charley has spent days drafting a letter to Emilio as he wants to apologize for the hurtful things he wrote to him just before his accident with peanut oil. Maddie also recommends that Charley tells the love of his life that he forgives him and once he has read the letter, Charley must learn to forgive himself. “Start living your death,” she encourages.
Gobsmacked | Wally, dressed in a long black tux and white bowtie, emerges from the lawn in front of Split River to pick up Maddie and escort her to the dance. “Beep, beep! Your ride has arrived, m’lady,” Wally says endearingly to his date. Maddie is wearing her scuffed Doc Martin boots and a red tulle gown tailored by another resident ghost, Dawn. Wally, completely gobsmacked by Maddie’s beauty, presents her with a gift for the dance – a corsage made of paper flowers and his jersey number “57” as a little throwback to the 80’s.
When Maddie and Wally arrive to the dance, she finds Simon in a similar state as her date was upon first look at her in a gown. “You look, uh, um…,” Simon stumbles to find words. All he can manage is nervous laughter. To break the tension, Simon lets Maddie know that he’s transcribed Charley’s letter to paper for Mr. Figueroa, aka Emilio. She relays Charley’s gratitude as it could be the thing that allows him to pass over. Simon wonders if solving Maddie’s murder will do the same for her.
Wavy | After a sip of fruit punch, Wally sweeps Maddie to the dance floor to get “wavy”, but Maddie is distracted by the arrival of Claire and Xavier. The site of her cheating ex-boyfriend with her traitor ex-friend preoccupies her from then on. Even when Wally’s jam “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson spins and he hits the dance floor to perform an all-out lip sync and “the worm” dance move. Maddie stands with Charley and Rhonda, who are fully immersed in Wally’s entertainment, but Maddie is unable to enjoy her date’s performance while Claire and Xavier stand elbow to elbow just across the room.
Maddie’s distance from Wally does not go unnoticed and he is crushed. While the two are chatting over more punch, Wally tells her that going to the dance together was a bad idea because she is not ready to be dead yet and he is. Wally’s statement echoes the advice that Maddie had given Charley hours before: Live you death.
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Redemption | Xavier begins to pry into Claire by bringing up Maddie’s backpack being recovered at one of her dad’s properties. Claire promptly derails the conversation by asking him if they will be talking about his old girlfriend all night. Xavier takes the hint and drops it.
Xavier is on edge trying to keep up his end of the investigation because Claire is not budging. He excuses himself to get them a drink and pulls Simon aside to tell him that he cannot handle Claire. Simon cracks and tells him off. “Don’t be a fucking coward,” yells Simon. At this point, Xavier has had enough. He tells Simon he will no longer be his puppet and he breaks off from the group to solve Maddie’s disappearance on his own.
As if to redeem his behavior, Simon gives Emilio the letter Charley wrote. Emilio sits outside the gym, tears streaming down his face as he reads his high school sweetheart’s apology. Charley sits directly in front of him atop a car and watches as Emilio’s heart is finally mended after almost three decades.
Blackmail | Xavier makes another move to get information out of Claire. “Wanna get out of here?” Claire nods and off they go to the boiler room for a make out session. While they are kissing, Xavier pulls out his phone and begins recording audio but Claire catches him. What starts as a heated argument turns into a confession of blackmailing Mr. Anderson. Claire found out their English teacher was stealing donations to the school’s band and forced him to give her an A grade to keep her from turning him in. After the video of an argument between Mr. Anderson and Claire surfaced, they were certain it was Maddie who had recorded them. Claire then stole Maddie’s phone and gave it to Mr. Anderson to dispose of it and told him to give Maddie hush money. Other than that, she had zero involvement in whatever happened to Maddie. Xavier believes her.
A Kiss | Charley and Maddie are seen sitting on the edge of the stage in the gymnasium watching the crowd of living students dancing arm in arm to a slow jam, including Xavier and Claire. After ruining Wally’s night, Maddie slips further into her sadness over the couple’s betrayal. Charley, of all people, understands how it feels to be haunted by a living lover. He turns Maddie’s own advice on her and challenges her to also forgive and begin living her death. Charley’s words strike a chord for Maddie and she heads outside to find Wally laying in the football field. After apologizing for upending Wally’s night, she kisses him.
The Murder Weapon | Sheriff Baxter (Ian Tracey) shows up at Sandra’s home and tells her that deputies have found a possible murder weapon back at the abandoned house where Maddie’s backpack was located – a crow bar taken from Split River High School. Sandra crumbles in agony to the floor over the new revelation that her daughter was killed and is never returning home.
Authorities trace the tool back to Mr. South (Peter New), the janitor of the school, and take him into custody.
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