Now that Netflix is not moving forward with a second season of The Midnight Club, creator Mike Flanagan has taken to social media to explain all of the unresolved mysteries from season 1 and tease what could have been in season 2.
Trust us, he lays it all out there. Every last detail.
It might seem like a bold move, but it makes sense. Flanagan promised fans that they would learn the answers to burning season 1 questions should the show not be renewed.. What fans didn’t expect was for an announcement that Flanagan and partner Trevor Macy signed a lucrative — and exclusive — overall TV deal with Amazon Studios. Within hours of the announcement, Netflix dropped the axe on The Midnight Club. (Flanagan and Macy still have one show left with Netflix, 2023’s The Fall of the House of Usher.)
With no prospects for the series to continue elsewhere, Flanagan decided to give fans the answers they so desired, along with an incredibly detailed outline of what would have happened in a second season.
If you need a refresher, here’s a handy guide explaining The Midnight Club ending.
What would have happened to Amesh in The Midnight Club?
Flanagan revealed Amesh (Sauriyan Sapkota) would have been the focus at the start of season 2. With his glioblastoma advancing, he’d have one final story to tell before succumbing to his illness. We would also see more from his relationship with Natsuki (Aya Furukawa) and how his death affects her.
In his final moments, he sees the Janitor (Robert Longstreet) from season 1 in his room, offering him some comfort. He’d also be visited by the mysterious Shadow. Amesh’s death would allow for a new patient to enter the house.
What would have happened to Natsuki, Cheri and Spencer in The Midnight Club?
Natsuki’s death would follow Amesh’s, and she’d also be visited by the Janitor and the Shadow.
Cheri (Adia) would have had a chance to tell a story in season 2 and it likely would have been from Christopher Pike’s book Monster. Flanagan said that Netflix optioned close to 30 of Pike’s bestselling YA books, giving him plenty of material to work with.
Spencer (William Chris Sumpter) would soon learn that advancements in HIV treatment would allow him to manage the disease. The show is set in 1994 and the game changing treatments came out in 1995, which would have given the show an opportunity to explore their impact. Since he’d no longer be terminally ill, Spence would be able to leave Brightcliffe and live his life.
What would have happened to Dr. Stanton in The Midnight Club?
Dr. Stanton’s (Heather Langenkamp) story would have taken a turn in season 2. In the first season we saw her with a tattoo and a bald head. Flanagan revealed that she has the tattoo because she’s the daughter of the Paragon cult leader. After discovering her mother’s plans, she turned on her and helped the kids. She grew up and decided to use the property to help undo the horrors of her mother’s legacy by celebrating life.
As for her bald head, it turns out that Stanton was battling cancer in season 1 and was receiving chemotherapy herself. In season 2, Stanton would learn that she’s in remission and then be forced to reckon with caring for patients, especially young patients, who aren’t so fortunate. This would force her to do some deep soul searching.
What would have happened to Ilonka and Kevin in The Midnight Club?
Ilonka (Iman Benson) is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened with Julia Jayne, but she finds herself falling more and more in love with Kevin (Igby Rigney), who might not have been honest about how sick he really is. She comes up with a story for the club to help him “stay alive a little longer” as was the motto in the first season.
Flanagan reveals that the story she’d tell is Pike’s Remember Me, stretching out over five episodes as Ilonka also grapples with her own impending death. In her story, the lead character would be played by Anya. (Flanagan says this is the thing he was most excited to see play out.)
Kevin dies toward the end of the season, and Ilonka dies right after him. They both make some big discoveries at the end of their lives.
It turns out that the mysterious Janitor is only visible to the patients at Brightcliffe because he’s Death and he’s there to offer comfort to the patients as they die. The mysterious Shadow comes from Pike’s Remember Me and is an entity that embodies the person dying. The Shadow takes each person to a “place of understanding and catharsis,” Flanagan says, “preparing them for the next step.”
It also turns out that Ilonka and Kevin are soul mates and the reincarnation of Mirror Man and Cataract Woman, who were actually Stanley Oscar Freelan and his wife, the ones who originally built Brightcliffe. (Stanley Oscar Freelan is a play on Freelan Oscar Stanley who built the famed Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for The Shining.) Ilonka only sees Mirror Man and Kevin only sees Cataract Woman because they were their past lives. It’s also why Ilonka asks Kevin if they knew each other when they first met — they’re “remembering” each other.
As they die, they move on and prepare to be reincarnated again.
Though none of these stories will come to life now that the show has been cancelled, it’s fun imagining what might have been. For now, you can binge the entire season of The Midnight Club on Netflix.
