The Midnight Club - Season Two
I'm very disappointed that Netflix has decided not to pursue a second season of THE MIDNIGHT CLUB.
My biggest disappointment is that we left so many story threads open, holding them back for the hypothetical second season, which is always a gamble.
So I'm writing this blog as our official second season, so you can know what might have been, learn the fates of your favorite characters, and know the answers to those dangling story threads from the first season.
So for those of you who want to know what we were planning to do, here's a look at what would have been season 2!
AMESH Season 2 would open with Amesh, his glioblastoma advancing quickly. He would tell the first story of the season, but would be struggling to make it through. We'd focus on his love story with Natsuki for those first few episodes as it becomes clear that Amesh's death is imminent.
Meanwhile, Ilonka is trying to reconcile how she was fooled by Julia Jayne, all while falling further in love with Kevin, and she realizes he may be fading faster than he lets on.
Ilonka begins a serialized story in an effort to encourage him to "stay alive a little longer," like he did in season one. And the story she tells is... REMEMBER ME.
This was the thing I was most excited about for this season.
REMEMBER ME is one of my all-time favorite Pike books - it tells the story of a teenage girl who is pushed off a balcony, and awakens as a ghost. She has to navigate being a spirit while trying to solve her own murder. We would have stretched this story out over 5 episodes. We were going to use it as a vehicle for Ilonka to try to come to terms with the fact that she is going to die, and to begin to trying to wrap her head around being a ghost... but this is the coolest part... the lead character of Ilonka's story wouldn't be played by Ilonka. She'd be played by...
Anya.
Because this is how we live on, isn't it? In the minds of those we leave behind. And Ilonka would use REMEMBER ME as a way to imagine her dear friend Anya, waking up as a ghost, navigating the afterlife. And this sets up one of the best mechanisms of the show - even if a character dies, as long as they're remembered by members of the club, they live on in their stories.
As the story starts to pick up steam, though, the group will have to deal with the death of Amesh, which he greets with grace and bravery.
In his final moments, he sees someone in his room - the Janitor from the first season, as played by Robert Longstreet, who says comforting things to Amesh even though he can't respond.
In his final, final moments, the SHADOW descends upon Amesh, and he is engulfed into it, which reinforces the idea that the Shadow is DEATH...
With Amesh's death comes something that upends the entire thing: a NEW PATIENT. We didn't work out too much about who this would be, but it would be a new roommate for Ilonka. Someone taking Anya's old bed. Ilonka would find herself being initially cold to her - just as Anya was when Ilonka arrived. Even feeling like this new girl shouldn't necessarily be ushered into the Club. But of course they would develop a beautiful friendship over the course of the season. The new girl joins the club, where something else exciting is happening - Cheri is telling a story. We hadn't decided which one, but I think it might have been MONSTER.
Natsuki would be the next to die, which would be heartbreaking. And again, she would talk to the janitor just before it happened... and again, the Shadow would come in the final moments.
For Spence, though, things would take a different turn.
The advancements in HIV treatment in the late 90's would come into play, and we'd see his prognosis change. The HIV cocktail came out in Dec 1995, and we really wanted to explore that.
Spence would ride the swell of antiviral advancements, and by the end of the season, he'd no longer be classified as terminal. In the finale of season 2, Spence would leave Brightcliffe just like Sandra did in Season 1, heading off to manage his disease and live the rest of his life.
But onto the BIG MYSTERIES of the season one... here are some answers: What is up with Dr. Stanton's tattoo and bald head? Well, a few things. First, Dr. Stanton is actually the daughter of the original Paragon cult leader, Aceso. Her nickname was Athena, she wrote the Paragon journal that Ilonka found in S1. She turned on her mother and helped the kids escape, but because she was part of the cult in her teenage years, she had the tattoo.
It was her initials that Ilonka found carved into the tree in season 1 (her maiden name was Georgina Ballard, hence the G.B. that Ilonka finds carved in the tree).
She hated what her mother became, and the atrocities of the cult. She reclaimed the property after her mom was gone, and wanted to change it into a place that celebrated life. She was trying to undo her mother's legacy and leave something behind that was beautiful. She is wearing a wig at the end of S1 not because of a sinister reason, but because she is undergoing chemo. Dr. Stanton has cancer. Having helped so many people deal with disease, she now has to deal with it herself.
Her treatment would be successful, and she'd go into remission, but having to face that - while caring for the terminal kids at Brightcliffe - was going to be a very introspective arc for Stanton.
What about the Living Shadow? It's Death, right? Well... no.
At the end of the season, Kevin will die... followed shortly by Ilonka. And as she is dying, two things will happen. First, she'll find herself talking to the Janitor, played by Robert Longstreet... and she'll make a discovery.
HE is Death. And nothing to be afraid of. It turns out no one else ever saw this character. Stanton has a cleaning service, and the Nurse practitioners make up the rooms - the only people who ever saw this mysterious Janitor were the patients. He is Death, and offers them kind words before they die. Then what was the Shadow?
This is an idea we take directly from the book REMEMBER ME, and we'll see it play out in the final moments of Ilona's final tale. In Pike's book, Shari is pursued by a dark entity called The Shadow. When it finally catches her, though, it turns out it is not a bad thing at all.
The Shadow is THEMSELVES. It's the Unknown. As it engulfs someone, in the last moment of their life, it takes them through a place of understanding and catharsis, preparing them for the next step.
THIS is what happened to Anya in S1 when the Shadow finally reached her - that's why she fantasized a life beyond Brightcliffe, which ultimately let her find acceptance of her death. It looks different for everybody, depending on their mind-set - because it is simply an extension of themselves.
The Shadow is just the final catharsis, a return to our original form - it is a moment of true understanding, and once we experience it, we move on to the next place.
We see the Shadow in full effect when it finally comes for Kevin. KEVIN DIES with Ilonka at his side, and it leads to the biggest reveal of the season:
Who were the Mirror Man and the Cataract Woman?
They were Stanley Oscar Freelan and his wife, who built Brightcliffe (fun trivia, he is named after the real-life Freelan Oscar Stanley, who built my favorite hotel in America - the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley is also the inspiration for THE SHINING!).
But more than that... there's a reason that Ilonka only sees Stanley in the mirror, and sees the Cataract Woman whenever she looked at Kevin. This is something else we took from Pike's original book... these aren't ghosts, but glimpses of PAST LIVES.
Ilonka WAS Stanley Oscar Freelan, and Kevin WAS his wife. They've lived many lives this way, and are true SOUL MATES - they always find each other, and they always fall in love. In this life, they knew it would be a short one, so they agreed to find each other in the house they built. They've been "remembering" who they are, and glimpsing their former selves in reflections, and sometimes when they look at each other. This is also why Ilonka's very first words to Kevin in S1 were "Do I know you?" and why Kevin thought she was familiar as well. They are two souls who always find each other, again and again.
The story is this: Stanley was dying, and built this cliffside home hoping that the seaside air would help him. It did, and he far outlived his prognosis (this is also true of the real-life Freelan Stanley). However, his wife began to succumb to dementia.
She would wander the halls, looking for him ("Darling!") and would even forget to feed herself ("I'm starving...") and she eventually refused to leave the basement. Heartbroken for her, Stanley painted the walls to resemble the woodland view, and the ceiling to resemble the night sky, so that it would be a little more beautiful for her.
He also painted a labyrinth on the floor, which was a technique used to try to curb the effects of dementia. She'd walk the pattern of the maze and it was believed it could help her cognition. Eventually, she developed frightening cataracts, but Stanley loved her through it all.
They were soul mates.
So while they seemed scary in season 1, that was just how Ilonka and Kevin's mind were trying to remember their pasts. We even had their faces distorting in ways consistent with how memories degrade over time. When the Shadow comes for Ilonka, and gives her this understanding - this "remembering" - she realizes she has nothing to fear. She and Kevin will shed these personas and be reborn, and have the joy of finding each other another way. The Shadow comes for her, Death takes her gently, and Ilonka goes off with Kevin back into the cosmos, ready for their next incarnation. The series would end with Cheri telling this story to a whole new table of patients, including our new series leads. Most of our original cast now would exist as stories, a story told to the next "class" of storytellers at the table, all of whom we will have met by the end of the season. A story called "The Midnight Club."
Well, that's it... that was what we had in mind. It's a shame we won't get to make it, but it would be a bigger shame if you guys simply had to live with the unanswered questions and the cliffhanger ending. I loved making this show, and I am so proud of the cast and crew. Particularly our cast, who attacked this story with incredible spirit and bravery each and every day.
But for now, we'll put the fire out, and leave the library dark and quiet. To those before, and to those after. To us now, and to those beyond.
Seen or unseen, here but not here.
I'll always be grateful that I got to be part of this Club.
I want to live by myself when I move out of my parent's place but I'm really afraid of money problems? I'm afraid that the only place I can afford will be in the ghetto and it'll all be torn apart and I'll only be allowed to eat one granola bar a week. I'm really stressing out about this. I don't know anything about after school life. I don't know anything about paying bills or how to buy an apartment and it's really scaring me. is there anything you know that can help me?
HI darling,
I’ve actually got a super wonderful masterpost for you to check out:
Home
- what the hell is a mortgage?
- first apartment essentials checklist
- how to care for cacti and succulents
- the care and keeping of plants
- Getting an apartment
Money
- earn rewards by taking polls
- how to coupon
- what to do when you can’t pay your bills
- see if you’re paying too much for your cell phone bill
- how to save money
- How to Balance a Check Book
- How to do Your Own Taxes
Health
- how to take care of yourself when you’re sick
- things to bring to a doctor’s appointment
- how to get free therapy
- what to expect from your first gynecologist appointment
- how to make a doctor’s appointment
- how to pick a health insurance plan
- how to avoid a hangover
- a list of stress relievers
- how to remove a splinter
Emergency
- what to do if you get pulled over by a cop
- a list of hotlines in a crisis
- things to keep in your car in case of an emergency
- how to do the heimlich maneuver
Job
- time management
- create a resume
- find the right career
- how to pick a major
- how to avoid a hangover
- how to interview for a job
- how to stop procrastinating
- How to write cover letters
Travel
- ULTIMATE PACKING LIST
- Traveling for Cheap
- Travel Accessories
- The Best Way to Pack a Suitcase
- How To Read A Map
- How to Apply For A Passport
- How to Make A Travel Budget
Better You
- read the news
- leave your childhood traumas behind
- how to quit smoking
- how to knit
- how to stop biting your nails
- how to stop procrastinating
- how to stop skipping breakfast
- how to stop micromanaging
- how to stop avoiding asking for help
- how to stop swearing constantly
- how to stop being a pushover
- learn another language
- how to improve your self-esteem
- how to sew
- learn how to embroider
- how to love yourself
- 100 tips for life
Apartments/Houses/Moving
- Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 1: Are You Sure? (The Responsible One)
- Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 2: Finding the Damn Apartment (The Responsible One)
- Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 3: Questions to Ask about the Damn Apartment (The Responsible One)
- Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 4: Packing and Moving All of Your Shit (The Responsible One)
- How to Protect Your Home Against Break-Ins (The Responsible One)
Education
- How to Find a Fucking College (The Sudden Adult)
- How to Find Some Fucking Money for College (The Sudden Adult)
- What to Do When You Can’t Afford Your #1 Post-Secondary School (The Sudden Adult)
- Stop Shitting on Community College Kids (Why Community College is Fucking Awesome) (The Responsible One)
- How to Ask for a Recommendation Letter (The Responsible One)
- How to Choose a College Major (The Sudden Adult)
Finances
- How to Write a Goddamn Check (The Responsible One)
- How to Convince Credit Companies You’re Not a Worthless Bag of Shit (The Responsible One)
- Debit vs Credit (The Responsible One)
- What to Do if Your Wallet is Stolen/Lost (The Sudden Adult)
- Budgeting 101 (The Responsible One)
- Important Tax Links to Know (The Responsible One)
- How to Choose a Bank Without Screwing Yourself (The Responsible One)
Job Hunting
- How to Write a Resume Like a Boss (The Responsible One)
- How to Write a Cover Letter Someone Will Actually Read (The Responsible One)
- How to Handle a Phone Interview without Fucking Up (The Responsible One)
- 10 Sites to Start Your Job Search (The Responsible One)
Life Skills
- Staying in Touch with Friends/Family (The Sudden Adult)
- Bar Etiquette (The Sudden Adult)
- What to Do After a Car Accident (The Sudden Adult)
- Grow Up and Buy Your Own Groceries (The Responsible One)
- How to Survive Plane Trips (The Sudden Adult)
- How to Make a List of Goals (The Responsible One)
- How to Stop Whining and Make a Damn Appointment (The Responsible One)
Miscellaneous
- What to Expect from the Hell that is Jury Duty (The Responsible One)
Relationships
- Marriage: What the Fuck Does It Mean and How the Hell Do I Know When I’m Ready? (Guest post - The Northwest Adult)
- How Fucked Are You for Moving In with Your Significant Other: An Interview with an Actual Real-Life Couple Living Together™ (mintypineapple and catastrofries)
Travel & Vehicles
- How to Winterize Your Piece of Shit Vehicle (The Responsible One)
- How to Make Public Transportation Your Bitch (The Responsible One)
Other Blog Features
Asks I’ll Probably Need to Refer People to Later
- Apartments (or Life Skills) - How Not to Live in Filth (The Sudden Adult)
- Finances - Tax Basics (The Responsible One)
- Important Documents - How to Get a Copy of Your Birth Certificate (The Responsible One)
- Important Documents - How to Get a Replacement ID (The Responsible One)
- Health - How to Deal with a Chemical Burn (The Responsible One)
- Job Hunting - List of Jobs Based on Social Interaction Levels (The Sudden Adult)
- Job Hunting - How to Avoid Falling into a Pit of Despair While Job Hunting (The Responsible One)
- Job Hunting - Questions to Ask in an Interview (The Responsible One)
- Life Skills - First-Time Flying Tips (The Sudden Adult)
- Life Skills - How to Ask a Good Question (The Responsible One)
- Life Skills - Reasons to Take a Foreign Language (The Responsible One)
- Life Skills - Opening a Bar Tab (The Sudden Adult)
- Relationships - Long Distance Relationships: How to Stay in Contact (The Responsible One)
Adult Cheat Sheet:
- what to do if your pet gets lost
- removing stains from your carpet
- how to know if you’re eligible for food stamps
- throwing a dinner party
- i’m pregnant, now what?
- first aid tools to keep in your house
- how to keep a clean kitchen
- learning how to become independent from your parents
- job interview tips
- opening your first bank account
- what to do if you lose your wallet
- tips for cheap furniture
- easy ways to cut your spending
- selecting the right tires for your car
- taking out your first loan
- picking out the right credit card
- how to get out of parking tickets
- how to fix a leaky faucet
- get all of your news in one place
- getting rid of mice & rats in your house
- when to go to the e.r.
- buying your first home
- how to buy your first stocks
- guide to brewing coffee
- first apartment essentials checklist
- coping with a job you hate
- 30 books to read before you’re 30
- what’s the deal with retirement?
- difference between insurances
Once you’ve looked over all those cool links, I have some general advice for you on how you can have some sort of support system going for you:
Reasons to move out of home
You may decide to leave home for many different reasons, including:
- wishing to live independently
- location difficulties – for example, the need to move closer to university
- conflict with your parents
- being asked to leave by your parents.
Issues to consider when moving out of home
It’s common to be a little unsure when you make a decision like leaving home. You may choose to move, but find that you face problems you didn’t anticipate, such as:
- Unreadiness – you may find you are not quite ready to handle all the responsibilities.
- Money worries – bills including rent, utilities like gas and electricity and the cost of groceries may catch you by surprise, especially if you are used to your parents providing for everything. Debt may become an issue.
- Flatmate problems – issues such as paying bills on time, sharing housework equally, friends who never pay board, but stay anyway, and lifestyle incompatibilities (such as a non-drug-user flatting with a drug user) may result in hostilities and arguments.
Your parents may be worried
Think about how your parents may be feeling and talk with them if they are worried about you. Most parents want their children to be happy and independent, but they might be concerned about a lot of different things. For example:
- They may worry that you are not ready.
- They may be sad because they will miss you.
- They may think you shouldn’t leave home until you are married or have bought a house.
- They may be concerned about the people you have chosen to live with.
Reassure your parents that you will keep in touch and visit regularly. Try to leave on a positive note. Hopefully, they are happy about your plans and support your decision.
Tips for a successful move
Tips include:
- Don’t make a rash decision – consider the situation carefully. Are you ready to live independently? Do you make enough money to support yourself? Are you moving out for the right reasons?
- Draw up a realistic budget – don’t forget to include ‘hidden’ expenses such as the property’s security deposit or bond (usually four weeks’ rent), connection fees for utilities, and home and contents insurance.
- Communicate – avoid misunderstandings, hostilities and arguments by talking openly and respectfully about your concerns with flatmates and parents. Make sure you’re open to their point of view too – getting along is a two-way street.
- Keep in touch – talk to your parents about regular home visits: for example, having Sunday night dinner together every week.
- Work out acceptable behaviour – if your parents don’t like your flatmate(s), find out why. It is usually the behaviour rather than the person that causes offence (for example, swearing or smoking). Out of respect for your parents, ask your flatmate(s) to be on their best behaviour when your parents visit and do the same for them.
- Ask for help – if things are becoming difficult, don’t be too proud to ask your parents for help. They have a lot of life experience.
If your family home does not provide support
Not everyone who leaves home can return home or ask their parents for help in times of trouble. If you have been thrown out of home or left home to escape abuse or conflict, you may be too young or unprepared to cope.
If you are a fostered child, you will have to leave the state-care system when you turn 18, but you may not be ready to make the sudden transition to independence.
If you need support, help is available from a range of community and government organisations. Assistance includes emergency accommodation and food vouchers. If you can’t call your parents or foster parents, call one of the associations below for information, advice and assistance.
Where to get help
- Your doctor
- Kids Helpline Tel. 1800 55 1800
- Lifeline Tel. 13 11 44
- Home Ground Services Tel. 1800 048 325
- Relationships Australia Tel. 1300 364 277
- Centrelink Crisis or Special Help Tel. 13 28 50
- Tenants Union of Victoria Tel. (03) 9416 2577
Things to remember
- Try to solve any problems before you leave home. Don’t leave because of a fight or other family difficulty if you can possibly avoid it.
- Draw up a realistic budget that includes ‘hidden’ expenses, such as bond, connection fees for utilities, and home and contents insurance.
- Remember that you can get help from a range of community and government organizations.
Keep me updated? xx
Reblogging for myself
reblogging for those that follow me that may be starting to move out
Signal boosting: because who knows who may need this today…? :)
Omfg the way the truck fucked up, fucked up perfectly
I am in tears omg
I ONLY JUST TURNED ON THE AUDIO AND OMG BEST DECISION EVEN THO I RBD LIKE 5 TIMES BEOFRE NOW
Please turn on the audio please
LSKHDFKLGHLJDSFDFS
What if it bites me and it dies?
that means you’re poisonous. jesus christ, nate, learn to read.
What if it bites itself and I die?
It’s voodoo.
What if it bites me and someone else dies?
That’s correlation, not causation.
what if we bite each other and neither of us die
that’s kinky
oh my god
this is still my favorite text post collaboration ever
I haven’t seen this post in like 3 years
IT’S BACK IT’S STILL ACTIVE
Dude I remember this post back when I didn’t even have Tumblr. This is great.
This legendary post… on MY dash? Dang.
I FOUND IT
Oh my god, this is on my dash…
1 million notes
The post of legends… I thought I’d never see it with my own eyes :O
Dear god…that post…it’s arrived.
Or, alternatively:
If you can’t reblog this, unfollow me now.
it’s fucking disgusting that i just lost 6 followers
I deadass thought this was 3 Star Wars movies
its called Color Theory and we been knew. “Art is subjective” but there are certain “rules” you can follow to make things more appealing in a subconscious/subliminal kind of way.
once you see it, you cant unsee it.
I can’t believe there are only 9 movies
There are only 9 genders and they are:
- Orange and blue action hero
- Red dress damsel
- Foggy straight couple
- Lone guy with sword
- Couple leaning on eachother
- Eye
- Blurry thriller Cop
- Sexy Legs™
- Orange and black action hero
new critical thought: is the celebrity that everyone is calling a ““fashion icon”” really that fashionable or are they just skinny and rich?
*swings my bat at the hornets nest*
LITERALLY EXACTLY WHAT BELLA’S WEARING!! EXACTLY THAT!!
@robertjosephmaccready these tags are *chefs kiss*
playing a game called “what modern day thing would kill a victorian era child”
victorian era child that got cocaine prescribed for a headache trying 4loko:
literally all of online “stan twitter” language is just aave that’s been popularized and generalized by nonblacks to the point where black people are the ones who look out of pocket for using words we came up with because funny internet persona #23904378 wants to use “deadass” and “finna” in every other sentence
can white people please reblog this because all i see in my notes are people of color and y’all need to own up to the fact that you overuse aave as well (looking @ u white gays)
This is why I love Kingdom Hearts, because it’s just that scene from Tangled… But Goofy is there.
For a second there I actually thought someone just photoshopped him
This is true of every Disney property in KH
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - 2019 Free Shakespeare in the Park
I am not joking when I say that this version is Shakespeare as it was meant to be performed. It is fucking hilarious.
happy halloween! here is a ghost duet
I love this so much. I always play it when it comes on
how cute