When a series is suddenly canceled—especially after the first season—fans are often left to wonder what happens to their favorite characters. That's not a problem for fans of Netflix's The Midnight Club, which was canceled on Thursday: as promised, co-creator Mike Flanagan took to Tumblr to share an "official second season" of the series.
"I'm very disappointed that Netflix has decided not to pursue a second season of The Midnight Club," Flanagan wrote on his blog Friday.
Also created by Leah Fong, The Midnight Club follows a group of terminally ill young adults in hospice care who meet up at midnight to tell scary stories, promising one another that the first one who dies will communicate with the others from beyond the grave.
"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."
Season 2 Starts with Amesh
The "hypothetical second season" wastes no time breaking hearts—Flanagan says that the story would begin with Amesh (Sauriyan Sapkota), clearly nearing the end of his battle:
"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 [Aya Furukawa] for those first few episodes as it becomes clear that Amesh's death is imminent."
Ilonka's Story Calls Back to Another Christopher Pike Book
The Midnight Club itself is based on a 1994 young adult novel of the same name by Christopher Pike, but the spooky stories the members tell one another are also inspired by Pike's other tales.
A second season would have seen Ilonka (Iman Benson) telling one of Flanagan's favorite stories—the "thing [he] was most excited about for this season."
"Meanwhile, Ilonka is trying to reconcile how she was fooled by Julia Jayne [Larsen Thompson], all while falling further in love with Kevin [Igby Rigney], 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 five episodes."
How Season 2 Honors the Midnight Club Member Who Passed On
In addition to using her five-episode story to convince Kevin to hang on just a bit longer, Ilonka's telling of REMEMBER ME also pays a beautiful homage to her "dear friend" Anya (Ruth Codd), who died in her sleep in the first season. Flanagan shared:
"We were going to use [the story] as a vehicle for Ilonka to try and come to terms with the fact that she is going to die, and to begin to [try] 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."
Season 2 Sees Major Character Deaths (Yes, Plural)
Though the series takes place in a hospice facility, it's easy to have hope that the characters will miraculously recover and go on to lead happy lives—but unfortunately, that's not the reality. Flanagan writes:
"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."
Amesh's passing sees the return of another, more mysterious figure: the shadow that haunted Anya before her death, and began following Amesh in the final episode of season 1.
"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..."
Flanagan adds that it's not long until Amesh and Anya have another companion join them on the other side.
"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."
Some Characters Have A Better Prognosis
Though not everyone gets the miracle cure they were hoping for from Brightcliffe, Flanagan says that Spence (Chris Sumpter) would no longer be considered terminal after medical advancements.
"The advancements in HIV treatment in the late '90s would come into play, and we'd see his prognosis change. The HIV cocktail came out in December 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 Sanda did in Season 1, heading off to manage his disease and live the rest of his life."
Check out Flanagan's full plan for a second season and answers to the "BIG MYSTERIES" of Season One on Tumblr.
The Midnight Club is now streaming on Netflix.