This review will have spoilers for the gay goings-on of episodes 304 and 305 of School Spirits.
Friends, I am happy to report that a long-awaited School Spirits ship has finally set sail.
Perhaps you, like me, clocked Rhonda as queer the second she strolled in wearing THAT hat, and then those feelings only intensified when you heard the song her “best friend” wrote about her after she died. Perhaps you have been shipping her and Quinn ever since Rhonda screamed for the band to wake up and Quinn was the only one to hear her. Perhaps you felt validated in the way Rhonda’s entire worldview changed when she saw Lizzy McAlpineJoyce sing in the beatnik bar.
And finally, all that hoping and wishing has come to fruition.
The tides really started to turn in our favor last week, when Quinn got super high on mushrooms and dreamed a whole musical sequence about their experience being non-binary in a world where that word wasn’t as well-known and mainstream as it is now. When they came out of their fever dream, they saw Rhonda and launched themself at her as if to kiss her, but Rhonda stopped them. And it was clear to me it wasn’t a “no” because it was necessarily unwanted, or that Rhonda was grossed or freaked out by it. It was very obviously a “no, you are high” — though whether it was “no, you’re high, I don’t believe you want this” or “no, you’re high, I don’t want our first kiss to happen like this” was unclear. All we knew for sure is that Rhonda didn’t want to take advantage of Quinn’s mental state, and consent is sexy.
(Also another little side note about last week’s episode, unrelated to all this: The name of the episode was “The Bereftest Club”, clearly named after The Breakfast Club since the scooby squad had Saturday detention, and they made a Barry Manilow reference like the movie does, and it tickled me. Okay back to the gay stuff.)
In this week’s episode, hilariously titled “Raiders of the Lost Scar”, Quinn wants to talk to Rhonda about what happened. Quinn goes up to her in the library to talk about it, but Rhonda just brushes it off, says she knows Quinn was high and it’s no big deal, they can just forget about it. But as she walks away, it’s clear Quinn doesn’t really want to forget it.
Later, after they narrowly escape the evil basement scar, Quinn thanks Rhonda for pulling them to safety. When Rhonda says it was instinct, Quinn takes that as an opportunity to clarify their intentions with the kiss and says that was instinctual too, and that actually they’ve wanted to kiss Rhonda for a long time. Rhonda stares at Quinn, stunned, unsure how to respond, but she’s saved by Charley’s interruption and doesn’t have a chance to say anything at first. And then she takes the opportunity to purposefully splits off from Quinn on their next ghost quest, leaving Quinn looking VERY sad, which hurt my feelings.
After some ghost shenanigans where Quinn accidentally bonks Simon on the head, Rhonda finds them to reassure them that their instincts were correct and that they were brave. Quinn thinks she’s talking about Simon, but Rhonda is talking about the kiss. Rhonda says she plays the part of confident, take-no-shit badass well, but the truth is, because of the way she died, she hasn’t let anyone get close enough to kiss her in 62 years. Quinn is very understanding and says they’re willing to wait for Rhonda to be ready, as long as it takes. But Rhonda knows they might not have another 62 years to wait, especially if the evil superintendent knocks down the school and yeets the ghosts from it. So Rhonda is done waiting, done keeping people at arm’s length. Rhonda is ready to let someone in. She kisses Quinn, soft at first, then with more purpose, and the music swells as they finally connect to each other with an open honesty neither of them was able to find in life. It’s a beautiful moment that feels earned.
This moment is also representative of one of the most interesting aspects of this show. These ghosts were just teenagers when they died, so there is some level of arrested development in that, but they’ve also been dead for decades, and have watched students come and go, over the years, read books, kept up with the times. They’re learning and growing as people in this afterlife. It’s a second chance of sorts. And this feels so…right. I love Charley and Yuri, but sometimes some of the things Charley says makes it feel like he’s only with Yuri because he wanted a boyfriend, not because he necessarily wanted Yuri specifically to be his boyfriend. I do believe he genuinely cares about him, but I’m not sure that the two would have been a good match outside of this specific limited population scenario. Something feels different about Rhonda and Quinn. They seemed to have a connection right away; Rhonda was soft with Quinn where she was sharp for everyone else. Quinn was comfortable around Rhonda in a way they were shy or anxious around the rest of the gang. They’re from different time periods, practically different worlds, and yet they fit so well together. It’s a beautiful thing amidst the existential dread and otherworldly horrors this season is bringing to our ghost friends. (Which, don’t get me wrong, has me hooked and on the edge of my seat. It’s just not what I’m here to talk about right now!)
And listen, I believe in my heart that anyone who feels drawn to play queer characters should play queer characters, because SO many actors have discovered their sexuality by way of playing queer characters. That said…it does hit different when it’s two queer actors playing two queer characters. There’s an authenticity that can’t be faked. Or maybe it can because it’s acting and maybe I just personally like seeing queer people getting to tell queer stories. Either way, I’m a big fan of Sarah Yarkin and Ci Hang Ma in this show, especially these moments we’ve been getting when it’s just Rhonda and Quinn. (I’ve loved everything out of Rhonda’s mouth since she first appeared with a lollipop and an attitude.) The slow burn between them from the moment Quinn woke up to now has been a fun journey, and I’m looking forward to learning more about both of them as they enter into this relationship.
