Here's a new skeleton in Mike Flanagan's closet.
After Netflix revealed they wouldn't be renewing The Midnight Club for a second season two, the horror legend revealed what would have happened in the series' next chapter, if they'd been given the chance to make it.
In a Dec. 2 tweet, Flanagan wrote that he's "very disappointed" by the decision, and linked to a Tumblr post wrapping up the story's loose ends.
"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," he wrote. "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."
In the post, he detailed what would have happened to fan favorites like Amesh (Sauriyan Sapkota), Ilonka (Iman Benson), Anya (Ruth Codd) and Spence (William Chris Sumpter)—plus, the introduction of a mysterious new patient.
According to Flanagan, the season would have opened with Amesh and his romance with Natsuki (Aya Furukawa), but he ultimately would have succumbed to his glioblastoma. Meanwhile, Ilonka would have begun telling a serialized story based on the Christopher Pike novel Remember Me in order to encourage Kevin (Igby Rigney) to "stay alive a little longer."
But, in a twist of events, the lead character of Ilonka's story would have been played by Anya (Ruth Codd), who died at the end of season one.
"Because this is how we live on, isn't it?" Flanagan wrote. "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."
Ultimately, Natsuki would have also died in season two, while Spence, who would benefit from advancements in HIV treatment in the late 1990s, would get to leave Brightcliffe alive and well.
Flanagan also wrapped up some of the series' biggest mysteries, including who Death is—a.k.a. the Janitor (Robert Longstreet), while the Living Shadow, who haunts the children before they die, is actually "themselves."
"It's the Unknown," he explained. "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."
The series would end with the Shadow coming for Ilonka, who realizes she has nothing to fear and will be reborn with Kevin. The final scene would have been Cheri (Adia) telling this story—a story called The Midnight Club—to a new group of patients.
The spoilers come shortly after news broke Dec. 1 that Flanagan and his creative partner, Trevor Macy, would be moving their operations from Netflix to Prime Video.
The Midnight Club season one is now available to stream on Netflix.