[Movie] School Tales The Series – Season 1 Episode 8 “A Walk in School” Recap & Review

A Walk in School

Episode 8 of School Tales the Series season 1 centers on a student named Boyd, a skeptic who doesn’t at all believe in ghost stories.

A lot of his classmates would disagree with him. In fact, there’s a rumor going around about Class 6/4 being haunted by a ghost. (Yes, this episode is set in the same school as featured in episode 1, “7AM.”)

Determined to prove ghosts and spirits don’t exist, Boyd decides to break into the school with his friend Tum and do some investigating. He at first has some trouble contacting Tum, but they eventually meet at school after dark to livestream their investigation.

They first enter the traditional dance club’s room to tell the room’s old ghost story. The tale goes that there was once a young man considered ugly. Because of this, he couldn’t get the part he wanted for a traditional dance.

One day, he received a love letter from a secret admirer. It turned out to be false, however, and the dancers made fun of him–especially the man with the part he wanted.

Before the dance started, the young man switched out a prop with a real weapon. He later leapt out onto the stage and killed the man in the lead role, before killing himself.

Boyd explains how the story isn’t plausible, although Tum disagrees. Neither of them notices a masked sculpture turning to look at them before they move on to another room.

They next go to a gym, where they explain the tragic story of a gymnast whose competitor arranged for a nail to be stuck into the balance beam. When the gymnast went to practice on the balance beam, she stepped on the nail. This caused her to fall, hit her head, and die. Students often say that they can hear her practicing in the gym after dark.

Boyd again debunks this myth to his followers. Again, they don’t notice the gymnast watching them as they leave.

As they leave, Tum tells Boyd he knows about a ghost story that Boyd isn’t aware of. Once, two best friends went to a school to debunk ghost stories. At the last haunted spot, the school’s closed down top floor, they decided to flip a coin. Whoever called the right side could make the other do anything he wanted.

Boyd tells him to stop being ridiculous. They’re done with their investigation; they can go now.

Just then, however, all the lights go out. Red light comes on and music starts playing. Boyd thinks he’s being pranked when masked dancers appear and start to dance around him.

He and Tum get away, only to run into the gymnast, her limbs cracking and contorted. The masked dancer who killed himself is the last to come after them.

They run away to the top floor. Tum wants to escape through a door with an eye painted on it, but Boyd doesn’t trust it and wants to go another way.

So, Tum decides to flip a coin to decide what they will do. It lands in his favor.

Suddenly, younger versions of Boyd and another boy appear in front of the door. Boyd is insisting to his friend that ghosts aren’t real. He makes them flip a coin. It lands in Boyd’s favor, so he makes his friend through the door. The boy screams for help from the other side, but Boyd becomes frightened and runs away.

Tum says that friend never returned to school. He tells Boyd he’s been turning a blind eye to spirits this whole time.

Suddenly, Boyd gets a call that urges him to check his messages. He sees that Tum was in an accident on his way to school, along with pictures of his dead body. Looking back on his livestream, he sees that Tum was never in the video with him.

He looks up to see Tum now covered in blood. Boyd’s friend from years ago appears beside him. Both of them walk towards the ominous door.

Remembering his promise to Tum that he would never leave him, Boyd walks through the door behind them, to be greeted by fire.

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The Episode Review

The season finale, “A Walk in School” is set in the same school as episode 1, “7AM.” Both episodes being directed by Thanadol Nualsuth brings the series to a full circle.

I’m surprised we hadn’t gotten a story of a true skeptic until this episode. So far, most students have more-or-less believed in old ghost stories. Not Boyd, however!

Boyd’s arrogance sets up the episode nicely to weaponize his willful ignorance against him. The subsequent scares are disturbing, if a little predictable. But the best part of the episode is how it is framed as a story of friendship and betrayal.

Boyd’s and Tum’s arc is nicely pulled off, although I wish the individual ghost stories were better connected to that overarching arc.

All in all, “A Walk in School” provides a nice conclusion for the horror series.