Spencer MacPherson on Xavier’s Biggest Moments & Twists in School Spirits Season 2

[00:00:09] Spencer, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. Thank you so much for having me. Excited to hear from you. We spoke about a year ago, something like that, for Season 1. Yeah. A little bit more than a year, right? I think. Yeah, there was a, I guess, with the strike and everything. Right. How does it feel? We're finally here now with School Spirits Season 2. Oh, it just, it feels incredible. I'm so excited about the second season. I honestly feel like as much as I love the first season, this might even be a

[00:00:39] be better. So, yeah. What's been the fan reaction so far? Have you had any, any moments with the fans or just friends and family, what they've seen so far? Yeah. A lot of friends and family and that are just really into the show, which is awesome to get to be a part of something that I'm actually like super invested in. But I, I'm, I'm sworn to secrecy. So it's tough even for friends and family. I can't really say too much. Right. Right. So, you know, Xavier,

[00:01:09] Xavier has been through a lot too, you know, this season he's dealing with Maddie's return, getting caught up with the Janet situation. How did you approach now with Xavier? How do you want to like play him from like Season 1 now, jumping into Season 2? Yeah. Well, at the end of the first episode of Season 2, a pretty massive event happens to him and it really shifts his perspective in a lot of ways. And I think in Season 2, you get to see a different side of him.

[00:01:37] He was kind of very, you know, mercurial. I don't know if that's the right word. He was very difficult to get a hold of and didn't necessarily have a clear motive. And I think that in, in the second season, after he's confronted with the reality that the supernatural exists and all of this, something shifts inside of him.

[00:02:07] And he's very much actively trying to, to better himself and to seek out a resolution for, for Maddie getting her body back. Like, yeah. The one thing I noted when I was watching the first few episodes, so I was like, when you, when Xavier was in the hospital, I was like, are they going to kill him? I, they better not kill him. They better, like, what was going through your mind when you were reading script to script? Did you, like, are they going to kill me? Are there going to be a ghost next?

[00:02:32] Like, well, at the, when we finished the first season, I was really worried. I, I went to Megan and Nate and Oliver and I was like, please, I love, I love, I love being a part of the show. Please don't. Right, right. And they kind of assured me that Xavier would, would, would be back, but interesting developments, which is really exciting for me because I just love all the characters in this show.

[00:02:58] And Xavier specifically has such a, such a growth. If you think about him in the first episode of season one till now, it's just, it's cool how the writers managed to evolve all of these characters so, so much. I like one of the biggest twists this season. And, you know, we finally see Janet's returning to Maddie's body. What do you think Xavier's mindset when he realizes something's off? What do you think is going through his mind?

[00:03:25] Well, there's a, there's a lot coming up in, in five and six, particularly, you get to see a really cool evolution of, of that. I think Xavier is really conflicted because for him, he hasn't gotten the, sort of the, sort of the resolution of how, how he wronged Maddie. He, he wants to make amends for that.

[00:03:49] And I think, you know, the, the idea of, of someone inhabiting her body, he doesn't, that there's, Maddie's still in there in his mind. So he's really conflicted as to how, how, how he can broach that situation. And I think in episode five, you get to see a lot of that inner turmoil and it manifests in a sort of a humorous way, actually, which was really fun.

[00:04:16] I think the fans are hungry to find out too. Like, what's the deal with Janet? Why is she doing this? How did she figure out how to do this? Like, they want to know more about her. Yeah. And, and I love the flashback sequences in the second episode where you get to see her life. It was really well done in my mind. And I think that Jess who plays Janet just adds so much, you know, sympathy and pathos to the character. And I'm also just loving the way that Peyton plays Janet.

[00:04:43] And it's almost as if there's a, a part of Maddie that's still in there, like, like the, the sunken place, you know? And it's, it's just really cool the way she interpreted that. I think. I think the fans too, like, do they want to like, do they like Janet? Do they hate Janet for what she's doing? You know, she's got like that mixed fan base happening, I think. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:05:07] I think, I think that, that character is really interesting and she's a victim in a lot of ways herself. Things aren't, things aren't super black and white in our show, which I love. Even Mr. Martin has a, a lot of depth to him that Josh, that Josh brings. Right. The big thing about him now is that he's disappearing. Nobody knows how he's doing it. Yeah. Hopefully we find that out in episodes, like you said, episodes five and six.

[00:05:32] Like, well, how would you describe now the relationship now between Xavier and his dad, the sheriff also? They've had a little complicated relationship also. Yeah, absolutely. I love working with Ian who plays Sheriff Baxter. They have such a complicated relationship and throughout season two, you kind of get to see Xavier coming to the man that he is.

[00:05:56] And it's not, he lives in the shadow of, of, of a generation that his father's from. Yeah. And he sort of gets to find who, who he really is and, and express in the best way he can to his dad. And, you know, that he's, yeah, who he really is. And I, yeah, you get to see the evolution of that relationship.

[00:06:24] I think in the final two episodes, which is really cool. How many episodes are we expecting this full season? Is it 10? It is, let me see, two, four, six, eight. Eight. All right. But they're actually longer this year, I've noticed. Yeah. Yeah. Which is great. I was told to ask you if you could choose between part of the ghost crew or the living crew in Slu Spirits. What do you pick and why? Choose, like, a character or a...

[00:06:52] Like, for, if you as a character, if you could be, if you say your character died, you're part of the dead crew now or the, or you're still in the living crew. Which one would you rather be in? Oh, it's, I mean, you know what? As, oh, I don't want to spoil too much. The episode comes out tomorrow, though, so maybe I can tease something. But whenever we get to have scenes with the ghost crew, it's so much fun because they work in such a different way.

[00:07:21] There's a lot of, you know, ad-lib lines that the writers get to come in and throw at them. And I think it's, it's really fun to get to work with that side of the crew. Also, I just, I'm a huge fan of all of them. And we're so separated. Right. Filming. So it's, it's cool almost as a fan to get to see how they all operate. I'm loving the new characters. That's awesome.

[00:07:47] What do you think, you know, I, I don't know if this is going to happen down on the road or anything, but if Xavier finds out about how Maddie has been kind of dating Wally also as a ghost, what's your, what's your opinion on that? I think Xavier wants Maddie to be happy. Yeah.

[00:08:03] And I think there's an interesting beat in the second episode when he has a conversation with Claire and he essentially admits that he almost felt that a part of him may have belonged in that, in that hospital after. And there's a real hurt in him.

[00:08:31] And I don't think his desire at the present moment is necessarily to, is based on having a relationship. I think he's in a place of self-discovery and I think he just wants the best for Maddie. And if, and if Wally or Simon is who makes me happy, that that's, that's his, his goal.

[00:08:59] The one thing I noticed this season, Xavier has a lot more scenes with Nicole. How would you say the, how was it working with Kiara? Well, she's fantastic. I, I love, I love their dynamic and I love how they, for, they have this relationship going on online. Yeah. Yeah. It's completely, it's completely unbeknownst to them.

[00:09:25] And I love how they interact whilst not knowing that one another knows the deepest side of them. In episode four, they have a lot of kind of back and forth where they're, yeah, they bicker. They bicker like an old married couple. And I'm really interested as for the fans to see as that storyline progresses. And I like how they hide it with each other with the one, oh, who are you talking to? What are you doing on the computer? And then she just shut the computer right off. Yeah.

[00:09:55] Yeah. There's so much awesome stuff to come with that storyline in particular. And I'm really excited for people to see how that plays out. How do you think now Xavier's relationship with Claire is also played by a rainbow? So I think, yeah, their, their relationship evolved a lot. Yeah. There was that scene I referenced before in the second episode and they have like a really mutual understanding of one another. They're, they're sort of two sides of the same coin.

[00:10:20] They're, they're both people that have held up this mask, this avatar to the world. And, and there's some, there's something beneath that, that maybe only those two understand. And, and this season, both of those characters get to lower that mask and show a lot more depth, which is cool. How would you describe Xavier's arc this season without giving away too much?

[00:10:50] I know, cause we have a few more episodes to go this season. Xavier's arc this season. Well, you know what? He gets a lot more humor this season, which is really, really cool. I think Xavier is really misunderstood. And throughout the season, as an audience, you get to slowly see him reveal who he truly

[00:11:13] is, which is someone that's caring and someone that wants to be a good person, wants to do good, but is constantly faced with the public perception of him. And his arc in this season is really just sort of coming to a point of self-actualization and, and forgiving himself for his wrongdoings.

[00:11:40] Have the writers and the creators have said anything about like how, if they have a story that they, a couple more seasons, have they said anything to you guys about that? How many seasons they think they can make out of this? Well, we certainly hope for another season. Okay. I, I, we are all, you know, fans of the show and we're curious where they're going to go, but they're pretty, they're pretty tight lipped. The reason I'm asking, the reason I'm asking is I want to, I want to see like, what do you think should like, what do you want to see Xavier in the future?

[00:12:08] That's what I want to, that's where I was going with that question. Well, I have a, I mean, I would love sort of an episode where they all, they all body swap. Okay. Like if it's like a, I think that'd be a really cool kind of bottle episode where, where everyone, you know, if Wally and Rhonda and Charlie want to spend a day in the living and we graciously

[00:12:33] give them our bodies, like that'd be a funny sort of switch up. And it'd be fun to get to like play all of their mannerisms and vice versa. I can see that. That's very interesting. I like Wally. He's a good character. I think. Me too. Milo's a, I, I've spoken to Milo before. He's a, he's a good dude. For you now, like what's your favorite thing about Xavier, especially this season? I think the, the way they write him in the second season is fantastic.

[00:13:03] There's a lot of, in episode five and six, a lot of really comedic beats that they give him. And, and, and even in the first season and some of the flashbacks, you get to see a, a little glimmer of that, but he, he's got this sort of kind of rambling. Like, I don't want to compare it to anything, but in my mind, like the voice is like a Vince Vonnie kind of thing. Okay. When he's trying to lie, sometimes he, he sort of just starts spinning the wheels.

[00:13:30] And, and I think he, he's got this, he's got this sense to him. He's really, really trying to be a helpful member of this team, the living team, the ghostbusters, but he's, he's misguided in all of his attempts to be helpful. And I think, I think, I think he's, yeah, he's, he's got a lot of humor in this season that I really enjoyed.

[00:13:58] I know you're excited about episodes five and six, but is there a specific, a certain episode or a certain scene, maybe it's already aired or it's going to air in the future that you can't wait for the fans to see? Absolutely. I think because, so it is known that the title of episode five is ghost juice coming to dinner. Okay. It's based on a guest who's coming to dinner. The Sydney Porte movie. And that dinner in question is one of my favorite scenes, not only in the season, in the show,

[00:14:29] because there's just so many different objectives at play. And it's a really, really entertaining sequence. I know there's a, on the show, you know, Simon can hear, Maddie can see her. Do you hope Xavier could do that maybe by the end of the season? Hmm. Yeah. It's, it's something that we, we tried to make ambiguous because he's all, he's in tune with something.

[00:14:56] Um, when he had that near death experience and he had that experience in the hospital, something, something he's, he's at least slightly in tune with that. That's why he's got such a kinship with Simon and was so quick to sort of, um, to trust him and believe him because they've both experienced this thing that nobody else would really understand. Um, I'd love to see that evolve. Um, and I think you get to see pieces of that this season.

[00:15:25] Um, but yeah, there was, there's a, there's a sequence in the library. That's really cool. In the second episode where the, the look Xavier's giving could possibly be, he's just, you know, zoning out or he could be like tapping into something. So you don't really know which one it is. I think you find out as the season progresses. What was your thoughts on that? What was your thoughts on that scene in the hospital?

[00:15:56] When you, uh, your character goes in that waiting room and he sees all those people there. Well, it was, it was a really, really cool sequence. The Megan and Nate, the writers, I had a dinner with them a few months before we started shooting and they actually told me about, about that twist. They said, listen, you're not in the first episode, but you have an awesome scene at the end. And so it was bittersweet, but, um, that, that sequence is fantastic. And I love the song they, they chose the music in this show. So good.

[00:16:25] Um, and the implications of what that, what that means for the larger kind of lore of school spirits that these ecosystems of the dead exist outside of split river high and in red pine hospital. Where else could they exist? Um, it opens up the kind of world. That's amazing. Spencer, uh, what's next for you now? Any other projects you're allowed to tell us about you got working on, or are you just taking a little break? What's happening? Yeah. Well, uh, I'm also doing a show called the way home.

[00:16:55] Okay. And, uh, that is airing right now as well. Um, and that's a really, really fun character. It's, uh, it's a kind of a time travel show and my guys from the 1800s and, and he's in the modern day. And so there's a lot of him discovering his environment. It's just a really cool dynamic to play. Um, so hopefully we get to go back and do more of that and more school spirits in the future. And yeah. Spencer, uh, lastly, how can all the viewers and listeners find you on social media?

[00:17:24] I know we follow each other, but if they want to follow you for more info on news or anything. You know, I'm, I'm just on Instagram. I'm Jay Spencer Mac on Instagram. Um, and yeah, I like to post about the show and I love to keep in contact with all the fans. So yeah. Amazing. Spencer. Thank you. Thank you for missing today. We've got to do it again. Hopefully we see a season three. We, we got to keep the story going. A hundred percent, man. Thank you so much again. So. So.