This is a story recap of the Netflix series The Midnight Club season 1, which contains spoilers as it details what happened.
The Midnight Club is a teen horror series with elements of mystery and romance built into its complex structure as well. Each episode features a stand-alone story told by one of the hospice patients that specifically mirrors that character’s hopes and fears or their situation at the time. It’s a clever format that allows the showrunners to homage multiple genres and elicit the most scares possible. With the plot involving cults, hauntings, and the emotional trauma of teen death, there is a lot to unravel. Here’s what happened in each episode of The Midnight Club season 1:
Story recap – what happened in The Midnight Club season 1?
Episode 1 – “The Final Chapter”
Star student Ilonka is diagnosed with thyroid cancer and spends her eighteenth birthday in hospital. She overhears that the disease has become terminal and researches her survival rate online. Here she discovers a hospice called Brightcliffe and a miracle patient named Julia Jayne, who was cured of her cancer at this specific hospice. Ilonka enrolls at the hospice and meets the teen patients and friendly staff members that preside there. That first night she follows roommate Anya, in secret, into the library, where they meet to tell each other ghost stories. Natsuki tells tonight’s jumpy horror story. Ilonka is spotted hiding in the library and tells her own story about Julia Jayne. The gang explain that they have a pact, the first person to die must contact the others from the afterlife. Ilonka joins the club and tells Kevin that she chose this place specifically for its healing powers. She wants to live.
Episode 2 – “The Two Danas”
At group therapy, the patients discuss the things they will miss the most when they are gone. Ilonka talks about taking a new herbal tea and Anya belittles her roommate’s remedy. Ilonka goes to get some fresh air after their argument and meets Shasta, a lady who believes in the healing qualities of this area too. Ilonka sees an hourglass symbol carved into a tree. Ilonka finds out that Spence has AIDS and again Anya starts an argument with the new girl. At the midnight meeting, Ilonka mentions Shasta, but no-one has ever met her before. Anya tells her story about a ballet dancer, who clones herself when she makes a deal with the devil. The story reveals much of Anya’s own personal life. Ilonka breaks into Dr. Stanton’s office and retrieves Julia Jayne’s file. Ilonka has horrifying visions on her way back to her room.
Episode 3 – “The Wicked Heart”
Ilonka looks through Julia’s file, finding strange drawings including the hourglass symbol and the same, repeated sequence of numbers. She tells Kevin about these findings and her visions. He blames her medication. It’s family day at the hospice and Ilonka discovers that Kevin has a girlfriend. Quarantined patient Tristan is found dead by Natsuki. The gang mourn the death of one of their own. Natsuki thinks she sees Tristan for a split second, but the others tell her this is not a sign. Kevin tells his story about a serial killer that is told who to kill by voices in his head. The murderer is haunted by all of the people he has killed. Ilonka spots the hourglass symbol in the elevator and when this button is pressed with another, it takes them down into a hidden basement level. The lift goes up on its own accord, taking Kevin with it. Ilonka is left on her own, where she sees a figure moving in the dark.
Episode 4 – “Gimme a Kiss”
The gang go down into the basement together to explore, discovering the original Midnight Club diary and a living quarters. The club was founded by Julia Jayne in the sixties. They see the hourglass symbol on the floor and written in blood inside the book. Spencer and Sandra fall out over religion during group therapy. Shasta tells Ilonka to research medicine at the library and talks about her remedy business. Spencer hears a voice coming from the recovery room’s intercom and thinks it might be Tristan from the afterlife. Kevin goes to prom with his girlfriend. At the Midnight Club, Sandra tells a story that homages film noir. She uses the story as a way of apologizing to Spence and they make amends. Anya has been taking far too many morphine pills and is drowsy as she heads home. She hears whispers and sees a shadowy figure move towards her. Kevin and Ilonka find an unusual book in the library and return to discover Anya passed out on the floor.
Episode 5 – “See You Later”
Ilonka resuscitates Anya, saving her life. Later she finds out that this was against Anya’s wishes and she apologizes. Dr. Stanton believes she overdosed from self-medicating. Anya downplays the shadowy figures she saw. Ilonka reads from the Paragon diary, learning about the cult and how its leader Regina poisoned all of her followers whilst trying a ritual to become immortal. The gang celebrate Amesh’s death day, which he has now surpassed. Amesh tells a story about an apocalyptic future, reflecting his own fears of dying. Amesh and Natsuki finally kiss. Anya confesses to Ilonka that it is her fault that her parents are dead. She tells Ilonka that she doesn’t want to die.
Episode 6 – “Witch”
While Ilonka is telling her story about witches, Anya passes out and is rushed to the doctors. Dr. Stanton informs them that she has sepsis. She warns Ilonka to stop wasting her time looking for a cure. Ilonka ignores this advice and talks with Shasta in the forest. Shasta tells Ilonka to try a ritual to heal Anya. The club agree to try this ritual, but Sandra adamantly refuses to be involved. The gang perform the ritual in the basement, sacrificing personal items and adding their own blood to the central fire. Anya sees a shadow coming down from the ceiling to take her away.
Episode 7 – “Anya”
In 1997, Anya now lives alone and works at a supermarket. She hears suspicious voices over the radio at midnight every night, but chooses to ignore these signs. Anya tells her therapist that the ritual caused her to have a fever, which in turn brought on a spontaneous regression, curing her in the process. They all tried the ritual, but it never worked again. All her friends are now dead and she is struggling to cope on her own. Anya has a breakdown, where she sees all the characters from the ghost stories come to life and then a ghoulish skeletal figure descends from her ceiling. It is revealed that she is actually in a coma still, after the ritual, and the gang are communicating with her via the intercom. Natsuki reads Anya a story about them all growing old together and living happily ever after. Anya dies from the fever. Ilonka reads Anya’s final letter to the gang and Dr. Stanton interrupts their meeting, demanding that they all go to bed. Ilonka takes the gang to the beach instead for an impromptu funeral for Anya. They spread her ashes in the water. Ilonka overhears Stanton talking on the phone, one of the patients might not be terminal after all. Ilonka is haunted by two ghosts and faints in the bathroom.
Episode 8 – “Road to Nowhere”
Dr. Stanton refuses to tell Ilonka which patient is cured, but orders Ilonka not to tell anyone of the news. Ilonka believes she is the cured patient and Shasta agrees. Ilonka tells Kevin the good news. Mark drives Cheri and Spence to Spence’s parent’s house. He tells his mother what he truly thinks about his faith and homosexuality. The mother doesn’t respond. Dr. Stanton bans the gang from using the library, so the midnight rendezvous is cancelled. Natsuki tells Amesh a story in private, in which she explains how she tried to kill herself once before. Ilonka hears a woman crying and goes into the basement to investigate. She sees a woman in the dark and when they turn around it morphs into Kevin.
Episode 9 – “The Eternal Enemy”
Dr. Stanton informs Sandra that she is the patient that will be going home, she doesn’t have terminal lymphoma anymore. Sandra doesn’t know how to respond. Kevin confesses to Ilonka that he has been having nightmares and visions of the ghosts too. He sleepwalks down into the basement on most nights. Ilonka calls an emergency meeting and admits that she is seeing things and Kevin is too. Ilonka rants about the ritual working and believes she is cured. Sandra admits that she is the one who is cured, not Ilonka. Sandra says it was a misdiagnosis, the ritual didn’t actually work. Sandra also confesses to being the one who pranked Spence with the intercom voices. She apologizes and leaves. Upset, Ilonka storms off and runs over to Shasta’s premises. Shasta reveals that she is in fact Julia Jayne and she wants to go to Brightcliffe tonight to perform a ritual to heal Ilonka. Mark introduces Spence to his activist friends. Spence tells his time travelling story and the gang congratulate Sandra on the good news. Ilonka helps Shasta and three of her followers infiltrate the hospice. They begin the ritual and Ilonka is offered a strange drink. Dr. Stanton appears, warning Ilonka not to drink the concoction. Shasta orders her to drink it. Ilonka passes out.
Episode 10 – “Midnight”
Flashbacks reveal what Julia Jayne did once she left Brightcliffe. She tracked down cult leader Regina Ballard, who taught her how to heal herself. In the present, Dr. Stanton saves Ilonka and Shasta flees. They manage to save the three, poisoned followers too. Stanton tells Ilonka that Shasta isn’t to be trusted. Ilonka agrees to leave Brightcliffe. Everyone says their tearful goodbyes to Sandra, who heads home. It’s family day once again and Spence’s mother finally shows up, the mother and son hug. Anya’s friend Rhett comes to pick up her friend’s items and notices that Anya’s ballerina statue has been fixed. Ilonka sees this as a sign from the other side. Kevin and Katherine break up.
Kevin finishes his serial killer story and Ilonka tries to finish her witch story, but breaks down crying. The story is too personal and interlinked with her real life situation. In the story the witch sacrifices herself for her friend and they have a funeral for her. Cheri and Amesh pick up the story, talking of a beautiful memorial and the afterlife. Ilonka finishes her story and tells the others about Anya’s ballerina statue and the events at Shasta’s ritual. Kevin and Ilonka head back to their bedrooms afterwards and finally kiss. Kevin says that they need to live in the moment. Dr. Stanton retires to her room and removes her wig, revealing an hourglass tattoo on her neck.
That is the full story recap of what happened in the Netflix series The Midnight Club Season 1. What are your thoughts on the story? Please comment below.
