The Midnight ClubThe series will make you feel warm and fuzzy while simultaneously revealing its secrets. While thematically tackling death and coming to terms with the inevitable, the new Netflix series also throws in a lot of red herrings that don’t seem to make sense — until the show’s last episode.
Fret not! Don’t worry! The Midnight Club hints at its twist endings from the show’s very beginnings. And if you happened to find yourself asking, “Wait, what’s the deal with Dr. Stanton?” we’ve got that and the show’s other big twist covered.
Dr. Georgina Ston is actually Athena.
It was a crime to insert that plot twist at the end of the show. However, it was hinted at right away. It was a subtle hint at the beginning. The Midnight Club initially sets out Athena, the daughter of Regina Ballard (aka, the woman who began the Paragon cult), and Dr. Stanton (Heather Langenkamp), the hospice’s founder and main caretaker, as completely different people, the twist-ending reveals that they’re entirely the same person.
Kicking things off with the hourglass tattoo, all of the Paragon’s members have their tattoos on their wrists, as we see throughout the show — including Julia (don’t worry we’ll get to that later). Athena and her mom don’t have ink on the wrists.
In episode five’s flashback scene that explains the cult, we first see a young Athena writing in her diary with an hourglass tattoo on her Neck. Later, her mother is seen bending down to reveal that she has the exact same tattoo at the same location. This suggests that it was an unusual exception.
They also have a common feature: their wigs. Dr. Stanton shows her wig in the finale. Regina’s hidden tattoo is shown in the same flashback. Police enter the meeting grounds of the cult and find Regina lying on the floor, her wig next to her. Although we don’t know the exact cause of their connection, we can assume it’s genetic. Apart from the many like-mother-like-daughter similarities, Dr. Stanton also knows a little bit TooMuch more about the cult, and their past whereabouts.
What is the secret behind the staircase?
First, Dr. Stanton knows that the secret basement of the hospice has its own staircase. The kids are always concerned about the elevator randomly climbing up and threatening to be trapped down there forever if they don’t get out. Julia, fearful of losing her family down there by herself, makes a quick escape from the elevator at the end of the show. But Dr. Stanton has other ideas. She manages to get everyone out through her secret staircase — a staircase only someone who existed with the cult in the ’40s would know. Athena used a staircase to escape her mother’s clutches!
This is the same thought that Dr. Stanton later uses to reprimand Ilonka (Iman Benjaminson) for helping Julia. She then slips up and says, “Julia, and other people I have known throughout the years,” insinuating she has known about the cult since the beginning of the series. She turns out to be familiar with several members of the cult, not just Julia.
Furthermore, Athena’s diary contained many secrets and was valuable on its own. However, it was also a source of further information when it was burned. The entire scene, which was short and sweet, pointed to Dr. Stanton being the owner of the diary. This is mainly due to the background track. Featuring Terry Jack’s “Seasons in the Sun,” Dr. Stanton burns her diary while Jack sings “Goodbye to you my trusted friend, we’ve known each other since we were nine to 10.” This is a subtle but important detail that Mike Flanagan, the Easter egg master, would intentionally include.
The Midnight ClubIt is science versus faith that is the battle.
The grand scheme of things The Midnight ClubIt makes the most sense that Dr. Stanton is Athena in the show’s plot. It elevates the show’s already established themes of science and faith. It aired for 10 episodes. The Midnight ClubYou should always clarify contentions about whether remedies can be found in nature or in medicine. Some children believe in harsh truths about medicine. There are also children who believe miracles. Athena is Dr. Stanton. This reflects a more mature view of the two of you, in which higher powers become futile in the face undisputed truths. This is Ilonka’s journey. She gradually realizes that no amount or strange rituals or teas can cure her condition.
It’s also a multifaceted poetic entendre. Regina was determined to have her daughter as her pupil. Athena was in many ways exactly what Regina wanted, but not in the right way. Dr. Stanton has been attempting to correct all the wrongs done by her mother in her quest for justice. ActuallyHelp people with terminal illnesses navigate the system in a way that will allow them to find peace. She does not believe in miracles, twists of fate, but she believes in what they have. What we have in common is our shared humanity. This is a stunning revelation, and it’s not surprising when you consider that she was originally named after Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom.
Julia Jayne remains healthy and well.
Julia Jayne (Samantha Sloyan), with her mysterious story about recovery, is why Ilonka decided to visit Brightcliffe. We are overjoyed when we discover that Shasta, the hippie hottie, is actually Julia. That is, up until the ritual.
We soon discover that Julia is a manipulative murderer. She’s tried to trick Ilonka by pretending to be a wellness expert in order not to reveal that she’s a faithful believer in Paragon’s original cult. Ilonka is required to complete her sacrificial act. From the beginning, clues to the Shasta-Julia–Paragon crossover begin to seep through The Midnight ClubThe very first episode.
Julia’s photo was a hint at what it didn’t show.
Spencer (William Chris Sumpter), gives Ilonka a tour of the hospice. They stop in a corridor full of photos. One of the pictures is from 1968 and features Julia Jayne along with her Brightcliffe friends. The image is only a little bit long because the camera takes a while to capture it. After finishing, you can go back to the original image. The Midnight ClubThis will give it a whole new meaning.
The show ends with Julia revealing that her adoration for the Paragon was so overwhelming that she ran away from the hospice and sought Regina out. Regina informs Julia at the end of their meeting that she will need to spend a week with Regina in order to fully explain the Paragon’s ritual. We know the Paragon believe that five Greek mythology goddesses are sisters of healing. We also know that five women are required to perform the ritual, or serve as the representatives of the five goddesses.
Julia was now also included in the photo hanging in the hall. It featured four girls. This means that the fifth “goddess” (the imperative fifth) was absent. Who could possibly fill that role? Regina, who served as both a guide and possibly played a role in the rituals throughout the week, is no one but Regina. That innocent hallway picture teased Julia’s need for another woman and mentor from the very beginning — a woman she’d later become herself.
What was the secret of Brightcliffe’s library book?
Spencer’s tour also included a visit to the library. It is described as a large mosaic of books that makes it easy to get lost. Julia and Ilonka have many conversations later, during which she shares the exact location of library’s medical section. She even went so far as giving the exact decimal codes for 600, 615, or 619. How could Julia, who was still masquerading as Shasta here, know the library that intimately if she hadn’t spent any time at Brightcliffe?
Julia’s error revealed how much time Julia spent in the library searching for any medical miracles. She then serendipitously found Athena’s diary and had her answer. Ilonka even got to enjoy a bit of Greek mythology from her when she first met her, calling it her “thing.” Julia’s obsession started when she discovered Athena’s diary at the Brightcliffe library.
Why Julia and Dr. Stanton reveal so much.
To continue the debate between science and faith, Julia and Dr. Stanton act as stand-ins. Julia believes that natural and ritualistic remedies work because they work for her. In the meantime, Dr. Stanton represents an empathic approach to a data-driven field in practical medicine.
These two women find themselves in a literal and symbolic turf war from the beginning. Dr. Stanton protects the hospice and does her best to provide psychological and prescription therapy for the children. Julia takes care of the forest and spends time at the spring convincing Ilonka there is a magical way to natural wellness. Their ideological turf war is at the heart of a larger question: How can people be helped who believe they cannot be helped? The show’s twist reveals the answer.
Julia’s belief that natural treatment is a good option for some people is not true of her actions. The Midnight ClubHer initial position was contradicted by her final statement. She presents herself as Shasta, a staunch believer in miracle herbs and teas. But, we do know that Julia attributes her recovery to the Paragon’s sacrifice ritual that involves poisoning 4 other women. However, it doesn’t work for Julia who has a cancer recurrence. Julia’s approach to things is a bunch of hokum.
Stanton, on the other hand, spent her entire career rejecting her mother’s dogma and reforming medical practices to be more compassionate to the death swarm. Accepting a diagnosis doesn’t mean finding the right treatment or pills. It’s about finding like-minded people who will understand your situation and validate your feelings. It works. The show ended with the children feeling grateful that they had each other for their final days, months, or years. They no longer fear death, knowing they are not the only ones.
We can fight science and we can beat fate. However, at the end of it all, it’s an insurmountable battle. It’s a frustrating process to try and grasp laws, theories, and scriptures. This only leads to more frustration for everyone who isn’t satisfied. The Midnight ClubThe beauty of’s is its discovery of the power of people, which can be used as an antidote to everything. It’s an antidote Dr. Stanton is familiar with.
