Jordan Peele: High school. It's a period that, for most of us, already feels like a waking nightmare, one in which we're lost in a maze, searching for ourselves. But what if, during this precarious phase of our development, you introduced a set of extraordinary powers? That's all it will take to send the student body of St. Mary's Boarding School on a harrowing field trip... to the Twilight Zone.
Transfer student Irene's unusual interests make her an easy target at her new all-girls boarding school until she discovers that popular classmate Madison possesses a unique talent.
- Alpha Bitch: Madison is introduced like this, leading a powerful clique of girls as she lords it over the others and bullies them.
- Ambiguous Ending: The episode ends with another student meeting Madison, leaving us to wonder if this is another imaginary friend Madison created like she did with Irene or if she's real.
- Asshole Victim: Madison's friends have no redeeming qualities, and by the time they pull the prank that kills them, it's difficult to feel sorry for them.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Madison created Irene because she wanted a friend, but it came at the expense of her losing her old friends, first when they stop hanging out with her after a fight over Irene, and then to death when Irene, or maybe Madison herself, unintentionally kills them. Then Madison loses Irene, the only friend she had left, because she fulfilled her purpose of being the friend Madison wanted and vanished from existence as a result.
- Blackmail: Madison threatens to expose a teacher's gambling problem so she won't get punished for being out after curfew along with Irene.
- Book Ends: The story begins with Madison with her "clique". It ends with her in her true self, lonely without her clique.
- Beware the Mind Reader: Madison has the ability to read minds, which she uses to learn people's secrets and blackmail them into doing what she wants.
- Catholic School Girls Rule: The episode takes place at a Catholic boarding school, and the girls are shown drinking with mention of having done marijuana.
- Continuity Nod: The magazine cover with Mynx on it from "Ovation" is visible for a few frames.
- Fake-Out Twist: The ending sets up that the twist will be that Irene had the powers all along and was simply manipulating Madison for her own gain, only for the twist to turn out to be fake a few minutes later when it’s revealed that Madison was the one with the power all along, and used it to create Irene in the first place.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Irene introduces herself to the class, the teacher tells her to say where she's from and what she likes. She never mentions where she's from, and at the end she's revealed to have been created by Madison.
- Madison's conjuring ability, as the objects she creates only exist until they serve their purpose. Irene, Madison's imaginary friend, also vanishes once her purpose is fulfilled.
- Irene falls off the roof and somehow survives. She initially believes this is due to Madison's powers, but after The Reveal, it is simply because shes not real and thus cannot "die" until she fulfills her purpose.
- Hate Sink: Madison's girl posse, who lack redeeming qualities and are just mean for the sake of it.
- Here We Go Again!: A new girl with similar vibes to Irene walks in at the end of the episode, suggesting that the events of the story will play out again.
- Imaginary Friend: In the big reveal, it turns out that Irene was just a projection Madison created with her powers because she wanted a genuine friend.
- Imagination-Based Superpower: Madison can create things out of nothing thanks to one of her psychic abilities, conjugation, but these things only last until they fulfill their intended function and then crumble into nothing.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Irene. While she is not a real person in the sense that she is a projection created by Madison using her conjuring power, she is also not entirely a figment of Madison's imagination, as she can interact with other people and has her own life and feelings outside of Madison. Essentially, she is as "real" as anyone else in the setting until she fulfills her purpose of being Madison's friend and crumbles into nothingness.
- Psychic Powers: Irene, a new student at the school, is fascinated by them and administering tests for the abilities. She and Madison are thrilled after learning Madison's got some. Madison demonstrates telepathy and also conjurations (materializing objects). Virtually every psychic power ever claimed to exist is named by Irene early on when discussing Madison's abilities. Madison also later thinks Irene has powers. She does, in a way, as Irene's actually just Madison's imaginary friend.
- Rewatch Bonus: Before the opening title, Madison finds a pencil right when she needs one. Once she's done using it, it rots into dust. In retrospect, this is clearly a subconscious use of conjuration.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Irene was just an imaginary friend of Madison's.
Jordan Peele: On the surface, Madison appeared to have it all. But on the inside, she was lost, alone. So she created Irene, a projection in every sense. One part wish fulfillment, another part confession. An unconscious cry for help from within her psychic prison... in the Twilight Zone.
