Selah and The Spades

As Selah Summers (Lovie Simone) navigates the intricate social hierarchy of Haldwell Boarding and Day school, she finds herself at a crossroads. As leader of the Spades, one of the five factions vying for control, she's torn between her loyalty to her right-hand man Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome) and the daunting task of finding a worthy successor. Her days are filled with the high-stakes drama of maintaining order among her fellow students, where the rule "don't snitch" is enforced with brutal efficiency.

Meanwhile, New Headmaster Banton (Jesse Williams) is keeping a watchful eye on Paloma Davis (Celeste O'Connor), the school's newest scholarship student. During their initial meeting, Paloma assures him that she's adjusting well and taking photos for the yearbook. But it's not long before Selah tasks her with capturing candid shots of the cheerleading squad, the Spirit Squad. As Paloma becomes embroiled in Selah's world, she's privy to the inner workings of the Spades' drug trade and the ruthless measures taken by its leaders to maintain their grip on power.

When Selah discovers Bobby (Ana Mulvoy Ten), leader of a rival faction, consorting with Two Tom (Evan Roe), head of the Prefects, she concocts a plan to use Paloma as her eyes and ears. Under the guise of a school project, Paloma is tasked with capturing incriminating evidence of their illicit activities. As Selah's trust in Paloma grows, so too does her desire to make her the new leader of the Spades, despite Maxxie's reservations about her inexperience.

As tensions simmer beneath the surface, Tarit (Henry Hunter Hall), another powerful figure within the Haldwell hierarchy, warns Selah that there's a snitch lurking among them. Though she's skeptical at first, she begins to suspect that Maxxie's growing carelessness might be more than just a coincidence. With the stakes higher than ever, Selah must decide whether to stick with her tried-and-true lieutenant or take a chance on Paloma, the newcomer who may hold the key to the Spades' future – and potentially their downfall.

As the night wears on, the group ventures to a massive rave party, only to have campus security intervene and shut down the festivities. Amidst the chaos, Banton stumbles upon a mysterious flash drive emblazoned with an image of a spade. Meanwhile, Selah receives a stern phone call from her mother Maybelle (Gina Torres), who demands she return home and confronts her about ignoring acceptance letters from her preferred university. Maybelle shares the parable of the scorpion and the frog, hinting that Selah's nature is inherently dark and in need of protection.

As tensions rise within the group, Bobby confronts Selah about a questionable order issued by one of her faction members - specifically Maxxie - who has been responsible for doling out directives. Tarit approaches Selah with news that the suspected rat is believed to be a young prefect, but vows to continue investigating to avoid another war like the one they experienced sophomore year. Maxxie claims he doesn't possess the ledger, but will look into it, raising suspicions.

Paloma's innocuous questions about prom spark a sudden outburst from Selah, who can't cope with her friend's attempts at conversation. Later, Paloma turns to Maxxie for answers, only to learn that he mixed up the order. Paloma reprimands him for adding to Selah's stress, but Maxxie fires back, labeling Paloma as nothing more than a lackey who has carried Selah's weight for years.

As emotions simmer beneath the surface, Selah eventually apologizes to Paloma. However, when Maxxie fails to appear at their next meeting, Selah becomes increasingly desperate and interrogates the rat Tarit discovered, only to uncover that he stole the ledger from Maxxie while he was preoccupied with a romantic encounter. Devastated by this revelation, Selah refuses to believe that Maxxie could be responsible for such treachery.

Selah shares her plan with Paloma: she believes they must resort to violence against the rat to maintain their grip on power. Initially hesitant, Paloma ultimately relents and agrees to take a stand. When Paloma's hands are left battered and bruised as a result of her confrontation with the rat, Selah offers a helping hand, revealing a dark determination to do whatever it takes to preserve her position.

As tensions simmer beneath the surface, Selah's desperation to break free from Maxxie's orbit leads her to compromise her own values, dispatching him on a perilous solo drug run. The consequences of this reckless decision soon become apparent as Maxxie returns battered and bruised, his presence sparking a fiery confrontation with Selah. Her ire fueled by the ledger controversy, she accuses Maxxie of reveling in attention, resurrecting the specter of Teela - a name Selah has been doggedly avoiding. The emotional toll of this encounter is palpable as Selah promptly fires Maxxie and retreats to her room, where tears flow freely.

Meanwhile, Banton's draconian measures aimed at curbing the factions' misbehavior have an unexpected consequence: prom is canceled, prompting a furious backlash from the very groups he sought to discipline. As tempers flare, Bobby shoulders the blame, only for Paloma to seize the initiative and rally the factions around a bold new plan - a prom in the woods that will reclaim their power and assert their independence.

As the factions converge, whispers of Teela's troubled past begin to circulate. This enigmatic figure was once a loyal member of Bobby's crew before being poached by the spades, her downward spiral culminating in a calamitous acid-fueled crash into a goalpost, followed by expulsion from school - a fall she never recovered from. The factions' suspicion falls squarely on Selah, whom they believe engineered Teela's downfall to distract from their own misdeeds.

Selah, ever the pragmatist, sees no harm in Paloma's budding relationship with Bobby, but Paloma is not so sure. Her concerns are soon assuaged by Bobby's reassurances that the factions adore her and she should not allow Selah's machinations to undermine her confidence. However, as prom day arrives, a subtle manipulation unfolds. Selah surreptitiously spikes Paloma's drink with drugs from her stash, unwittingly setting in motion a chain of events that will forever alter their dynamic.

As Selah approaches Maxxie with an air of desperation, she poses a morbid inquiry: "How many pills would be too many?" Her ruse is thinly veiled, as she feigns concern for Paloma's well-being by claiming her friend had already succumbed to the temptation. However, this ploy is swiftly exposed, revealing Selah's true motives - an attempt to silence the rising star that threatens to eclipse her own fading luminescence. Maxxie's ire is ignited as he confronts Selah about her latest scheme, decrying her penchant for manipulating and controlling those around her.

Together, the trio sets out to locate Paloma, with Maxxie insisting that Selah recount the truth to their shaken friend. The revelation sparks a mixture of outrage and despair in Paloma's eyes, as she retaliates against Selah with a resounding slap. With her dignity wounded but her spirit unbroken, Paloma flees into the night, only to stumble upon the precipice of disaster when she falls over the railing. Miraculously, Maxxie and Selah manage to intervene, pulling Paloma back from the brink as they share a moment of stark realization.

As the gravity of their actions settles in, the trio begins their trek back to prom, their steps heavy with the weight of secrets revealed and unspoken fears. The once-turbulent landscape has given way to an uneasy truce, with Selah's machinations temporarily laid bare for all to see. Yet, as they approach the threshold of the night's festivities, it remains to be seen whether this fragile understanding will endure or if the forces of deceit and manipulation will once again threaten to tear them asunder.