When the 1983 TV movie ‘Deadly Lessons’ aired on BBC (for the 1st time I was aware of), I viewed it with epiphanic reverie. Again the 2nd time it aired. Now my 2 VHS recordings of those showings are long gone and I can view it from an ironic distance. It was subtlety-free, dodged credibility and the script was poor and the acting worse. Still I wonder what would have happened to the characters in the 34 years since the events shown in the movie. What would have happened afterwards?
Would Miss Wade’s mysterious clout that kept the deaths of 3 teenage girls quiet have also worked to keep the killer’s reveal quiet? Or not? What would have happened to the prestigious Starkwater Hall boarding school? Could it have survived? Would the murders have faded into forgotten memory? To be blunt, probably. Would Miss Wade have been publicly disgraced and vilified? Maybe, maybe not.
Would Tember Logan’s family have accepted the accidental death verdict? Probably not. What would have been the outcome of the reveals of the killer’s identity? Why did he throw away his career and freedom for a misguided revenge quest? All the previous cases he worked on would have been reopened. Would there have been a trial and what would the sentence have been?
What about Officer Craig and his unnamed boss? Would there have been any consequences for them not seeing through the killer’s false carefully orchestrated concern. The killer wandered the corridor with harmful intent. But so did Hartigan. What would have become of that stalker and emotional involvement with a student? What would have become of Marita? Would she have lived with what happened or spiralled into drink and drugs?
What about Cally? Would she have emerged unscathed from the killer’s attack on her? Or would she have suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed lifetime care as a result? Would Libby ever have gotten her father’s love or treatment for her obvious and overlooked eating disorder? Would she have thrived or died of her mocked eating disorder? Would there have been any consequences to Eddie Fox having a relationship with the underage Stefanie?
What about Mr Ferrar and his relationship with Miss Wade and the underage Shama? Would Stefanie have returned to Starkwater Hall and would her relationship with Eddie have continued or ended in acrimony? Why did Stefanie parents not come to collect her from the school after she was attacked 3 times by a demented murderer? What would the long term consequences of the murders have been? Would Mr Ferrar’s life of aimlessness have gone on? Would the survivors have been happy or disappointed with life?
Would Miss Wade have supported the killer or disavowed him? One can wonder. One could also wonder why nothing bad ever happened at the school until Stefanie showed up and one could wonder if she was innocent and as thick as she let on.