🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐

Gavaldon teens Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie) have only ever read about fairy tale adventures in books. But after Sophie’s wish to escape their small town comes true, she and her best friend are whisked away to The School for Good and Evil, where students are trained to become heroes and villains.

Students are typically born to legends like King Arthur or Captain Hook, so how would Sophie and Agatha possibly know the difference between an Ever or a Never when they arrive? Or why a giant pen called the Storian is enchanted… and talking to them? Below, we lay out all the terms that Sophie, Agatha and you, fellow Reader, need to know on the first day of class at the School for Good and Evil. But be warned, this is not your ordinary orientation guide:

All the Terms You Need to Know for The School for Good and EvilYou better learn these terms before you enroll in The School For Good and Evil.

the School for Good and Evil

The magical school where the events of the film take place.  It was founded many years ago by two brothers, Rhian and Rafal (both played by Kit Young), to keep the balance between good and evil in the fairy tale world. Legend has it, the school is where the true story behind every great fairy tale begins. The School for Good trains the heroes; the School for Evil trains the villains. Both are connected by a bridge that runs between them.

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blood magic

Blood magic is a forbidden form of dark and powerful magic that Rafal sought for many years. It is the most evil magic of all. Mwa-ha-ha…

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Gavaldon

Sophie and Agatha’s hometown outside of the fairy-tale world, where both girls are decidedly miserable.

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Graves Hill

Agatha’s residence in a humble cottage in Gavaldon. Yes: she, her mother, and her cat Reaper live by graves in a cemetery. Eerie, indeed.

flower crown

Agatha first gives Sophie a flower crown made of branches when they meet as children. Sophie was visiting her mother’s final resting place on Graves Hill, and Agatha tried to cheer her up. The girls consider the crown a bond of their friendship.

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Gavaldon Wishing Tree

Sophie and Agatha became friends beneath the village’s Wishing Tree, etching their names into the tree to last forever. It is where Sophie makes her wish to be taken to the School for Good and Evil.

Never Ever Doubt Sophie and Agatha in The School for Good and EvilThe pure of heart prevail.

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Deauville’s

Deauville’s Storybook Shop in Gavaldon is run by Mrs. Deauville (Patti LuPone). Mrs. Deauville calls Sophie and Agatha her favorites. She saves a special book with “SGE” (aka School for Good and Evil) embossed inside it for Sophie to find, since she loves fairy tales.

Reader

As Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron), the dean of the School for Evil, says: “Every so often, a very lucky candidate from the outside is selected for admission to this hallowed institution. We call them Readers, because they only get to read about the amazing adventures that originate here.”

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Ever

A student who attends the School for Good. Evers believe in Happily Ever After and are typically princesses and heroes. Agatha is technically an Ever.

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Never

A student who attends the School for Evil. Nevers do not believe in Happily Ever After and are typically witches and villains. Sophie is technically a Never.

fairies and wolves

Fairies are the guards for the School for Good; the wolves guard the School for Evil.

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Groom Room

The room where students in the School for Good can “clean up a bit” in an elegant spa setting. It’s also where Agatha first meets her dean, Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington), who claims that her placement at the School for Good was not a mistake.

the World of Story

The School for Good and Evil–– and all the heroes and villains that embark on the adventures Sophie reads about in her fairy tale books–– reside in the World of Story. As the School Master (Laurence Fishburne) tells his new class of students, “like your parents before you, you are all here because the World of Story needs great heroes and villains to teach the people of the outside world to make choices to find their way.”

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Storian

On the students’ first day, the School Master proclaims that “the Storian only chooses the very best of our students for their own adventures.” It is a giant, enchanted pen that speaks while jotting down stories as they unfold in an accompanying giant storybook. The Storian is the narrator of the film, and it begins charting the adventures of Sophie and Agatha before they even arrive at the School for Good and Evil. And once something is written by the Storian, only the Storian can change its course. Could you recognize the voice behind the Storian? Well, it’s none other than Cate Blanchett.

true love

The one thing Evil can never have and Good can never do without, and which is traditionally manifested in a kiss –– is the famous “true love’s kiss.” Sophie makes it her mission to earn true love’s kiss from a prince so that she can switch to the School for Good.

a fail

If you get three fails at the School for Good, you are expelled. But they don’t just kick you out –– they turn you into something else entirely, like a talking tea kettle, a mouse or something “much worse,” Agatha learns.

Reapers

The menaces of the Blue Forest at the School for Good and Evil. Reapers are the scarecrows of the school pumpkin patch that are benign by day, but, by night, will hunt you down, drink your blood and sell your limbs for spoils. As Yuba (Peter Serafinowicz), the school woods survival expert, warns, “Only the best Evil can disguise as Good.”

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Wish Fish

Shimmering, underwater friends of the School for Good that grant students’ wishes if they are strong enough. Professor Dovey explains to her class that they “understand us and our deepest desires.”

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the Doom Room

Where students are taken for punishment at the School for Evil. This is where Professor Lesso cuts Sophie’s beautiful hair to inspire her to accept who she really is (and her potential for Evil).

Prince’s code

At the School for Good, an archer’s arrow flies straight into the bull’s-eye on a target if you are pure of heart, which all princes are. That is why Prince Tedros (Jamie Flatters) is unbothered when Sophie distracts him during practice.

Trial by Tale

The School for Good and Evil’s most valiant test of true love. Each of the two lovers must enter the Blue Forest on the school’s grounds on opposite sides. They have to defeat whatever danger presents itself, and find each other by dawn. Help is strictly forbidden. If either wishes to give up, they need only drop a red handkerchief on the ground and they will be transported to safety.

Seers

Rafal’s deputies who told him of Sophie’s potential.