Dawn of the Dead
by Bethany Rose
Episode 5 Recap, Thoughts, and Theories – Spoiler Warning.
Recap
Hello, fellow Screamers!! I am technically on vacation this week, but I couldn’t leave you all without a dose of my Scream thoughts, so I present to you this mini combo of a recap, thoughts, and theories.
After Jake’s body falls from the Lady of the Lake pageant banner and douses Brooke with blood, Sheriff Acosta declares a school lockdown. Here is a brief rundown of what affects this lockdown had on some of the main characters, paired with Killer Clues, which is an update on how this episode solidifies or dispels any notions of each person’s killer intentions.
Brooke: She’s clearly struggling with the death of The Jake. After washing away the blood she is quick to throw out her only suspect onto Acosta’s list, as she opens up about her run-in with Branson. Though she appears confident when she reveals this information, she eventually returns to the last place she saw Jake, the school pool, and has her own little scream underwater. I once read that in fiction if a character is submerged underwater there are only two reasons: they are either going to drown, or they are figuratively baptized. So I’m curious to see if Brooke will emerge from this episode (and the pool) a changed person. Killer Clues: Unless Brooke has some type of dissociative identity disorder, she is off the suspect list.
Noah: After getting a nice dose of reality from Zoe, who suggested his podcast is more a coping mechanism than an actual investigation, and getting stuck in the halls trying to help Kieran clear out his locker, Noah’s day goes from bad to worse when Audrey not only falls on his list of Piper accomplice suspects, she makes it all the way to the top. After Audrey seems far too focused on Stavo and changes her stories too many times, Noah finally gets suspicious enough to make a major move: he grabs her phone. Fortunately for him, the phone doesn’t lock him out after a few missed attempts at a password, and he is finally able to access Audrey’s texts. Only he probably wishes he hadn’t, as he finds all of the recent communication from the new killer, including the image of Audrey crouching over Jake’s corpse. Killer Clues: [Said in your best Maury Povich voice] Noah is not the killer. This season’s Big Bad is out to torture Audrey. If that was Noah’s case, he wouldn’t have needed to steal her phone and look for the messages the new killer sent—unless Noah has some type of dissociative identity disorder. (Can you tell I really do not want that to be the case?)
Kieran: George Michael Kieran carries a gun to school for protection. Which means he obviously keeps it tucked away in his locker. Looks like he is in big trouble, mister! Oh, nevermind, he just totally tattles on Emma. Don’t be mad. He probably just wanted to take a nap. But his hair ended up waking up in time to flop over dramatically for Emma’s big fight scene. Killer Clues: You gotta have faith something’s up with Kieran—just not stalking Audrey. Though I wonder if my decreasing ability to take Kieran seriously is the intention.
- Scream: The TV Series
- Created by
Jay Beattie, Jill E. Blotevogel, Dan Dworkin - Cast
Willa Fitzgerald, Carlson Young, Bex Taylor-Klaus - Season 2 Release Date
31 May 2016 - Bethany’s Grade: A
*****
The Red Herring Crew: Eli and Zoe didn’t do too much. Their characters pretty much did all the flirting and psychology talk (respectively) that they usually do. Stavo and Ms. Lang had a bit more going on. Stavo decided being locked in school after a classmate’s gruesome murder was the perfect time to polish up on his artistic expression of drawing beheaded Zoes and such. Not too surprising that he ended the episode black and blue—and red at Audrey. Ms. Lang is still horrible and is clearly exploiting Emma. I suspect she has a book deal or thinks she can get one if she publishes work about Emma. She wasn’t too happy getting called out about leaving Em alone in a locked room, but hey, she left her with a sturdy chair. Killer Clues: Are most of them hiding something, sure. But I don’t think they are the killers—at least not Audrey’s stalker.
Audrey: If her slip-ups get Noah killed, I will be angrier than Stavo! But she finally got what she wanted when Stavo moved up on everyone’s list as prime suspect. Oh, no, now she feels bad and wants to help Stavo. OK. OK. I’ll just be hanging out with the large goth population of George Washington High School while Audrey figures out what she wants. In the meantime, Audrey, you might want to find your phone.
Emma: If the discovery of Jake wasn’t trigger enough for Em’s PTSD, she is now locked in school and holding Jake’s phone. Plus, just as she and Eli come up with a plan to ditch the phone, she learns that Kieran has already told Sheriff Acosta she has it. Then her totally fake teacher purposely exacerbates her anxiety, causing Emma to actually get stronger (finally!). Which doesn’t bode well for Haley Meyers (not to be confused with Eddie Kreuger), who is happy to continue taunting the Lakewood 6 5 (and solidifying her spot as the number one person I hope is next on the kill list). After Haley and Emma fight (Fight Sponsored by Kieran’s Hair) and Stavo gets beat up (in a separate fight), the lockdown is lifted and class is dismissed, but not before Em lets Kieran know she really just needs to be alone. Killer Clues: I think most of Emma’s interactions with the actual cloaked form of the killer are going to be a mix of dreams, hallucinations and Ms. Lang’s nefarious (but not murderous) ways. Unless Emma has some type of dissociative identity disorder.
Maggie: You don’t need much screen time to make an impact. In the few scenes she was in, there were some Killer Clues that support my Maggie theories. She slightly fudges on Jake’s time of death to Brooke. This info ended up getting her taken off the case, and I have no doubt she knew it would. Then there was the crying. Maggie’s job means working with the dead all the time. She had to work on a few Lakewood teens only months ago, including Emma’s friend Nina. Yes, Nina was probably the least liked of that bunch, but she was still Emma’s friend and a young person who died a horrible and mysterious death. There were no tears from Maggie then. So why now? Why cry over Jake? Sure, it could just be that this death brought back all her feelings from the previous murders, but I think it is something more telling—I think she was crying tears of guilt. But what about Jake’s phone? Why was it in Emma’s bag? I have two theories on that. The first is that Emma lives with Maggie. There is always a chance she accidentally grabbed the phone and threw it in her bag, thinking it was her own. While somewhat plausible, I doubt Maggie would have left the phone out. So it was likely planted in Emma’s bag. Why would Maggie plant incriminating evidence on her own daughter? Simple. Now that Jake’s murder is public news, the killer has to mimic Piper and Audrey’s time in the Brandon James mask. Maggie can no longer only taunt Audrey. To make it look like Piper’s accomplice has really started killing again, Emma can’t be ignored. Now, Maggie, let me introduce you to two of Emma’s tormentors: Ms. Lang and Haley. Feel free to off either one next!
