What Protocol?
After the horrific events of last week’s episode of Scream (i.e., Jake’s dead body being dropped at Brooke’s feet at the Lady of the Lake assembly), the Lakewood Police have locked down the school. In the auditorium, Maggie is trying to sooth a blood-soaked Brooke while snapping pics of the crime scene. So…I don’t think this is procedure? Usually they don’t allow other people to hang with the dead body, especially if they’re minors and happened to be very close to the victim.
Finally Brooke is able to leave the crime scene and shower, with Audrey guarding the stall. When Brooke says that she can’t believe Jake is dead because they were just texting the day before, Audrey gets very concerned. She suggests that maybe the texts weren’t coming from Jake, as she can’t outright tell Brooke that she’s known Jake was dead for days. I’d like to point out that even after crying in the shower, Brooke’s eye makeup game is strong. Audrey uses her phone to send a text to “Jake” that says, “YOU ARE GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL.”
Noah Continues Playing Detective
While Noah is being questioned, he shares some important information about Jake with the police: “You have to understand Jake! He went to great lengths to be a pain in the ass sometimes,” he explains. He shares his current theory with the cops, that with Piper gone, her accomplice is trying to finish what they started. The police get their first inkling that Jake’s killer knew him well.
When Noah returns to the study hall room, he asks Zoe to not ignore him. She’s intent on doing just that, since she wants to forget about the party awkwardness and the dead body she just saw on stage. She caves almost immediately and asks Noah if he thinks everything is happening again. Duh, yes. He says that they all have bull’s eyes on their backs until they can figure out who killed Jake. Zoe shares her love of The Morgue and psychoanalyzes Noah, pointing out that his dedication to solving the murder helps him avoid dealing with feelings. “We all have our ways of coping,” she says, convincing me (at least for the week) that she’s our new murderer.
Some When a Stranger Calls Business
After Stavo points out that this is most likely a When a Stranger Calls situation, Kieran comes to an important realization: “So they didn’t lock the killer out…they locked him IN.” Sorry y’all, this doesn’t end up being as suspenseful as one hopes. Emma’s bag starts to buzz, but it’s not her phone–it’s Jake’s! Hey, that’s not awesome. She shows the planted phone to Kieran, convinced that someone at school planted it on her. She shares the same information with Audrey, who convinces her that she can’t go to the cops with it.
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When news breaks out that the police are searching lockers, Kieran decides he has to get something out of his immediately. He says that he’ll be right back, prompting a “I can’t believe you just said that!” from Noah. Audrey and Zoe distract the cops while Noah and Kieran break into the hallway. Kieran removes the gun from the locker, only to have a deputy confiscate it from his backpack.
When Acosta questions him, Kieran explains that it’s his father’s gun he’s been carrying to protect himself and his friends. Acosta offers to confiscate the gun and look past the situation if Kieran lets him protect him, but Kieran isn’t buying the good cop routine. Acosta switches tactics, demanding that Kieran give him an “in” unless he wants to be arrested and expelled. Cut to Acosta confiscating Jake’s phone from Emma, using the knowledge Kieran gave him. Emma and Eli are shocked.
What Exactly is the Sheriff’s Game Here?
Emma explains that Jake’s phone was planted on her and Acosta lets her go. When the deputy questions his methods, Acosta explains that he’s going to use Stockholm Syndrome to get all the kids on his side. With how many enemies Jake had, he thinks his killer could be one of the Lakewood Six.
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When Mr. Maddox comes in to get Brooke, Acosta demonstrates a fantastic lack of sensitivity by saying, “I found Jake Fitzgerald, just like you asked.” Wow, dude. “That’s not even remotely funny,” Mr. Maddox says, earning the first bit of respect from me. Acosta explains that he’s not letting Brooke go until he questions her alone. I don’t think Brooke is eighteen yet, so I’m pretty sure this isn’t legal. When Acosta talks to Brooke, she explains her break up with Jake and reveals that she thinks Seth must be responsible for his murder.
Brooke comes to Maggie in the auditorium as she’s crying over Jake’s body. Brooke asks her how long he’s been dead and Maggie tells her probably two or three days. Acosta proceeds to dismiss her from the case for revealing important information to a suspect. He claims that she’s too close to Brooke, which is both entirely correct and hypocritical considering what he found in his son’s room last week. He then uses Jake’s thumbprint to unlock his phone (once again, lack of sensitivity?) to look at the messages between Jake and Mr. Maddox. At the close of the episode, Brooke walks into the pool fully dressed, and sobs underwater.
What is Reality at this Point?
Mob mentality is settling over the kids, with Hayley at the center. “Everyone who comes around you dies. And your friends should be careful, because they’re all going to die,” she spits at Emma once she’s back from questioning. “Every time there’s a killer there’s always a crazy Duvall standing there,” she says, earning her a poorly faked punch from Emma. Blocking wasn’t great here, but I enjoyed seeing the girl punched all the same. Acosta and the faculty break up the fight. Ms. Lang escorts Emma to her office, explaining that the overwhelming emotions are a normal reaction to what is happening. She then locks Emma in there.
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Killer call! “Hello Emma…did you miss me? Well I’m coming for you!” This sounded much like an iconic Boy Meets World moment:
Lakewood Killer #2 says. Emma panics and tries to get out of the office, but then realizes she’s locked in. When she pulls the shades up the killer is standing there with a knife, but are they? It’s unclear whether this is in Emma’s mind. She uses a chair to smash the window of the office and escape. When Acosta and Ms. Lang question Emma, she says she had a panic attack, leaving out any mention of the killer. Kieran apologizes for ratting Emma out about Jake’s phone, which Emma accepts. However, she wants him to trust her to make her own decisions and leave her alone for now.
Bi-curious and the Virgin Might Call It Quits
Audrey is convinced that the second killer is Stavo, who is far too obvious for this sort of thing. Noah disagrees with her, convinced that he’s just a fan of horror. In their discussion, Audrey accidentally reveals that she’s been getting more calls–and that Jake isn’t the only one dead. Audrey explains the bloody drawings of the Lakewood Six as she becomes more certain about her suspicions. She steals Stavo’s iPad and reveals the creepy likenesses to the room. “You know who does that? Serial killers!” Hayley says. Well Hayley, serial killers tend to spend more time killing people and less time drawing people, but sure. Acosta and the rest of the faculty return to stop the room from beating Stavo to oblivion.
Audrey offers to pay for the broken iPad, but Stavo just tells her to get away from him or else. “That went a little more Lord of the Flies than expected,” Noah explains. Audrey is still acting cagey, so Noah steals her phone. He finds the text messages from Lakewood Killer #2–including the video of Audrey removing the creepy message from Jake’s corpse. Is this the end of the friendship between them? We’re just going to have to stay tuned to find out.
Five episodes of Scream down! The pacing of this season so far has been off; it took the characters (exempting Audrey) nearly five whole episodes to realize that there’s a killer among them, and the suspense didn’t quite sustain through them all. This can only mean that the body count is about to skyrocket and all hell is going to break loose–again. The emotional arcs in the wake of Jake’s death were well executed, though the plot (every time someone spoke to Brooke at the crime scene, Acosta’s overall behavior) seemed quite unbelievable at times. Also, the blocking hasn’t been great, however, the most important thing to me is that someone finally realized that Audrey is acting crazy suspicious, so I’m hoping that means we can move past it soon.
Best Line: “Every time there’s a killer, there’s always a crazy Duvall standing there.” I have to give this week’s to Hayley for her shitty comments toward Emma’s family.
Killer Calls: 1
Body Count Per Episode: 0
Body Count Per Season: 2
Episode Rating: 7/10.
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