Well, Scream kept its promise.
Last week’s Scream pilot ended with serial killer-obsessed Noah letting us all know that no character would be safe from a bloody end. What better way to commit to this than offing one of the more promising characters in the show, Rachel?
I commend the show for continuing to address the problem of cyber bullying in today’s high schools. The opening scene shows us the lasting effect bullying over the Internet can have as it’s revealed that although the video of Audrey and Rachel kissing has been taken down, the comments have not. As much as I like the continued commitment to addressing serious social issues, the method by which they did it still has me scratching my head. Audrey makes a point to tell Emma, “Those comments aren’t going away.” Why? Who took down the video? If it was one of Emma’s group then why not close the comments? If a viewer flagged it, like Noah suggests in the pilot, and YouTube took it down, is it their policy to keep the comments up?
Before Rachel meets her end, we learn that she’s a cutter that suffers from depression. It’s moments like these that show that Rachel could have been the type of complex character that would have brought some more balance to the show, contrasting from more one-dimensional characters such as Brooke, whose only dilemma so far is concocting better ways to seduce her teacher.
Rachel and Audrey’s relationship was also something that I’m disappointed I won’t get to see progress. Their love story is far more interesting than, say, Emma’s who is currently stuck in the tired trope of good girl choosing between the dreamy jock and the brooding rebel (and yes I realize that this plays into Noah’s comment about romance being shoehorned into genre fare, but it doesn’t make it easier to watch).
Still, the killing of Rachel isn’t without its merits. Just as Noah explains in the pilot episode, this technique is being employed so that we the audience get attached to the characters before they are done away with. Anyone who watches Game of Thrones is familiar this technique. With that in mind, the show succeeds in spades as I was pleading for Rachel to somehow escape so we could continue to see her character grow. As far as Noah’s assertion that anyone could be the next victim, Rachel’s death also strengthens that claim, although I think it’s safe to say we aren’t going to see Emma bite the bullet anytime soon.
Scream continues to introduce characters that are virtual reflections of ones from the original feature film. Shortly after Rachel’s death we meet Piper Shay, who seems to be meant to fill the role of Gale Weathers played by Courtney Cox. Just like Gale, Piper is a reporter, but Scream the TV Series continues to make a conscious effort to update from the film and keep everything relevant. Instead of a crack news reporter like Gale, Piper hosts a podcast on serial killers very similar to the popular, Serial. Also, unlike Gale, Piper seems to be less self-centered. Gale is originally introduced as a complete asshole that has no problem ruining someone’s life to get the story. As of now, Piper seems to be sympathetic to the residents of Lakewood, practicing long lost art of ethics in journalism.
“Hello, Emma” didn’t really reveal anything too big that we didn’t already get from the pilot episode. Will and Jake are still clearly hiding something in regards to Nina. They mention that there is no way that anyone can trace any connection between them and Nina over the internet, which isn’t too much of a surprise considering half of this show takes place either through a computer or cellphone screen. Noah is interrogated by the local sheriff, but manages not to draw any suspicion with the old airtight alibi of, “Hey, I’m just a weirdo. What do you expect?” Then there’s the long shot possibility that it could be Audrey. Her admission that Nina, “Got what she deserved” could hint to something, but it seems a little obvious.
I will say that Emma’s gullibility is getting to me a little. She’s already been called by the killer, seen the whole school get a mass text from him, and had her number high jacked to text Will without her knowing. Still, the ending has her on the phone with a creep-tastic security employee, enduring wave after wave of inappropriate questions and not once does it dawn on her that it might be the killer again till he announces himself.
But I think the real question we all need to be asking is why Riley doesn’t know there were other Terminator films before Genisys. Dump her now Noah, while you still can!
The preview for the next episode promises yet another death. This should be an interesting gimmick if he show continues in this fashion; killing one cast member in every episode. I’m curious if this is the case and how this will work over a ten-episode run. We’ll just have to wait and see.
