Scream has managed to take a tactical turn. If the beginning episodes were trying to prove to us that anyone could be the killer, the most recent ones are focusing on trying to prove who is not the killer. It’s a tactic familiar to those who are fans of the mystery genre. By placing a character in the middle of the action, it rules them out as the villain, or so we think. Jake is stabbed, so it can’t be him, right? Noah was being chased too, so how could he be involved?
Still, Scream is doing its damnedest to keep the killer relatively hidden while leaving anyone a possibility except for Emma. Well, I guess it could be Emma along with another student and this is all a ploy to get attention while thinning out the student body, but that would be a strange twist. Otherwise, Scream is dubiously keeping certain characters off screen in some of the most uninteresting ways. Oh, Aubrey is taking a midterm and no one else is? Jake has to relieve himself? By the amount of time he took it was either number two or he has early onset prostate swelling.
Really though, if it’s Jake I’ll be incredibly disappointed. The guy has virtually no redeeming qualities and what with Brooke’s promise to be a better person, Jake would be an absolutely horrible choice to partner up with. At this point, to add murder on top of spying, blackmail and all around douchebaggery would just be adding insult to injury.
Speaking of Brooke, I have to say if any character has made an effort to learn anything from all of this mayhem, it has to be her. She’s gone from being one of the most vapid and one-dimensional characters to one of the stronger ones. In this episode she finally stood up to her father as well as impart some sage advice to Jake about being oneself. And she can tape a knife to a broom handle ladies and gentleman! Seriously Noah, you’re an expert on the criminal mind and can break into virtually any electronic device, but duct tape is beyond you?
But I think the most interesting thing involving Brooke has to be the killer’s reluctance to take her out when he clearly had a chance. Rather than give chase, the killer bee lines it in the opposite direction. Has Brooke garnered the sympathy of our killer or did he just realize Jake on the crapper was a far easier target?
I wish I could say the same for Emma as I have for Brooke. Emma continues to prove that she is far more interested in finding her high school sweetheart than protecting her own life. Not minutes later from having her entire friend circle almost stabbed to death, she decides to have a movie night at Will’s, and stops for candy no less. A smarter person might say to her crush, “Hey, I have real strong feelings for you, but under the circumstances, what with a killer on the loose controlling cellphones and hacking and slashing virtually everyone I care about, maybe you should just lock the front door and call it a night.” Furthermore, what kind of mother lets her daughter go out with a murderous stalker on the loose? Just last episode she was suggesting a police detail and now she’s more worried about whether kale goes with pork.
I think it’s becoming more and more clear that the killer has to be a combination of two or more people. It would make sense since it was the big twist in the film. Question is how will the series try and one up the original?
If I had to put my money on the suspects, I would have to go with a Noah/Kieran combo. Noah has already proven to have an infatuation with mass murderers, one that may have manifested into action. Also, he’s already proven he has the technical experience to hack into phones and the like. Still, he’s shown no proficiency in killing and he was in the room with everyone else when the killer was trying to get at them. No, we need someone else (not a thinker, but a doer) to wear the mask. As stated before, Jake seems like too obvious of a choice. My money would be on Kieran for a number of reasons. He’s already proven to be a distraction to Emma, he’s trusted, and if you notice in the trailer for the upcoming episodes, we see the killer attack the sheriff with a cane rather than his signature knife. Maybe killing one’s own father is a little much for Kieran. Finally, I may be wrong, but has there really been any other interaction between Kieran and Noah other than him fishing Noah out of the lake?
Something to think about.
