Scream season 2, episode 5, “Dawn of the Dead,” just finished airing, and we immediately see the fallout of the events of last week.
The school officially goes into lockdown after Jake’s body falls from the banner above Brooke. Sheriff Acosta is interviewing a lot of people, though Emma is much higher on his “request” list than Audrey. Considering her direct connection to the last set of murders, this really isn’t surprising.
Noah doesn’t help the situation by telling Acosta he thinks Piper’s accomplice is finishing the job now that Emma is home. Couple that with the fact that Emma is somehow now in possession of Jake’s phone — which the killer has been using — and it looks like she’s being set up to take the fall. But would anyone possibly believe that? Considering the murmurings from the crowd about the rules not applying to the Lakewood Six, maybe Emma’s classmates would hop aboard that train.
But if you want to talk about looking guilty, it’s Kieran we should be keeping an eye on. When they learn the cops are going through everyone’s lockers, he’s quick to make a break and try to grab his backpack before the police find it. Unfortunately, he’s not quick enough. Kieran is caught in possession of a gun.
Acosta tries to play good cop, but Kieran isn’t buying what he’s selling. In return for not bringing charges against him, Kieran agrees to point the sheriff in the right direction. In other words, he rats out Emma for having Jake’s phone right before she’s about to give it to Eli so he can ditch it for her.
Honestly, this is probably the best thing that could’ve happened to Emma. I do not, for one second, trust Eli, and giving him the phone would’ve allowed him to do anything with it once he was out of their sights. Eli’s obsession with Emma crossed the line, like, three episodes ago, and the last thing she should do is put ammo in his hands.
Brooke already thinks she’s got the killer pinned, though. In an interview with Acosta, with her father sitting right next to her, Brooke admits to her relationship with Jake, the subsequent fight, and the fact that she’s seen Branson around town. She firmly believes Branson is the man behind these murders, and I honestly wouldn’t put it past him. He’s hella shady, is obsessed with Brook, and has been conveniently off-screen quite a bit this season.
Back in the library, our least favorite Lakewood High student, Haley, is leading the charge against Emma, blaming her for everyone getting murdered. Emma slaps her and the two girls begin to fight, only breaking apart when the adults come in to stop them. That’s when Ms. Lang puts Emma in a room by herself and locks the door behind her. Now, I don’t think Ms. Lang is the killer, but I do think she’s feeling information to the masked murderer. Why else would she recording meetings with Emma and leaving her alone when she’s obviously in a panicked state? She looked pretty guilty about that last point, so I have to wonder if she’s just doing what she’s been told.
This also gives the killer the opportunity to call Emma and tell her that he’s coming for her next. Emma, whether it’s because she’s so scared or she’s just done with this shit, breaks the window and gets ready to take him on. Only, he’s not there. She’s sick of his games, but he is certainly still having fun.
I wish there had been more focus on Brooke in this episode, if only because Carlson Young does such a fantastic job of bringing out all the layers present in her character. She’s strong and sassy, and yet each passing minute shows us just how broken she’s become. My heart tore in half when she called Maggie by name, begging her to reveal how long Jake’s been dead. Knowing she’s been talking to his killer these last few days would be enough to make anyone go crazy.
Unfortunately, Acosta was looking on for that little exchange, and he decides to take Maggie off the case. She’s too close, and he can’t risk her revealing more information to the Lakewood Six. (Look, I’m going to be calling them the Six for as long as I possibly can, okay? The Lakewood Five just doesn’t have the same ring to it and I’m in denial.)
Another character losing her damn mind is Audrey, but the consequences of her breaking down are much higher than those Brooke would face. Audrey accidentally tells Noah the killer has been calling her, but she’s quick to cover it up. She’s a convincing liar, and she certainly knows how to distract her best friend, especially when she goes after Stavo for his drawings, but in the end, Noah’s wheels are forever turning. She’s been acting weird, and he is no longer going to let it slide. That’s when he pockets her phone and heads out of school.
While Emma denies anything happened outside that office and Brooke screams her head off underwater in the pool, Noah pulls out Audrey’s phone and breaks into it. Did anyone see the password? It was probably something brilliant and hilarious, but I didn’t catch it. Regardless, Noah’s smile doesn’t last long as he sees the texts between Audrey and the killer, and then finds the truly damning evidence — the video of Audrey pulling the notes off of Jake’s body.
Killer potential
Half the fun of Scream is trying to figure out who the killer is. Let’s sees who’s most suspicious this week.
- Haley Meyers: It’s clear she doesn’t like the Lakewood Six, and what better way to get rid of them than put them through exactly what happened last year? Sympathizing with Piper and wishing she had her side of the story is never a good sign of sanity.
- Sheriff Acosta: He was acting super creepy this episode, whether it was trying to play nice or quietly moving pieces into place (like having the mayor backed into a corner and taking Maggie off the case). Let’s not forget we also didn’t see him confront Stavo about that mask in his room. Though, to be fair, Stavo probably just had it so he could accurately portray it in his comic.
- Eli Hudson: I will admit that I’m starting to think Stavo isn’t as bad as he initially looked. He’s weird, true, but that doesn’t make him a murderer. Eli, on the other hand? He’s hovering over Emma, and I find it hard to believe it’s been love at first sight driving his actions.