Scream
Season 1 Episode 8 “Ghosts”
Directed by Rodman Flender
Written by Erin Maher, Kay Reindl
Created by Jill E. Blotevogel, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin
Starring Willa Fitzgerald, Bex Taylor-Klaus, John Karna, Amadeus Serafini, Carlson Young, Jason Wiles, Tracy Middendorf, Tom Maden, Bobby Campo, Bryan Batt, Amelia Rose Blaire
MTV
Air date: Tuesday, August 18th, 2015, 10pm

Last week, Scream finally became a horror show on television. After Emma spending nearly the whole episode trying to save Will (Connor Weil) from the clutches of the masked killer, he ends up in a Saw-style trap, and gets his head destroyed by a piece of farming equipment, spraying blood all over Emma (Willa Fitzgerald). Jake (Tom Maden) is also in a bad way, left impaled but alive while finding Will at an abandoned bowling alley. That bowling alley, we find, once employed deformed possible killer Brandon James, whom we also learn may have actually bedded his beloved Daisy, now Maggie, Emma’s mom (Tracy Middendorf). All things together, it was the best episode of the season by far. Being called Scream means the only way you get off the suspect list is by dying, so everyone, even wounded Jake, is a suspect.

This week’s show opens with a recap of last week’s grisly ending, complete with an epic shot of Will’s mom screaming, as the camera pulls back THROUGH the gaping split in his head! Emma is obviously grieving. Jake wakes up in the hospital and is told of Will’s demise. Piper (Amelia Rose Blaire) shows up to the police station with incriminating evidence about the Mayor (Bryan Batt), although that just raises her up the suspect list in my eyes. Trying to comfort Emma is new beau Keiran (Amadeus Serafini), and you’ll never guess who was conveniently not at the bowling alley, and might have had motive to kill Will later… just saying. Speaking of mysterious suspects, Emma’s yet unseen Dad comes up in conversation, as he’s been missing from work since everything started.

My two best friends (as in they’d be my best friends if I went to Lakewood High), Noah (John Karna) and Audrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus) are still sleuthing on Mr. Branson (Bobby Campo), AND giving me more great dialogue:

Noah – “It’s just like in The Faculty; alien parasites turn the teachers into murderous body snatchers… I actually hadn’t considered that possibility”

Audrey – “Because you’re not insane.”

Noah – “It’s wishful thinking, there are worse ways to go than being body snatched by Famke Janssen.”

Emma is totally losing it, and is having grisly visions of Will’s split-faced corpse following her. When Emma goes to the hospital she is mysteriously visited by her long gone father, although he may be a figment of her imagination. Piper shows up in the morning to again remind us her father is dead and gone (cough… motive), and tells Emma to give him a second chance. The episode reveals a lot more about Lakewood’s past. Emma has a flashback of her parents fighting the night her dad left. It seems as maybe Daisy and Brandon did get it on, and there’s a little Brandon out there looking for revenge for dear deformed daddy’s death… Holy Alliteration Batman!

With news of Emma having a Brandon James related step-sibling out there somewhere, and with Noah and Audrey’s suspicions of Mr. Branson coming to fruition, as in finding a knife stashed in the loudspeaker in his classroom, it’s not too hard to connect the dots. The Scream franchise has always been big on multiple killers dating back to Billy & Stu in Part 1. I’m guessing Branson and Piper are the killers here. Her dad (killed when she was 2) could’ve been Brandon James or one of the victims. Branson, we learned from Noah, has a history of leaving dead students behind.

Episode 8 dug deep into the backstory of Lakewood, and really tugged at the strings of multiple suspects. I liked this episode because I finished watching it and I’m still sitting here, trying to pool all the info, and sift out the likeliest suspects. After a rocky start, I’m firmly entrenched in the storyline now, and can’t wait for the reveals. Not to mention watching Will’s bloody split-headed ghost all episode was awesome!

Scream returns next Tuesday night, August 25th at 10:00 ET on MTV.

Videos

Scream (TV Series) | “˜Emma is Back’ Official Sneak Peek

Noah and Audrey are surprised to see Emma in school after suffering her latest ordeal. But is she OK? Don’t miss new episodes of Scream Tuesdays at 10/9c on MTV.

Scream (TV Series) | “˜Will’s Fate’ Official Clip (Episode 7) | MTV

Emma goes to meet Will, but is in for a surprise. Watch a new episode of Scream this Tuesday at 10/9c on MTV.