“Number two – you can never drink or do drugs.” – Randy Meeks, “Scream”
Kieran may be singing “Happy Birthday to Me” this week, but nuGhostface is the one bringing the party favors, which makes for a pretty fun episode of “Scream.”
Emma’s original plan to celebrate Kieran’s birthday is an intimate, romantic night for two. But she lets herself be talked into throwing a surprise party by Cousin Eli, who secretly knows it’s exactly the opposite of what Kieran wants. But you can’t blame the teens of Lakewood for being up for a boozy rager. Emma is fed up with her folks, disgusted by her father’s violent streak and sick of her mother’s insistence on keeping secrets from her. Audrey is still being stalked by the killer, who sneaks through her bedroom window to return the bloody corkscrew she tried to bury in the woods. And Brooke continues to be equal parts annoyed and confused by “Jake’s” attitude via text.
Speaking of The Jake, it’s fittingly in his name that nuGhostface gets the party started when he leaves an expensive bottle of tequila on Emma’s doorstep as a “birthday gift” for Kieran. Audrey is horrified when she hears “Jake” supplied the booze, but it’s already too late as people start getting sick and it’s clear they’ve all been dosed. Gustavo helpfully exposits (and it’s worth noting that he was the one who passed out the shots to the partygoers, supposedly at Eli’s suggestion) that it’s likely a drug called ayahuasca, which can cause hurling and hallucinations. So there’s nothing the kids can do but wait and see exactly how it affects them.
The birthday boy gets off lightly, the ayahuasca only making him feel tired and woozy. But while Emma’s putting him to bed, he does mutter out a story about a neighbor’s dog Eli “borrowed” when they were kids that later turned up dead, but conks out completely before Emma can ask any follow-up questions. Here’s where I’ll confess that Cousin Eli has easily leapfrogged Ms. Lang as the newbie I like the least. I still think introducing family members through whom the show can explore Kieran’s sketchy backstory was a smart idea. But I’m finding Eli’s tiny manipulations of Kieran and Emma – including an unsmooth attempt to smooch Emma in her kitchen – mostly irritating. And there’s something...flat...about the way Sean Grandillo is playing him. So I enjoyed it, later in the episode, when Emma basically called him on his crap.
On the other end of the spectrum from Kieran is Brooke, who’s having vivid hallucinations of fiery eyes and moving tattoos. Gustavo tries to help her through the trip, but she only ends up being taunted by visions of Jake, who goads her about Gustavo’s intentions and about still being in love with him, causing her to storm out of the room. Now, rubbing the feet of a girl you know is on drugs – and who you’ve been a bit pervy towards in the past – isn’t that chivalrous of behavior in my book. But Brooke seems to view his actions as those of a good guy, and she doesn’t say no when he kinda-sorta asks her out the next day.
A potential Brooke/Gustavo pairing probably won’t sit well with Audrey. Already suspicious of the sheriff’s son after catching him staring at her in study hall right after a nuGhostface text and seeing his creepy drawings of the “Lakewood Six,” the ayahuasca only fuels her paranoia. But things go from bad to worse when she gets a “ghostly” visit from dead girlfriend Rachel. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I admit it, I take responsibility,” is what Audrey says as Rachel, noose still around her neck, approaches. It’s an interesting choice of words that made me realize that, four episodes into the season, we still know next to nothing about Audrey’s partnership with Piper - how complicit she was in her plans, when her participation in them stopped, etc.
Anyway, Rachel offers absolution and a kiss. But it swiftly becomes apparent that it’s Noah Audrey’s kissing. Whoa! And then Zoe wanders up and, babbling about glowing energy, she kisses both the best friends and the three of them basically start making out. Double whoa! It’s a little hot, but also a little unsettling, especially when you remember all these people are high. The whole thing actually made me a tiny bit suspicious of Zoe, particularly when her worry about Audrey’s place in Noah’s life leads her to reject him the next morning. Because if nuGhostface is trying to punish Audrey, splintering her relationship with her best friend is another good twist of the knife.
But the person who ends up in the most danger because of the drugs is Emma. When her hallucinations kick in, she sees her younger self from her dreams about the James family farm, who says she still has something to show her. Emma follows her avatar in the woods behind her house, where she seems to have memory flashes of the farm from her childhood, and also of the creepy shrine she saw in the season premiere (I noticed a picture of Emma with Riley. Given Riley’s name was used on the e-mails to Kevin, I wonder if there’s a connection). She then seemingly gets attacked by nuGhostface and is saved by the timely (if suspicious) arrival of her dad. But neither he nor her friends can confirm that what she saw was real.
I don’t think Emma will have a problem convincing people there’s a new killer in town going forward, though. Early in the episode, “Jake” texts Brooke that she’ll see him at school the next day. And as it closes, see him she does. Because just as Brooke is named a “Lady of the Lake” finalist, a banner unfurls above her head, drenching her with blood and dropping Jake’s body right in front of her. It seems that nuGhostface, to put it in MTV terms, has decided to stop being polite and start getting real.
What did you think of this week’s “Scream?” Sing your praise or criticism of “Happy Birthday to Me” in the comments section.
