“At least Woodsboro’s known for something.” – Jenny Randall, “Scream 4”
Given its history of bloody murders, calling Lakewood the “Village of the Damned” isn’t too big a stretch. But despite Noah’s warning that the town is “opening the beaches with a man-eating shark in the water,” the Lakewood Days Carnival “Scream” has been building to all season commences. I expected more from this episode considering that build-up, but there were some good moments.
One major plot thread throughout is the Emma/Kieran/Eli triangle. As the episode begins, Emma tells Eli that she’s decided to come clean with the cops about being at the model home when it caught fire. It’s a bit of an about-turn given cooperating with the police has been at the base of her fighting with Kieran, but I’ll allow it because it seems like Emma is finally over Eli’s crap. That proves even more true when, while talking to Sheriff Acosta, she finds out that a girl in Atlanta has a restraining order out against him for sneaking into her bedroom (and sidebar – when she hears about it, Audrey makes a connection between Eli’s B&E habit and the creepy visits she’s been getting). It’s a wake-up call to Emma that she barely knows Eli, a luxury she can’t afford with nuGhostface on the loose.
When Emma turns cold, Eli gets paranoid about what the sheriff told her about him. It’s one thing he has in common with Kieran as he gets agitated when Emma admits Eli told her about the night his mom and stepdad died. The tension between the cousins finally erupts at the carnival, with Eli’s taunts that he didn’t tell Emma “the worst part” earning him a punch in his smug face. I guess we were supposed to be alarmed by Kieran’s violent outburst, but I was just psyched Eli got decked.
This leads into the episode’s main setpiece. The killer texts Emma a video of Kieran tied up in the funhouse and she (again, without hesitation; it’s a character trait of hers I love) runs to his rescue. It’s a somewhat tense sequence as Emma and nuGhostface glide amongst the legitimately creepy figurines and mirrored walls, with the deputy assigned to keep an eye on Emma getting thrown through a glass pane for his troubles. But again, given the build-up to the carnival and the possibilities it provided, I wanted something bigger, something bloodier, and was actually expecting someone to bite it this week. So yeah, a bit of a letdown.
Also, your ever-suspicious reviewer couldn’t help wondering if this whole thing – including a gagged Kieran being dressed up in nuGhostface’s getup and later confessing his deep, dark secret to Emma (he blames himself for the accident that killed his parents because he was in the car that night and got into a fight with his stepdad that distracted him from his driving) – was staged to resolidify their relationship. But for now, I'm going to take it at face value and just be happy that the triangle with Eli seems to be over.
Meanwhile, I’m getting a very “Nightmare on Elm Street” vibe from the adults, that they’re keeping a secret that affects more of their kids beyond Emma. In any case, Sheriff Acosta asks Maggie to rejoin the investigation so they can both get the answers they need. But he's also hiding evidence as his suspicions about his son grow. As should ours given we hear something about grave robbing on one of Ms. Lang’s tapes, and about an incident with a gun in Phoenix, and we see that Gustavo did a drawing of Mr. Branson handcuffed to the hotel bed, which Brooke never told him about.
On the surface, the Brooke subplot is pretty straightforward. To her friends’ surprise, she still plans to compete in the “Lady of the Lake” pageant at the carnival. It becomes clear why when she uses her speech to read the town for ignoring the “Murderville” of it all (and personally, I found her talking about the “big, black, empty nothing” she saw when she almost died last season, and her despairing belief that that’s where Jake is now, rather heartbreaking). And despite still grieving for Jake, Brooke’s clearly taking comfort in the connection she’s made with Gustavo.
But something about this storyline made me suspicious of Zoe. She has a way of approaching people that’s non-threatening, but gets them to act in her favor without having to ask them. She’s also the one who provides the flask of booze that gets seasoned drinker Brooke super wasted super fast. I do hope I’m just being paranoid because I find Zoe and Noah really cute together (and props to props for the cotton candy bouquet), though it’s possible Zoe did something else that will sour things between them.
Because Audrey’s secret, ‘tis out. Taunted one too many times by the killer, Audrey knows she has to come clean to Emma about her connection to Piper. She spends the episode trying to summon the courage, even inviting Emma to the carnival to remind her of their long friendship and possibly soften the blow. But she waits too long because, as the capper of a crisply edited montage that ends the episode, Audrey walks into Emma’s bedroom...just in time to hear herself confess on the recording, which a shocked Emma is playing on her phone. Whoops.
How did you enjoy your visit to the “Village of the Damned?” “Scream” about it in the comments section.
