Holy shit! Scream Queens just delivered a fantastic Halloween episode full of drama, (potential) deaths and the usual funny dialogue. Arguably one of the best of the current season, last night's episode featured no token patient, allowing more screen-time to be spent on fan-favourites like Agent Denise Hemphill (Niecy Nash) and Hester (Lea Michele).
In the wake of Chad Radwell (Glen Powell)'s heartbreaking death last week, "Halloween Blues" opened with the C.U.R.E gang discussing his unexpected demise. Chanel (Emma Roberts), dressed as Jackie Kennedy, screamed and cried over the loss of her wealthy beau, and sadly didn't really seem to care much about him dying, more so she was mourning her wealthy future being snatched from her (especially now she's "poor"). Although it's typical Chanel to make even her would've-been-husband's murder about her, I was a little disappointed that she seemed to show very little true love or remorse for him. I wanted vulnerability and pain, but what I got was self-absorbed drama, as usual. Sure, Roberts plays this perfectly and usually I'd say it's Chanel at her best, but for once I wanted more realness. Guess she didn't actually love him much after all, well maybe in her own selfish way.
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| Daenerys, a Smurf and a Ouija board. |
Chanel's selfish attitude towards Chad's death did lean me towards a sense of sadness over abandoning the Denise and Chad ship last week. I once adored the latter pair but over the last two weeks I chose Chanel, and perhaps regretfully so now. Denise had a sombre yet somewhat inappropriate moment alone with the corpse of her previously on-off lover, which made me feel particularly sympathetic towards her mourning, in comparison to Chanel. The latter is like a young girl in that she wants to own certain people/things/whatever, and if she doesn't, she throws a strop. Everything comes back to what she needs and wants, even through Chad's death. Denise on the other hand is a woman. She doesn't use Chad's murder to get attention, and instead she recalls happy times they shared together and tries to fondly remember him. These are two very different females, one is somewhat a girl, whilst the other is a woman, yet both were in love with the same man. The girl in a controlling and selfish sense, whilst the woman in a mature and more real capacity. The two even ask Chad's spirit, via a Ouija board, who he loved more, and unsurprisingly he said Denise. He had a relationship with her, whereas with Chanel (even though I loved them together), they both admitted last week that they didn't ever talk. It was habit, sex, the obvious partner (i.e wealthy and hot), but nothing on a deeper level.
In a shocking turn of events however, neither of Chad's significant lovers received even a dime in the deceased rich guy's will. With his family having died in a freak plane accident recently, the entire Radwell fortune was up for grabs. Chanel eagerly expected to received such, and using her logic this would make her popular again, though she was wrong; Chad had left the entire fortune to Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) and the C.U.R.E Institute for "reasons known to her". WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS? The hottie had slept with Munsch during the first season, though no other important connection between the pair is, as of yet, known. Yet another mystery to solved this season, I guess. The twist provided one of the best scenes of the episode though, as viewers watched (in slow motion) Chanel running across a table to attack the will's executor. It was dramatic, hilarious and even in slow motion with the possibility of throwing hideous faces, Emma Roberts still looked gorgeous.
Drama seemed to follow Roberts' character for the entirety of the episode, with the young woman feeling rather blue throughout. Explaining to Dr. Brock (John Stamos) that she had mysterious bruises on her body, Chanel was instructed to drink a small dose of medicine administered by her potential love-interest. Waking up after doing so, she was blue. Literally blue. It was kinda funny for a few minutes but after a while I didn't even notice. I was too busy watching all the chaos unfold, praying that my favourites wouldn't get the chop like last week. To the show's credit, the make-up was superb on Roberts. Usually when characters (or even just actors in their own lives) try and colour their skin, it looks blotchy and poorly applied. Chanel's Smurf transformation however was very well executed, so kudos to the make-up team for that!
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| A killer clue? |
Back to the interesting stuff; killer theories! A few quick ones came to mind during the episode, such as a potential implication of Dr. Cassidy Cascade (Taylor Lautner). A lot of show has features water and liquid; bodies are dumped in a swamp, the killer drips goo as he/she walks around and this week, a bunch of patients became ill after the killer infected their water supply. It may be a coincidence but Dr. Cassidy dressed as Olympic medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte for the staff Halloween party this week. Could this be a subtle way of implying that Cascade is the killer or is involved in some additional way?
Another, and very crazy, theory would also be that perhaps one of the killers is someone we haven't seen this season, but who we already know. Grace (Skylar Samuels) comes to mind, or possibly even Pete (Diego Boneta). When Chanel channelled Chad, through Denise, her deceased beau explained that the killer was a shocker; "it's a real doozy" he chirped. This makes me think that it's someone outside of the box. Grace, Pete or another survivor from the first season (maybe even someone we thought was dead) would be a shocking twist indeed. Unless it's Chanel herself, and she's got some traumatic disorder which makes her forget her crimes. Like I always say though, it's Ryan Murphy so anything is possible.
On the topic of season one characters roaming the hospital hallways, Hester finally got some time out of a cell. After an agreement with Denise, and in return for useful information, the crazed ex-killer was allowed access to the Halloween party. Dressed as Ivanka Trump, she stalked and scared her previous sorority sisters, even stabbing Chanel in the leg. She's as crazy as ever, and perhaps a little more so now after being locked up for years. It's great to see Michele have a possibility of more screen-time, and I just hope she continues to deliver creepy and comedic-ly delivered lines. She wasn't the only character dressed up as Trump lady though, with #5 opting for a Ivana Trump costume (though she thought she was being Ivanka). It was an amusing confusion and I personally thought the idea of an Ivanka Trump killer was pretty damn funny.
The real killer was not so hilarious though. Stabbing #5, in the presence of a seemingly approving Hester, the Green Meanie continued their new trend of picking off the main characters, rather than guest-star patients. Next was Denise, who gets defibrillator-ed (let's make that a word!). It seems as though the former is the most likely to not make it to Episode 5, especially considering Nash is only a guest-star (as was Glen Powell, and we know what happened to his character). I can't bear the thought of losing either of the two ladies, as they're by far two of the funniest and most watchable on the show. Why do you keep doing this to me Ryan Murphy? In many ways I'm glad the show-runners have the balls to keep doing this. I get so frustrated with shows who constantly keep fan-favourites alive for the sake of appeasing audiences. Obviously I wouldn't want my favourites to get killed off, but if that's the vision the writers etc have, then I'd rather them go with it for the sake of a stronger and more planned story. Let's all just hope that Denise and Chad are both alive and well, and that they're the killers (and that Ryan and the showrunners planned this all along). Imagine that? Now that would be a "doozy" indeed.
Quote of the Week:
"Are you upset #5? Because as far as I can tell, I am the only one here showing even a modicome of anguish. I mean did anyone else here think to change into a costume with a subtle Jackie Kennedy le-motif, to show that the passing of Chad Radwell is a major event in our nation's history? No. Is anyone else so bereaved they've lost control of their bladder and they've started relieving themselves in the potted plants in the hallway? No." - Chanel Oberlin.Performer of the Week:
It's a tough decision this week. I'd say its between Emma Roberts, Niecy Nash and Abigail Breslin. Each brings so much to their role and keep me wanting more from them every single week. There's just something so interesting and funny about Breslin's performances, and if you watch her very careful, even when she's in the background and not delivering lines, her facial expressions and body language are fantastic.Be sure to check out the next episode, titled "Chanel Pour Homme-Icide", when Scream Queens returns on November 1st. Let me know in the comments section who you thought was Performer of the Week.
