“Scream: The TV Series,” Episode 2.12 – When A Stranger Calls
[BEWARE: ALL MAJOR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW]
Intro: Emma and Audrey are in the back of a cop car, being taken to the police station after being famed for the murder of Brooke’s dad. Before they can get there, Ghostface steps out in front of the cop car, causing the officer to swerve and crash into a telephone pole. He gets out to see if the girls are OK, but Ghostface pops up behind him and stabs him to death. The girls can only watch on and scream as Ghostface breaks open the door to the cop car, flashes a bloody knife… and gives them the keys to their handcuffs before disappearing into the night. This is a huge homage to the scene with Sidney and Hallie in Scream 2. Emma sees this as their chance to prove their innocence and she grabs the cop’s gun and drags Audrey into the woods. The next morning, Karen Lang is telling Sheriff Acosta that she believes Emma and Audrey have suffered a psychological break and, following the previous massacre, are now projecting traumas and delusions onto each other in an attempt to not feel alone in their craziness. Everyone still seems to think they’re the killers.
Gotta Tell Em: Emma and Audrey stop at a convenience store to clean up and get something to drink. Mysteriously, Ghostface calls the store clerk and asks to talk to them on the store phone, warning them not to do anything stupid like turning themselves in or he’ll kill someone else that the love. Before the girls can grab a bite to eat, the clerk sees them on television as wanted criminals and calls the police, causing them to high tail it out of there. Gustavo goes to see Brooke to see how she’s handling her father’s murder. She’s devastated, but shes still Brooke so she’s trying her best to mask that pain. Turns out Gustavo has a different agenda and tries to convince Brooke that Audrey is the killer and really did kill her father. Brooke trusts Emma and Audrey and kicks Gustavo out of her house for even thinking they’re the killers. Emma and Audrey go to see Kieran so Emma can let him know they’re OK and tell him that their home base is going to be the movie theater because it doesn’t open until 5:00PM. The girls leave his house just as Eli interrupts and he and Kieran have a yelling match, accusing each other of being the killer.
Safe At Last: Dodging cop cruisers, Emma and Audrey make it to the movie theater and let themselves in with a spare key Audrey had made after she locked herself out once before. Meanwhile, Brooke goes to see Noah in the hospital, and he immediately givers her his condolences on the death of her father. They’re both steadfast in their belief that Emma and Audrey didn’t kill Brooke’s dad and Brooke has her first break down with Noah as she deals with that loss. Emma calls Brooke and Noah and tells them they’re safe and at the movie theater and NOT to come because it’s not safe. Of course, they don’t listen and Noah checks out of the hospital so Brooke can take him to join their friends in the final fight. Sheriff Acosta is searching Maggie’s house for clues and she is PISSED, screaming at him about loyalty and what not. Acosta tells her that Emma is the prime suspect and that he thinks Emma is mentally unwell and this causes Maggie to go into a panic.
Reunited: Kieran lets Brooke and Noah into the movie theater and we have all of The Lakewood Five reunited in one place. Once they’re all together, Ghostface calls to taunt them, but Emma tells him she’s done running and taunts him back to meet her at the movie theater. Emma, Audrey, Brooke, Kieran and Noah start fortifying the movie theater and gathering potential weapons. They split into two groups Noah & Brooke and Emma, Audrey & Kieran and spread out to seal off the entrances. Gustavo mysteriously shows up after claiming that Brooke sent him a text to meet them there. She says she never sent it, but he shows her one that they decide must have been from the killer. Brooke thinks he could be the killer, as does Noah, and they make him leave to be safe. At that moment they hear screaming from one of the auditoriums. Emma, Brooke and Noah rush inside to see a montage of all the killings playing on the projector. Brooke and Noah are not OK when they see the real time death’s of Jake, Zoe and Brooke’s dad. Emma goes to turn it off, with shrouds the whole room in darkness. Ghostface attacks and stabs the fuck out of Brooke before Emma can get down, although she scares him off by shooting at him with the cop’s gun. Kieran comes rushing in moments later and says he can’t find Audrey anywhere. He also warns Emma to leave before the cops get there, but she doesn’t want to leave Brooke. Brooke is barely conscious but tells her best friend to go anyway, and Emma makes it out the back door just as the cops come barging in.
Hang in There: Brooke is taken to the hospital and she’s in very serious condition. They take her in for emergency surgery and Kieran and Noah are left standing in the hallway, covered in their friend’s blood. Emma calls Kieran to check in on Brooke and he tells her how bad it is. She wants to turn herself in, but Kieran reminds her of Ghostface’s warning. Gustavo shows up at the hospital because he heard the news about Brooke. When Noah and Kieran confirm how bad she is, Gustavo breaks down and cries, showing he genuinely loves her. Sheriff Acosta sees him, his son who’s been missing for days, and realizes now isn’t the time to scream. Instead, he takes a seat next to him and comforts him, slowly rebuilding their damaged relationship. When Gustavo has settled down, Acosta confronts Noah about knowing a Hell of a lot of information and not sharing it. Acosta actually wants to CLEAR the girls of their murder chargers, but he can’t unless Noah helps him. Noah tells Acosta that he should investigate Eli more, especially after they spotted him in a photo of Will’s funeral. Meanwhile, Ghostface calls Emma to gloat and tells her she’ll never feel safe again before telling her to meet him at the abandoned children’s asylum where Piper Shaw grew up. She doesn’t want to go until Ghostface shows a .gif that he does indeed have Audrey in his clutches. Of course, not she HAS to go.
This Is It: Emma goes to the children’s asylum and Ghostface attacks her as soon as she gets to the second floor. She’s able to fend him off by shooting him in the chest and while seeking shelter she finds someone tied to a chair in the Ghostface costume. She unmasks them to reveal Audrey and knows that it’s a metaphor since Audrey is to blame for all the murders. Before Emma can untie her, Kieran and Eli come barging in. In a scene that exactly mirrors Billy and Randy in Scream, Kieran and Eli are sporting the same wound in the same spot where Ghostface was shot and argue their case as to why they’re innocent and the other is the killer. Emma doesn’t know who to believe. Kieran doesn’t give her a choice and takes the gun from her before shooting Eli in the chest, saying “you will feel safe again.” Emma never told Kieran that Ghostface made that comment to her on the phone and in that moment realizes that her boyfriend is the killer. Eli tries to get up and Kieran shoots him in the chest a couple times and proves that he the killer, full Billy Loomis hair and everything. Kieran reveals that both of their parents were shitty and they bonded over that and their mental traumas, but they found that murdering was much better therapy. Kieran and Piper were in a relationship, too. The original plan was just to kill Sheriff Hudson and Maggie before revealing that Piper was Emma’s half sister, but things went out of control and they enjoyed killing too much. Then, when Audrey killed Piper, he was left with wanting revenge for the death of his girlfriend and he had to keep the murders going for her. Now that the girls are wanted for the murders, he can stage himself as the new hero.
The Final Fight: During his big reveal, Kieran wasn’t paying attention to Audrey and she hits him with some of her restraints and she tells Emma to run. Emma doesn’t want to leave her best friend, but Audrey orders her to just as Kieran starts shooting. They play a cat and mouse game in the asylum, while Kieran drags Audrey about by her restraints. It’s pretty uneventful, but whatever. Eventually, the girls are able to trap him and choke him with his own restraints. Emma takes the gun and Audrey wants her to shoot Kieran, but she can’t. She’d rather him to go jail and rot in prison. Just then the cops barge in and arrest him.
End: Two weeks later, Noah has returned to his podcast of The Morgue. Brooke is officially in a relationship with Gustavo, having survived the attack, and has dinner at his house with Sheriff Acosta. Karen Lang is writing a book about her experience in Lakewood very much like Gale Weathers did following Scream. Emma and Audrey go to the movies as they’re best friends again. All is not great, though, because Maggie finds an answer to her note to Brandon James in the tree with a knife sticking out of it. In prison, Kieran gets a call and when he answers, the Ghostface voice comes over the phone and asks, “who told you that you could wear my mask?” Meaning that the real Brandon James killer is on the phone. And with that… roll credits.
