S01.E08: Ghosts

[Cranberry]

Emma reels from yet another death; a secret from the past is uncovered.

Promo:

Sneak Peek:

[Paradox]

Who's the Brandon James offspring, Audrey or Kieren?

 

Mr. B could have killed Nina, Tyler, and Riley for being linked to his blackmail scheme, and Rachel and Will could have been anomalies committed by other people, but that would be way too lame. 

 

Why does the show keep subtly hinting Daisy's pretty good with sharp objects?  Mommy is hella creepy.

[colorbars]

Who's the Brandon James offspring, Audrey or Kieren?

 

Going by the time frame, I'm pretty sure it's either Piper or Branson. My money is on Piper though, with how many scenes she's had with Emma, her weird story about her parents dying and her talk about Emma's family being full of survivors.

 

Anyway, this episode had too much Will for an episode following his death. I'm never really fond of that kind of thing, and all of it leading to the reveal of the most obvious thing  in the world - a Maggie/Brandon James love child - was kind of a let down. Now, the question is how much of a Harper's Island rip off is it gonna be? Will the long lost sibling just be a sibling or will they be one of the killers.

 

Kind of bummed that my theory of Emma's dad being the original killer or the killer now seems less likely. I just don't get killer vibes from him, but that could be deliberate. I'm still pulling for him to be the original killer at least.

[Last Time Lord]

I loved the opening teaser so much. The effect shot of Will's… splitting headache (I'm so sorry), the glazed, out of focus reactions of blood splattered Emma, just walking away, Will's mother's silent scream upon finding the body.

Just great stuff, all around.

[Cranberry]

Well, this is one I'm going to have to watch again. Was Emma's dad there at all? I know she hallucinated him the second time, outside the maternity ward, but was he there the first time? (I'm leaning toward yes as we know that he bought gas nearby, and I'm also leaning toward Emma's conversation with Piper at the hospital being real.)

 

I was just thinking last week that these people are coping too well with their friends being picked off one by one, so it was... well, not nice to see Emma all messed up, but a little more realistic.

 

The show wants us to think that Branson is the offspring -- hell, his last name is even close to Brandon -- but I'm still thinking Piper. She was shadier than ever this week and she's the one character (besides maybe Brooke) that no one has suspected yet.* She looks to be in the right age range and could easily be pretending to be younger, too.

 

I loved The Faculty. I need to rewatch that movie. Kevin Williamson also wrote its screenplay!

 

*I guess no one has suspected Kieran yet, have they? It looked from the promos like his turn is coming, though. I'm surprised Noah hasn't done a "the killings started when the new kid showed up in town" speech about him yet. He'll probably have some thoughts once he learns about the baby (if Emma tells people about that, anyway).

[Paradox]

 Guess it's impossible for the offspring to be Audrey or Kieren because of their ages, but I feel like there is still connection there, especially with Audrey's DNA and the picture she had of Brandon James.

[Last Time Lord]

Two things tripped my "Wait a minute....!" radar: First was how it went from Emma iMessaging Audrey, even getting a copy of the video file that had exactly what she was looking for on it, to Audrey and Noah in the classroom searching it for evidence. I don't think the Malware on the homework server is gone. I think it was moved.

 

The second was that Will's actor was still in the credits. Got to admit, I did not see this taking the turn for the A Nightmare On Elm Street.

 

Well, this is one I'm going to have to watch again. Was Emma's dad there at all? I know she hallucinated him the second time, outside the maternity ward, but was he there the first time?

I don't think he was. I think everything involving him this episode was either a dream or a flashback. I wouldn't be surprised if he is involved in the endgame, but similar to how Sydney's dad was in the first movie. Police trace him to the nearby area, but he's already held hostage by the real killer(s).

 

 

I loved The Faculty. I need to rewatch that movie. Kevin Williamson also wrote its screenplay!

The Scream connection went right over my head

Edited August 19, 2015 by Last Time Lord

[Cranberry]

The killer didn't outright contact Emma at all this episode, did he (or she)? You could be right and the message from "Audrey" could have been from him, though; nice catch. (Also, Jake was incapacitated in the hospital during this episode, so if he's one of the two...)

[Anela]

The killer didn't outright contact Emma at all this episode, did he (or she)? You could be right and the message from "Audrey" could have been from him, though; nice catch. (Also, Jake was incapacitated in the hospital during this episode, so if he's one of the two...)

Yeah, I thought his asking about Will was fake, and the kids didn't cry very well. But he's one of the main suspects for me.

 

Brooke became more suspicious tonight. She's hidden things in the teacher's office before, and could have stashed things there for others to find. Her getting cut on the arm, could have been deliberate, but then the other person would have to be someone other than Jake. 

 

This show is really in need of a Gale Weathers (Piper may be faking it, of course, but so far she's too nice). Scream 4 was on AMC on Monday, and Gale was nicer, but still her crabby, mean self to the woman crushing on Dewey, when she was trying to keep her out of things.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Anela

[Cthulhudrew]

Kind of bummed that my theory of Emma's dad being the original killer or the killer now seems less likely. I just don't get killer vibes from him, but that could be deliberate. I'm still pulling for him to be the original killer at least.

Considering how much hallucinating Emma did this episode, I'm not convinced either of her conversations with her father were real. I suspect that he may be dead.

 

Current theory: Piper (secret love child) found out that he came back to try and get back into Emma and Maggie's lives, and came to town to kill him and prevent him from screwing things up for them even more. She seems somewhat protective of Emma (and she also seemed surprised when Emma said she'd seen her dad. Could certainly be genuine, but the way it plays would work if her character actually had hidden knowledge that he was dead.)

 

As to whether it was just coincidence that he and Piper came back to town when Ghostface started his murder spree, or if maybe Emma's dad came back in response to it (thus drawing out Piper), I'm not sure. But I think she also killed Will, again out of some protective "sisterly" instinct.

[Cranberry]

Yeah, my only issue with Piper as a killer/one of the killers is that she does seem protective of Emma, so I can't see her taunting and torturing the girl. I suppose she could be the offspring without being a murderer, though, especially if her dad didn't commit the initial murders in the first place -- this isn't a Harper's Island "evil is in the blood" type of situation. But then who's the killer and why are they after Emma's loved ones? Are there two killers who are actually at cross-purposes, one targeting Emma and one protecting her?

[WhosThatGirl]

I could see them making Piper the killer  the end of this and was just trying to get close to Emma to hurt her. If she's the secret love child and she has always known, I could her being vengeful on that. I think she's the secret love child too, based on the age. Everyone else is kind of ruled out.

[Cranberry]

I forgot to mention earlier -- jump scares in movies and TV don't normally get me, but when Will showed up in the mirror with his head split down the middle, I literally jumped in my chair and almost ripped my headphones out of my ears. Well done, show.

 

(I was expecting him after that, so they only got me once!)

[colorbars]

The second was that Will's actor was still in the credits. Got to admit, I did not see this taking the turn for the A Nightmare On Elm Street.

 

Well, if he's a regular, I'm sure his name will appear for the rest of the season, contract technicalities and all.

 

Considering how much hallucinating Emma did this episode, I'm not convinced either of her conversations with her father were real. I suspect that he may be dead.

 

True, I had forgotten about that. And if it was a hallucination, than it would be Emma's version of her father, not necessarily the true version of him. But not sure if their first scene was real or not.

 

Yeah, my only issue with Piper as a killer/one of the killers is that she does seem protective of Emma, so I can't see her taunting and torturing the girl. I suppose she could be the offspring without being a murderer, though, especially if her dad didn't commit the initial murders in the first place -- this isn't a Harper's Island "evil is in the blood" type of situation. But then who's the killer and why are they after Emma's loved ones? Are there two killers who are actually at cross-purposes, one targeting Emma and one protecting her?

 

Well, while the killer is targeting Emma, it's almost in a way to expose everyone around her and make her see their secrets and how they lie to her and all that. Like killing Will because Emma was on her way to forgiving him, as if the killer was disappointed in her because they wanted more for/from her. And Piper has been giving her of advice and encouragement...

[Happytobehere]

My Piper red flag went even higher this episode when she mentioned Emma's parents being survivors along with Emma. No one is supposed to know that Emma's mom is Daisy, so absent what happened during the BJ period, what has she survived as her "unknown" self, a failed marriage?

I also noticed the look of surprise when Emma mentioned seeing her Dad. With news of what is going on in murder town making the rounds, why would Emma's Dad reaching out be surprising unless Piper knows daddy dearest is unable to contact Emma because he is either dead or otherwise incapacitated. Perhaps his appearance during Emma's hallucination episode where we kept seeing Will is meant to clue us in to the fact that daddy is dead. It could also mean that Emma's subconscious picked up on something that implicates her dad, since her subconscious was so much in play.

I don't think Jake being in the hospital clears him. As we sa with Noah, he was no where near as injured as he was feigning, so unless we have independent corroboration that he was accounted for, Jake's still in play.

[RedInk]

How old are Piper & Branson supposed to be? Emma's mom graduated high school 20 years ago, but I missed the part where she said how old she was when her first baby was born. I would put them both around 25...is that way off? It seems like Kieran may be a better fit.

[dradiscontact]

Kieran may be a better fit.

 

Kieran may be a better fit, but that would mean that Emma slept with and is still actively dating her half-brother. But I guess if ABC Family can go there, why not MTV? It would just make this the summer of incest.

[Paradox]

It's also possible that none of the characters are the offspring and they're just throwing us off once again with the Brandon James storyline.

Piper could have stumbled onto the real identity of Daisy since she investigates true crime stories.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Paradox

[sugarbaker design]

How old are Piper & Branson supposed to be? Emma's mom graduated high school 20 years ago, but I missed the part where she said how old she was when her first baby was born. I would put them both around 25...is that way off? It seems like Kieran may be a better fit.

 

Daisy said she got pregnant at 16, probably had Brandon's baby at 17, and if she graduated high school at 18 two decades ago, it would make her offspring 21ish.

 

I loved Branson's "Wait there's a killer loose in the theater, you stay here on the couch in your bra and panties, I'll be right back!"

 

I'm still thinking Piper (Emma's half sister) and Jake working as a team.

 

There have been 4 murders in 8 episodes, it shouldn't be called Scream, it should be called Murmur.

[dradiscontact]

It should be called Muffled Throat Clearing.

[Chaos Theory]

I am almost positive that Piper is the kid Emma's mom gave up but the mystery itself still is; did Brandon James kill those people all those years ago and who is doing it now.

My guess is Piper is around "to find the truth about her father/family" and just got dropped into a second murder mystery.

Which leaves the field wide open but I still say it is deeply connected to the original murders.

[RedInk]

Kieran may be a better fit, but that would mean that Emma slept with and is still actively dating her half-brother.

Oh, right. I graduated 20 years ago, too, so I guess I'm just in complete denial that anyone my age could have a reporter for a child. I still think the teacher is out as love child suspect, though.

[sugarbaker design]

but the mystery itself still is; did Brandon James kill those people all those years ago and who is doing it now.

 

 

No, he didn't do it, Daisy did it and Brandon's offspring Piper and her boyfriend Jake are avenging that crime.  In the school hallway there was a poster for a production of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. From what I remember of the play, two enemies kill or maim each others children. 

[dradiscontact]

I guess I'm just in complete denial that anyone my age could have a reporter for a child. I still think the teacher is out as love child suspect, though.

 

Not to downplay her profession, because I think it's cool, but she's a podcaster, not a reporter. Teenagers around the globe are successfully making names for themselves via YouTube and Vine, so why not an early twenty-something being a noted podcaster?

Edited August 19, 2015 by dradiscontact

[RedInk]

No; you're completely correct. Piper fits. My kids are in preschool so I forget that I'm old and started watching this because I saw Scream in the theater ;)

[Chaos Theory]

Love child suspects are either Kieren or Piper or Brooke's father is Hindi g a kid in the basement that Brooke spent know about.

Speaking of Brooke: I really am liking her. Didn't think I would but I was genuinely worried that She would get killed for wanting sex with Ezra....sorry Mr.Branson.

As for the killer my money is now on the sheriff being Brandon James brother and this is his revenge against Maggie/Daisy for ruining HIS life. I think Kieren is involved but will fall for Emma and end up saving her life in the end.

Which actually makes Piper the best love child suspect and who I put my money on.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[gesundheit]

 

I loved Branson's "Wait there's a killer loose in the theater, you stay here on the couch in your bra and panties, I'll be right back!"

 

Right?? Which reminds me, I'm sure his being "caught" was a red herring, but I certainly hope he gets locked up for the other illegal thing the cops obviously just walked in on him doing!

[winstonbongo]

No, he didn't do it, Daisy did it and Brandon's offspring Piper and her boyfriend Jake are avenging that crime.  In the school hallway there was a poster for a production of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. From what I remember of the play, two enemies kill or maim each others children. 

Ding ding ding. I think this is it, folks. Scream is very much about punishing children for the crimes of their parents. It basically happened in every film. Besides, have Piper and Jake ever shared a scene together? Suspicion alert raised.

This was another decent episode even if it didn't have the thrill of last week's adventures. It was all very Nightmare-esque, with the frequent hallucinations and don't-take-the-pills business. Fitting that a lot of it took place in a hospital, since Tracy Middendorf was also in New Nightmare which had some rather significant hospital scenes.

Funny how a lot of the criticism seems to be how this show is too much/not enough like Harper's Island. Harper's had the advantage of twice as many episodes, plus a gimmick, (someone dies in each one!), that this show flat-out refuses to conform to. I re-watched the original Scream recently and it’s not as murder-heavy as you may remember. (It is still very violent, though). Only three people die before the finale, which is a whopping forty minutes long. I think they’re keeping more to that than the piles of bodies found in the sequels.

This show has improved. Here's to hoping it stays on course and they can get the sluggish pacing sped up. Also, if there are more than two killers then I believe they have goofed.

[sugarbaker design]

Funny how a lot of the criticism seems to be how this show is too much/not enough like Harper's Island. Harper's had the advantage of twice as many episodes,

 

 

HI ran for 13 episodes, Scream 10.

 

plus a gimmick, (someone dies in each one!), that this show flat-out refuses to conform to.

 

 

to its detriment.

[Chaos Theory]

I don't mind that someone doesn't die each episode. I think it's major detriment is that it is called "Scream". Honestly I think for a MTV show it is a fairly compelling thriller.

[winstonbongo]

HI ran for 13 episodes, Scream 10.

Woah! Whoops. For some reason it felt like a lot more. I remember that it didn't really get going until the fourth or fifth episode, so maybe the back half felt longer.

 

Also, yes, the lack of death does not help the pace of this show. However, ever since Riley died, I feel like I at least understand what they're trying to do even if they're profoundly unsuccessful.

[sugarbaker design]

The only reason I remember the episode count of HI is because HI was like Scream, a silly summer show.

[truthaboutluv]

I did find it interesting that twice now Brooke has managed to escape the killer, relatively unscathed. It definitely makes her look suspicious but then I remember when Emma had to choose between her and Riley, we saw her getting the text that looked to be from Mr. Branson, telling her to meet him at the hotel. It actually makes me think Jake might genuinely have feelings for her and he's in on this and that's why she's managed to escape because he's torn when trying to kill her. 

 

Well the baby bombshell was really a surprise to no one. All signs definitely point to Piper with her convenient presence and the dead father who was misunderstood or whatever she said about him to Emma. I can see why some still think Audrey looks suspicious but I just can't see how she's the kid. She can't be lying about her age because we know from early in the season that she and Emma were actually very close friends when they were younger, before Emma became really popular and they kind of went their separate ways. So Audrey's been in the town as long as Emma.

 

The only one it could be beside Piper is Kieran. I noticed the writers made sure to have Emma's mom say she didn't know if it was a boy or girl. And Kieran's not really being the Sheriff's kid would explain the odd hostility that seems to exist between them. Not to mention the actor looks like he's pushing late 20's, though I recognize that could just be the symptom of twenty-somethings always being hired to play teenagers. Because Brooke certainly doesn't look like a teenager either. 

 

But it definitely seems like right now Piper, Kieran and Jake are the likely suspect. It'll be interesting if as others have noted,  Piper does turn out to be the child but she's not one of the killers and instead the killer just knows the truth which I could see being the case with Jake who clearly seemed capable of knowing stuff about other people. But then what would be Kieran's motivation and I do agree that the police chief is still a little suspect. 

Edited August 20, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Cranberry]

Well, while the killer is targeting Emma, it's almost in a way to expose everyone around her and make her see their secrets and how they lie to her and all that. Like killing Will because Emma was on her way to forgiving him, as if the killer was disappointed in her because they wanted more for/from her. And Piper has been giving her of advice and encouragement...

 

I agree with this, and I can understand why the killer took out Nina and Tyler (who were grade A assholes) and Will (a lying cheat who the killer did not want Emma to forgive), but why Riley? And why Rachel, who had no real ties to Emma at all?

[Steph619]

I definitely think Piper is Daisy and Brandon James' child that was put up for adoption. She's talked about how her dad has died before and her dad could be anybody, but all signs point to it being Brandon James. She seems to be kind of protective of Emma, but that could very well be an act so nobody, especially Emma, suspects her as being the killer. Her motive could be to get back at Daisy for giving her up for adoption without knowing that Daisy's parents were the ones that made the decision for her because she was only 16 and she probably blames Daisy for Brandon James' death as well. If she's getting revenge on Daisy, then Emma would get the brunt of it. It would be interesting as another poster noted above if Piper didn't turn out to be the killer or one of the killers.

 

Kieran is the other person that fits the description of being Daisy and Brandon James' love child which would be gross since he would have slept with his half sister. He's still on top of my list as a possible suspect.

 

I'm not entirely convinced that Mr. Branson is the killer. It was very suspicious how he disappeared in the auditorium and then appeared once again after the killer was supposedly gone, but someone could be framing him. However, I am glad he got caught for that inappropriate relationship he was having with Brooke.

[Paradox]

 

The only one it could be beside Emma is Kieran. I noticed the writers made sure to have Emma's mom say she didn't know if it was a boy or girl. And Kieran's not really being the Sheriff's kid would explain the odd hostility that seems to exist between them. Not to mention the actor looks like he's pushing late 20's, though I recognize that could just be the symptom of twenty-somethings always being hired to play teenagers. 

 

Definitely plausible Kieren is adopted and little older. In fact, isn't his last name different than Sheriff Hudson? 

[Last Time Lord]

I agree with this, and I can understand why the killer took out Nina and Tyler (who were grade A assholes) and Will (a lying cheat who the killer did not want Emma to forgive),

There's kind of a parallel with Emma and her mother.

In this episode, it's revealed that when they were dating in high school, Emma's dad cheated on Maggie with her best friend, which lead to her sleeping with Brandon James.

In the pilot, Brooke "accidentally" let it slip that Will had slept with Nina, who was friends with Emma.

[Cranberry]

And then Emma slept with Kieran...

[Last Time Lord]

Ooh.

This could end up getting really twisted by series' end, couldn't it?

[Cranberry]

The parallels between generations are definitely intentional; I mean, Emma's mom pretty much smacked us over the head with the Brandon/Audrey parallel in episode six, and the promos showed a big Halloween dance coming up, just like the one the initial murders took place at. I'm just not sure where exactly everyone fits into these parallels.

[Last Time Lord]

And this episode explains just why they're having a dance at all. They think they got their killer with Bronson's arrest.

[jhlipton]

Who's the Brandon James offspring, Audrey or Kieren?

I'm a bit confused on the timeline... I thought that we saw Emma hearing her mom and dad argue about the child. And dad left after the argument, so Emma couldn't have been born later. But that would make the baby significantly younger than Emma. Unless the argument took place years after the "love child was born, and after he or she was out of their lives anyway.

The only two who seem younger than Emma to me are Audrey and Noah. Are they supposed to be the same age as her?

 

 

I agree with this, and I can understand why the killer took out Nina and Tyler (who were grade A assholes) and Will (a lying cheat who the killer did not want Emma to forgive), but why Riley? And why Rachel, who had no real ties to Emma at all?

There pretty much has to be two killers at this point, right? Maybe one killed Nina, Tyler and Will because they are scum (to the killer, anyway) and the other just hates women whose name starts with "R"...

[Cranberry]

The baby was born shortly after the murders when Emma's mom left town for a while (in this episode, she said, "I didn't leave town because of the press, or because I was sick"). She confirmed that she was 16 when she had it and that her parents made all the adoption arrangements. They moved back to town after that and she reconnected with Emma's dad. Nobody in town had any idea she had a baby back then; Emma's dad found out about it much later, as we saw in the flashback. The half-sibling's definitely older than Emma (he or she was born in 1994, so should be around 21 years old).

[Paradox]

Right, the offspring is either Piper, Mr.B, a character yet not introduced, or Kieren, who may be alot older then he is portraying to be (doubtful).

Kieren has been to jail right? He could have been held back because of it, but this would make Sheriff Hudson complicit.

Looks like the Sheriff gets kidnapped at some point in final two episodes. I hope we get some flashbacks to explain some of the loose strings.

[jhlipton]

The baby was born shortly after the murders when Emma's mom left town for a while .

 

OK, thanks!

[Craphole Island]

Ugh, I have no idea who the killer(s) is(are)!!!

 

Brooke kind of got my suspicions buzzing tonight, but I don't want her to be the killer.

 

Also, I know this show isn't masterclass acting, but the scene where Brooke told Jake that Will died was pretty terrible right? But I was like, maybe it's purposely terrible because one or both of them was in on it!! Because I actually thought the actress playing Brooke did a great job on the phone call with her mom.

[Texasmom1970]

Killer or not Piper has been giving me creepy, single white female vibes everytime she is around Emma. Then again it could just be because she reminds me of a knock off Lisa Loeb with those glasses.

[dradiscontact]

Killer or not Piper has been giving me creepy, single white female vibes everytime she is around Emma. Then again it could just be because she reminds me of a knock off Lisa Loeb with those glasses.

 

THANK YOU! I just could not put my finger on who she reminds me of!

Edited August 22, 2015 by dradiscontact

[pamplemousse]

That heart necklace/locket that kept appearing in Emma's nightmares -- is that in her mom's possession? I don't remember clearly from the first episode, but didn't Maggie take out some sort of crudely carved heart necklace that Brandon James had given her? IIRC it looked different from the one that was shown in Emma's nightmares. I rewound that scene with Piper visiting Emma in the hospital because Piper was wearing a big silver necklace and I wanted to see if it looked like the heart necklace. There wasn't a clear shot and even if the killer was her, it wouldn't be that obvious a sign, right?

[Last Time Lord]

The heart Will gave her in the dream was found in the killer's "lair" at the abandoned hospital. If it's anywhere, it's in a plastic bag in the Lakewood Police evidence room.

The heart Maggie dug out in the pilot was a wood carving.