It’s amazing that Scream Queens ended up being pretty good this week, because man was the intro to “Black Friday” annoying as hell. I don’t even have any trenchant criticism to go along with that – it was just too grating, hearing Emma Roberts (who was curiously flat this episode) blandly belittle everyone and everything around her. Chanel doesn’t work as any particularly effective form of satire, and one gets the sense that team Scream Queens endorses her behavior.
However, things pick the hell up when the Chanels are locked inside a mall after Black Friday shopping. They’re cornered by the remaining Red Devil, wielding a crossbow this time, and Chanel does the first likable thing she’s done all season by confronting the Red Devil alone, letting the other Chanels escape. She gets a crossbow bolt in the shoulder for her trouble, and just when I thought Scream Queens was gonna show some balls by killing her off, she’s saved by a very convenient Denise Hemphill appearance. Don’t get me wrong, Niecy Nash is always welcome, especially when she delivers fourth-wall-breaking lines like “Why didn’t I shoot him when I had the chance? I was just talking so much!”
The problem is mine, I guess, because I keep expecting Scream Queens to be something other than it is. To be honest, there’s been no real narrative stakes in a Ryan Murphy show since season one of American Horror Story – no way would he kill off his main characters now. But regardless, it was a decent moment for Chanel, and sets in motion the meat of the story, which revolves around the Kappa plan to kill Dean Munsch.
The most surprising thing about this plot is that Grace agrees to go along with it. (Grace looks so much better without one of those stupid hats on.) And thus begins Dean Munsch’s exposure as an unkillable weirdo, which, you know, actually works in this universe. Poison doesn’t work, and neither does the cryo-sauna, which is just a funny phrase to type.
Overall, “Black Friday” showcased the kind of smart, focused writing that has produced the best Scream Queens episodes, like “Seven Minutes in Heaven” (co-creator Ian Brennan is credited with the script). The episode is able to touch on pretty much every character without feeling cluttered. There’s a great scene with Chad and Pete, a nice pairing we haven’t seen before, wherein Chad reveals that Boone left everything to Pete, and he immediately surmises that they’re lovers. After a while, Chad challenges Pete to a duel, and it’s that escalation that is just so perfectly suited to Chad’s character; naturally Glen Powell nails every beat.
But perhaps the most impressive feat “Black Friday” is able to pull off is in the amount of information it conveys without, for once, feeling like an exposition dump. Well, granted, Pete confesses to being a murderer, but that’s because, Diego Boneta’s solid performance notwithstanding, Scream Queens has struggled all season to find a place in its narrative for Pete, which has resulted in him showing up every few episodes to have information shouted at him. But I can overlook that, because “Black Friday” was a damn fine episode that gives hope for the rest of the season – after a sagging middle third, it looks as though Scream Queens might be able to stick the landing.
A Few Thoughts
- “At first I was like, what a weird turkey!”
- “…and that band was Bachman Turner Overdrive!”
- Boone owning that poster of Johnny Cash flipping the bird is a great touch, because every cliche college student on the planet owns that poster (I personally opted for the Pink Floyd poster with the album art painted on the naked ladies’ backs)
- That was pretty blatant Samsung product placement, no?
- “Maybe I can make you a playlist about it?”
- Lastly, sorry this review is a little short. It’s finals season, and I have five essays and two portfolios to put together in the next few days
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