If Scream Queens had started out its season with an episode like “Ghost Stories,” I and everyone else would have immediately understood what Ryan Murphy and his cohorts were trying to achieve. Funny and creepy in equal measure, “Ghost Stories” finally seizes upon the alchemical formula needed to make quality horror comedy.
And you know what a big part of the episode’s success is due to? The return of Boone. As a 27-year-old man, it’s weird to say “Oh thank God, Nick Jonas is on my TV,” but there’s something about his performance that made all the hours without him suffer. Thankfully, Boone plays a pretty big role in “Ghost Stories,” and Jonas really gets a chance to show off his range. His dark, almost black eyes, do wonders for the character, and in a show that is campy more often than its not, it takes the appearance of a former tween heartthrob who famously shilled for purity rings to add an air of menace. It’s easy to see why the Jonas Brothers were so successful; I don’t know about the other two dopes, but Nick Jonas has real presence. And his return made inevitable his reunion with Chad Radwell, a scene just as delightful as I was hoping. Chad immediately accepts that Boone is a ghost. He apologizes for “porking” girls on Boone’s bed. He sweetly assumes that Boone is in Heaven. It’s a great scene top to bottom, and gives Glen Powell a chance to show his range as well.
Another reason it’s good to have Boone back is because it means we’ll finally get some answers. Unfortunately, Murphy and Co. created a mystery show in which they don’t care about the mystery, so any revelations imparted unto the audience come in the form of an exposition dump. Scream Queens beats us over the head with the knowledge that Boone is the Red Devil who kidnapped Zayday, Gigi is the ringleader, and one of the Red Devils is a woman, meaning she and Boone are most certainly the bathtub babies. “Here’s some answers,” Scream Queens seems to tell us, irritated, “now can we get back to Chanel calling people sluts?”
Everything in “Ghost Stories” that wasn’t Boone- or Red Devil-related felt lacking, and a big part of what is because it focused on – who else? – Chanel. It was more successful this go-round because of the increased presence of Denise Hemphill, who employed the odd method of telling ghost stories to make the girls less scared. It’s a funny, novel concept, and once again Niecy Nash’s performance sold every single one of her lines. Denise’s almost willful obliviousness was a nice touch as well; I nearly died after Nash’s delivery of “Mama Denise knows what you need…another ghost story!” See, Scream Queens? You can use your worst character, as long as she’s constantly paired with one of your best. Chanel should only have scenes with Chad and Denise.
That’s Chanel Oberlin, mind you, because Chanel No. 6 continues to bug the crap out of me. Lea Michele’s performance is all over the place, which should come as no surprise because No. 6’s characterization is all over the place. Her announcement that she’s pregnant with Chad’s baby is obviously bullshit, but it does lead to one nice scene where Chad takes responsibility and seems ready to settle down with No. 6. “That’s how Radwells roll,” he says, and it’s a funny line well delivered. No. 6’s revelation leads to an even nicer scene where Chanel pushes her down the stairs, killing her. So long, don’t let the door hit you.
Right now the biggest problem with Scream Queens is that even solid episodes like “Ghost Stories” embrace the show’s weaknesses. It makes me more grateful for great scenes like the one with Chad and Boone, but it makes all the other crap stand out even more. But with the season 80% done, I guess that’s something we’ll have to live with.
A Few Thoughts
- Some thoughts about running jokes: Chad and Chanel constantly breaking up is not, and never has been, funny. Boone repeatedly being mistaken for Joaquin Phoenix was funny every damn time
- “The ghost of dead gay Boone is walking the earth”
- My operating theory was that Earl Grey was Red Devil #2, but he is A, not a woman, and B, dead at Boone’s hands, so I guess I was way off
- “Don’t startle me while I’m hacking!” The dial-up modem noise in the background of Chad’s “hacking” was an excellent touch
- Chad’s minor: Luggage Sciences with an emphasis on Packing Theory
- “It makes her a killer, not the killer”
- That Timothy Busfield joke was as solid as it was random
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