It seems as though Scream Queens has finally found the perfect balance of horror and comedy. “Thanksgiving” is smart, focused, and thoroughly engaging. It’s almost a shame that the show has waited this long to strike the tone it’s been searching for all season (and odd that a horror show would fare so much better with Thanksgiving than with Halloween).
“Thanksgiving” really serves two functions, and it’s far more successful at one of them. One of the episode’s goals is to make us feel sorry for the various Chanels. No. 5 was ditched by her family and No. 3 walked out on hers. I still have trouble feeling much of anything for No. 3, probably because Billie Lourd does so little emoting. Maybe it’s an unfair comparison, though; No. 5 is played by an Oscar nominee and No. 3 has the distinction of being Princess Leia’s daughter and not much else. I hate to harp on Lourd so much because it makes me feel like a jerk, but she’s pretty outclassed here.
Of course, the focus on any Chanel storyline is on Chanel Oberlin. Realizing that Chanel No. 1 might be the craziest Chanel of all adds an interesting dimension to the character, but it’s hard to hold on to, because Scream Queens is so intent on jettisoning any character development, even when she goes through a tragic episode like “Thanksgiving.” She accompanies Chad to the Radwell family Thanksgiving, where all of them are obviously awful.
The casting is great across the board, especially Alan Thicke as Chad’s father and Chad Michael Murray as Chad’s brother Brad. (Also, “Chad Michael Murray” sounds like a name that was suggested for Chad Radwell before people brought up that Murray is a real person.) The whole Radwell clan is terrible, not only to Chanel but to Hester, who shows up not only alive but unannounced, the latter of which is arguably a more egregious slight to the Radwells.
Now obviously Ryan Murphy wouldn’t kill off Lea Michele because YAASSSS QUEEN SLAAYYYY but at least Scream Queens offers a decent explanation for her survival. So, the show gets a pass on this one. But let’s be honest, this show about a serial killer is only marginally interested in killing people off.
Where “Thanksgiving” really succeeds is in its B-story, which is a straight-up drawing room sequence out of Agatha Christie. Basically, everyone goes around the room offering different theories as to who they think the killer is. Dean Munsch thinks it’s No. 3; No. 3 thinks it’s Dean Munsch; Wes thinks it’s Grace, which was unexpected; and Pete (hi Pete, long time!) gives a very convincing case for Wes as the killer. Diego Boneta makes the most of his expository monologue, and for once a revelation on Scream Queens doesn’t feel like the show looking the viewer in the eye and telling us what’s happening.
The biggest takeaway from all this is that Wes, unbeknownst to him, was Boone’s father (of course Pete has a friend who works on The Maury Show). This makes Wes the father of both the killers, and Grace their half-sister. It’s a solid surprise, and more importantly, it feels earned instead of forced. And as if that weren’t enough, “Thanksgiving” ends with the genuinely shocking sight of Gigi’s head on a platter. It’s a great way to close a solid episode. Excuse the horrible, horrible pun, but “Thanksgiving” is an episode to be thankful for.
A Few Thoughts
- Chad’s brother Thad keeping a lacrosse stick by his side at the table was a great touch
- “Duh, I put it in the meat locker. That’s where we’ve been putting all the dead bodies”
- “It tastes like Henry VIII just barfed in my mouth”
- “Paleo diet. It works. Paleo“
- I gotta say, the reveal of the tiny quail was pretty damn funny
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