With the Scream season 2 finale came the reveal of the killer, and some moments from “When a Stranger Calls” made it a bit easy to see it coming. By the end of the episode, Kieran was behind bars, but as Noah put it, “Maybe, Lakewood, you’ll always be Murderville.”
Here are the moments from the season 2 finale that made that killer reveal and ending just a bit too predictable.
Scream Season 2 Finale Recap: The Killer Is Revealed>>>
The Killer Told Emma If They Went to the Police or Were Caught, He’d Kill a Loved One
Of course Emma would then go to her boyfriend, someone she figured she could trust.
Kieran Kept Himself Close to Emma
She told him she and Audrey were thinking of hiding out in the movie theater, and his immediate response was he’d meet them there.
Kieran and Eli’s Conversation in Their House
Since Kieran knew Emma and Audrey were hiding right outside his window and could therefore hear everything, everything he said was designed to make Eli look like the guilty party and to get just the right reaction out of him: bringing up Eli’s “obsession” with Emma and the trip to town last year he kept secret and telling him to stay away from Emma. How else was Eli going to react but to tell him, “I’m going to do whatever I want. Try and stop me”?
The Movie Theater Was Playing When a Stranger Calls
Also the episode’s title, and perhaps a clue that the killer was already inside the movie theater when he called and Emma told him where they were.
The Killer Warned Emma That She Didn’t Want to See His Face
Kieran Called Emma to “Check in” … Before Entering the Auditorium
The same auditorium where the video of the killer’s murders started playing.
The Killer Lured Stavo to the Theater to Move Him up the Suspect List
That put the focus and suspicion on Stavo. “We’re trying to lure the killer and you show up,” Noah argued. “This is a pretty classic ‘don’t let him in’ situation.”
Kieran Offered to Go Check on Audrey
“She shouldn’t be alone, not if he’s in here with us,” he said, leaving the others to wait in the auditorium while he went to get her. Alone.
The Killer Attacked Brooke
The timing of the attack ruled out quite a few people. Noah was in the auditorium with them. Emma was turning off the projector. Audrey was clearly a target of the killer and MIA. But what about Kieran’s whereabouts?
Plus, it was pretty suspicious timing for Kieran to be by Brooke’s side after the killer disappeared when Emma chased after him.
Kieran Suggested Audrey Left
When Emma asked him if he found Audrey, he said the back door was open and she was gone. Maybe she already left, he suggested. It was a pretty weak excuse for her absence. After everything they’d been through, the others were really supposed to be believe she just left?
Noah’s Reasoning for Why Emma and Audrey Couldn’t Be the Killers Applied to Eli as Well
As he told the Sheriff, there was too much evidence against them. The same could be said of Eli.
The Timing of the Killer’s Text about Audrey and Emma’s Phone Call with Kieran
Soon after Emma checked in with Kieran and wondered if she should turn herself in, the killer messaged her with this photo and warning:
Kieran’s Phone Call to Emma When She Went to Meet the Killer
The timing of it couldn’t be more suspicious. Along with that, he sounded like he was saying what he knew he should be saying on that call as the “worried boyfriend,” not that he meant of it.
Then the killer’s call during the conversation was obviously supposed to keep the suspicion off him but it did the complete opposite.
Kieran’s Timing (Again) When He Found Emma and Audrey
Again, just after the killer disappeared, Kieran just so happened to run in to the room where Emma found Audrey.
After All the “Evidence” Against Eli, His Story Didn’t Sound Very Believable
When Eli stumbled in, bleeding, holding a knife, he tried to explain himself, but Kieran had already set him up to look guilty. He followed Kieran from the hospital, Eli said, but then Kieran came up behind him and stabbed him. He played dead and called the police. But by this point, Kieran had established himself as the trustworthy boyfriend, so it wasn’t easy to convince Emma otherwise.
Eli Revealed Kieran’s Past Manipulation
It turned out that Kieran’s the reason for that restraining order in Atlanta; he liked her too and told her mother Eli was posting naked photos of her online when it was really Kieran. Eli came to Lakewood to get back at him.
Emma Played Right into Kieran’s Hands
As soon as Eli made a move to go after Kieran, Emma reacted and shot him. And then Kieran got his hands on the gun.
Kieran Made a Mistake
“You will feel safe again, Emma. You too, Audrey,” he told the girls. But as Emma recalled, the killer said, “You will never feel safe again.” And so the truth came out.
Kieran Had to Be Arrested
“You’re going to rot in prison,” Emma told him after making the decision to not kill him. “Because you lost at your own sick game.” After the girls killed Piper last season, it couldn’t end the same way this time.
But That Couldn’t Be the End
With everyone getting back to normal, there had to be one last twist. And of course it had to come via the call to Kieran in prison from his “lawyer”: “Who told you you could wear my mask?”
(Images courtesy of MTV)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.
