Entertainment

The Red Devil Plot Thickens On 'Scream Queens'

by Caitlin Flynn

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm completely stumped about the Red Devil's identity. Until the Dec. 1 Scream Queens episode "Black Friday," it seemed clear that the team consisted of three people: Boone, Gigi, and the female bathtub baby. With Boone and Gigi out of the picture, that meant there was only one Red Devil left at Wallace to finish the job... or so I thought. But, once again, the plot has thickened and it turns out Pete is working with the Red Devil on Scream Queens. Yes, yet another Wallace student is in #cahoots. (What is it about this university that attracts so many homicidal individuals?)

In plenty of ways, it's not that surprising — after all, Pete has looked sketchy since the premiere and we know he has a serious axe to grind with the Kappas. If the Red Devil team needed help, he would have been the natural choice. But, this revelation definitely adds a new layer to the mystery, because Pete is doing more than simply providing intel to the Red Devil. As he told Grace in the final scene, he's a murderer. (Yikes — better luck next time, Grace.) We also heard him on the phone discussing the revenge plot — and who he was talking to is really anyone's guess at this point. We still don't know the other bathtub baby's identity, and there's no shortage of suspects.

When the Red Devil chased Chanel, No. 3, No. 5, and Hester through a closed shopping mall earlier in the episode, I thought we'd been given a clue. All four girls are suspects in my book, because it seems highly likely that the bathtub baby is a Kappa and a major character. With only one Red Devil left on campus, it temporarily seemed like we could cross all of them off the suspect list. But the remaining bathtub baby has at least one accomplice, and Pete owns a Red Devil costume. Did one of the Kappas ask him to come to the mall in costume so that she could evade suspicion?

Denise Hemphill (who is the new Chief of Police and in possession of a real gun, which should make everyone feel a whole lot safer) attempted to rush to the rescue. She had an opportunity to kill the Red Devil, but he or she escaped while Denise was busy chatting with the Kappas. "Why didn't I shoot him when I had the chance? I was just talking so much," she lamented. It's OK, Denise — we still love you.

As usual, the episode provided more questions than answers. How did Pete get involved with the Red Devil team? I have a feeling he was motivated by something more than his hatred of the Kappas. Could more people be involved in the revenge plot? Gigi is avenging her biological sister's suicide, but we still don't know much about the Kappa sister who died in the bathtub. Could she have family members or friends who are in #cahoots as well? At this point, we really can't rule out any possibilities.

It's a good thing next week's finale is two hours long — Ryan Murphy has a lot of explaining to do.

Image: Patti Perret/FOX