After 12 long and, at times, unbearable weeks, we’ve finally unmasked the last Red Devil killer. In the two-hour season (or series?!) finale, Ryan Murphy left the best for last—to the overall detriment of the series. In the final episode of “Scream Queens,” we laughed, gasped and, most importantly, found out how and why the murders were happening on Wallace’s campus. But was the show worth the stumbling journey to the end?
Before we dive head first, though, first let’s recap what happened in the finale.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Hester Ulrich (Lea Michelle) was the final Red Devil killer.
Hester and Boone Clemens (Nick Jonas) were the twin bathtub babies raised by Gigi Caldwell (Nasim Pedrad) and trained to become serial killers, set on revenge.
As part of her plan to frame the Chanels for the murders, Hester stabs herself in the eye with a stiletto.
After being found guilty for the murders on campus, Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts), Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd) and Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin) were sentenced to life in an asylum where they surprisingly ended up living happily ever after.
Zayday Williams (Keke Palmer) became president of the Kappa House. Grace Gardner (Skyler Samuels) became vice president, and Hester became the treasurer.
Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) became a New York Times best-selling author thanks to a ghost writer, and she started banging Wes Gardner (Oliver Hudson), who reminded us during the episode how really gross dad bod is.
Our favorite defender of justice, Denise Hemphill (Niecy Nash), started dating Chad Radwell (Glen Powell) but broke it off to leave for Quantico to start her FBI training.
The episode ended with a Red Devil standing over Chanel’s bed in the asylum.
It all seemed to be wrapping up nicely until the curve-ball last scene, but don’t get excited just yet. Fox hasn’t decided if it will renew “Scream Queens” for a second season. And part of me is hoping tonight’s season finale was the last stab, killing the show’s mediocre existence.
“Scream Queens” wasn’t a bad show, like Rebel Wilson’s “Super Fun Night” from a couple years ago or this year’s “The Muppets” (ABC better not renew it). I definitely would have watched it all, even if I weren’t writing about it.
But with 13 episodes, the show was like a bad roller coaster. It had great highs but long, uneventful plateaus. “Scream Queens” never should have been a 13-episode ordeal. It felt like we were being fed unnecessary side stories, like the battle for the Kappa presidency, and twists, like Chanel going to jail for half an episode, just to meet an episode quota.
It’s difficult to keep a slasher mystery going for a full season if no major character ever really seems at risk of being murdered. And at the end of “Scream Queens” season 1, all the key players walked away alive, mostly unscathed.
“Scream Queens” really should have been a mini-series. Shortening the season to three or four episodes would allow for a tighter narrative, with consistent rising action, cliffhangers and a more explosive climax.
Half the fun of the slasher genre is guessing who’s the next to be killed, and a shorter time period would allow Ryan Murphy to ditch the frills. Then he really could focus on adding some suspense, killing off main characters and moving the story at a quicker, more digestible pace.
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