Courtesy of MTV
From the young ingenue to the mysterious new boyfriend, everyone's a suspect going into Tuesday's season one finale.
A new face is about to join the infamous, bloody ranks of the Scream franchise's long list of killers when the MTV series unmasks the killer targeting Lakewood's teens in Tuesday's season finale.
Although the series seems to be pointing to Emma's (Willa Fitzgerald) mysterious boyfriend Kieran (Amadeus Serafini) as the killer thanks to all the events of the penultimate episode, he may not be the one toting the Brandon James mask around town and offing her friends left and right. He may be the obvious of a choice in a franchise known for its last-minute twists and red herrings.
But if it's not Kieran behind the mask, then who is it? Here are all the candidates for the latest Ghostface, ranked from least to most likely.
11. Emma
Unless she's suffering from some split-personality disorder stemming from the shock of finding out that her mother had an affair with Brandon James (resulting in a kid), it's pretty much impossible for Emma to be the face under the mask (though that would make for a crazy twist). There's no way she'd be calling herself, having full-on conversations with herself, killing her friends and boyfriend, etc. She also had no idea about her mother's connection to Brandon James until the killer clued her in.
10. Maggie (Tracy Middendorf)
Since Maggie wanted to keep her past as Daisy a secret from everyone, including her daughter, it's illogical to think that she'd blow her cover in such a big way. And why would she target her daughter after giving up her first child? Maggie is in the clear.
9. Audrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus)
Sure, she hated Nina (Bella Thorne) and Emma for releasing her make-out video with Rachael (Sosie Bacon) kissing. She was pissed enough to do something drastic. But murder? Don't forget that Audrey's girlfriend was one of Ghostface's victims. There's no way Audrey would kill her own girlfriend and then frame it as a suicide. Where's the motivation?
8. Noah (John Karna)
This sidekick is way more entertained by figuring out who the killer is rather than actually carrying out any murders himself. His constant fear for his own life and his extensive knowledge of horror movie tropes and stereotypes prove he'd rather watch a fictional murder play out onscreen instead of at his own hands in real life. And let's not forget Ghostface murdered his girlfriend right before he was about to lose his virginity. How many teenage boys in their right mind would off a sure thing? Answer: literally zero.
7. Brooke (Carlson Young)
Since the killer uprooted her entire life, it doesn't make sense for her to be the face underneath the mask. Plus, she just doesn't have the brains or brawn to pull off what this Ghostface has been doing all season long. How many times has the killer chased her? Two? Three? Brooke can get crossed off the list of suspects with confidence.
6. Sheriff Hudson (Jason Wiles)
Since the killer left him for dead for all of Lakewood to see on a live video feed, it's almost definitely not him — unless the feed wasn't live and was prerecorded. But that still doesn't account for Ghostface knocking him out while he was investigating the house/lair that the killer is holed up in. So, yeah, definitely not the sheriff. Forget being the killer, it's more likely he's going to be a victim by the end of the finale.
5. Jake (Tom Maden)
Jake is definitely suspicious (and a total d-bag) but unless there's been an unseen piece of information about Jake's childhood, he doesn't have the motivation to kill all his friends and target Emma and Maggie. And he's been trying to get into Brooke's pants all season, the opposite of Ghostface's multiple attempts to kill her. Jake may be gross, but he's not stupid.
4. Seth Branson (Bobby Campo)
He is definitely a killer, and dangerous, but he's not the killer. He killed a student with whom he was having an affair before changing his name — with the bloody knife he hid in his classroom likely tying him to that slaying — and he killed the cop guarding him in jail. But he's not connected to Brandon, Daisy or Emma in any way. Cross his name off the list … but lock him up anyway.
3. Mayor Maddox (Bryan Batt)
Brooke's dad is definitely up to something shady, and it's more likely that he killed his wife's drug buddy than just finding his dead body after an overdose. Like Seth, he's a killer, but probably not the killer.
2. Kieran
According to Piper, Brandon's mom recognized him from his yearbook photo as Brandon's son who came to visit her to learn all about his dad. He took a drunk Nina home the night before she died. He saw Rachel filming him with Nina that night, hence her murder/staged suicide. He's obsessed with Emma (which will be really, really gross if he is indeed her half-brother) and did not like Will for obvious reasons. He's conveniently always missing in action whenever the killer strikes. He was spying on Emma at Brandon's mother's house. But thanks to the events of the penultimate episode, Kieran is too obvious of a suspect. That's why the most likely killer is …
1. Piper (Amelia Rose Blaire)
She's obsessed with Brandon James and all the killings in Lakewood. She has ingratiated her way into Emma's inner circle and bonded with her — putting her in the perfect position to manipulate Emma. Piper was pissed that Sheriff Hudson isn't taking the killings as seriously as she wants him to (like when he wouldn't cancel the Halloween dance). She's the only one who "witnessed" Brandon's mother recognizing Kieran's photo in the yearbook … but since Kieran's new in school, he wouldn't even be in the yearbook yet. Then there was that seemingly throwaway line about her father's murder when she was young … and how the police don't seem to care enough about it. We know Maggie/Daisy and Brandon had a son … but what if Scream took the Pretty Little Liars route and the child was transgender? Or what if the ultrasound was wrong, and Maggie gave birth to a baby girl all those years ago? Piper's the right age, she has the right motivations and the right shady past.
Who do you think is the face behind the Ghostface mask? Place your bets in the comments below. The season finale of Scream airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. on MTV. Stay tuned to THR's The Live Feed after the episode for interviews with the producers and the killer.
Twitter: @sydneybucksbaum
