Scream Queens Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Blood Drive
Caralynn Lippo
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Why mess with a proven formula?
Scream Queens Season 2 Episode 6 confirmed what we'd all expected – that the murder mystery at the heart of Scream Queen Season 2 is an almost-exact mirror of Scream Queens Season 1's Red Devil set-up.
Of course, the Green Meanie(s) one-upped the Red Devil(s), in a totally literal sense – there are actually three Green Meanies, as opposed to two Red Devils. GASP.
There was a lot of fun campiness to enjoy on "Blood Drive." For starters, we learned a lot more about Nurse Hoffel, and it finally put her seemingly-irrational hatred of the Chanels into perspective.
Nurse Ingrid Marie Hoffel is actually Ingrid Marie Bean – the late Agatha Bean's sister! TWIST.
Hoffel was my first husband's name. Howard Hoffel. He died. Cancer, I think -- we weren't close. My maiden name might sound familiar -- Bean. Agatha Bean was my sister. Agatha wasn't smart. I got the brains and the looks, but she was still my only sister. And those Chanels burned her face off and got away with it. Until now.
Nurse Hoffel
I've never not loved one of this show's extended voiceover sequences, where we get into the head of a particular character. The first season did this brilliantly with Dean Munsch, and it worked to similar effect with Hoffel.
Knowing what we know about Hoffel now, it makes complete sense that she'd have this vendetta against the Chanels. I'm not exactly sure why she spent a full half of the season impotently bitching at and insulting them, but she finally put an actual plan into action – capitalizing on the blood drive in an attempt to get the Chanels to go to Blood Island, a dangerous place in the South China Sea, to die there.
It was a really good plan that would allow Hoffel to rid herself of the Chanels with minimal culpability. Unfortunately for Hoffel, it failed in the most hilarious way possible, with Chanel's refusal to fly anything but charter jet leading her to turn down the fully paid for trip.
Hoffel's backstory and vendetta weren't the only major reveals this time around. Again much like the first season, where we learned the identity of one of the Red Devil killers (Boone Clemens) midway through, we learned the Cassidy Cascade is not only the 1985 baby but also a Green Meanie killer. Zayday, as per usual, was right on the money with her theory.
The end of Scream Queens Season 2 Episode 5 confirmed that Cassidy was the 1985 baby, but left open-ended whether he was also the killer. I expected the show to tease that reveal out a bit longer, but instead, they played right into it.
The killer is exactly who the main characters thought it was (the baby) and presumably has the same motive they assumed he'd have. The only thing the "heroes" don't yet know is the true identity of the baby – and that there's yet ANOTHER killer lurking around whose identity is unknown even to the audience.
Cassidy and Hoffel teamed up to kill #9, who was left hanging – err, strapped down – by a Brock-distracted Chanel. Death by blood donation!
The two Green Meanies plan to wreak havoc on the hospital and the Chanels (respectively). Hoffel is clearly unhinged, given that she's willing to team with a serial killer just to get her revenge on the Chanels.
Who's the third killer, murdering for reasons of their own unbeknownst to Cassidy or Hoffel? I'm gonna guess Grace from the first season. Because why not?
Hilariously, Cassidy framed Brock Holt by swapping the labels on the blood supply. Chamberlain collected Jane Hollis' blood type via her saliva sample and Zayday deduced that the baby would have to be O+, but Cassidy was one step ahead of them. He switched the O+ labels to Brock's blood.
The idea that Brock could have been a baby born in 1985 (making him 30) was laughable, but so goes Scream Queens' campy and ridiculous logic. I loved Zayday's reasoning that Brock might have been a lifeguard who looked older than 30 because of years of sun damage. Zayday... girl... that's a stretch.
On the bright side, being unfairly accused of being the Green Meanie seems to have "unlocked" the hand's control over Brock. The promos for the next installment (plus its title, "The Hand") made very clear that we're in for a very unhinged Brock-centric hour coming up. That should be a blast to see.
Honestly, Brock, I think you're safer putting your penis in a landmine or a woodchipper than having sex with Chanel.
Dean Munsch
The fight between Munsch and Chanel over Brock was a fun subplot.
It was mostly worthwhile for that epic slo-mo scene of Munsch, after having sabotaged Chanel's STD test to make it seem she had every STD known to man, ripping Chanel's blood count off of the blood drive tally as Chanel writhed in agony on the floor. Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts fully committed to that moment, and it was magical.
"Blood Drive" was also a great Hester showcase. There's been far too little of Hester this season, so I really appreciated the increased focus on her. She had an "incurable" patient of her own (relatively uninteresting vampire dude), but she cured him in the most Hester way imaginable.
Hester veered between being utterly hilarious and getting on my nerves during the show's first season. She's much more enjoyable now. Lea Michele has definitely found her rhythm in playing the character. Glee's Rachel Berry (especially in the beginning) always seemed just slightly unhinged. Hester Ulrich is like Rachel Berry but full-blown psycho. And I love it.
I call it the "Blurred Lines" cure. You know like when you heard that song for the first time, and you were like, "I could listen to this song over and over again and never get sick of it." And then months later, you were like, "I'd rather marry Robin Thicke than ever have to listen to this awful song ever again."
Hester
More Hester please!
Stray thoughts:
- Hester was addicted to Ring Dings when she was a little girl. Best character detail ever, or best character detail ever?
- Chanel's black outfit was amazing. Even writhing around on a dirty hospital floor, she looked like a queen!
- Hester may not be actively killing people, but would she really have taken enough care to test the blood she fed her patient to make sure it wasn't diseased? That was surprising. I didn't think Hester would've cared either way.
- The promo showed Hoffel demanding that a seemingly-reluctant Cassidy "kill her." I suspect she's talking about Chanel #3. Maybe Cassidy actually has developed feelings for #3 and wants to spare her?
- Cassidy being "a little bit scared" of Zayday = YES.
- How does Cassidy's lie about being dead factor into all this? Is it just this season's Boone-is-gay lie, so Cassidy can avoid getting close to #3?
What did you think of "Blood Drive"? Leave me a comment below and watch Scream Queens online here at TV Fanatic anytime!
Caralynn Lippo is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
