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Scream Queens Round Table: Hell Hath No Fury Like Dean Munsch Scorned

Scream Queens Season 1 Episode 7 finally gave Jamie Lee Curtis her chance to embrace the crazy and really shine in her role as Dean Munsch! And we were loving every minute of it.

"Beware of Young Girls" revealed murderous truths about both the Dean and Gigi, ending on an incredibly shocking note as the Dean confessed to the listening audience that she killed her ex-husband and how exactly she'd gotten away with it by framing her ex's cute young girlfriend, Feather. Gigi, recently revealed to be "in cahoots" with one or more of the Red Devils, pointed junior detectives Grace and Pete in the Dean's direction, to throw them off of her trail.

Here, TV Fanatics Hank Otero, Carissa Pavlica and Caralynn Lippo discuss the Gigi/Dean Munsch reveals, whether Grace and Pete have gotten any more bearable, and who the MVP was this time around.

Gigi is a cold-blooded killer/mastermind! React to her phone call with her accomplice and her conversation with Grace.

Carissa: it's pretty bold to have introduced her so early, meaning she's either a total nutball who, on top of myriad other oddball behaviors, also talks to herself while pretending to be a mass murderer, or she is one half (or third) of a killing partnership, wherein the other unknowns will be of far more interest to the viewers.

Hank: I'm not sure what Gigi's deal is, but why give up the killer like this? Perhaps Carissa has a point and she's just a nutbar who has dreamed up this whole scenario. We did see her meet with the Red Devil at one point though, so I don't know. I guess the fun part will be trying to figure out who she's working with. The shopping scene with Grace was so odd. I got the impression the '90s fashion thing was fake.

Caralynn: Hm, that's really interesting! I didn't even consider the idea that Gigi could just be insane and imagining the whole murder plot. There was definitely something off about the scene with Grace while they were out shopping. I'm leaning towards Gigi actually being in on it and not being crazy, though it is suspect that they would reveal such a major twist this early on in the season.

Was it just a coincidence that Gigi pointed Grace in Feather's/Munsch's direction right before Munsch decided to kill her ex, or are Munsch and Gigi in "#cahoots" (as Denise would say)?

Carissa: I'm not ready to call them in cahoots for the overall kills yet, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were swapping kill stories like the lunatics they are. You know, like other people swap news of their days and upcoming vacation plans and such.

Hank: I'll be honest, I was totally shocked that Munsch murdered her ex-husband like that. There's no doubt in my mind now she's probably one of the Red Devils. I don't think it's a coincidence Gigi pointed Grace in Feather/Munsch's direction. There's a connection there for sure.

Caralynn: I actually had the opposite idea — I was pretty certain that it was just a weirdly timed coincidence that Gigi pointed Grace towards Munsch at that particular time. Gigi and the Dean had such animosity towards one another earlier in the season, and it didn't feel faked at all. Granted, new Gigi (revealed as totally crazypants) seems like an altogether different character from the Gigi who was originally introduced, so who knows whether her friction with Munsch was staged or not.

This episode was another that eschewed certain characters in favor of extra focus on others. Who was most missed this time around? Did you think the choice to exclude the characters in favor of focusing on others was a good/necessary one?

Carissa: Tthere are solo many characters that at some point it has to be done in order to tell the stories they want to tell. I'm still missing Denise Hemphill, but I know when she comes back, she'll be more outrageous than ever due to a little rest.

Hank: I missed Chad a bit to be honest. Yes, the scene with the goat was a trip, but he wasn't given much to do. I thought bringing back Chanel #2 was fantastic, so focusing on her this week was okay. It worked for me. We needed to learn more about Dean Munsch as well, so yeah cutting back on some of the cast was necessary.

Caralynn: I'm with Hank, I really wished there was more Chad! We got that little glimpse of him with the goat but it wasn't enough for me. I also missed Zayday! She was basically absent for the entire episode, save a few seconds there at the end. I could deal with the lack of Chad and Denise Hemphill in exchange for more Dean Munsch and the return of Chanel #2. Honestly, though, it felt like a lot of the Grace/Pete scenes could have been cut down and allocated to other (better) characters.

Favorite scene/line/moment?

Carissa: Visiting Dean Munsch in the loony bin where we got to see her amazing fashion designs. She's only just begun! She is running an institution of higher learning and designing dresses for awards season! Give her a break!

And…all of the stuff Chanel #2 had to say about hell. That was the dirtiest conversation by way of sexually coded messages. Holy moly! I didn't even know some of them, and my friend told me later. I thought that was brilliant. Finally, Hester having 9 tampons. How big is your cooch? LMAO!!!

Hank: I'm with Carissa, Chanel #2's visit was phenomenal. The writing was once again really clever, like in the pilot. My favorite scenes were the ones with the ouija board. The mention of va-jay-jay with teeth and the 9 tampons. Such insanity, how do they come up with this stuff?

Caralynn​: Chanel #2's ghostly/hallucinatory visit was hilarious! Ariana Grande was really underused at the beginning of the season, so it was great to see her back even if it was only for a few brief scenes. I absolutely loved her rants about how awful hell wound up being, and the fact that she was basically describing it as a hotel she was intending to check out of. 

Who was your MVP of the episode and why was it Dean Munsch?

Carissa: Oh yes, Jamie Lee Curtis was having so much fun with this material. "I don't trust a girl with a huge bush of pubic hair." Who ever imagined that line coming from her lips?

Hank: Definitely Jamie Lee Curtis! I agree with Carissa, she's just having such a blast with this role and it shows. It's ironic that she's the original "scream queen" but here she's hacking people up and enjoying every second of it. I love everything that comes out of Emma Roberts' mouth. She's my series MVP and I'm hoping she survives so we see her again in season 2.

Caralynn: We're all in agreement again, Jamie Lee Curtis was by far the standout of the episode. That entire last scene with her voiceover about how she pulled off the murder and got away with it was brilliant and spooky and amazing. Loved it! On a secondary level, I really enjoyed Chanel #2's reappearance, so she's my second most valuable player.

Do you care even a little bit about Grace/Pete's misadventures in Detective 101? If not, how could the show make you care about these two, if that's even possible for you?

Carissa: The most interesting thing so far was the Picasso in the loony bin. She paints all of the patients. She painted Grace and Pete. Does that mean they're going to wind up there? The painting showed Grace without a hat. That was different.

Hank: I don't care much about Grace or Pete at all. The only way I might become interested in one of them, is if they're the Red Devil. I've finally given up on my original theory that Pete's one of the killers. Then again, perhaps that's exactly what the writers want and they'll hit us with a twist.

Caralynn: I feel like I've ranted ad nauseam about this in my reviews but I just don't understand how anyone could be invested in Grace and/or Pete's stories at this point. They are so boring and incredibly predictable! And they have no chemistry whatsoever. They're so blah. Plus after this whole Dean Munsch/Feather debacle (where their collective gullibility and meddlesomeness essentially led to Feather's false imprisonment) they are easily two of the straight up dumbest characters on the show, in my opinion. And there are some really dumb characters on this show, guys!

Hannah - How to Get Away With Murder

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