See that, #ScreamTeam? Stay tuned for October when answers to our Season 2 questions are put to rest. #MTVScreamhttps://t.co/tC8LiACY1C
— SCREAM (@MTVScream) August 17, 2016
I’m going to be honest in saying that when it came to guessing who the killer was during Season 2 of Scream, Kieran wasn’t even on my list of prime suspects. It was probably due to the fact that he was a red herring during the first season, therefore he kind of seemed “safe” during the second. The producers probably took full advantage of this notion and eventually revealed that he was, in fact, the accomplice of Piper (Season 1’s killer) from the start.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one shocked by the big reveal. Actor Amadeus Serafini told The Hollywood Reporter he didn’t know that he was the murderer until just prior to shooting the finale, as well as elaborating on finding out he was a master conspirator:
“Honestly, it was like a week before the finale. The showrunners tipped me off. Then I had to go into my preparation mode, going back and looking at all the killings and making them make sense in the timeline and for Kieran’s character. I didn’t know if I was ultimately going to be a heroic character or a sacrificial character or the killer all season.
“I was shocked. I wanted it to be the case but there were a lot of plot lines that shift over time. Of course, between the first and second season, things changed. Our executive producers changed. I was ecstatic. I thought I might be a sacrificial character [laughs] as most characters are on our show. I thought I would surely die. And they teased that a few times this season with dream sequence deaths and stabbings. But I was really excited to be in the ranks of the killers in the franchise.”
Another big surprise came when Emma showed mercy on Kieran, allowing him to go to prison for his crimes as opposed to killing him. Considering that all four Scream films, as well as the first season of this very show, killed off their respective villains shortly after their unmasking, this revelation broke the cycle and allows the franchise to chart new territory. This isn’t lost on Serafini.
“It’s a dark horizon. I really don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to be going on with a third season, whether there will or won’t be [one]. And as for what’s going to happen with my character, I do not know. It’s funny not to know, to be back in that boat of not knowing. That’s how they really push this show along, keeping us all in the dark. It’s a Usual Suspects tactic of almost letting every actor believe that their character might be the killer and letting them play with that, capturing singular moments of suspicious looks and intentions. And then just taking it all away and giving it to one person. I think it’s worked out rather well.”
While Scream has yet to be renewed for a third season, a two-hour Halloween special (check out a clip at the top) has been confirmed to air this fall. It will thankfully wrap up loose ends left by the second season. This is much more than some shows can ask for, as many throughout the annals of television history have been forced to end on cliffhangers. Hopefully we gain some insight into who this third person is behind the mask, Brandon James or otherwise.