While Scream Queens received some mixed reviews for last week’s premier I think the latest installment definitely holds promise that the show knows how to balance horror, mystery and comedy. Mainly: less Chanel being a horrible person (not funny) and more frat boys screaming their heads off (funny.)

Spoilers ahead, Sweetie…

Let’s start with a twist that surprises no one: Chanel #2’s body has gone missing and there appears to be grumblings among the ranks of the Chanels. Mainly #5 refuses to help find the body and continues to act suspicious. Meanwhile the rest of the house begins to wonder where #2 disappeared to. Grace and Zayday investigate her room where there is a large blood like stain on the ground. The two are clearly the only pledges in the group with some common sense, but it’s a surprise when Office Hemphill walks on the scene and lays some truth down on them. Of course the stain is blood and there’s even a suspicious tweet saying the Red Devil killed her. This, along with her sassy lines from last week shows Hemphill is proving that she may be a competent ally in these murders.

Next the school has a Take Back the Night ceremony to remember the fallen students. Dean Munsch uses some choice words that did not allude to murders, even stating that Boone’s death has been deemed a suicide. But hey, the school board did decide that a Red Devil Mascot is not very politically correct considering the current problems so they’re going to change it… to an Ice Cream Cone.

Grace’s father, who was played at being a nice-guy over protective dad, is showing us a creepier side when he takes a position as a film professor in one of his daughter’s classes. You know, to keep an eye on her. Grace isn’t that impressed and storms out before her dad can show the class the movie he deems a cinematic masterpiece, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He may also have a crazy glint in his eye while the movie plays, or maybe it is just me.

Grace and Zayday continue to investigate #2’s disappearance. Using that good ole’ common sense they go to her parent’s home to see if she just went home. #2 hasn’t been seen in months, but oddly enough someone is still posting pictures to her Instagram account showing her looking kind of dead in the face. Haha. Her parents admit that they had hoped her latest boyfriend, Chad Radwell, would be a good influence on her.

If that name sounds familiar it’s because Chad is Chanel #1’s boyfriend, and apparently he dated every one of her minions at one time or another. Chanel #5 also makes some offhanded comment about him showing her his knife collection and we know he has a weird fascination with dead things, so needless to say he’s a prime suspect for being the Red Devil.

Chad and his bros were one of this episode’s highest points. They are hilarious as they devise a way to avenge their fallen bro, Boone. The plan? To beat up red things and yell the Red Devil’s name until he comes out because of hiding.

The plan works, but the bros are thrown a curveball when a second Red Devil appears, both armed with chainsaws. Considering the reveal from the end of last week’s episode I’m pretty sure the second Red Devil is Boone, but still the moment came as a surprise. Once again the fight is both suspenseful and comedic as the bros try to beat chainsaw with baseball bat. It doesn’t end well for some of them, but Chad Radwell is still alive.

That same night Dean Munsch and former KKT member (now chapter attorney) Gigi, announce they’ll be staying in the sorority house for a week. Dean Munsch is cold towards Gigi who she sees as a rival in getting the attention of Grace’s dad. She chases the younger woman out to the couch where Gigi is attacked by none other than the Red Devil. Luckily Grace’s dad is being a weird stalker for his daughter and happens to be nearby to save her. After a slight scuffle the two come out unharmed, but the Devil gets away while they look meaningfully into each other’s eyes. Munsch comes down, confused by the noise just in time for Grace’s father to accuse her of being the killer.

Which, really doesn’t make much sense and doesn’t fool us viewers for a second. Sure, she wasn’t there for the attack but there’s no way the killer could have disappeared upstairs, changed, and reappeared as Munsch in such a short amount of time. Sorry, but I’m not buying it not when we have several other major suspects to consider.

Overall, it was a solid episode both on the side of humor and building up our cast. Scream Queens shines its best when playing up its side characters and mystery it seems. Another bonus was there wasn’t much Chanel, meaning her racists jokes weren’t taking up screen time and making me cringe. The few scenes she did have were effective as she turned the awkward and creepy pledge Hester into Chanel #6 and tried to win back Chad.

As our list of suspects grows I am finding myself trying to pay more and more attention to who isn’t present when the Devil attacks. So far Munsch, Chanel #1, #3, #5, and Pete are major contenders but maybe there’s a character we haven’t really jumped into yet. It’s still way too early to make any solid guesses, but I’m watching you Scream Queens… I’m watching you.

Episode Body Count: 2
RIP Mascot Coney and Nameless Fraternity Bro

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Cara Averna is a movie nerd, an Otaku, and known bibliophile. She writes about Fandom studies, Anime, and Manga on her blog year around, but during fall she watches way too much horror movies and consumes everything pumpkin. Follow her on twitter.