BWW Recap: Grace Finds Her 'Mommie Dearest' on SCREAM QUEENS

The ramifications of the past and their bearing on the present has always been the core of SCREAM QUEENS' logic. The show constantly concerns itself with what happened 20 years ago, flashbacks, the past, and the divide between adults and children. On a more micro level this week, karma bites everyone in the ass.

Last week, Dean Munsch promised Grace that she would reveal to her who the baby in the bathtub was, and Grace took that to mean reveal everything she knows about the murder and that night. Of course, with a week separating her stint in the asylum, she can have a clear head. She can't tell Grace who the baby is, but she does give her a file with the mother, and... it's not Grace's mom.

Dean Munsch, for not following through with her promise (and after Grace suggests she's next), is attacked by Red Devil. And Red Devil #2. And Gigi in an Antonin Scalia mask. In an iconic recreation of her mother's most famous role, Jamie Lee Curtis plays Dean Munsch to perfection here, kicking ass and with a sharp wit. Dean Munsch, after finally being targeted by Red Devil, decides to close the university.

A couple weeks back, Wes hinted to Grace that she was the baby in the bathtub, and it was an idea that she took to heart. Grace truly believed that she was that baby, and that's why she was special; that's why she was the one to solve the murders. Of course, when this ends up untrue her entire world spins out of orbit.

She and Pete, through their expert sleuthing, figure out that the Hag on Shady Lane (Gigi) was the Kappa sister who took the bathtub baby. They decide to go to the asylum, where the insane Hag surely would've gone, and learn that the Hag on Shady Lane is Gigi. Grace confronts Gigi about it, and then Gigi shuts her down, pointing out the obvious holes in her theory (her only clue is a bad painting). Gigi also shows Grace the ring on her finger; Wes proposed. Gigi fires all this ammunition at Grace; karma hitting Grace for thinking she was right.

After this, Grace moves onto Wes, who she attacks for getting engaged to Gigi. Wes explains that Gigi bought the ring and he was "just going along with it." Grace is worried about her dad, and scared for herself. She lashes out at him and tells him to "Stay away at her." The bad juju Grace receives from Gigi she then lashes out to Wes with.

Meanwhile, Chanel and the other Chanels are preoccupied with proving Grace and Zayday (but mostly Zayday) are the killers. Chanel #3 offers to pay Denise (who moves into the Kappa house) and Chanel hires detectives from Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard detectives reveal to Chanel that Zayday is most likely not Red Devil given her history. They also give her a dossier on Grace's real mom.

In the most ruthless scene the show has done yet, Chanel, in excruciating detail, tells Grace her mother was the president of Kappa twenty years ago (the one in the pilot who loved TLC's Waterfalls), who got pregnant that night with Wes, then committed a string of crimes (from drunk driving to larceny to grand larceny) before dying in a car accident. Chanel lays out these details as a brutal truth, leaving Grace stunned. Grace put bad energy out into the world when yelling at her dad, and it came right back at her.

After Chanel #3 offers Denise $3 million to find prove that Zayday is the killer, Denise realizes she can't do it, and asks Chanel for some money first. Denise, now the House Mother, takes over Kappa house, assuming all the control. Chanel lashes back, trying to reclaim her lost power, but Denise stands her ground, holding sleeping with Chad over Chanel. After Chanel drags Grace down, Denise knocks her down to the same level.

After being dragged, both Grace and Chanel have moments of genuine sincerity-a rare turn of events on this show. Grace has a heart-to-heart with her dad, where she realizes he was just protecting her. Their relationship is still rocky at this point, but it's on a better level than their earlier conversation.

Chanel, meanwhile, apologizes to Grace for her behavior. Grace and Chanel have always been foils to each other on the show. Grace is the nice "final" girl trying to fit in; Chanel is the mean rich girl with all the power. In this sincere conversation between them, it's shown that they're not so different. They both have bad relationships with their mothers which led them to Kappa house. It's a tender connecting moment that would lead to friendship if Grace wasn't already disinclined to that idea.

These moments of sincerity suggest that the characters on SCREAM QUEENS are only honestly themselves when someone else holds a mirror to them. Only when another figure on the show genuinely reads them better than they read themselves can the characters move forward. Grace, who's always been the weakest link on the show, makes some nice character growth this episode; hopefully the realization of her mother helps her grow even more. Chanel, meanwhile, is recoiling under the pressure of Denise. Once karma hits these characters, there's nobody else to look to but themselves.

Who's Red Devil?

In a continuation of the karma theme, Gigi, after shooting Grace's ideas down, gets attacked herself in the last scene of the episode when Boone (he's back!) talks on the phone to the other Red Devil about killing Gigi for her poor performance in the Scalia mask. It's obvious two of the three are Gigi and Boone, and after the reveal tonight that there were twins in the bathtub, I'm inclined to say the last Red Devil is Chanel #3, because of her father being Charles Manson, and the importance this show puts on parent-child relationships.

Scream Quotes

Dean Munsch:"You scheduled this meeting. That means you talk first and I try my best to listen."

Grace: "I'm sorry, was I being smug? I thought I was just being right."

Chanel: "It's the night of 1000 compliments. We sit across from each other fully clothed while he compliments me 1000 times."

Chanel: "I'm an American. I don't have to understand anything."

Denise: "The better question is, why are you the size of a forty year old woman?"

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What did you think of SCREAM QUEENS tonight? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @gunnar_larson. Also, don't forget to follow @BWWTVWorld on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for all of the latest TV news, reviews, and recaps. Tune in next week from tonight for the next episode.

Photo Credit: SCREAM QUEENS official Facebook

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