‘Scream Queens’ Recap: Nick Jonas Returns, Jamie Lee Curtis Re-Enacts ‘Psycho’ Shower Scene

Lisa Timmons | November 11, 2015 9:15 am

This episode is all about mommy issues, with Grace (Skyler Samuels) searching for information about her mysterious late mother, Denise (Niecy Nash) installing herself as house mother of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority and Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) giving a nod to her real-life mother (Janet Leigh) in what is arguably the most iconic horror victim role of all time.

We start in Dean Munsch’s office, where Grace presses the good dean to keep her promise to reveal what she knows about the bathtub baby. However, Munsch keeps singing the old “Feather is the Murderer” song, refusing to give up any details .

Back in Dean Munsch’s home, she strips down to take a shower in an obvious homage to her mother’s infamous role as the shower victim in Hitchcock’s Psycho.

However, Dean Munsch outsmarts the Red Devil, whose plan it was to stab her in the shower and sneaks into the living room, where she calls 911. As she waits for an operator, the Red Devil re-emerges and the dean grabs a fire poker. It seems she’s about to escape when a second Red Devil appears, along with an attacker wearing a mask in the likeness of Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia.

An elaborate fight scene ends with Dean Munsch still standing, despite only using her hands to defend herself. The three attackers eventually decide to just leave.

In the sorority house, Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts) grills the Chanels for information to pin the murders on Zayday (Keke Palmer). None of them having anything useful to report.

Denise fries mozzarella sticks in the kitchen because she’s moved into the sorority house after a meeting with Dean Munsch. Chanel No. 3 (Billie Lourd) chats with her to offer her a “ridiculous amount of money” to unearth proof that Zayday’s the murderer.

Grace returns to Dean Munsch’s office and post-Red Devil attack, Dean Munsch is a little more forthcoming, handing over the file of the dead girl’s info, claiming it’s Grace’s mother. She cautions Grace that she can’t handle the truth about her mother’s identity.

Denise asks Jennifer about Zayday, who doesn’t think she’s the killer. However, she tells a story about how she got “real revenge” on a group of high school mean girls who teased her. Zayday interrupts the confession. The only thing she’s clearly guilty of is having killer legs in a fabulous pair of shorts. #TeamZayday

While videoing one of her infamous candle review vlogs, Jennifer is murdered by the Red Devil.

Denise faces the Chanels to update them on her investigation that she hasn’t unearthed anything. Chanel No. 1 fronts her ten percent of the three million she’ll receive for Zaday’s murder proof. Chanel then claims she needs to leave for a date with Chad.

The whole gang then stumbles into the dining room to see dead Jennifer covered in candles and candle wax.

Meanwhile, Grace and Peter (Diego Boneta) struggle to find info on Sophia Doyle, the dead bathtub sorority girl. They realize they need to find the Kappa girl who took care of the baby. They return to the mental hospital, asking the portrait-painting patient if she remembers her. She then produces a portrait of Gigi (Nasim Pedrad) holding two babies, a boy and a girl.

Dean Munsch delivers a press conference to announce that she’s closing Wallace University as a result of Jennifer’s murder. Chanel No. 1 freaks out on two detectives from Scotland Yard she hired to finger Zayday as the killer.

Grace corners Gigi with the painting of her with the two babies. Gigi denies everything, deflecting all tough questions about how she was in school at the time of the bathtub baby incident and how she dropped out shortly thereafter. Gigi tries to make it into the issue that Grace is upset about her dad’s (Oliver Hudson) relationship with Gigi, who then reveals that they’re engaged.

The Scotland Yard detectives admit that they’ve found nothing on Zayday, but note that Grace’s mother appears suspicious, with a criminal record. She announces that Grace is the killer and that the file they gave her proves it.

Grace meets her dad to find him talking to Gigi on the phone. He explains to Grace that Gigi went out to get decor and came home with an engagement ring. He claims he’s just playing along with it. While talking with him, Grace realizes that Gigi must have known her father back in their college days. She rushes back to the sorority house.

Chanel No. 1 corners Grace to accuse her of the murders and reveal all the dirt on Grace’s mother: at a sorority party, she hooked up with Wes, gave birth to Grace and went on to commit a string of crimes, ending up hooked on meth and ultimately dying in a drunk diving accident. Grace slaps No. 1 and storms upstairs.

Denise has returned looking rich in Chanel No. 5’s (Abigail Breslin) clothes to announce herself as house mother. No. 5 flips out. No. 1 and Denise have a chat in the bathroom. Denise chastises No. 1 for talking shit about Grace’s mother to her, instructing her to apologize. Denise then reveals that she’ll drag Chad into it, if she’s not nice to Grace. No. 1 relents, angrily.

Grace returns to her room to look at an old picture of her mother. She returns to her dad’s place to talk it out. He admits the story No. 1 told her was true and that he burned down the house to eliminate the evidence. She storms off again, but not before vaguely threatening him.

Gigi arrives moments later and tells Wes that Grace is failing out of school. Um, maybe because she’s distracted that there’s a murderer killing all her friends? Gigi suggests committing Grace to a mental hospital.

No. 1 and Grace meet at the coffee shop, where No. 1 apologizes and admits that her mother is the worst. Grace accepts her peace offering of a coffee and they seem to call a truce of sorts.

At the gym, we see a bearded Nick Jonas working out. He answers his phone to say, “I can’t live like this. All I do is work out and kill people.” He says they have to get rid of Gigi. And with that, we finally get what we deserve…which is more Nick Jonas!