{"id":616571,"date":"2023-03-10T21:13:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T03:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/10\/scream-6-ending-explained-ghostface-hunter-or-hunted\/"},"modified":"2023-03-10T21:13:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T03:13:00","slug":"scream-6-ending-explained-ghostface-hunter-or-hunted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/10\/scream-6-ending-explained-ghostface-hunter-or-hunted\/","title":{"rendered":"Scream 6 Ending Explained \u2014 Ghostface: Hunter or Hunted?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Warning: Full spoilers for Scream 6 are about to happen! Before we get there, though: Yes! Scream 6 does have a post-credits scene. If you want to learn about the rest of the film without spoilers, check out our <\/strong>Spoiler-Free Scream 6 Review.<\/a><\/p>\n

OK! For real! It’s spoiler time now! <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNot in my movie\u201d is one of Sidney Prescott\u2019s most iconic lines, but what happens when it isn\u2019t her movie anymore? The truth is, we\u2019ll always miss Scream\u2019s original final girl (and hope Neve Campbell\u2019s contract negotiations smooth out and we see her again someday). But, for now, it turns out that a Sid-less Scream ended up being pretty damn great. The sequel to the requel may have botched the reason for her absence, but all of that occurs very early on in Scream 6. And we, my friends, are here to talk about what happens at the end of this chapter of the Carpenter sisters\u2019 story and what it all means for the franchise going forward. <\/p>\n

Scream 6 Ending Explained <\/h2>\n

It all comes down to the trophy room from hell. Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega respectively) find themselves trapped in the decrepit theater that someone <\/em>has been using as a shrine for all of the artifacts of Ghostface\u2019s past. With them is one Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), who seems to be acting just a little odd. She\u2019s turned the theater into the death trap as the remaining survivors planned, but she sure does seem strangely gleeful about it. Sam and Tara grow suspicious, and it seems Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) had the same concerns as he arrives on the scene so he and Kirby can have a shouty standoff ala Scream 2\u2019s Mickey (Timothy Olyphant) and Derek (Jerry O\u2019Connell).<\/p>\n

Now, who among you read that paragraph and doubted our girl Kirby for even a second? Shame on you! Obviously <\/em>this Ghostface was that sneaky Detective Bailey. The reveal goes about the same as it does in Scream 2, but not in a way that\u2019s detrimental to the story. The Detective and Kirby have each other at gunpoint as they shout at Sam and Tara, insisting that the other is Ghostface, and, like Mickey before him, Detective Bailey quickly gets bored and shoots Kirby so he can turn the gun on the Carpenter sisters.<\/p>\n

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Of course, there hasn\u2019t been a single Ghostface since Scream 3\u2019s Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), so who\u2019s been wearing the second mask in this film? Scream 6 is all about playing with its own tropes rather than the tropes of horror as a whole like past entries, so the answer is that there\u2019s not one, not two, but three <\/em>Ghostfaces. The second is Detective Riley\u2019s daughter, Quinn (Liana Liberato), who up until this point was believed to be dead. The real twist belongs to her brother, though. Ethan (Jack Champion), the mild-mannered, virgin roommate of Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding) isn\u2019t the nice guy we were led to believe.<\/p>\n

Y\u2019know, just like his big brother, former Ghostface Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, more Scream 2 tie-ins for you! The Bailey family doesn\u2019t just have a surprise third child, it\u2019s also not the Bailey family at all. The Detective changed their family name to \u201cBailey\u201d to remain hidden. They\u2019re really just Richie\u2019s living relatives, making the Kirsch family the Ghostfaces of Scream 6. And they\u2019re furious that their smart, capable and, as Richie\u2019s father puts it, \u201cvirile\u201d family member was so brutally murdered by a vicious killer like Sam Carpenter. <\/p>\n

Scream 6\u2019s running social commentary is basically about how easy it is to make a woman who was literally hunted and a survivor of attempted murder and repeated assaults the real <\/em>monster. A truther campaign against Sam dubs her as the one true Ghostface, insisting that killing Richie Kirsch to defend her friends and sister was really our new lead stepping into her father\u2019s (that\u2019s Billy Loomis) shoes and becoming the brutal murderer that she\u2019s always been. We even see it again with Kirby when the Carpenter sisters are quick to believe she\u2019s the killer simply because she\u2019s giddy that they\u2019re about to execute someone emulating the entity tied to the worst day of her life! <\/p>\n

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We love a theme that both highlights our weird societal needs to vilify women and <\/em>plays into our protagonist\u2019s key fear! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We love a theme that both highlights our weird societal needs to vilify women and <\/em>plays into our protagonist\u2019s key fear! Because, the thing is, Sam doesn\u2019t entirely know that those accusations are wrong, and that\u2019s where the final act gets spicy. <\/em><\/p>\n

Billy (Skeet Ulrich) continues to appear to Sam throughout Scream 6, just as he did in 2022\u2019s Scream. Though, just like before, those visions aren\u2019t really \u201cBe a serial killer, baby girl!\u201d They\u2019re usually more along the lines of \u201cHey dummy, someone\u2019s trying to gut you. Gut them back!\u201d And, well\u2026 he may have been the winner of Worst Boyfriend Ever 1996, but Protective Dad Apparition 2022-2023 Billy Loomis isn\u2019t technically wrong?<\/p>\n

In listening to her father\u2019s voice in her darkest moments, Sam propels Scream 6 miles ahead of lesser horror sequels that have attempted and dramatically failed at accomplishing the \u201cHunted Becomes the Hunter\u201d trope. Once the monologues have run dry and Sam and Tara are pinned down, a switch flips, and the killer comes out. Shortly after, we see another one of Scream 6\u2019s key themes come full circle by the way of Sam finally letting go.<\/p>\n

In her love and defensiveness of her sister, Sam spends much of Scream 6 being the overbearing protector of Tara. All of these moments culminate in a scene in the final act where Sam is forced to drop her sister if either of them are to survive, even if it means dropping her on the waiting blade of Ethan. <\/p>\n

In letting go (or in Tara\u2019s case, allowing herself to fall back into the range of an awaiting Ghostface), both sisters unlock their full, stabby potential. Scream 6 sees its core characters get more brutalized than any other entry in the franchise, which is an interesting change of pace in itself already. But it gets even better when they dish it back in kind.<\/p>\n

Sam does the majority of the killing, but Tara gets a few mean swings in herself. The youngest Carpenter absolutely brutalizes Quinn with a brick, and utters one hell of a \u201cdie a virgin!\u201d to Ethan before delivering the final blow. But the end of one Detective Bailey is the real coup de grace. <\/p>\n

The Detective\u2019s final moment is particularly interesting because it\u2019s not a killing committed in defense, but a choice. The film\u2019s final act is filled with Bailey insisting that Sam puts on the Ghostface mask so she can finally be who she really <\/em>is. In a bid to beat him at his own game, she finally acquiesces in the final moments, chasing him down and distracting him with the very voice modulator that\u2019s been used to terrorize her, her family, and a huge number of lost victims.<\/p>\n

When she finally catches him, Sam delivers more than a few gnarly stabs, but steps back to survey her prey before delivering the final blow. Will she become the killer her father was \u2014 that Detective Bailey believes her to be \u2014 or does she choose mercy? She\u2019s unsure, but a single nod from Tara gives her all the go ahead that Sam needs.<\/p>\n

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This is because Tara knows that \u201cmurderer like her father\u201d and \u201cmerciful to the point of idiocy\u201d are not the only answers available. Billy Loomis was a sociopath who killed people for sport. Sam Carpenter\u2019s just trying to live her life, but she will absolutely slaughter anyone coming for her or any other member of the newly dubbed Core Four (that\u2019s Sam, Tara, and the Meeks-Martin twins). And so, slaughter she does, and down Detective Bailey goes, along with his weird, victim-blaming equivalencies. <\/p>\n

Oh, and she gets a little bit of help from Kirby. You know our girl wasn\u2019t going down that easily! <\/p>\n

Before the dust can truly settle, in runs Hot Neighbor Danny Brackett (Josh Segarra) with the cavalry (half of the NYPD) because, plot twist! The love interest neither dies nor gets stabby this time! Sam kicked him to the curb before they locked themselves in the trophy room. He understands and backs off, but it looks like he wasn\u2019t willing to let his girl go down without some backup. She didn\u2019t need it \u2014 everyone who should to be dead is very <\/em>dead \u2014 but the gesture ruled! And it points to Danny for being the first Scream boyfriend who responds reasonably and healthily when the lead gently tells him to buzz off because he could be the murderer.<\/p>\n

Speaking of recurring Scream tropes that rule, Chad continues on as the Dewey parallel in our rebootquels! There was, like, absolutely no question that boy was dead. Earlier in the film, after he finally shares an extremely cute kiss with Tara, Ghostface pops up out of nowhere. A fight breaks out and second Ghostface reveal themselves, each grabbing Chad and completely mutilating him while Tara and Sam get away. He tells them to run, even. It\u2019s very cute, and there\u2019s absolutely no way anyone survived that. But he did and it\u2019s fine because this is Scream. And, for the first time, both Carpenter sisters \u2014 or any Scream final girl \u2014 head into the next movie with a living, non-murder-y love interest. <\/p>\n

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Sam and Tara won’t be trapped in a room with Ghostface, Ghostface will be trapped in a room with them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The final moments of Scream 6 give Sam one final choice: choose Ghostface or choose her family. But for Sam, it\u2019s not really a choice at all. We get a prolonged shot with her staring at Billy\u2019s dusty old mask, but the second she hears her sister it\u2019s all over. Off they go, whether it be back home or to a brand new city in Scream 7. Whoever\u2019s dumb enough to put Ghostface\u2019s mask on next better watch out though, because Sam and Tara won’t be trapped in a room with Ghostface, Ghostface will be trapped in a room with them.<\/p>\n

The real question is, is Stu Macher the final battle of the modern trilogy? Seems that there\u2019d be no better final rival for the Carpenter sisters given that he gets several pointed mentions in Scream 6, and who better to take on Billy\u2019s legacy than his deranged (and probably still very alive) best friend? <\/p>\n

Guess we\u2019ll have to wait until Scream 7 to see! <\/p>\n

Does Gale Weathers Survive Scream 6?<\/h2>\n

She sure does! But just by the skin of her teeth. Ghostface enters Gale’s (Courteney Cox) apartment and murders her boyfriend while he chats with her on the phone. While the killer is working to keep her distracted, he notes that it’s strange that she’s <\/em>not the one wearing the mask, given that the fancy New York penthouse that she currently occupies was purchased with blood money earned from exploiting the deaths of her friends and loved ones (up to and including one Dewey Riley \u2014 RIP). And he’s, well… not wrong! <\/p>\n

After closing out Scream (2022) insisting that the killers can die in anonymity and she won’t be writing another book on Ghostface, Gale does just that. It earns her a well-timed punch in the face from Tara, given that the Carpenter sisters were exploited for her fame as well, but the real punishment comes by way of Gale’s closest brush with death yet.<\/p>\n

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A long game of cat and mouse ensues between Gale and Ghostface before the killer ultimately catches her and stabs the hell out of her. Sam and Tara interrupt right before the final blow can be dealt, but Gale was basically on death’s door by the time the EMT’s arrive. <\/p>\n

The real question here is if this <\/em>will be what finally shocks Gale Weathers into changing. She has a good talk with Sam about building your own family earlier in the film, so is it possible we see her step into a kind of surrogate mother-type for the Carpenter sisters in Scream 7? Given what we know, it’s also fully possible she returns to her same old shenanigans immediately, but time will tell! <\/p>\n

Scream 6 Post-Credits Scene Explained<\/h2>\n

Yes there\u2019s a post-credits scene, but it\u2019s absolutely just Mindy Meeks-Martin pulling a Deadpool. <\/p>\n

Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She’s also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Scott Collura<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Warning: Full spoilers for Scream 6 are about to happen! Before we get there, though: Yes! Scream 6 does have a post-credits scene. If you want to learn about the rest of the film without spoilers, check out our Spoiler-Free Scream 6 Review. OK! For real! It’s spoiler time now! \u201cNot in my movie\u201d is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616572,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37154,829,534],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-616571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scream","8":"category-ending","9":"category-financial"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}