Episode 3.3: The Kaitlyn Factor

Spoilers for the third episode of season three after the jump.

Favorite Quotes of the episode: "if we find that out...", "We can arrest the killer...and have a pizza party!"
Also: "Now that sounds creepy...and that means a lot coming from me."

This episode was a little bit lighter on ghosts than the last episode, but I really didn't mind it. I think I have said this before, but what I really like about the show is its ability to balance the number of plot threads resolved and the number of plot threads newly introduced. I find out enough new information to counteract the amount of new mysteries that begin. In this episode, this is what we have learned:

1. Chad was dating Kaitlyn just before she died.
2. Chad spoke to Kaitlyn the day she died. (This may or may not have been moments before she died.)
3. Jenny is almost certainly Azazel is disguise.
4. Azazel may successfully persuaded Erin to help him.
5. Chad is not Chad's real name (probably...although there is always the Meet the Parents way out...), and he doesn't go to the same college as the rest of the characters.

Additionally, in case anyone had any doubts as to whether Kaitlyn's death was actually a murder, I think those doubts have been put to rest. The episode's final montage makes that pretty clear, in case Kaitlyn as ghost didn't make that clear enough. (Incidentally, I believe that this episode confirms that ghost-Kaitlyn is not a type 1 ghost [a subconscious manifestation of one person's guilt], and is definitely a type 2 ghost [a remnant of a dead individual, left on Earth with unfinished business].) But more on what this episode's montage reveals later.

The episode opens with Kaitlyn accosting Brittany at the pool, and we quickly learn that it isn't only Brittany's dream, but also Chad's. Kaitlyn (in ghost form) is hell-bent on two things: tormenting Brittany, and showing the world both that she was, in fact, murder, and who her killer was/is. The dream angle of introducing Chad as someone involved in the story much earlier than we previously thought, is interesting. But what would have been more revealing is if we had seen Chad's view from inside the dream. In not showing us what Chad is hearing from Kaitlyn, Chad is looking guiltier and guiltier. However, I find it very interesting that both Brittany and Chad were spying on Chris and Gina (respectively), using a typical killer point-of-view (i.e., spying on someone without their knowledge through a crack in a door or a hole in the wall).

Despite all of this, I still do not believe that Chad is the killer...or, perhaps to be a little less bold, I believe that if Chad is the killer, it is not as simple as Chad doing this by himself. It is still too early in the season (I think) for us (the audience) to be thisclose to knowing who the killer is. But what we have learned from season 1 (or at least, one interpretation of what we may have learned from season 1) is that people who don't see ghosts are more likely to be killers than people who do. Now that we know Azazel is in the mix, it seems that this rule may not always be true, but when a ghost says something like "You have to figure out who the killer is," it seems likely that the person being spoken to is in the clear. Maybe this is making too much of a leap, but, at the very least, not hearing from lots of ghosts is suspect. All of this is just to say that Chad is, as was suggested in the episode, only looking guiltier.

I don't know if the fact that Chad doesn't seem to go to the school is all that incriminating, since, if he doesn't, it makes sense that his name wouldn't be on the enrollment list. I don't remember if he ever claimed to attend the same school, but even if he didn't, why wouldn't he readily announce that he didn't go to the school? It seems like there are two obvious possibilities regarding Chad: 1) Chad is somehow involved in the killing, or 2) Chad is investigating everyone, and he isn't confiding or confessing anything because he trusts no one. Option 2 doesn't seem that unlikely, even though Chad is looking like the guiltiest person in the mix right now, but Option 1 still seems like a definite possibility. Option 1 is supported by the fact that Chad may or may not be Chad's real name, that Chad wants Brittany and Chris stopped, and that Chad spoke to Kaitlyn on the day that she died (and possibly just before she died). The fact that Chad agreed to go on the road trip to be interrogating seems to be a convincing piece of evidence for Option 2. If Chad had nothing to hide but didn't trust anyone, it makes sense to go along to find out what information other people knew, but also to reveal as little information as possible. But if Chad is investigating, this begs the question of why. Did he suspect something with Kaitlyn's death, or was he involved before that? And is it really that suspicious that he started dating Chelsea? My suspicion was not aroused in season 2, but maybe it happened off screen or I just wasn't paying enough attention. And lastly, the fact that Chad stole information from Vanessa and Gina in season 2 seems to support either Option 1 or Option 2. So basically, we learned a lot, but not enough (which I don't mind).

While we are still on the subject of Chad, I am tempted to dissect the conversations Brittany and Chad had with Kaitlyn just before she died. Kaitlyn makes mention of "[their] high school secret psychopath." This could be a reference to Zach, but it could also be just about anyone else. And the fact remains that Tim recognizes Chad from somewhere that Chad doesn't seem to want him to remember. So it seems possible that Chad might be somehow connected to the high school, although the fact that only one out of so many of the high school gang even recognizes him makes this possibility less likely. Also, what does it mean that Kaitlyn might have been friends with Jenny, but Brittany didn't know about it? And why would she be investigating Jenny's death if they weren't friends? And why didn't she tell anyone else she was investigating? And, perhaps most puzzlingly, why would Kaitlyn have said, "Jenny? You really think I wouldn't have figured it out?" to Chad? This is perhaps the most incriminating evidence (support Chad Option 1), but it could mean something else. Maybe Jenny cheated on Tim with Chad? Or something else?

Moving on, I am a little baffled by what it is that Azazel wants from these people. He seems upset by the killings, and he seems to want his own brand of justice. But it also seems like Azazel is bad news himself, and maybe he simply wanted different killings. I also found it interesting to learn that Azazel haunts his victims by taking the form of the person they trust the most. This suggests that Jenny is very likely also Azazel, given both her condescending remarks toward Tim's friends and the likelihood that Tim trusts Jenny more than anyone else. This brings up the B storyline with Tim (as haunted by Jenny [as Azazel?]) and Erin (haunted by Max as Azazel). Clearly, these ghosts are really getting to some of these characters, particularly Erin. I am curious to see where Erin's character is going...whether she is going to resist Azazel's plan for her, or whether she becomes his pawn. I'm not sure that we will discover this for sure, but Erin seems like she is barely holding it together (side note: I loved Brynne's hiss after her short monologue. Nothing says "I'm crazy!" like making animal noises in casual conversation). I also wonder...why Erin? Is she really that evil, as Azazel suggests? Or is his definition of evil completely subjective? I am leaning towards the latter, but the idea that Azazel can only haunt those who have something "evil" within them is interesting as well (although I'm not sure this excludes any of the cast from being haunted by Azazel).

Perhaps the biggest question I'm left with now (although there are a lot of questions I am left with, so this point is certainly debatable) is if all of these deaths are driven by one particular motive, or if there are several, possibly connected, motives. This also begs the question of whether all the deaths were committed by one single (human? demon?) killer, or whether there are multiple killers (working in tandem or separately?). An interesting possibility raised in this episode is that Adam and Kaitlyn (and maybe others?) were both killed for the same reason: both got to close to the (yet undisclosed) truth. But what this "truth" is, I can't even begin to speculate about.

Before I begin my wild speculation, I also just wanted to briefly remark on Blake's new love interest who happens to look exactly like Sarah. (Another side note: New Sarah's name is Laura. Intentional or not, I really like that her name is Laura, since Twin Peaks famously pulled the person-who-looks-a-lot-like-someone-who-just-died-but-isn't-actually-that-person, and that dead person on Twin Peaks was Laura Palmer.) While it was initially not clear whether or not Laura was just a part of Blake's imagination or not, the fact that she got her own scene in the final montage seems suggestive that she is, in fact, real. But whether or not she looks like Sarah to the rest of the world (hello Big Bad Beetleborg fans!) or if it's just Blake (hello Scrubs fans!) is unclear.

And lastly, before the bullets, I want to know 1) why Zach left Chris a note, and 2) what that note said. What would Zach know that Chris wouldn't? Is this new information to us, or is this something we already know, but Chris doesn't?

And now, just some unconnected musings:

• If Erin knows how to help Tim stop seeing Jenny, and if Jenny is Azazel, why can't she also get rid of Max as Azazel? And was that her advice, or was she being advised by Azazel and Jenny is actually not Azazel?
• When Brittany is in the kitchen, someone calls her name (or she imagines someone calls her name). Who was it?
• Blake continues to amuse me, and I'm grateful for some comic relief, since Nigel Brown (whom I love) is now being used more dramatically. I particularly enjoyed Blake's offense when Melony didn't call him.
• Why did Max as Azazel want Blake to find out information from Chris? Or was it not Azazel?
• If Erin really is Azazel's favorite, why would Jenny (as a possible Azazel) say that Erin is getting what's coming to her?
• Why would Chris seem to care about Blake now and not months ago? (Which is arguable what drove Blake to drink.)
• Why is Vanessa still keeping secrets from everyone? What could she be hiding that we don't know already? (Also, Vanessa is one of our most haunted characters, so does this make it slightly less likely that her secrets have to do with the murders?)
• Who does Chris think is not lying? (He seems convinced that not everyone is lying, but he seemed to know that Brittany was using him. Is Brittany in the clear then, or not?)
• Azazel may not always tell the truth (in case you didn't already suspect that). It seems likely that Laura is real, and not a figment of Blake's imagination, as Max as Azazel tried to convince Blake of.
• Blake is worried that he is a killer and doesn't know it. Is this a likely outcome?
• Why is Vanessa lying so blatantly to Zach?
• Also, I think it's interesting that the scene in which Vanessa first lies to Zach about sleeping with Blake is juxtaposed against the scene in which Melony asks Chad where he was all day and he told her the truth. Does this suggest that Vanessa is more of a liar than Chad?
• And do we actually have any evidence that Chad has ever lied? Hasn't he always just evaded the truth?
  
• Why is Blake threatening Gina?
• Where did Brittany go after her last conversation with (non-ghost) Kaitlyn ended? And what came up with Brittany that prevented her from hanging out with Kaitlyn the day she died?
• Why does Beth's sister have a gun? And why did Blake want drugs after just meeting a new girl?
• I am really impressed with the actress who plays Kaitlyn. I'm happy to see her on screen more often.
  
• If the most-trusted-person hypothesis is true for Azazel, why does the anti-Azazel seem to choose the least predictable form (i.e., Martha and Blake).
• Why does Chad pause after leaving Kaitlyn, if not to kill her? Does he consider apologizing? Clearing his name from whatever Kaitlyn has accused him of?

And Wild Speculation:

• Maybe the anti-Azazel is actually the eviler of the two spirits we have seen. (Why not?) This would completely change all of my inferences.
  
• Or maybe the anti-Azazel and Azazel are in cahoots and they are trying to kill everyone by turning them against each other.
• It also seems possible that there may be one demon killer who is inhabiting lots of different humans to kill everyone. This is especially consistent if we assume that Willy did kill Max, but that Max's killer could be a demon who is still on the loose and killed all of the others as well.

And lastly, some more bizarre commentary:

• Evil wears plaid. In the scene with the two Maxes, Max as Azazel wears a plaid shirt, while the original Max wears stripes.
• Also, Max as Azazel is not beneath wearing a scarf when it is cold.
• Chris is really, really bad at surreptitiously reading secret notes, while Zach is very good at slipping people secret notes.
• Melony has a Hogwarts pillow.

Please discuss!