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I'm not a stranger, okay, I'm just strange

–Eli Hudson to Emma Duval, Let The Right One In

Eli Hudson was a recurring character in the second season of Scream. Eli was the 16 year old, friendly yet intriguing cousin of Kieran Wilcox, and the nephew of the late Clark Hudson. Despite his character being a red herring, Eli ended up for the most part, a sympathizer for the Lakewood Five and a friend. He moved from Atlanta to Lakewood at the insistence of himself and his single mother, Tina Hudson.

Eli, due to his association with being Kieran's cousin, who was dating his nonreciprocating crush Emma Duval, would be brought in as a suspect during the Second Lakewood Murders during the second latter of its events, beginning in January-February 2016, around his arrival. Despite his tendencies to break in, Eli would be a vigilante as he would try to better himself and strive towards Emma's attention. It's revealed that most of Eli's trust issues and anger stems from his own upbringing and volatile relationship with his cousin, Kieran, who falsely accused him of breaking into a girl's home in Atlanta and posting her nude photos online, due to Kieran being jealous of Eli getting the girl.

This led Eli to get a wrongful restraining order from the girl's family against him, which led to a then 15 year old Eli arriving to Lakewood during the 2015 murders, to find Kieran, but whose plans to seek revenge were foiled in light of the tragedy and who attended the funeral for the victims in November, following the death of the mastermind, Piper Shaw. In the end, it's revealed Eli's cousin was the killer and Piper's secret loverand who ambushed him once Eli began to suspect, and who would become the final victim, who died in the end trying to warn Emma and Audrey Jensen of the truth. His innocence would be proven following Kieran shooting him dead, and revealing himself.

He was portrayed by Sean Grandillo.

Description

Despite his squeaky clean image, he might be hiding ulterior motives. His arrival in Lakewood brings along secrets of Kieran's past that were buried long ago.

Background

Early Life

Eli was born aprox. in early to mid-1999 to Tina Hudson and an unknown father in Atlanta. Not much is known about Eli's past or childhood, except for that he grew up alongside his older cousin, Kieran, and whose uncle was his mother's older brother; whom as parents, were troubled (Clark as a drug addict and Tina as a harlot), which led to Eli and Kieran bonding. At one point in Eli's youth (approx. 2008/2009), he became aware of Kieran's true nature and lies when Kieran stole and killed a (or his, unclear) neighborhood dog, alongside and blaming it on him.

This led to Eli's wariness of Kieran and ultimately reached a point in approximately 2014 (or 2015, unstated), when a then 14/15-year old Eli and alongside a then 15/16 year old Kieran (prior to his stepfather and mother's deaths, as well as Eli knowing the truth that Kieran indirectly caused it due to him arguing, as well before Kieran was taken in by his father to Lakewood), fell in love with an unknown teenage girl in Atlanta. Feeling jealous due to Eli and the girl, Kieran would break into the girl's bedroom and breach her privacy by leaking private nude photos of her online and blaming it on Eli, going as far as going to the girl's home and convincing her mother it was him. This would land Eli with a criminal record and restraining order from the girl against him (unclear if his criminal record alongside him being a trespasser occurred during this time, but likely).

Second Lakewood Murders

First Lakewood Murders, 2015

In the fall of 2015, during Eli's (and Kieran's) junior year of high school in Atlanta (possibly Weaver), a then 15/16-year old Eli would try and seek revenge on his cousin, by visiting Lakewood in approximately mid-late October 2015 (who had moved 2 months prior to Lakewood and attended George Washington High). However, due to the recurring Second Lakewood Murders (first since 1994) occurring at the same time as well as the death of his uncle and the town's former sheriff, Clark, by the Lakewood Slasher; and the funeral memorial services for the victims in November, left Eli distressed and with a change of mind. This occurred after he saw his supposedly mourning cousin Kieran, alongside his (faux) girlfriend, Emma Duval (who was the long lost half-sister of the new murders' perpetrator, Piper Shaw; who was Kieran's secret lover), and the other survivors whom he would later meet in the next 3 moths known as the Lakewood Six (later Five, due to death of Jake Fitzgerald; unclear if Eli knew him but perhaps was likely aware, unstated).

Second Lakewood Murders, 2016

Emma and Eli

Co-Workers: Eli and Emma working together

Following having attended the funeral memorial services for his uncle and the other victims of Lakewood in November 2015, both Eli and his mother, Tina (who attended not long after; unclear but most likely unaware of her son's disappearance in fall-2015 to Lakewood), returned to Atlanta, in where Tina was in a relationship with her boyfriend (alluding to Eli having had to endure this growing up and having potential unknown stepfathers) and who, according to Eli, they lived in a "shitty" two-bedroom apartment.

Regardless, Tina left her now orphaned 16 year old nephew Kieran alone, despite court mandated orders to visit him, leaving him alone throughout the holidays, with occasional visits, in order to receive the state stipends. Eli continued his studies as a junior in Atlanta, up until Tuesday, January 26th, 2016, when him and his mother went to Lakewood, due to being called by the new Lakewood Sheriff, Miguel Acosta, which led to them settling into his former uncle's house to live with Kieran. Prior to convincing his mother, he visited unannounced to George Washington to talk to Emma and unofficially meet her, due to his growing crush on her.

2x07 Emma and Eli
2x12 Eli and Kieran

He would be enrolled in the school the following day on Wednesday, January 27th, and would become by his cousin (and faux-member, due to being the actual killer), associated to the Lakewood 6, unofficially, much like his classmate and Noah's girlfriend, Zoe Vaughn. During the week he was enrolled, he would get a job at the Grindhouse Cafe to get closer to Emma, much to Kieran's dismay. Regardless, he blended well and whose old habits of trespassing and watching and appearing to people from afar, was apparent, due to being the new kid, and who would be made a suspect during the reinitiated murders, especially by Audrey. His past once again caught up to him during a break in for picnic date at the abandoned Wren Estate houses near Wren Lake, which caught fire (revealed to be Kieran as the killer) when he and Emma tried to get close and who unknowingly was in the same house where Kieran held a barely-living Seth Branson and a deceased Eddie Hayes in the bathroom of the house.

However, following the death of Haley in the first week of February, and who had gotten into a fight with his cousin due to each vying (truly being Eli) for Emma's affection the day prior on the Lakewood Carnival, and the remaining survivors being targeted and others killed being revealed (such as when Jake's body fell down on Friday, January 29th), the doors would close in on him, as his past history would be brought in a ploy to try to implicate him by the Lakewood Slasher.

Death

Friday, February 5th, 2016

Eli's death

O, Romeo, Romeo: An unfortunate death for Eli Hudson, who would become the final victim in the 2015-2016 Lakewood Murders

Following Emma and Audrey's arrest the following night and escape by the Lakewood Slasher after being framed by them, Eli would be concerned about Emma's absence and who didn't believe the story of her or Audrey killing Quinn Maddox (due to his own fear of trying to blackmail the shady mayor a day prior to his death and breaking into his house). Eli would find Kieran's behavior suspicious during Kieran's supposedly secret help and guiding Emma and Audrey around Lakewood hidden. He would find the hidden letters trying to implicate him as the killer, and who would follow Kieran (not long after his encounter at Zenith Theatre, where he would strike as the killer and attack Brooke; as well as kidnap Audrey) to the abandoned Blessed Sister's Orphanage (where a night party was held 3 days prior and led to the death of Eli's classmate, Haley, who was Kieran's unknowing assistant. Eli would head in only to be stabbed by Kieran unmasked, and who would tell this as he found Emma and Audrey locked and trapped, before being shot in the chest by Emma in false context, before Kieran would reveal himself, and as Eli resuscitated and was shot again point blank 4 times, ultimately killing him, much to Emma's shock.

Appearances (9/24)

Season 2 (9/14)

Quotes

Relationships

Family

Allies


Enemies

Trivia

  • He shares similarities with Cotton Weary.
  • He marked his first appearance in the series in Psycho.
  • He is the son of Tina Hudson, the cousin of Kieran Wilcox and the nephew of the deceased Sheriff Hudson.
  • He is a romantic interest of Emma Duval
  • In Vacancy, he transferred to George Washington High and commenced his studies at the school as a new student. 
  • He is shown to have a lot of knowledge of alcohol, due to his mother, Tina Hudson being an alcoholic.
  • In Happy Birthday To Me, he is revealed to have a fake ID to Emma.
  • Kieran revealed that Eli killed his dog when he was young in Happy Birthday to Me.
  • Jeepers Creepers is the first episode Eli does not appear in.
  • In Let The Right One In, he revealed to Emma that he has a history with the police.
  • In Let The Right One In, it was revealed that he works at the Grindhouse Cafe.
  • In Village of the Damned, it was revealed that he had a restraining order filed against him by an unnamed girl in Atlanta.
    • In When a Stranger Calls, before he died, he revealed the truth about the incident in Atlanta. He revealed that Kieran was the one obsessed with the girl and had framed Eli for it.
  • He got into a physical fight with his cousin, Kieran Wilcox, in Village of the Damned.
  • In The Vanishing, he saw Maggie put a note in a tree.
  • In Heavenly Creatures, he stole documents from the house of Quinn Maddox. The documents implicate the mayor in a huge scandal with the James' family. He mentioned to his mom, that they can use that as a form of blackmail against Mr. Maddox so that they could stay at Lakewood instead of taking the mayor's money and running away from town.
  • In Heavenly Creatures, it is revealed that he was at Will's funeral and in Lakewood at the time of Piper's killing spree. This made him a prime suspect in the wave of the current murders in town as well as a possible accomplice of Piper Shaw.
    • In When a Stranger Calls, Eli revealed the reason why he was at Will's funeral. He mentioned to Emma that he was trying to get revenge on Kieran, for blaming him for the Atlanta incident. However, Eli wasn't able do it.
  • When a Stranger Calls marked the episode of his death.
  • It is revealed that all along Eli cared about Emma and tried to protect her in his own way.
  • Is the 3rd victim in the franchise to be killed with a firearm after Derek Feldman in Scream 2 and Trevor Sheldon in Scream 4.
    • Liv McKenzie in the 5th film would be the next
  • Shares similarities to Derek Feldman
    • Both are love interests to the protagonists
    • At some point attempt to fend off the killer.
    • The real killer tricks the protagonists into thinking they are killers.
      • Mickey Alteri tricked Sidney Prescott into thinking Derek was his partner
    • Both are stabbed and eventually killed by firearms
      • Although with Derek he was stabbed early on in Scream 2 and Killed when Mickey Altieri reveals himself as the killer
    • During the lockdown he wears a similar shirt to Derek (also Billy Loomis) just with a different color scheme.

Character Guide

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