| “ | Well good morning, gangster | ” |
–Jamal to Marcus after his release from jail, Blindspots | ||
Jamal "Jay" Elliot was a main character of the third season of the television series Scream and the secondary yet more personal antagonist, as well as the mastermind.
Jamal was the 20-something year old hustling club promoter in Atlanta, Georgia, who hosted pop-up parties in the scene and was shown as a hustler, who despite his tattoos, crew and tough demeanor, was easy-going. He is also the eldest son of Earl Elliot and unnamed mother, stepson of Sherry Elliot. He is also the only older half-brother of his younger half-brother and high school football prodigy Marcus Elliot, who was going under his late twin's identity, Deion, who had died 8 years prior in Halloween 2010 in an unfortunate accident, for which Jamal knew due to intuition and having known Marcus switched his identity for Deion's, due to having met the former in secret as a child.
Enraged at Marcus's hypocrisy and identity switch, as well as with the death of his unnamed mother who committed suicide following learning of Earl's side family and choosing them following the tragedy, as well as Earl taking Jamal into his family following his mother's death, led to him over the course of eight years, to plot and commit a murder spree against Marcus, based on the tragedy, such as adopting the Ghostface costume which Deion had died in (which Marcus wore originally) and the Ghostface identity and M.O to carry out a murder spree coinciding on the eighth anniversary of Deion's death, on Halloween week (whilst unrelated, is possible that the 2018 events are both inspired and based within the Scream universe, on the basis that Ghostface and the MO/identity are used to commit murder).
Struggling to find an incentive, he would finally find that after meeting with a 17-year old Beth, who was an incoming senior at Weaver High School, who attended alongside his half-brother, after meeting her at a local tattoo parlor in where she worked, sometime in approx. September 2018. One night, due to getting close to her and Beth's penmanship inking further into his demons, Jamal would then reveal the tragedy and Marcus's lie and hypocrisy, which unbeknownst to him, was a side story in Beth's own ulterior motive. After hooking up and beginning a relationship with her as both his lover and his accomplice, Jamal would, by Beth's convincing, carry out his murders by firstly killing his half-brothers' childhood bully, Tommy Jenkins.
Jamal wanted to commit the murder spree, in order to further taunt Marcus as well as his group of classmates and outcast friends, who with Beth's help and some who he knew, dubbed The Deadfast Club, in order to break Marcus in to admitting the the truth of his identity and torture his friends along the way to prove his point (Beth would carry out murdering them). Jamal would also lend the costume idea, unbeknownst to anyone, to an 18-year old dropout Shane, also a party promoter and his co-worker, as his idea, due to him using it as a guise for robbery; who would later become his accomplice Beth's first victim, which he did in order to have a fall guy until it failed due to his murder. In the end, however, following the end of Halloween night, 2018 and killing his ultimate victim and Deion's killer, Luther Thompson, Jamal would find himself on the flip as he is beginning to be suspected by Marcus, as well as Beth betraying him due to Kym also beginning to suspect.
Jamal would be the ninth to final victim in the 2018 Atlanta Murders, after being stabbed with a trash picker by Beth as Ghostface following the end of a nighttime rooftop party and being left for dead and ultimately bait, in order for Marcus to find and for him to do his reveal, who despite being vengefu, did so in order for his half-brother to reflect and hold weight on the murders he committed and got away with to the one Marcus let get away with, to Deion.
He was portrayed by Tyga.
Description
Jamal is Deion's half-brother. Despite hanging out with a rough crowd, he’s got a big heart and an undying loyalty to Deion, or so he thinks.
Background
Early Life
Jay was born in approx. 1996-1999 to Earl Elliot and an unknown mother in Kentucky (based off dialogue, theorized) and from a young age was introduced to his half-brother Deion Elliot but not Deion's twin brother Marcus Elliot in the summer of 2010 when Earl used the guise of letting a protege Deion going to football camp to his wife and both the twins' mother, Sherry Elliot, Jay's eventual stepmother. Deion and Jay became close during that 2010 summer visit when Earl would bring Deion to see him, with Earl wanting the brothers to know each other and it was agreed that both brothers and their families would meet and kept their interaction secret until the time was right.
This would never happen as in Halloween 2010, a then 8 year old Deion (who would’ve turned 10 in 2012) was murdered by the Hook Man (real name Luther Thompson, former Vietnam War veteran); in an unfortunate case of twin swapping and identity change; as he and Marcus had swapped costumes prior (Marcus was wearing a Ghostface costume, while Deion was in a football costume due to being athletic), due to Deion wanting Marcus to be more confident following Marcus's candy being swung over to Hook Man's shed-yard by a bully. Since then, Marcus was assumed to be Deion and eventually took on his identity and reputation with everyone believing Marcus to have died.
Jay's mother was heartbroken at learning the news of Earl having another side family and choosing her and her son, to his other one due to Deion's death, leading her to suicide by letting the car engine running while in her and Jay's home garage in Kentucky. Afterwards, when Jay moved to Atlanta to stay with Sherry Elliot and Earl, he knew that something was wrong when 'Deion' didn't recognize him as they had previously met in secret. Jay eventually realized that Marcus had taken on Deion's life whilst Deion had died that night. He grew up tough and silent on this, honing in his anger on both his father and Marcus, mainly the latter, who would finally snap and conspired to commit the murder spree on the eighth anniversary and Halloween week of when Deion died.
Finding Motivation and Meeting Beth
Jay grew up and later got a job as a party promoter in Atlanta, under the alias "Mr. Fade", to hide his identity. He was a frequent customer at a tattoo parlour in Atlanta, where he met Beth who was an employee there and tattoo artist. He was also a co-worker of fellow high school dropout and Marcus's former classmate, a then 17/18-year old Shane, who he perhaps knew and gave the backload of his own Ghostface guise so he could be framed and suspected later on as a party promoter (only theorized), in part due to Shane having dropped and being a promoter and drug dealer to take care of his ill grandmother.
Jay recognized Beth's sociopathic tendencies and shared with her the story of Deion and Marcus; which made Beth realize how much of a hypocrite Marcus was which then influenced her motivation to take on the mantle of Ghostface (which was the costume Deion wore when he died). Jay and Beth formed a romantic relationship and partnered up to go after Marcus and his friends, with Beth posing as one of the group members to get the suspicion off of her.
2018 Atlanta Murders
| “ | Don't worry. You ain't the only one that's been holding a secret. I know you're Marcus. On the inside. | ” |
–Jay to Marcus after he saves him and his reveal as Ghostface, Endgame | ||
Jay Attacking Marcus
Jay after being knocked down by Shane
Jay initiated the killing spree on the morning of Monday, October 29th, 2018 by murdering Tommy Jenkins (Marcus's childhood bully and Deion's indirect killer) by posing as a disabled man named Marcus who needed help from an Uber driver. Jay later hosted a party under his alter-ego "Mr. Fade", who was notorious for throwing pop-up parties in Atlanta, and there he killed Beth's ex-boyfriend, Avery Collins, who was seen as a hypocrite for acting as a big-shot on the outside but being a complete racist on the inside.
Jay fighting Hookman over the death of his half brother
He continued his attacks towards Marcus and his friend group via detention dubbed "The Deadfast Club"; as prior to killing Avery, he taunted his half-brother Marcus alone on 2 occasions: in the locker room during his detention after school due to the lure, and at the night party at the abandoned station by slashing him in the arm due to partygoers dressed as Ghostface. He also murdered Latavious the next day for being a drug dealer who exploited the community of Atlanta. Jay murdered him outside of Kym's house, while Beth (as Ghostface) was harassing her on the phone; as well as attacking the Club and Shane after school the next night and sending text messages while his accomplice Beth blended inside the group (sent the first one following Avery's death), during and following Halloween week; as well as breaking into Beth's house the night after Halloween and attacking and putting Liv's father, Officer Reynolds, in the ICU at the hospital, and attacking Marcus in another lure to frame him and which gets him locked up.
Death
Saturday, November 3rd, 2018
Jay's corpse
Jay confessing that he was Ghostface
Although planning to betray Jay and kill him from the beginning, Beth decided to kill him earlier as she had attacked at the hospital and Kym put pieces together that made her realize that Jay was Ghostface. Beth was forced to kill Jay in order to stop him from taking credit for being Ghostface as well as revealing her identity to the police. Beth stabbed Jay with a trash picker and locked him in a crate for Marcus to find. Once found by Marcus on the night of and after winning his football game, Jay explained his motives before finally succumbing to his wounds and dying.
Committed Murders
| Crime Scene Photo | Victim | Cause of Death | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tommy Jenkins | Stabbed in neck, suffocated with his own blood with plastic bag | The Deadfast Club |
|
Avery Collins | Thrown onto metal spike and impaled | The Deadfast Club |
|
Latavious | Throat slit (offscreen) | Devil's Night |
|
Hook Man | Stabbed in stomach, crushed in car compactor | The Man Behind the Mask |
Appearances (6/6)
Season 3 (6/6)
Relationships
Family
Allies
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Enemies
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Quotes
Well, good morning, gangster -Jay to Marcus after he's released from being held at jail ("Blindspots")
Before Reveal
- "Then he making a big mistake" (to Liv Reynolds)
- "If he took my advice, he's probably at the Old Metro Station blowing off some steam"
- "I'm his brother. Half-brother if you wanna be specific. His mom, our dad".
- "No, it's pretty simple. Let me break something down for you. You seem like a nice girl and all, but the only thing Deion cares about is football".
- "It's not your fault. But you are distracting as hell. So anyway, what you need to talk to Deion about? (...) Complicated"
As Ghostface
- "Do you like scary movies?" (to Kym, first call)
- "Then do you like to play games? (...) But I wanna know who you are, Kym, on the inside."
- "See, you're good at games. Too bad wer'e not playing 20 Questions."
- "Yes we are. The game started the second Avery's body hit the ground. The only question is which one of you hypocrites dies next".
- "We'll see. Because I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to kill you".
Trivia
- In a promotional teaser, Jay is called 'The Hustler'.
- Unlike the the other Ghostface killers he’s the only one who is unfortunately for the killing part a vigilante serial killer.
- Jamal's unwillingness supposedly to not murder at first until guided by Beth (when killing Tommy), is a nod to Stu Macher also seemingly being "peer-pressured" by Billy in the first Scream (despite Jay's motive resonating and character being similar in line with Billy's, who in turn was guided by Roman).
- He is also the only killer, who despite being the original mastermind with a revenge motive, was overtaken by his accomplice's ulterior motive (a reverse of the revenge of Nancy to Mickey in Scream 2, as the mastermind betraying the accomplice).
- Jay is the half-brother of Marcus Elliot (also the half-brother of Deion) and the stepson of Sherry Elliot, with them sharing the same father.
- Jamal is the first (male) Ghostface thus far in the TV series and the franchise to be portrayed by an American rapper and singer (Tyga), in general.
- Technically speaking, Jill Roberts in Scream 4 would be the first overall and female Ghostface whose actress Emma Roberts was a brief singer prior.
- Jay’s hard work ethic and cool demeanor, yet with his edge and humor, shares similarities to male characters in the franchise such as: Randy Meeks, Phil Stevens, Derek Feldman, Tom Prinze, Tyson Fox, Trevor Sheldon, Chad Meeks-Martin, and even Danny Brackett.
- Although it’s later shown and proven he’s more like Billy Loomis, Mickey Altieri, Roman Bridger, Charlie Walker, Kieran Wilcox, Richie Kirsch, Jason Carvey, Wayne Bailey, and Ethan Landry; all being male killers, alike.
- His and Marcus's family connection is an homage to Roman Bridger and Sidney Prescott, due to them sharing Maureen Prescott as their mother. His character overall is also an homage to Roman.
- Jamal's nickname being Jay, and in a Ghostface duo with Beth, despite their age difference, and gender, is a reference to the duo of Jay & Silent Bob, due to the nomenclature being similar (Jamal and Beth, Jay and Bob) who are characters originally featured in the 1994 American film, Clerks, directed by Kevin Smith, of who's film was in a poster at the video store Randy Meeks worked at in the original film.
- The duo of Jay and Silent Bob also made a cameo in Scream 3, thus loosely correlating to the third season of the TV series in this respect (regardless of continuity/shared universe) as both are the third installments in each's respective media in the franchise (film and TV) and how like the aforementioned cameo, each project has stated references and loose nods to pop culture and celebrities during the time each's release due to each's setting being a real world location (Hollywood, CA in third film, Atlanta in third season).
- While the third film was released at the beginning of the new millennium and in 2000, the third season was reversely released at the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the 2010s, in 2019.
- In the finale, we learn that he was one of the killers, and wanted revenge on Marcus for taking Deion’s identity and getting him killed.
- Him and Beth are the fourth man-woman duo as well as the fifth killer duo (excluding the first duo, Billy and Stu, who were and still remain the first and only same sex killer duo) in the franchise overall, following after:
- Mickey Altieri and Nancy Loomis (Scream 2)
- Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker (Scream 4)
- Piper Shaw and Kieran Wilcox (Seasons 1-2)
- Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman (Scream (2022)).
- Jamal is the first male lead killer since Billy Loomis, Mickey Altieri, Charlie Walker, and Kieran Wilcox in the franchise to have a male character lead with more incentive motive to a murder spree, since Scream 2 and Scream 4, as well as Season 1 which follow female characters (Nancy Loomis, Jill Roberts, and Piper Shaw) leading killing sprees with somewhat more deeper motive than the men, making Jay and Roman the only ones with far more incentive.
- Jamal would be then succeeded by a third Ghostface killer, also leading due to family revenge, as the mastermind, by Wayne Bailey in Scream VI.
- Both are predated by Nancy Loomis in Scream 2, due to committing the Windsor College Murders to avenge her late son who committed the 1996 Woodsboro Murders.
- Jamal as a half-sibling executing revenge on his late young sibling and a brother in general, is reversed by Quinn Bailey and Ethan Landry assisting their father to commit the New York Murders in Scream VI, to avenge their late brother, albeit older, who committed the Third Woodsboro Murders (2022).
- Unlike the former killers avenging a family member for being a killer and killed, Jamal seeks revenge for his late half brother for being an innocent victim in an unfortunate case of twin-swapping, who died wearing the infamous Father Death costume, which the aforementioned characters wore due to actually being Ghostface.
- Jamal would be then succeeded by a third Ghostface killer, also leading due to family revenge, as the mastermind, by Wayne Bailey in Scream VI.
- Jamal seeking revenge for a family member wrongly killed is more aligned to that of Piper Shaw's motive from Season 1.
- Jamal is the second male Ghostface in the franchise to only have four victims, tied with Stu Macher.
- He was killed by his accomplice, Beth, just like Charlie Walker before him. Beth planned to kill him from the beginning, but killed him earlier than intended after she found out Jay planned to tell the cops about her.
- He used to love Marcus when they were younger, but his increasing bitterness and self-righteousness took the better of him after Marcus decided to take the mantle of Deion.
- However, his dying speech shows that part of him still cared about his brother, unlike any of the killers throughout the franchise.
- Jay's death sitting down at the hands of Marcus is similar to Kate Roberts's death in Scream 4 at Sidney's hands.
- Jay's hatred for Marcus is a reference to both Roman and Jill's hatred towards Sidney.
- Beth used to be his close friend and partner, until she had a change of heart and decided to tell the cops about him.
- His and Beth's relationship is similar to Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker's relationship.
- He had a short period of being attracted to Kym, until he found out that Marcus sent her to gather information.
- He plotted to kill Hook Man and Tommy Jenkins ever since he was eight, and came to hate Avery Collins after finding out how cruel Avery is.
- Jay's rightful killing of Avery can be seen as similar to Roman killing John Milton in Scream 3, as well as killing Hook Man similar to him killing Cotton Weary.
- Jamal is considered to be one of the few sympathetic killers in the franchise, as well as the only killer in the franchise so far who tried to redeem himself. He's also the only killer so far who's confirmed to be neurotypical.
- Jamal is officially the first (male) African American Ghostface killer of the franchise, and canonically the eighth out of fourteen (if excluding Jason and Greg) Ghostface killers, and the sixth male Ghostface out of 9 (excluding the aforementioned) killers, overall .
- He would take the title, as it originally would've gone to Hallie McDaniel in the original draft of Scream 2, before it was scrapped.
- Jamal is also the first male Ghostface killer of a different ethnicty, and was succeeded by
- 5 years later by a fellow resident of his city by Jason Carvey as the first male Hispanic Ghostface, in Scream VI.
- The first and only killer to date to be mortally wounded and unmasked when revealed to be a killer. All the known killers (Except the 94 and 3rd Lakewood Slashers as their identities still remain unknown) up until Jamal and after in the 5th and 6th films either unmask themselves or ultimately reveal themselves while already unmasked without having fatal injuries.
- Is the first killer and only killer to date with a partner to reveal himself alone as a killer (Technically Piper Shaw is the first, but she is killed before she can possibly reveal Kieran Wilcox as her partner, which the 2nd season reveals).
- The First killer that doesn't attempt to fight or confront his targets as he is already mortally wounded while unmasked.
- He is also the first and only killer to have dying words without posing a threat to the survivors.
- Along with Kieran Wilcox they are the only killers to die from the injuries they receive without coming back for one last thrill or the survivors taking precautions to finish them off (Like Nancy Loomis being shot in the head to be on the safe side).
Gallery
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Jamal Elliot has a Photo Gallery. |
Video Clips
Character Guide
| TV Series Characters | ||
| Lakewood Five | Emma Duval • Audrey Jensen • Brooke Maddox • Noah Foster | |
| Lakewood Residents | Maggie Duval • Miguel Acosta • Gustavo Acosta • Kristin Lang • Gina McLane | |
| Previous Lakewood Residents | Kieran Wilcox • Eli Hudson • Zoë Vaughn • Jake Fitzgerald • Seth Branson • Quinn Maddox • Haley Meyers • Tina Hudson • Eddie Hayes • Kevin Duval • Clark Hudson • Nina Patterson • Rachel Murray • Riley Marra • Tyler O'Neill • Will Belmont • Brandon James • Piper Shaw | |
| Lakewood Slasher(s) | Piper Shaw • Kieran Wilcox • Third Killer | |
| The Deadfast Club | Marcus Elliot • Kym • Liv Reynolds | |
| Atlanta Residents | Sherry Elliot • Mr. Fitch • Mrs. Pell • Officer Reynolds • Hawkins • Coach Griffin • Becky | |
| Previous Atlanta Residents | Beth • Jamal Elliot • Deion Elliot • Tommy Jenkins • Amir Ayoub • Shane • Manny • B. Westbrook • Luther "Hook Man" Thompson • Latavious • Avery Collins | |
| Ghostface(s) | Beth • Jamal Elliot | |