The Popular Crowd

The Popular Crowd
Members	Emma Duval (formerly) Brooke Maddox (formerly) Jake Fitzgerald (formerly, deceased)
Occupation(s)	Students at George Washington High School
Enemies	Lakewood Slasher
Education	George Washington High School
Started	Before Pilot
Ended	Exposed
First Appearance	Pilot
Last Appearance	In The Trenches
Status	Group: Dissolved Will Belmont (deceased) Riley Marra (deceased) Nina Patterson (deceased) Tyler O'Neill (deceased) Jake Fitzgerald (deceased)

The Popular Crowd was a group of popular teenagers and high school juniors in the town of Lakewood who attended George Washington High School in Scream prior to Season 1. The group was the first to be the one of the most targeted teenager groups in the town of Lakewood during the rebound of a killing spree.

The origin of the group, prior to the murders, was tied around a viral video uploaded by Lakewood’s mean-girl, Nina Patterson and her ex-boyfriend Tyler O'Neill. Following the aftermath of the video and the commencement of the 2015-2016 Lakewood Murders, the group immediately dissolved due to the death of four of its original members.

Members

Former (Alive)

• Emma Duval (The Good Girl)
• Brooke Maddox (The Wild Child)

Former (Deceased)

• Jake Fitzgerald (The Joker) (deceased; fifth victim of the group)
• Will Belmont (The Jock) (deceased; fourth victim of the group)
• Riley Marra (The Smart One) (deceased; third victim of the group)
• Nina Patterson (The Queen Bee) (deceased; second victim of the group)
• Tyler O'Neill (The Rebel) (deceased; first victim of group)

Description

The Good Girl

Also known as The Innocent, Emma Duval, is a 16-year old beauty who's a little too introverted and intellectual to be a social butterfly, but has nevertheless been anointed by the popular crowd to be one of their own. She feels guilty that she has drifted away from her former best friend Audrey. She dated Will Belmont until his demise in In The Trenches.

The killer tortured Emma by let her playing games which involves death of her friends. In Wanna Play a Game?, the killer challenges Emma to a dangerous game and forces her to choose for either the good girl, Riley or bad girl, Brooke, to die. Emma thinking Riley was safe at the police station unintentionally told the Killer not to hurt Brooke. The killer then went after Riley and killed her.

In Exposed, Emma discovered that she was used as a bet before joining the group freshman year (2013-2014). She felt betrayed and told Brooke that she can't be friends with her anymore (although later made up) and broke up with Will as well which made the group fell apart.

In the episode, In The Trenches, the killer kidnapped Will and let Emma play a game of hide and seek to find Will. She then teams up with her former friends Brooke and Jake with Noah to search for their friend. They then saved Will only to be kidnapped again and be killed at the end.

The Jock

Will Belmont, known as his stereotypical nickname, was one of the jocks in the group and is best friends with Jake Fitzgerald and Emma's on/off boyfriend. He cheated on Emma with Nina Patterson while the two were on a break. He did lots of bad things with Jake like watching Nina on her webcam without her knowledge until her demise. With Jake's idea, the two blackmailed Brooke's father, Quinn Maddox, into money with a video they had of him which he shouldn't be doing so he can get to pay a full scholarship for his college. After getting the money, Will felt guilty and give the money to Jake telling him it's a bad idea. Jake betrayed him and told Brooke everything except that he's involved. Brooke's father was watching them talking in the kitchen from a security camera believing that Will's the one who blackmailed him. Will then later confessed to Quinn in an abandoned place. He told him that he don't want to die for doing the right thing. Quinn left the scene and Piper Shaw came out of hiding where she records the conversation between the two, showing that Will and Piper planned to exposed him. The killer then shows up and attacked Will and Piper, kidnapping Will and then later killed him.

Despite Jake's death as the final member who was still allegiant to the Popular Crowd(despite being part of the Lakewood Six after Piper's death), it would be Will's death that ultimately dissolved the group for good (although its argued Nina and Tyler's already did so).

Trivia

• The Popular Crowd is succeeded by the Lakewood Six as the real friendship group in Season 1 and 2 of the TV series.
• The Popular Crowd being referenced in "Ghosts" by Noah Foster and referencing his (and later Emma, Brooke, and Jake's) friend, Audrey Jensen and informally inducting her as a member of it (due to her video scandal) and compares it them to the 1985 film The Breakfast Club.
  • This reference would be fauxshadowing (due to Audrey never being a member), and the film reference would be more authentically used and referenced by another survivor/friendship group, The Deadfast Club, in Season 3.
    • Like the Crowd, the Club was dissolved as deaths of the members began occurring, although not immediately for the latter.
    • However, unlike both Lakewood Six or Deadfast Club, the Popular Crowd is (after Sidney's friend groups in the first two films, the cast and crew of Stab 3 in the third film, and Kirby Reed's friend group in Scream 4; succeeded by Tara Carpenter's friend group in Scream (2022)) the only group (and in general), that didn't have a killer working from the inside, in the entire franchise.
• The Popular Crowd is, after Sidney Prescott's friend groups in both Scream and Scream 2, a misleading group due to the fact that each group is shown to be relatively distant despite their seemingly close friendships with one another.
  • Like Sidney's friend group after the past two were dissolved due to the murder spree, and finding her real friend group actually being with couple Dewey-Gale, the Popular Crowd's surviving and authentic members would find true friendship in the Lakewood Six, amongst other outcasts and survivors whom the past group wouldn't have ever thought of until the murders dissolved the past group.
• Despite Sidney not being associated in Scream 3, the Popular Crowd would parallel and be an homage to the cast of the film within the film and cancelled production of Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro (2000), due to the fact that there are 5 former members in each respective group whom are killed and pay homage (to their personalities and methods of death, differing), such as:
  • Tyler O'Neill to Cotton Weary (reversed, since Tyler is the actual first victim of the 2015 murders, making his death in order, a reverse homage to Christine Hamilton).
  • Nina Patterson to Sarah Darling (due to their promiscuity, and thus being targets for their killers; as well as each dying while on the phone)
    • Nina's death is also a nod to Christine Hamilton (unclear if a prior member of Stab film series; reversed as Nina is second victim).
    • Nina's death in order, would be a reverse homage to Cotton Weary, due to their reputations as bad people, and who were on their phones prior to dying, as well attesting deaths of their partners (unlike Christine and Cotton, Nina and Tyler were exes).
  • Riley Marra to both Steven Stone (due to being sneaked up on before being attacked and died not long after) and Jennifer Jolie (due to being trapped and alone in death).
    • Although Riley's death applies as well to Sarah Darling as each were third victims, as well as the methods and each female was on the phone, which they used before dying.
  • Will Belmont to Tom Prinze (due to being trapped and death witnessed by others).
    • Will's death also applies to Steven Stone as each were the fourth victim and were attacked and their deaths accounted by others.
  • Jake Fitzgerald to both Jennifer Jolie and Tyson Fox (due to their deaths occurring off-screen and not attested until later with the GWHS students and Brooke to Jake and Sidney to Tyson; each alone during death, and somewhat up above the ground, although Jake was only hung while Tyson wasn't and dropped from above).
    • Its arguable that his death would homage Tom Prinze's, due to each being the fifth victims, as well as their deaths being extraordinary (albeit Tom died in the moment, while Jake's death was set up for a shocking reveal days later but each similar in themes).
    • However, his death due to being alone and then being dropped is a reverse but overall homage to Jennifer Jolie, although unlike when Jennifer died and was dropped in the moment, Jake died earlier and revealed to public four days later, but is similar in that like Jennifer, once they were dropped and their deaths attested, caused for an outcry and public shock (Gale screaming when Jennifer was dropped from behind the two way mirrors, is parallel to when Brooke screamed when Jake was dropped from above the school auditorium and from a banner where he was rolled, similarly).
  • Similar to Zoe Vaughn (who Riley had mentioned in "Pilot") and her romance with Noah, is an homage to Christine Hamilton, who was the first victim in the third film, was also killed due to her association and romance with Cotton Weary, who like Noah, was a survivor.
    • However, unlike Cotton and Christine who were targeted and killed, Noah is the only one in his relationship who survives.