Reader Beware – As the fifth episode of Goosebumps begins, Margot Stokes (Isa Briones) calls her mom to tell her about the scary stuff that has been happening. She believes it may have something to do with Harold Biddle (Ben Cockell). Her mom tells her not to talk to anyone else about this. Nora Parker (Rachael Harris) asks when she’ll get to see her son. She is told to take her meds and she’ll be with him before she knows it. After Nora takes her medicine, a man asks if she is the sawmill lady. Nora says nothing and walks away. She is shocked when she sees Harold Biddle in front of her. Harold tells her that he wants him back.
Nathan Bratt (Justin Long) arrives at the psychiatric ward a short time later. Margot and Colin (Rob Huebel) pick up Lucas Parker (Will Price) who admits he is still sore. He is taken to their home and told he can stay there for as long as necessary. In private, Lucas tells Margot he wishes he could see his mom. He admits it is kind of funny that their parents are sleeping together. Lucas says a ghost is haunting them and he is vomiting up worms. Margot is glad Lucas is there with her and not someone else. Lucas is glad he is there with her too. Margot sees her mom outside. Once Sarah comes in, she tells everyone that she is back permanently now. Colin steps out of the room. Margot asks her mom what is going on.
Sarah doesn’t think she can comprehend how complicated this is. That conversation ends when Colin returns to the table. After Margot excuses herself, Sarah (Lexa Doig) says she is going to go unpack. James (Miles McKenna) is glad to hear that Isaiah (Zack Morris) has ended things with Allison. Isaiah is planning on telling Margot when she gets there. He wonders if he has anything to worry about with Lucas. James argues Lucas has been straightforward. As for Isaiah, he has been convincing everyone that he doesn’t have feelings for Margot. Once Isabella Chen Lopez (Ana Yi Puig) arrives, Isaiah says he’ll text Margot again. Margot complains about her mother while walking with Lucas.
She felt like her mom was waiting for her to grow up so she could finally be free. Lucas wants to show her something. He shows her the playground where he has broken every bone in his body. He wants her to know that stuff gets better even when she is feeling hopeless. Lucas thinks she is really cool. They end up kissing. When they meet the others, Margot admits her mom didn’t say anything. Isabella says her mother sucks too. Harold says it is time for them to learn the truth. Sarah visits Nora at the hospital. Nora told Sarah that she saw him and now everyone thinks she is crazy. She goes on to say she saw Biddle in there and he said he wants him back. Nathan approaches Margot to ask her about her mother. He found a scrapbook in his basement and thought Margot could show the pictures to her mom.
As Margot looks through the scrapbook, she imagines seeing her mom talking to Ben nearby. Sarah tells Biddle she’ll see him in the darkroom in ten. A woman checks on her because she has been staring off into space. Margot asks her where the darkroom was in 1993. She learns it was where the AV room is now. When Margot makes it to the AV room, she uses the scrapbook to see the past. Harold and Sarah are in the room together talking about his hobby. Sarah invites Harold over to hang out with her friends because he is cooler than she thinks. When another student barges in, Margot says Harold and her mother were friends. Lucas finds Isaiah with flowers waiting for Margot. They soon find out that Margot reached out to everyone. Margot runs over to tell them that her mom knew Harold.
Sarah confronts Victoria (Francoise Yip) about drugging Nora. Victoria insists she is trying to handle the situation because Nora is talking to cops about ghosts. Sarah tells her what she said about Biddle looking for him. Victoria doesn’t believe her, but she realizes that this is dangerous. They’ll lose everything if Nora can’t keep it together. Margot tells the others about the scrapbook. They argue about whether it is too dangerous to use it. Margot argues that her mom won’t tell them anything so this is their only chance. Margot uses the book and sees Harold telling Sarah that she is worried although he can’t explain it. Once Sarah runs off, Harold tells Margot that he isn’t going to let her leave him.
He asks her to come with him. The others notice that something is wrong with Sarah’s eyes. Sarah runs into Colin who says he was visiting Nora. He says they should probably talk. Sarah soon learns that he has been sleeping with Nora even though she thought they were on a trial separation. Sarah thought they could move together, but Colin doesn’t want to quit his job or pull Margot out of school. Sarah can’t tell him why she has to go. After that, Sarah confronts Nora. She tells Nora that she isn’t unwell and they just want her to think she is. Sarah says they’ll figure out a way to protect their kids. Once Sarah leaves, Nora is given more medications. She manages to avoid taking them without alerting the nurse.
Isabella slaps Margot hoping it’ll bring her back to reality but it doesn’t work. James says the scrapbook flipped to the Biddle house before suggesting they go there. They come up with a plan to get Margot out of the school so they can take her to the Biddle house. Meanwhile, the monster begins showing Margot what happened on the night in question. A young Ben and someone else seems to run into the basement. Harold yells for someone to stay away from him. Margot gets stuck in the basement when the fire breaks out, but the others arrive in time to save her. Once they leave the house, they watch young Ben and the others leave. Ben says he found it. The explosion occurs seconds later.
Sarah, Nora, Victoria, Ben, and Eliza end up leaving with the case. James questions whether their parents are murderers. Isabella argues that Biddle is getting revenge on them for what their parents did. James says they’re murder nepo babies. Margot and Isaiah believe there is more to the story. When Isaiah asks what was in the case, Nathan invites them inside so he can tell them all about it.
Goosebumps Review
Reader Beware felt like a typical episode of Goosebumps based on the episodes before it. Tying everything together and using the same characters throughout was not a wise decision. Instead, this would’ve been better with multiple stories throughout the season with different characters. At the very least, it would’ve introduced new characters with the hope that at least one or two of them would’ve been relatable.
Unfortunately, we’re stuck with the same irritating characters for five more episodes. A lot of what is bad about the series can be summed up with James’s comment about them being “murder nepo babies”. Besides being obnoxious at times, the characters barely resemble authentic high schoolers. The delivery was perfect as well considering it was monotone throughout.
Monotone is a good way to describe Goosebumps because there have been no scares, no suspension, and no one to cheer for. It is already getting tedious and there are still five episodes left. I’d expect viewers to start dropping out since there is no way this will remain remotely interesting and not feel like beating a dead horse after five more sluggish episodes. This one scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Goosebumps are available on Reel Mockery here.
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