[Editorial] The Evolution of Gale Weathers

As one of only three characters to survive all four Scream movies so far, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) is worthy of analysis for that feat alone. However, as almost a secondary ‘Final Girl’, Gale’s evolution throughout the series is much different from that of Sidney’s.

While Sidney’s journey is about making peace with her past, Gale’s is a more personal one. Through the trauma she endures, Gale truly discovers the type of person she wants to be, and it is at odds with who she is when she first appears.

Her evolution is also not one where she must learn to face danger and fight. Her ability to do that is evident from the final act of Scream.  When she and Dewey discover Neil Prescott’s car, she races back to the house with him with the full knowledge that she could be running head first into the murderer. Even when she recovers from the van crash, after discovering the mutilated body of her cameraman, Gale does not go for help. She arms herself and enters the house to find Billy and Stu gloating about their crimes. Even though she fails to strike the final blow, Gale shoots Billy, without hesitation. In all aspects of her life, Gale Weathers knows she needs to act with confidence and self-assurance.

When we are first introduced to her in Scream, she immediately makes a statement. Not only by way of her neon green clothes, but because she has a tumultuous relationship with Sidney – one which will continue well into Scream 2 – due to a book she has written which questions the version of events surrounding Maureen Prescott’s death. Gale is cutthroat and single minded. She only cares about getting the story, no matter what the cost to those around her. Throughout most of the first movie, all that matters to her is to be the first one to get the scoop. She is completely unapologetic when confronted by Sidney:

Gale:  Your mother's murder was last year's hottest court case. Someone was gonna write a book about it.

Sidney : Right, and it had to be you, with all your lies and bullshit theories.

Gale: What is your problem? You got what you wanted. Cotton Weary's in jail, they're gonna’ gas him. A book is not gonna change that.

Gale’s initial motivation for wanting to clear Cotton Weary is murky. She has written a bestselling book, not only about Maureen’s murder, but also on the sensational idea that Cotton is completely innocent, despite Sidney’s eyewitness testimony. However, in Scream 2, Gale’s desire to have Cotton and Sidney meet face to face is a selfish one. She is desperate to surprise Sidney with the confrontation and capture the whole thing on camera - another ‘shock jock’ tactic designed to purely boost her profile and gain attention. When her cameraman calls her out on her behaviour, she responds that she’s “not here to be loved”. However, it is precisely love that plays a part in her change - the love of small town Deputy, Dewey. 

A flirtation between the two has soured in the second film, not least in part to her unflattering portrayal of Dewey in her follow-up book chronicling the events of Scream. Her attempts to smooth things over between the two initially fail. The two bicker on and off but find themselves falling back into each other’s arms by the time the film reaches its climax. Once again, Gale finds herself in the middle of the final confrontation between Sidney and her would-be killers, and acts accordingly, once again using a gun to take down one of the murderers. Fearing Dewey has been killed, she prepares to report on the night’s events to camera, but upon seeing he has survived, shuns the spotlight to be with him. At that moment, Gale has truly grown. With a choice between the fame and acclaim she constantly seeks and the man she loves, she chooses love.

Gale’s attempt to make changes for Dewey don’t stop as Scream 2 ends - indeed, in the third instalment of the franchise, once the pair reunite, it is revealed they attempted a relationship that did not work. This time, after the death of Cotton Weary in the opening scene, Gale is pulled back into Sidney’s world instead of placing herself in it, when Detective Kincaid speaks to her about the previous murders. Not content to let that be her only involvement, however, she takes it upon herself to fly to Hollywood, the location of filming for Stab 3. This time, however, there is little mention of Gale’s involvement here being one of fame-seeking, or a research opportunity to write another book. Gale feels useful in this situation - she has helped take down two of the previous killers, and she is capable of defending herself and others. She has survived so far. Gale is as linked to the events thus far as much as Sidney.

Scream 4 presents perhaps the most rounded, yet unhappy version of Gale, married to Dewey and seemingly settled in Woodsboro. But she is jealous of Dewey’s bubbly deputy and struggling with writers’ block. A spree of new Ghostface murders ignites in her something important. Gale knows her role whenever the murders begin, and she plays her part well. She enjoys feeling useful and important, perhaps in a way that even her writing career fails to do. In the final film, Gale is indeed looking for inspiration, but she is also looking for part of herself that she feels is missing. The part of her that knows her involvement, the role she has played since Scream, is far more impactful and meaningful than anything else she has done or produced.

Gale Weathers transforms herself from vindictive shrew to caring wife and friend, who has no issue putting her life on the line for those she loves. Throughout everything she still retains her no-bullshit attitude, and in finding her new purpose during the franchise, she never loses her true self. 

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