Warning: spoilers ahead for Scream 6.
Mindy Meeks-Martin made a great observation about a big ending twist in Scream 6. Mindy is Randy Meeks' niece, and as his relative, she shares the same love for horror films as he. Mindy also loves listing out all the slasher film rules, which inevitably get broken, no matter how ahead of the game she thinks she is. During the Scream 6 rule scene, Mindy suggested that no one was safe from Ghostface's murders, even if they were a main character or a part of what she, Chad, Tara, and Sam call the "core four."
Scream has always gone against its own rules, killing off Randy in Scream 2 even when it seemed he had become one of the legacy characters who cannot die. In the sequels that came afterward, Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley were the three who made it out alive every time Ghostface was back in town. However, Scream 5 proved that nothing was off-limits when Ghostface murdered Dewey. While it seemed Scream 6 would be just as relentless, possibly killing Gale or one of the new main characters, the story went in a different direction.
Scream 6's Returning Characters Surviving Is A Great Twist Ending
While Dewey's death in Scream 5 was a twist few saw coming, not having any main characters die in Scream 6 was also a surprising twist - one that Mindy herself pointed out. Many expected another legacy death because it had happened in the previous film, so by not having any main characters die, Scream 6 went against traditional survival rules. This reminded the likes of Mindy that they never know what comes next in the Scream franchise, even when they think they do.
After Gale was attacked by Ghostface in Scream 6, it seemed likely that she was going to die. She even told Sam and Tara to send a message to Sidney for her. However, Scream 6 later revealed that Gale was in hospital and survived the attack. This was a great twist, since Mindy's rules claimed no one was safe from a Ghostface attack. It was also clever that Scream 6 did not clarify if Gale was dead or alive until the end, which created suspense.
Why Scream 6's Deaths Were Only New Characters
The Ghostface in Scream 6 only killing off new characters switched up the formula from the previous Scream film. Gale dying one movie after Dewey had died may have been too much. Scream 6 could have killed a member of the core four or Kirby Reed, but decided to take a break from killing characters audiences love and resonate with. This Scream 6 decision also prevented main characters dying from becoming a pattern. Doing this trick too many times would make it boring and predictable, meaning it would become less tragic and hard-hitting when main characters died.
Furthermore, Scream 6 was the first Scream movie without Neve Campbell as Sidney. Losing Campbell alongside a main or legacy character death might not have gone over well. Keeping the main characters alive offered the opportunity to invest in them like audiences previously invested in Sidney. Scream 6 went against Mindy's expectations, keeping a sense of unpredictability by doing exactly what was expected from older films and protecting the main characters. No one is ever really safe in the Scream franchise, of course, so if Scream 7 happens, the main characters might not be so lucky.