Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 19
What They Say:
Letharia Vulpina – Scott and the others try to prevent a disaster; Lydia and Allison seek out an unlikely teacher.
The Review:
Teen Wolf worked a long route in the previous episode to get where it needed to, but it also gave us some good character bits that lead to exploring them all a little more and what they mean, both to themselves and to each other. The main focus was really on Stiles though and exploring what’s actually going on with him, which is pretty interesting since he’s not exactly in control of himself anymore. And having Kira’s mother show up ready to deal with him adds a nice little twist, though it was expected that she was going to have some role in things once she was actually introduced at the home visit that Scott had. We also got a really neat little bit in seeing Derek and Kira working together a bit which shows the nature of how Derek is changing this season after the events of the first half while also throwing some intriguing flashes of electricity Kira’s way.
This episode of course doesn’t pick up there but instead gives us another really neat tidbit as we get Deaton off in Japan where he’s come to treat a wolf there that’s been poisoned. There’s a lot of superstition going on with what the wolf, Yuki, has consumed, and the place that the beautiful white wolf got it from is definitely something that strikes hard at Deaton since he senses what happened in the past there, which we saw from the Young Chris Argent flashback sequence. Deaton is a character that I’m still not entirely comfortable with because he has so many mysteries about him, his place in the show feels a little disconnected from it all and that just leaves me unsettled. But he definitely fits the mostly wise type of character and he brings some really smart moments here as he manipulates the situation with Ikeda in order to get what he needs from that household. It’s a bit cold and calculated how he does it, which only adds to my own general unease. He may be doing the right things, but his methods…
When the show does pick up from where we left off, it’s definitely a dangerous moment as we see how the electrical cable is about to cause a much bigger problem, one that actually takes Isaac down as he does the right thing to save allison. But it’s an eye-opening moment for not just Kira as she saves the day in containing the power, but one for Scott as he realizes that there’s really something about her that he doesn’t understand. Which is amusing since she was so keen and interested in what he is, his reaction is more uncertain here. But we also see that Kira’s mother has seen what she’s done and that means she’s very much aware of what her daughter can and will become. The unspoken moments here are brief but they carry a good bit of weight, particularly with the way that it’s uncertain how to read Scott’s expression as he watches Kira.
The fallout from that is definitely interesting since Isaac is hospitalized while Stiles has gone missing as we get people kind of okay with Stiles going missing. They know he’ll turn up though they’re going to find him and deal with the thing that’s inside him. But we do see how Scott is taking care of his own, even though there are still some minor issues between him and Isaac, as he uses his abilities to try and ease the pain that Isaac is going through while the rest of them figure out a way to find Stiles. Kira’s useful with what she fills Scott in on with what she knows, but mostly we just get everyone kind of unsettled by the fact that things are too quiet now. They’re used to things happening a lot more quickly. Which, of course, is a cue for things to change up as they hear something in the school basement and that leads them and their wolf senses to find Stiles. Watching the twins with this is definitely amusing since they’re still looking to really fit in and become a part of Scott’s pack and doing right by him.
While it feels a bit disconcerting with how it unfolds, especially with Stiles managing to at least convince Scott that he is his normal self at the moment, it leads to a wild chase sequence of sorts that shows Kira’s really coming into her own as well. Unfortunately, as we get a lot of people together outside for it, it’s the always fun coach who ends up in trouble as he gets hit with an arrow trap that gets him right in the gut, something that was quite surprising. The whole school sequence is one that’s kind of all over the map when you get down to it as it moves between situations from Stiles to the coach and then to an apparent bomb threat that’s been made as one kid on a bus has a box that was given to him and told not to move. It’s a combination of factors that definitely makes things tense but it doesn’t really make for a strong story narrative here as it’s more about the reacting than anything else.
The interesting storyline in this episode involves Lydia and Allison going to see Peter as Lydia is convinced what she needs to understand herself will come from him. Since Peter is the one that unlocked her powers, it definitely makes sense. But he wants something fo the knowledge and that means trying to get Lydia to read what it is that’s in the fingernails that he got from Talia that holds the key to some missing memories of his that were taken away by another alpha. That’s a plot point that works out well as we see how Lydia is able to understand things more now and it provides the first stage of a neat reveal for Peter that he likely didn’t expect in the slightest. But there’s also just the fun in watching how Peter and Allison interact since we once again see how Peter torments everyone in his own way.
In Summary:
Teen Wolf has a lot going on here with this episode but it has a kind of off feeling to me in a lot of ways, largely because the big main storyline is one that’s all about reacting and that’s kind of scattershot. With the demonic ninjas hunting down Stiles and plenty to go with there, we at least get a little action with it and some really strong material in the final minutes again. We also get some good stuff with Kira in general as she’s coming into her own, but making me fear for her life overall as I can’t help but to feel she may be expendable even as she learns more about her heritage and her mother. Stiles story is one that I do like, but it’s not flowing in a smooth way for me at the moment. Conversely, I love the subplot involving Peter here and what that may reveal in the end and just how both Lydia and Allison are involved in it all.
Grade: B