Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 10
What They Say:
The Overlooked – Trapped by a storm in a hospital, Scott and Derek must defend themselves against the alphs.
The Review:
Teen Wolf always has a lot of thinsg going on in each episode, but there’s always a way to drive it up a few notches and this episode kicks it off pretty well by introducing a massive storm into Beacon Hills. Thankfully, while it was predicted to be a mild storm, it’s actually a much bigger one and they do have it affect other towns in the area. The storm is powerful and seeing the impact it has on the hospital alone is pretty nicely done since it’s in full evacuation mode. This kind of setting can take an already tense situation and really bring it up to an even more intense level, which coming off of the events of the recital with the chaos there and what we saw about Lydia just hits all the right notes.
With Jennifer having been revealed as the Darach, she attempts to cut the boys off at the pass and get Derek on her side, but he’s already aware of what’s going on. Unfortunately for all of the boys here, she’s managed to put her in a position of being needed. She’s still claiming to not be involved in the numerous sacrifices going on, which now may include Stiles’ father, but she also has a connection to Cora who is at the hospital and coughing up some severe black blood and mistletoe, which is a big sign of the Darach herself. Jennifer’s a pretty interesting character at this stage with how she’s trying to spool out her story and getting little real interest and it’s really hard to tell what’s true and what’s not since there are so many conflicting areas and so many that makes sense .
So what can make the situation even worse when they get to the hospital, which is close to being completely evacuated, other than having the Alpha’s start showing up and causing trouble? It’s a bit over the top in a way with the lights flickering, the last rounds of evacuees going through here and having the various Alpha’s that Deucalion is bringing in to begin their hunt. Deucalion and Kali still have their calm intensity about them, but the situation is one that changes pretty fluidly as it goes on once Jennifer goes on the run and has to use her powers some since she’s now being part of the hunt as well. When things go even worse in the hospital with the power out and the backup lights going on, it’s standard fare but it fits the situation well since there’s a lot of variables at play, from Cora’s illness to Scott’s mother being involved.
The hospital has a whole lot going on across the board with the two sides going at it and the kinds of problems that comes form it, but it also gets more complicated when Allison, Isaac and her father show up since Isaac was worried about Cora. That adds a slight new dynamic to events since Argent has a different sensibility when it comes to hunting compared to even the Alphas. And mixed into all of this, we do get a bit of the back story involved Jennifer with how she was tied to Kali before under her original name and how Kali was one that went to kill her years ago and thought she did kill her. It also ties back into Derek in a reall fascinating way as we see how the death of Paige all those years ago helped her survive without them understanding it
There’s a real soft spot there, which is what the conversation between Deucalion and Kali have, showing some of the weakness that exists between the two. Creating a pack of Alpha’s certainly has its issues because of how they operate and that there will always be some kind of jockeying for position even when there is a true and clear leader. Kali’s calling out Deucalion of how he’s being soft when it comes to Scott is amusing as well since you know what Deucalion is trying to do in tweaking and nudging him in ways to draw him in more, to bring some element of trust that he can manipulate in the future.
Admittedly, I’ve liked Jennifer since her debut this season with what she’s brought to the show and her greatly expanded role in the last episode and this one. Her time with Derek stuck in the elevator does give her a chance to provide some exposition with what her past was and how she’s handled it ever since with what her larger goal is. And it ties into a new revelation about what happens to werewolves when a total lunar eclipse hits, which certainly must be coming soon. With Derek and Jennifer, we get something a bit more nuanced here since it’s all about the way they’ve made difficult choices in their lives and obviously neither is innocent and that it is about the gray, not the black and white. It sets up for some interesting events yet to come, and some hope in my mind that there can be a salvaging of their relationship on some level as I really do find myself liking Jennifer.
In Summary:
Teen Wolf is setting up nicely for the summer season finale here as it introduces more of the back story and its connections to the present while also expanding the relationships in a very good way that doesn’t feel forced. With it all taking place within the hospital for the majority of the episode, there’s a lot of close quarters issues going on when it comes to the fighting and running around and also some nice tension while Scott and his side do their best to plot and plan on how to survive. Like the series in general, almost everything here is about the gray between rather than black and white situations and that makes for a number of difficult choices, realizations and expansions on what’s known and how to cope with it. Though you hope things will go in a good way, you can’t help but to feel that darker times are still ahead and a whole lot of real uncertainty about who will survive.
Grade: A-