Teen Wolf was so over-the-top (in a good way) last night that I’m as confused as Lydia: was that all one big hallucination? The show has transformed from an obvious scheme by MTV to cash in on the Twilight Saga being the Titanic of the MTV Movie Awards (don’t get me started), to a creature unabashedly embracing its wilder elements. The more confident, stylish approach to the outlandish material is like a chaser for something usually hard to swallow. In other words, cheers to Teen Wolf!

The episode kicks-off with its usual horror movie antics. A couple with financial troubles, and soon much more, are the victims this week. Their trailer is parked in the woods, and as the wife cries about always feeling “slightly scared” in their wooded surroundings, a hooded man appears feet from their trailer. The husband goes outside to confront the man, and the kanima’s tale uncoils from the treetops, slithering around the man’s neck like a boa constrictor. Then, the kanima comes face-to-face with the woman. I was all, “okay, what’s the point?” until the camera lowered to reveal her pregnant stomach. Real chills folks. A reptilian murderer staring at a woman in a very vulnerable state, with an innocent and defenseless baby inside her, was pretty unnerving to watch.

Initially I was baffled by the decision to include a disposable couple with no relevance to the overarching story into the episode. But then we see another moment with the pregnant woman, now in a hospital bed, talking to Scott’s mom. After Ms. McCall dismisses the woman’s ramblings about the kanima, the man from earlier enters the room, his black glove covering the woman’s nose, killing her. The only possible explanation for those characters is that they were flashbacks to the true story of Jackson’s parents. Most shows use a visual cue to acknowledge a flashback, but I think Teen Wolf wants to be so twisty and turny the writers skipped the trademark in an attempt to surprise everyone when they decide to explain themselves. Not everything needs to be a shocking revelation, because after awhile they lose their impact. In this case, I feel like the execution is contrived. There is no rule that mandates a certain style for flashbacks, but you also don’t drop them into an episode without context.

What really dawned on me last night was that this season is more about establishing Jackson and Lydia. The former couples character arcs are parallel stories in losing control. Someone is selecting Jackson’s victims when he becomes the kanima, and Lydia is influenced by hallucinations of Peter Hale. They’ve both lost control of their perfectly choreographed lives.

While Teen Wolf tends to force its twist down our throats, I liked the route they went with Lydia’s. She’s been haunted by visions of Hale all season, then a mysterious boy starts following her around. Next they’re making out, Lydia catches his reflection in an armoire, and boom—he’s a manifestation of teenage Peter Hale. I’m guessing Peter had to present himself to her in a way that she would accept, since anyone would be freaked out by visions of a charred corpse. Peter is linked to Lydia through the bite in last season’s finale that failed to turn her into a werewolf. He explains, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life is to always have a backup. That would be you. Your immunity makes you the perfect Plan B. You wouldn’t die from the bite, you wouldn’t turn, but you would do one very important thing.” Presumably he needs Lydia to use the wolfsbane to resurrect his body currently buried beneath the Hale house. What I don’t understand is did he know Lydia was immune before biting her last season…which means he prophesied his death and she was his failsafe from the beginning? That’s totally unclear, but justifiable considering what he told Lydia. The question is, how did he know Lydia was immune or was this something he learned after biting her? If so, then his speech is needlessly confusing. Hopefully, this isn’t one of those plot holes the show tiptoes around.

The Howling:

–Allison acts all surprised to find Jackson naked in the shower of the boy’s locker room. Even though you can clearly hear water running she’s still all taken aback. What did she expect to see? Him in a tub full of bubbles with a rubber ducky?

–Why would Allison go to talk to Jackson unarmed? I think this is a bit unlike her knowing the potential threat he poses.

–The pencil sharpening scene. . .the less said the better. That was groan inducing.

–How was that detention even possible if Jackson has a restraining order against Stiles and Scott?

–I’m not sure why Derek needed to endanger Erica to confirm that Jackson is the kanima. I thought everyone was already in agreement that he was. Did I miss something?

— By the way, I predict that Grandpa Gerard is the kanima’s master. He’s always dressed in dark clothing comparable to what we’ve seen the master wearing, he stared the beast down last week, and there’s got to be more to his pill popping then a character quirk.

Who do you all think is the kanima’s master? Can anyone explain how Peter knew about Lydia’s immunity? Which of the main cast do you think will inevitably be targeted by the kanima?