If you’ll notice, we’re now halfway into season 3A, and I’m pretty sure no one has an actual grasp on what exactly is going on — not the characters in the show, and certainly not us. If I had to assign one negative to the season, and I can’t believe I am saying this, it’s that it may be too frenetic for its own good. Certainly, this is The Show That Never Takes a Breath, but ultimately we wind up without any time to understand anything.
And at the end of the hour, what we’re left with is exactly what we had going in. I’ve never been a fan of episodes where all the tension comes from whether or not characters you know are for sure not going to die might die. We knew throughout the entire hour last week that Derek was going to make a last-minute appearance and prove he was alive (to us). Tonight was all the same: Isaac isn’t biting the dust just yet. Perhaps we might have had to say bye to Boyd and Aiden. But there was definitely no way in hell that Scott was going to torch himself.
Then again, it gave us a Stiles cry scene. When Stiles cries, we all cry.
But to argue about Teen Wolf being too crazy is like arguing about its very essence. For the most part, I admire Teen Wolf‘s ability to take one setting and completely own it in an episode. Last week was the bus (granted, with flashbacks). This week, it played like an eerie and breakneck-pace short film of horror movie staples. And it never once shows weakness or hesitation; throughout the hour, it commands the screen. There aren’t may series that can do that on a regular basis. It’s like Scandal but with werewolves and more half-nakedness.
Motel, Hotel, Horror Day Inn
The gang has to stay in one the scariest motels ever. In fact, 198 suicides have been committed there, says the heavy smoker who is in charge of the front desk just in case you weren’t creeped out enough. Dirty and dinginess? Check. Creepy front desk lady? Check. Fog? Obviously. There’s always fog.
Lydia is hesitant because, I don’t know, did you look at the motel? It’s creepy. But Allison, ever the one to press on about this aimless road trip, tells her that everything is fine. So there’s fog even though it doesn’t make sense? So what? So you’re hearing voices through vents about people killing themselves? Lighten up, Lyds!
Turns out that Lydia had good reason to leave: all the werewolves are trippin’ out, man! What Teen Wolf does cleverly is play into all of their respective insecurities… which I have to admit I’m always a fan of. For Isaac, it’s certainly his claustrophobia. For Boyd, it’s having survived Erica. For Aiden it’s… I don’t know, having a person living in his stomach? I don’t.
But for Scott (who, if I haven’t mentioned, saw a glimmer of his alpha red eyes tonight), it’s feeling guilty for having indirectly pained so many of his loved ones. As far as insecurities go, this is kind of every supernatural show’s main character’s insecurity. And I’ve always never understood it. The price of ignorance would always have been more steep than keeping your relatives in the know. (Like when Buffy never wanted to tell Joyce anything even though having knowledge of how to keep yourself safe is VERY IMPORTANT. But, whatever, I always just let these things go.)
Thankfully, Stiles figures out that heat takes the werewolves out of their suicidal trance. Later on, Lydia notices that there’s wolfsbane in the coach’s whistle, which must have poisoned them all and weakened their minds. However, it doesn’t exactly explain all 198 suicides (including an Argent relative).
We All Cry
So basically I just needed to reiterate that we cried.
No, but seriously, it was nice to take a moment and have everyone tell each other they love each other. Or maybe just Scott and Stiles. On a show like Teen Wolf, it can be easy to forget that everyone has feelings other than “Ahhhh!” and “I am being possessed by things!”
Meanwhile, in Beacon Hills…
While the kids are in the motel trying not to kill themselves, Derek is getting patched up by his new lady friend. Well, at least he should be getting patched up, but Teacher has more pressing things on her mind. Namely, she wants to get it on.
Like, honestly, this lady is really past the point of worrying about his safety. She takes his shirt off and is all, “Holy crap that body! Oh, my goodness!”
“Am I bleeding?” Derek asks of his three gaping wounds.
“Huh? Wha— oh, yeah, I notice some blood leakage around your… is that an eight-pack? Dang boy!” We get it, Teacher. Even when she reminds him that he should probably seek medical attention and that a huge fraction of him is bleeding, she goes in for the kill. Not that Derek minded, anyway.
And the Rest
Sex as treatment for wounds actually reminded me of Lost Girl… as did another sex scene, between Danny and Aiden. The Teen Wolf producers weren’t kidding when they said they wanted to push the envelope a bit here. I think it’s actually a great thing that they treated it as they would any other couple. Go MTV for being what sadly still counts as progressive.
Also, Lydia is hearing things from the past? If I had to guess, I think that whatever is happening to Lydia is actually someone trying to protect her or warn her. So far, everything that has been happening to her this season (as opposed to last season), have been positives. Well maybe not positives, but they certainly have felt like they are aiding her. She’s been brought to a body; tonight, she was warned about a couple of possible suicides. That said, whatever was in the fire was still creepy as hell and reminded me of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer demon.
Well, with everyone packed and shipping back off to Beacon Hills, I can’t wait to see how else Teen Wolf could get all kinds of crazy.
Michael loves TV. You can find him at home, where he spends all of his time watching TV with his best friends couch and cable access.