Zoom.
Zoom zoom.
Zoom, zoom, zoom. Tight shot of a chiseled chest that managed to reflect any semblance of decency.
If you couldn’t tell by the oddly strategic angled shots this episode, the director seems to be going for an artistic, quasi Terrence Malik, Sophia Coppala route. You know, with less talent and with more up close and personal moments of exploitation of male body.
Seriously, it’s like they want us to be drenched with the sweat of their leads.
Wacky directing aside, this was a perfectly fine episode that was bogged down by the utter stupidity of Derek’s storyline (dammit Derek!).
Essentially Derek’s storyline is the shows way of pandering to those of whom who weren’t into the last episodes way of playing tag with the werewolf gang for an entire episode. So this episode rather than be delivered some real character moments with insights to their rational, we’re instead given an hour long roasted Derek kebab.
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It’s come to my attention that the show as of late-as much as I’ve been enjoying it-has been going out of its way to deny us any sort of emotional satisfaction. Erica dies? Oh hey no biggie, it’s not like Derek creepily seduced her into the pack or anything, let’s just go on with our daily business playing a prank war with the homicidal twins. Allison’s creeptastic mom tried to kill Scott? Oh hey, who cares? It’s not like Allison’s mother’s death wasn’t a HUGE driving point in the momentum of her storyline last year and the reasoning behind some of her decisions thus far this season. Let’s instead have Allison and Issac share some oddly sexually fused scenes together. Audiences love those love triangles.
One of the Derek’s siblings returns after years of him believing she was dead-instead of I don’t know, reflecting on the how’s and the why’s, let’s instead focus on a work out scene and yet another gratuitous fight scene with the toenail fighter who’s life ambition is apparently to squick me out.
Congratulations-she’s succeeded.
The show is about forty minutes long with twenty minutes of it dedicated to slow motion fight scenes with acrobatic werewolves. I’m sure Jeff Davis could have spared two to showcase a scene between Derek and Cora that explained why she never reached out to him as well as see Derek’s reaction to her return. It’s not like the desolation of his family wasn’t the main drive for the character for the first two seasons or anything and the only reason he kept Peter around which lead to his Alpha status which lead to his pack which led to Cora…
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Oh…wait.
Derek nuttiness aside (as well as our big bads over the top campiness speech about being the alphas of alphas and how Derek needs to kill his pack to join them) this wasn’t a bad episode.
Issac, Allison and Scott are being awesome by antagonizing the twins after they lock Isaac in a closet (a nice and surprising continuity factor that reminds us of Isaac’s past abuse-a reminder than he isn’t entirely invincible.) Scott isn’t okay with how the twins, Ethan and Aidan, have been causing trouble with his crew and decides to take it into his own hands-literally. In one of the funnier scenes thus far this season and further proving my point that Tyler Posey excels at comedy we see Scott take pieces of the twins motorcycles out of his bag to their horrified expressions.
It was fun and cute and enjoyable to watch but also felt like an entirely different show.
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They were the brawn and over with the brains things are beginning to get interesting in the sacrifice case.
Stiles is slapped to his senses after asking a grieving girlfriend about her boyfriend’s sex life and after an uncomfortable confrontation with his dad decides to go to the two people who he thinks can help him best: Lydia and Deaton.
The scene in Deaton’s office is beautifully done with character insight being given to Deaton, a long staple on this show, allowing the character of Stiles to subtlety relate. It’s nice to see that Dylan O’Brien can hold his own against other more experienced actors and isn’t just a gem in a pile of coal. (I mean…can we all realize that Daniel Sharman makes Posey look like a potential Oscar winner?) What I’ve liked so far this season is that the show isn’t afraid to mess with the status quo a bit, mixing and matching their characters how they see fit for each storyline rather than relying on what works, what rapport has been proven to work.
The episode ends with the brain side realizing that the sacrifices are coming in threes or related things. The first were virgins, and second were relations to the military. And who fell in the later category? Mr. Harris.
So, we’ve finally lost a well-known character. Interesting.
Not bad, not great, a little dull during the Derek baking bits, but still my excitement hasn’t waned in waiting for this show each week.
What did you all think?
6.5/10
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