Mark your calendars Teen Wolf fans, because the show is back for it’s fifth season Monday, June 29th and it’s about to get crazy. I’m not about to give out any hints, but I can assure you there are some moments in the season premiere that will have you greatly anticipating the next episode.
Lucky for you, episode two will be airing the following Tuesday, June 30th.
Teen Wolf isn’t what people would call “high brow” television, and hey, that’s fine. What it lacks in polish it makes up for (on its better days) with sheer enthusiasm. This is a show that loves its genre and (again, on its better days) isn’t afraid to have fun with it. It’s my breather of a television show. One that’s a little mindless sometimes, oftentimes campy, but enjoyable enough to end a day on. It has some legitimately talented actors (Dylan O’Brien and Crystal Reed, who played the beloved Allison), and when it’s all pulled together the storylines can cause real anticipation for what’s next.
But then there are the episodes where it’s clear it wasn’t one of their better days, when showrunner Jeff Davis looked at all of his influences, went “I can do that” and swung and missed so that all that’s left is a show that’s taking itself way too seriously. Season four had promising moments but all together leaned to the dull side of things. So, in preparation for season five, here are five steps the show should take to reclaim some of its old success.
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Better Villains
My contempt for the character Peter Hale was turned into became apparent to anyone reading my past recaps. He went from a truly ominous threat in season one, and an entertaining one, to dead weight in season two and three with “sassy” as his only characterizing word, to a nuisance of a villain in season four. His storyline was a redundant one and offered little excitement, and Ian Bohen exceeded himself in ham acting.
The reasons some of the stronger villains—Nogitsune Stiles, Grandpa Argent, and season one Peter Hale—worked was because they either provided an emotional connection to the characters (Stiles), moved pieces into place that made it so the stakes were raised (Argent manipulating Alison’s grief over the loss of her mother) or were just fun to root against (Peter a la season one). Villains such as the Alpha Pack and just about anyone in season four fail to leave much of an impact because they’re essentially a narrative hurdle with little characterization.
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More Comedy
I will admit that some of the darker moments of Teen Wolf have impressed me. Allison’s reaction to her mother’s death and the death itself, Stiles’s grappling with the Nogitsune, anything to do with Stiles and his father and Allison’s death scene are all moments where the show cuts to the emotional core of what’s going on, and the actors sell it beautifully. However, the emotional moments are one thing and the “this is a super serious show” mode that the series has adapted over the past two seasons is another, and it’s something that’s taken the playful spark of season one and two out of the show. One of the show’s biggest assets at the start of its run was its playfulness and how the overall charm of the lead cast could outweigh the clunkier writing and laughable CGI. There’s a reason why Allison and Scott’s romance was my favorite part of season one–it was sweet, it was funny, and and it was genuinely lighthearted.
Not all of the broad comedic moments (primarily given to Stiles) work. But the show is at its best when it realizes that these are teenagers dealing with these problems, and teens are prone to poor decision-making–the humor builds itself out of that. This brings me my next item on the list…
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Stiles and Scott Being BFFs
Let’s be real–the best relationship on the show is the friendship between Scott and Stiles, and it has been since day one. The chemistry between Tyler Posey and Dylan O’Brien is there, and it makes every scene they’re in together appear natural (even when dealing with the supernatural…ayy). I want more of that. Liam’s fine, I guess, and Malia and Stiles are cute, but if the show is going to stick to the super serious show dramatic format it has been, maybe write more scenes for our favorite duo, whose friendship is always a treat to watch play out.
Stories for Female Leads
We’re on season five and I’ve still yet to see a storyline that’s been truly great for one of the show’s female leads; and after killing off arguably the BEST female character on the show (and one of the best, period) in Allison, the show hasn’t stepped its game up since season three. The show keeps promising me cool Lydia storylines at the start of each season before completely petering out by its end, rather than using the fact that the show made her a BANSHEE and aren’t doing anything with it. I saw the casting lineup for the upcoming season, and it’s a lot of dudes, so Teen Wolf, make it up to me by kicking ass with the female characters this year please.
Cohesive Storylines
The only premiere episode I’ve ever liked was the one for season 3B because, for the most part, whatever it is that showrunner Jeff Davis thinks he’s setting up at the start of each season rarely gets played out cohesively for the remaining episodes. The big ideas happen in the start and each of each season, and all that falls in between is typically where the show’s best work takes place. Season two was the best at this because the set up, build up and follow through were all there and worked wonderfully. It was a slow burn and an exciting reveal of who the big bads were, and the series needs to rewind back to that storytelling format.
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