Virgin’s virgins everywhere! Those blasted virgins setting themselves up for human sacrifices.
Or at least I think that’s what the message of this week’s Teen Wolf was.
This week see’s Scott, Issac and Derek tracking down the rabid Boyd and Cora (both of whom have been turned into two-dimensional monsters) to no avail. Scott, being the genius of the pack, says that the three of them aren’t adept at actual tracking and they need to seek the aid of someone who actually can.
Welcome back DILF Chris Argent who is not only one of the most secretly enjoyable characters on the show, but also (just like his daughter) one the few who can actually get things done in an orderly manner.
Chris is hesitant to help, saying that he and Alison have left the hunting world since it destroyed their family. To change his mind Scott brings Chris to the crime scene of the apparent latest victim and seeing the carnage sways Chris: he cannot let innocents die when he knows he could help end it.
So the super team of soulful glares frolic through the woods, using high tech dog whistles, electricity and senses of smell to lure the two rabid wolves into the seemingly empty school to trap them until the sun comes up.
Of course, no plan involving Derek (dammit Derek!) is even fool proof and of course, the new teacher who likes the Heart of Darkness and was attacked by The Birds inspired crows ends up locked up in the basement with Boyd and Cora.
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Scott and Derek realize this and Derek decides to be stupidly heroic, wanting to prove to his Uncle Peter that he too can live in a world of black and white, good and bad, and goes into the basement and orders Scott to lock the door behind him.
Once in Derek orders the teacher to lock herself up in the storage unit as Derek fights the other two which results in some more fruit juice and blood effect and a trigger happy sounds effect employee pressing the scratching noise with too much enthusiasm.
All it seems is lost (if Tyler Hoechlin’s pained face is the clue) until Issac (in a particularly wooden scene by Daniel Sharman) runs down to inform Scott that the sun is up! They’re safe!
They open the doors and instead of seeing a deceased Derek instead find a knocked out Boyd and Cora. Derek orders them to get the two out of there as he deals with the teacher.
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Dealing means setting romantic music to a dimly lit scene to imply a possible romantic pairing.
Romantic comedy Derek? I think that I could get behind.
If it seems like I wasn’t a huge fan of this portion of the episode, you’d be correct. The fact is that Teen Wolfs success doesn’t derive from their low budget fight scenes and while one or two and episode are fun and add an extra element of action, they are never the highlight.
Which is why I was annoyed that the human side of the episode was woefully underseen. Lydia is seemingly being possessed again and wakes up at a pool where she finds the body of a young man. She calls Stiles who deems it a werewolf attack but also notices a ring around the young man’s finger that read ‘purity’.
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Later Scott’s mom calls him and breaks every bit of hospital protocol ever to show him the man’s body, saying he missed something. This man didn’t just have his neck slit; he also was strangled and dealt a deadly blow to the head. Any of the three injuries could have killed him.
This wouldn’t have been such a cause of alarm if it wasn’t the second body to turn up this way and that’s when she uncovers the second one, Heathers, the girl from the second episode who was taken just as her and Stiles were about to get it on.
And man Dylan O’Brien’s face really sold me that every actor on the show is doing the opposite of what they should. Tyler Posey and Hoechlin should be dealing with the comedy (they can’t handle the heavy stuff) and Jeff Davis needs to start allowing O’Brien to showcase his acting chops that doesn’t require hyperactivity and one liners.
Through his grief Stiles realizes that there is a pattern here and asks Ms. Mcall if there have been any other incidents and she tells him yes, a young girl brought in with a missing girl friend. And now he has his pieces.
(Note: I am not pleased with the version of Stiles who yells at Lydia and asks strangers if they’re virgins-especially when Davis sees it as funny rather than negative character traits. I am however a fan of sobered, detective Stiles.)
Alison is off being a badass as always but literally gets three minutes of screentime and a curious look with Issac that implies even MORE unwanted romance so as much as I’d enjoy raving about her, there’s not much there.
Not the best episode of the season but entertaining enough and more than anything I’m excited for where this sacrificial narrative is going to take us.
6.5/10
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