Season Five of Teen Wolf premieres this upcoming Monday, June 29th, and I can say that it’s a welcome return, with enough humor and heart to make up for some of season four’s lesser moments. With our characters entering their senior year, what better time to look back and see what episodes rank among the best?
Obviously these are my own personal choices, so make sure to comment on what episode is either your personal favorite, the show’s best, or a little bit of both.
(These aren’t ranked–simply listed in order of appearance)
Night School (1×07)
This episode, in my mind, is where the show began to, simply put, become a good show-and I mean good beyond the irony of enjoying the first few episodes for how ridiculous (and kind of dumb) it was. Bringing all of the core cast together and sticking them in the same place allows for their chemistry to flourish. It also was the episode where the characters’ strengths began to be highlighted. This was at a point where Scott had yet to be turned into a classical, “cool guy” hero and was still, for all intents and purposes, a dumb teenage boy, and when no one but Stiles and Derek knew that he was a werewolf. Characterization had been okay up until this point, and “Night School” took an episode to refocus. Lydia was more than what she let on and was secretly a bit of a genius; Allison was already beginning to show signs of her independence and ability to take care of herself and her friends; Stiles began to show signs of maturity as well as impatience and anger towards people like Jackson. Also, it was a fun episode, one that took typical horror plot lines (teens locked in a location with a monster on their tails) and added some much needed humor.
Advertisement
Restraint (2×07)
The last half of season two of Teen Wolf was as consistently strong as the show has ever gotten. It had a narrative that continued to build in suspense and an interesting villain, and it allowed the characters to begin to fully feel the weight of their actions as well as their secrets and responsibilities. “Restraint” was the beginning of the fantastic run as Jackson finally learns about what has been happening to him. There’s plenty of humor, as well as those rare scenes where Stiles and Allison get to interact. The stakes are raised when Jackson escapes, and the characters must scramble to explain everything away–failing to do so.
Advertisement
Raving (2×08)
The show is at it’s best when it gets to have a fun, centered set piece that’s given moments of genuine joy or real consequences. This is the episode that takes place at an underground rave, allowing the show to indulge in it’s love for musical moments, as well as have all of the characters interact who may not normally. Isaac, Erica, and Stiles are forced to try and trap Jackson, Allison is stuck in a date with the sketchy Matt, and Scott is trapped by Allison’s mother, who tries to poison him before he is rescued by Derek. There’s plenty of humor, but the show is at its best in “Raving” in its more serious moments. Stiles must use mountain ash to trap Jackson inside the club, needing sheer force of will to finish the job, something made difficult by having learned earlier that he’s cost his father his job. Allison’s mother is a bit over the top, but her revealing that she’s been bitten by presumably Derek is a fantastic sucker punch of a moment. It’s an episode that continues the steady rise of tension.
Advertisement
Party Guessed (2×09)
I love this episode for once again placing all of our characters in the same place and forcing them to deal head-on with their personal demons. Even if I found Scott’s to be a little lackluster (really, you’re paranoid about Allison making out with the Kanima? Come on Scott) Allison, Jackson, and Stiles all must deal with honest fears: Allison fearing that she is weak, Stiles fearing that he’s ruined his dads life, Jackson fearing the loss of a family he never knew. All of these moments speak loudly about the characters and serve to build their characterization more than we already knew. It also is an episode that brings Lydia’s struggles to a focus in a season where she wasn’t so much the highlight but was certainly being characterized better than she has been since season three. I can’t say much about Derek training his three angst-ridden werewolves, but the scene between the Argents is suitably distressing, as I grew more saddened by Allison’s mother’s death than I ever thought I would be. Crystal Reed kills it as she learns about her mother’s death. Sure, the show fast-tracked her going to the dark side (so to speak), but this moment of pure anguish is one of the series’ finest moments of acting. The episode ends with two big revelations–one, that Lydia has helped bring Peter back to life (ugh) and two, that Matt has been controlling the Kanima.
Fury (2×10)
I wasn’t lying when I said that the end of season two was a series of highlights for the show, and episode ten is a big one in terms of changing the course of the characters’ lives. The battle between Matt and the pack comes to a head at the precinct, with Scott’s mom and Stiles’ dad getting caught in the crossfire, and with Scott’s mom in the end finally learning the truth about her son. Matt ends up dead, in a surprisingly grisly manner, at the hands of Gerard, and Allison aligns with her family, determined to avenge her mother’s death. Despite it being a rather bleak episode, we get moments of comedic physicality from Dylan O’Brien and Tyler Hoechlin when they’re both paralyzed by the Kanima venom, which helps lighten the mood for a bit. In the dramatic territory, we also get some of Tyler Posey’s best work as he begins to adopt his future “True Alpha” status while also hitting some snags along the way.
Motel California (3×06)
Motel California was the shining light of the first half of a sluggish and too-serious first half of season three of Teen Wolf, so much so that fans (including myself) have begun to overpraise it. Despite its setbacks (such as introducing character plot points for Boyd and then NEVER exploring them again), it’s a relentless episode, tossing our characters into one dire situation after the next, which continues to put our supernatural heroes into self-harmful situations. This leaves Allison, Lydia, and Stiles as the three rallying the troops (a trio I wish we’d seen more of). The mood is somber as our heroes continue to unravel the mysteries, all of which end in one of the finest moments the show’s ever done. Scott and Stiles have been the heart of the show since day one, and showing Stiles putting his life on the line for Scott, and to have Scott in his lowest moment reach out to him, is a fantastic way to end the episode.
Anchors (3×13)
The start of season 3b was a time to reinvigorate the series, and boy does it get off to a strong start, utilizing Dylan O’Brien’s range far more than they have in the past straight out of the gate. To some fans’ chagrin, the season had been promoted in part to be Stiles-centric, which frustrated Scott Mccall fans. “Anchors” aside, though, the season was largely evenly distributed. Stiles, however, is a smart way to start things off as our honorary human (with no skill sets in combat like Allison) suffering greatly from the sacrifices he, Allison, and Scott made to save their parents. The idea that their selflessness is what opened up Beacon Hills to more monsters is a fun idea and it’s one that the season runs with. From beginning to end it’s an action packed and draining episode, and it’s easily the best season premiere the show has ever done.
Riddled (3×18)
Oh to be a fly on the wall of the writers room for this episode which, in large part, is a Dylan O’Brien showcase hour as Stiles, typically our comedic relief, is charged through the gamut, forced to confront the idea that his health may be deteriorating and that he may no longer be in control of his own mind. We’re put in the perplexing situation where Stiles’s explanation of what’s happening to him may not be a reliable point of view. He’s sleepwalking for much of the episode, caught inside his own psyche as Scott and his pack rally to find him and ultimately save him from his own literal inner demons. This all hits an emotional crescendo in the hospital scene where Scott promises Stiles that if he’s sick, Scott will help him, pretty much confirming that he’ll give him the bite. It’s a small and subtle moment, but one that speaks volumes to their friendship. Again, it continues to build as Stiles faces off with the Nogitsune and sees him wearing his face. So much of “Riddled” works because of it building up to this moment, but it also has strong moments of bonding between Scott and Derek, Lydia exploring her powers more, and Kira’s mom taking a greater focus as she faces off with the Nogitsune at the end. Season 3b worked because when it got serious, it relied on its actors to carry it, rather than trying to make every other aspect bigger than the show could handle.
Insatiable (3×23)
While I’ve enjoyed Lydia a lot in the past, I can’t always say the same for her actress, Holland Roden; but there is one moment of hers that sticks in my mind, and will likely be one of my favorites after the show’s duration. That’s Lydia screaming Allison’s name just as Allison is killed while fighting with her friends, before crumpling over Stiles’ crumpled body. It’s one of the most cinematic and artful shots the show has ever done, and it’s a scene filled with pure grief and loss. We feel that moment. Allison’s death (as annoyed as I was by it since I enjoyed the character) was well done and well-performed by all involved, and while the episode was strong with more fantastic Nogitsune Stiles and Scott leadership, it’s that ending scene that really seals the deal for this viewer.
Weaponized (4×07)
If you haven’t noticed at this point, I can’t say I was all too big of a fan of season four of Teen Wolf, which is what made episode seven, Weaponized, such a surprising highlight. For the first time, it seemed like these characters’ lives were being tethered, that some of them were exhausted and on the edge of giving in completely, which only makes their triumph at the end all the better. A virus has taken over the school, making it so the characters are quarantined. Scott and his pack are hit the hardest and locked away from the rest of the student body as Stiles, mildly affected, spends his time trying to find the person responsible. He’s involved in a wonderfully tense moment with the assailant, but is saved, surprisingly, by Scott’s dad. Blood-spattered and shaken, Stiles races down to Scott and co., who are barely holding on, and it’s an ending that is in part triumphant, but also bruised by truths that come uncovered. It’s a great episode in a uniformly mediocre season.
Advertisement