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.
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