Max and Sally are being sickeningly sweet in the kitchen and committing the capital crime of stopping the very awkward Josh getting to the coffee. They’re lucky, people stood between me and coffee in a morning better be wearing heavy plate armour, Kevlar and a hazmat suit. However things are made better by the awesome French toast he made, it even distracts Aidan from the question of going into work when Kenny knows he’s a vampire. Then Teen Wolfgirl joins the party and it’s a very busy – but very fun kitchen (yes they do work well together).
Until Sally’s brother, Robby, knocks at the door. Turns out he’s their new landlord since his dad owns it after the last owners (his sister and her husband) died. I did actually wonder what the legal chain was here or whether the house just magically became theirs. He’s taken a while to get in touch because he’s just got back to Boston and he’s going to take over from the management company his father had managing things. They discourage him from taking a look around by talking some kind of death stink – but he asks them to write the rent cheques to him, or even pay in cash. Uh-huh
Sally tells Max never to mention her to her brother, pretend he never knew her, pretend she’s not in town etc – which rather confuses Max. Then they get to talk it out, the three of them. Turns out Robby had some problems in the past, but they’re hoping he’s over that (yeah, I’m thinking “just give me cash” means no, personally and Sally advises them to lock up their valuables) after a brief discussion of Sally’s family issues. But they’re more concerned by the fact he will be coming back to make repairs – repairs the house very much needs. Everyone talks at the same time and everyone’s issues build on each other. Josh suggests fixing the whole place up so there’s no reason for the landlord to visit, Sally’s worried about having to leave so she doesn’t kill her brother and Aiden is still worried about Kenny and the vampire thing
(Can’t they demand 24 hours notice before their landlord barges in?)
To the hospital, Aidan’s at work (what, he wasn’t going to go to work until Sally had an issue he could run from?) and he tries to act nervously normal around Kenny. Amazingly, this doesn’t work. Aiden tries to play the “hypothetically, why don’t I just kill you” but Kenny has decided Aidan isn’t evil. And offers to feed him.
After much begging, Kenny finally convinces Aidan to reveal some information. Confirming his age (260, not a thousand thank you) and, no, he doesn’t sparkle in sunlight. He claims there is nothing glamorous about being a vampire (except eternal youth which you just revealed, Aidan) and he explains the virus and why Kenny’s blood is special. Kenny, again, offers his blood. He adds a rather good line that he doesn’t meet many cool people, undead or otherwise being isolated – and he didn’t want to lose one of his few friends because he was “too proud to accept a favour.” He accepts, “just a little” and Kenny asks the inevitable – how do you become a vampire.
Time for a flashback, uniforms, accents and al. He’s a soldier during the revolutionary war, with a good friend who discovers a body with wounds on his neck – and Bishop all black eyed and fangy and super fast. He briefly panics before deciding to follow the blurring Bishop. He stabs him with a bayonet, twice, which doesn’t do an awful lot. He keeps trying though, while Bishop praises his courage and dances around him easily. After taking his gun off him, Bishop offers his sword to try again. That doesn’t go well either. After much talking and threatening and self-sacrifice Bishop finally offers to turn Aidan. Aidan initially refuses – but agrees if Bishop will spare his men.
After the flashback this is followed up by a lot more questions until Aidan turns it round and asks lots of annoying “bubble boy” questions in response (argh don’t draw comparisons between a real world annoyance disabled people face and the vampire’s irritation). And the predictable happens – Kenny asks to be turned into a vampire.
Time for another flashback. Aidan waking up as a vampire and being overwhelmed by his amazing vampire senses (this bit was really well done). Bishop greets him with a “have you ever felt more alive” but Aidan is determined to return to his men and his life. Bishop warns against it, but Aidan insists. He goes back and runs into his friend – who is wounded and has blood on his shirt – dinner time!
Kenny persists in asking and Aidan warns him that he will have to leave everyone he loves behind. Kenny counters with the fact when he turns 18, he’s leaving even if it kills him, whether he’s a vampire or not, because living in the isolation box isn’t living.
Flashback again, Aidan is angry at Bishop for not stopping him and Bishop says he had to know why he couldn’t go back. And that it’s a mistake he will make over and over again over eternity – which is when a soldier shows up just ripe for snacking on.
Back at home, Josh is showing Teen Wolf his utter failure of parenting skills by laying down a strongly worded, grossly unflexible and attacking ultimatum about where and when Teen Wolf may change. I think part of it stems from his resentment of her dismissing his expertise since he’s an ex-wolf but it’s still heavy handed. At least he realises it and ends his rant with “and I’ve turned into my mother.”
Later he lectures Erin about reading his werewolf notes in more hectoring style until Aidan intervenes, invites erin to check out his records while trying to talk some sense into Josh and delicately invites him to “care a little bit less.”
At work Sally detects tension in Max and they have a talk – Max is upset about the whole brother issue because she can talk to her roommates about the issue but not him (because you’re a brand new guy and she’s known them for years?). He’s aware she has some major secrets and while she knows a fair bit about her, her fear of going outside and her family issues concern him, especially since she can tell Aidan and Josh.
Sally walks home, it’s late, it’s night, she’s wearing a hoody and she still runs into her brother. To which she promptly freaks out, declares she loves him and runs off.
To collect Josh and go and track down Donna, the witch. She greets them warmly (and doesn’t seem to have her stolen youth we previously saw) but says she can’t change the spell – and she doesn’t have to do anything anyway. Sally grabs a knife and threatens her – big mistake. Donna throws them across the room with a spell, then summons a flame to the palm of her hand. When she extinguishes it, Sally starts suffocating and hovering in the air. She says she can end the life she gave Sally and send her back to limbo – before dropping her and Josh. She says she can’t save Robby without getting something else in its place. Donna makes Sally an offer – she can live out her natural life and meet old people without consequence, but when she dies Donna gets her soul. Josh is, naturally against this, but Sally agrees, She can’t let Robby die because she’s afraid of the unknown, nor can she kill more people she loves and spend her life hiding.
The next day she meets her brother and hugs him. She explains her death as an escape from Danny, and it’s apparent that their father has kicked Robby out and he’s living in his car (and the “landlord” thing is a scam). She asks him to keep her coming back to life a secret and he assumes that, since she was the good one, if she has to lie she must have a good reason. He’s passing through on his way to Florida and Sally gives him $60 for petrol.
And Sally goes to Max who isn’t happy about her disappearing without so much as a text. She uses a few platitudes which he doesn’t buy particularly since, yeah, not even a text. She wins him back by promising no more chaos and saying she can now go out with him.
Josh, meanwhile, comes home to find the house spotless and Teen Wolf asleep on the sofa, she cleaned up. He turns round and goes out again – and Teen Wolf springs up, awake. She texts Pedigree Liam, it’s apparent she’s working for him, as part of his pack. And she starts by adding her blood to Aidan’s vials, poisoning it so when Aidan drinks it he will be helpless and Liam can kill him. She calls Liam and asks him to hurry since Aidan comes home early and grabs a snack
Aidan drinks the blood as Josh heads back home (after going to the shop for whipped cream). Aidan collapses, having seizures and Teen Wolf stands over him with a sharpened chair leg
Yeah, I think it’s time to evict her.
This has been a couple of episodes now where Josh has been poked for being an ex-werewolf. I wonder if this will be the thing through the whole season, Josh repeatedly poked for not being a werewolf any more, not part of the supernatural club until he actually wants to be a werewolf again.
While I can kinda sorta get why Max is upset that Sally isn’t discussing the big dark secrets with him, their relationship is still really really new. I find the idea that it’s wrong or upsetting that she wants to talk about things – especially family issues – with people she’s lived with and known for years, but not a boyfriend she met, at best, a few weeks ago seems… off. Now I can get the whole “look you have some major secrets I know and I’m wondering about them and what they mean for our relationship as and when you’re ready to discuss them” but less the whole “how can you tell the not me?”
