Deputy Tara (yeah I looked up that name, she tends to be around but I don’t remember anyone actually referring to her at all) is carefully exploring the school at night, probably fully aware of the number of people who have died, being mangled and otherwise inconvenienced in the place. Until she runs into the band who are practicing late for a recital
Y’know you may feel silly walking around ready to pull a gun on band practice, Tara, but stay cautious - that school at night is more dangerous than most war zones.
She shoos them out because someone called 911 to the school - and then her radio stops working. Damn, did I just learn Tara’s name for her to drop dead on me? Her radio static sounds like the Darach’s yelled chanting. Yup, Tara’s on the way out
There’s a noise behind her and she sees a pair of legs being dragged into a room (presumably attached to the rest of the body out of sight). She finds a body in the shower - and then the Darach comes up behind her and strangles her. Is that a mask is the Darach really that ugly?
Then there’s 2 bodies in the shower... both Black people? Oh Teen Wolf - if the Darach’s next “trio” of sacrifices is Black women then you are crossing a line, especially considering your general lack of inclusion anyway.
Elsewhere, Allison, Stiles and Scott gather because Lydia has blacked out and woken up in the middle of nowhere. They told her to call them if she found another body - she hasn’t, but she decided if there is another body where she blacks out, she’d rather they find it. Stiles protests, Lydia’s always the one who finds the dead bodies. She’s like the dead body finding expert - it’s ok Lydia, scott’s found the dead body. Deputy Tara on the school sign.
At school the next day, Sheriff Stilinksi denies Stiles’s theory on the patterns and sacrifices again (wait, didn’t he see Scott stopped by a magic circle a few episodes back? Shouldn’t he be in on the big secret?) but is a little more tolerant of Stiles’s meddling since Stiles knew Tara.
Chris Argent Allison has taken to her bed and decides against her dad’s suggestion that she goes to the school’s recital in honour of the many many many many many murders. But the minute he’s gone she loads up on weapons - and catches Isaac outside her window keeping watch - Allison wasn’t at school so Scott sent Isaac to check on her. Flirting continues between Isaac and his brutal torturer.
To school and Ms. Blake’s class where Ms. Blake learns the importance of not trying to bandy words with Lydia, because she will always win. Ms. Blake doesn’t seem to be all there anyway, probably distracted by the whole werewolf kidnapping and Boyd’s murder the other week, that kind of thing tends to distract a person. And Scott decides they need to find a way to question the werewolf twins to find out about the Darach, maybe he was the druid Emissary to the Alpha Pack. Ideally they need to question Ethan - but to do that they need to distract Aidan. They turn to Lydia who has a perfect “oh god, what now” expression.
Speaking of the wolf twins, Aidan isn’t happy that Ethan is being all distracted with Danny, especially they’ve now discovered Lydia is the one the pack should be focused on. Ethan doesn’t see what the big deal is, Aidan threatens to eat Danny’s face. Well, that’s certainly clear.
Lydia’s distraction involves kissing Adian until he gives her a confused look - because she’s been shunning him. To which she brings up the murder of Boyd which Aidan blames on Kali - making the excuse that the pack may be Alphas but that doesn’t mean it’s democratic and Aidan tries to counter that Derek killed Ennis (excuse me, even accepting that lie, there’s a big difference between hunting down Boyd and the Alphas coming to town to expressly find Derek). Lydia, always with an awesome response, asks who’s turn it is now? But Aidan counters with when Derek’s pack looked to kill her as the Kanima - and how did he know about that? Question unanswered because someone carves the werewolf vengeance spiral on the glass of the door. Aidan assumes it’s Derek.
He goes out to challenge Derek - and he’s attacked by Cora
Scott and Stiles talk to Ethan who, in turn, doesn’t understand why because he did help kill Boyd, but Scott is much quicker to believe the wolf twins didn’t have a choice in the matter. It turns out the twins owe Deucalion since, before they met him, they were Omegas (outcasts and scapegoats in werewolf society). Their wolf back was brutal, vicious and evil - and they couldn’t fight back until Deucalion taught them how to control their merged “Voltron-wolf” (thanks Stiles) which is when the twins took out the rest of the back one by one. They ask about their Emissaries and Ethan says they’re all dead - Ennis’s and Kali’s as well - only Deucalion’s is still alive - Morrel. But then he feels like someone slashed him in the chest - he senses Aidan’s pain.
Of course, Beta Cora doesn’t stand a very good chance against Alpha Aidan and she quickly loses and only Scott and Ethan hurrying to grab his arms stops him from killing her. Ethan reminds Aidan it doesn’t matter who attacked - Kali gave Derek until the next full moon, no fighting until then.
The gang help Cora clean up and ask why she tried to commit suicide by Alpha. She claims she did it for Boyd since they weren’t doing anything - they protest they’re trying and she says “and failing”. Uh-huh, because your method worked so much better, Cora? She goes on to call them stupid teenagers running around trying to stop people dying and all they do is find the bodies - as opposed to what? Stupid 20 year old running around trying to get herself killed? There’s really no way she can spin this to make her look like the sensible one here.
At the Argent household, Allison fills Isaac in on her whole semi-suspecting her father of being the Darach because he can track where the bodies will show up. They examine the map again, but spot that the desk underneath it is a celtic fivefold knot. And written on it, visible with the UV light, is “Virgins” “Warriors” “Healers” “Philosophers” “Guardians” (well looks like Tara is included in the “guardians” not the targeting Black women, that’s a relief.) The sacrifices all written on Chris’s desk.
Derek and Ms. Blake meet for kissing and lovey-doveyness and how disturbed she is to have the evil twins walking around the school like nothing’s happened.
While Stiles takes Cora home and on the way Allison calls him to let him know about the sacrifice notes; Stiles has to tell Sherriff Stilinski the truth - all of it. And he needs Cora’s help.
Scott decides he needs a little Guidance from Guidance Counsellor Morrel. He uses his werewolf senses to listen to her heartbeat and ask if she’s the one killing people - no. She’s the one who has been restraining Deucalion from all out war - especially since he wants True Alpha Scott in his pack. Scott asks what he wants - Morrel says Deucalion wants to make a killer of him, like he does everyone else, but that would stop Scott being a True Alpha. Putting on her psychiatrist hat she analyses Deucalion - he’s obsessive and he wants Scott and is threatened by him - if he can’t have Scott, he will destroy him. Either join Deucalion’s pack or Deucalion will make him a killer and destroy his potential. Scott says neither is going to happen - but Morrel says Scott is playing Deucalion’s game and he’s already got his checkmate planned.
Dramatic! But vague
Also dramatic, a history teacher (philosopher?) is writing up his notes on the blackboard when it suddenly changes - his notes become a fivefold knot. He drops his chalk and it rolls out of the room and hits Lydia’s shoe. She picks it up and goes into the room - the teacher is gone - and draws a 2 in one of the knots circles. Then she screams.
People gather and Lydia tries to convince Ms. Blake to call the police because the teacher is gone - an announcement over the PA won’t cut it. He’s going to be the second murder, she points to the 2 and admits her psychicness. But Aidan is confused and asks Scott what the pattern is - a deputy and a teacher.
At the Stilinski household, Stiles starts to explain things to his dad. This involves manic pacing. A chess board. And a whole lot of babble and werewolves, hunters, druids, kanima (“Jackson’s a werewolf?” “No he was a kanima then Peter and Derek killed him then he came back to life as a werewolf now he’s in London”), darach and all kinds of confusing stuff. He has colour coded post its too (purple is hunter). And they think the Darach was slashed up by werewolves and left for dead - possibly. Stiles’s dad gets more and more confused and angry at the babble. Of course he doesn’t believe a word of it - so Stiles asks Cora to prove it! Big tense moment and.... she passes out.
Poor Stiles.
When Allison gets a text that another teacher is missing, she decides she has to stop her father and doesn’t accept Isaac’s doubt that it may not be him - given how much Chris knows. Following the mpas Chris have, they figure out where the teacher is going to be sacrificed. They head out, alone despite Isaac’s deep misgivings. As they enter the spooky empty building (which Beacon Hills seems to have a lot of) Isaac warns her that if her dad attacks him he will have to defend himself, though Allison thinks if Chris attacks Isaac, he’ll just die.
Isaac follows the smell of blood and they find a hanging body - and the Darach. She charges him and Chris appears with a gun in each hand to dramatically miss with a hail of bullets (he also manages to reload them both at the same time in a move the camera is very careful not to show us).
Everyone contacts each other to update everyone and Stiles reveals that tara used to teach before becoming a cop - this is the Philosopher’s trio (who the dead woman in the school shower was we don’t know but apparently not a sacrifice). Which means one more teacher is needed to complete the triad - and they’re all going to the memorial recital Ms. Blake organised. the same conclusion is reached by Allison and Chris after Isaac stops them bickering over who has been lying more to who.
Who’s betting Ms. Blake is the third?
Stiles, at the hospital where his dad took Cora, is still desperately trying to convince his dad he’s telling the truth - asking about when he saw Scott stopped by the circle of mountain ash. His dad loses his temper and shuts him down in the hospital and Stiles puts on a double strong pathos face. Also at the hospital, Derek comforts a confused Cora who doesn’t know what’s happening to her. And Melissa shows Stiles’s dad (can he get a first name?) some files he asks for with an edge of flirting going on.
He’s looking for someone who fits Stile’s description of the Darach - someone who was badly mauled by an animal, cut up by a werewolf and left for dead. The file shows a woman; and while she was struggling to survive the whole hospital was bombarded with hundreds of birds. A mass suicide - sacrificing themselves.
At the recital, Ethan reassures Danny and warns him if anything happens to come and find him first - all the while watched by Aidan. Lydia tells Scott she can’t go home, she’s shaken and doesn’t know why she keeps finding the bodies; she wants to try to stop fighting it and let it happen so she can find the bodies before its too late, bringing along Scott to stop it.
Allison, Isaac and Chris arrive. And Lydia gets a message from Aidan saying he has to meet her - vitally important. But then we see Aidan looking for his phone, it’s missing
Lydia goes to a deserted part of the school - and the druidic chanting starts. And Ms. Blake hits her on the head with a stick. I did not see that coming. At the concert recital, the pupils begin playing the druidic chant, staring blankly in trances. In the audience, Morrel looks disturbed.
Lydia wakes up and Ms. Blake says she’s doing what’s necessary - sacrifices are sacred and necessary. Because they don’t know the Alphas like she does. Of course, Lydia isn’t a sacrifice, she’s just someone who knows too much. Lydia screams - so loud and piercing that Scott, outside with Stiles looking for her, falls to his knees in pain - her scream is heard by everyone in the school, it’s even heard by Derek in the hospital
Damn, that girl has a set of lungs on her. Or magic. Probably magic.
This stops Ms. Blake killing her and gasping in shock - saying that Lydia has no idea what she is - the Wailing Woman, a Bean Sidhe (or Banshee). That would explain why she keeps finding dead people.
The band is still tranced to play in epic crescendo - until a piano string pulls loose, lashes out and slashes the throat of the woman playing it, breaking the trance and setting everyone running and screaming. from the dead piano player’s mouth spills mistletoe.
Sherriff Stilinski reaches the Darach and points a gun at Ms. Blake - she throws a knife at him, hitting him in the chest, he drops his gun and staggers. But still looks up in time to see Scott in full wolfy mode. Scott faces off against Ms. Blake and she dodges him and knocks him across the room. hitting him so hard he collapses to the floor, coughing up blood
When Stiles tries to enter Ms. Blake casually pushes a desk across the room and against the door.
Sheriff Stilinksi pulls his gun again and points it at her - explaining that they found a girl years ago, slashed apart; Jennifer Blake. She laments she didn’t start with Philosophers - with knowledge and strategy. The Sheriff shoots her in the leg and it regenerates instantly; she’s sacrificed healers. She forces him back across the room - saying “warriors”, then takes his badge, saying “guardians.” Then she says virgins - and kisses him. When he opens his eyes she’s in her true, scarred, form.
Stiles manages to open the door and enter the room and Scott gets to his feet - but Ms. Blake is gone - so is Stiles’s dad.
Is it just me, or does “virgins” not fit alongside dedicated vocations like warriors, healers, philosophers and guardians? It seems like the odd one out. And why did the Darach target werewolves? Presumably they were just random attacks on enemies rather than a sacrifice.
Also, exactly what power do virgins grant her? I can see the others - and it’s awesome how she gains the archetype of her sacrifices - but virgins? What does that achieve? An eternal hymen? It can’t be the power of seduction - virgins are like the complete opposite of seduction. Virgins give her the power to hide what she looks like?
All i can say really is - epic. Utterly, completely, epic. And so many revelations - Lydia is a Bean Sidhe? Ms. Blake as the Darach? I didn't expect any of this
