I want to give a prize to Teen Wolf for being one of the few shows on television to show
romantic going to sleep with the person you love as awkward, uncomfortable and
with arms going to sleep. Stiles and Malia struggle until finally getting
comfy - but alas, it’s all a dream of
sad Stiles since he upset
Malia by lying to her
Also, he could sleep better if he didn’t wear enough
clothes to go on an arctic expedition.
Rafe McCall (who still isn’t dead) prepares his notes on
having shot someone last week to save Stiles’s life. Scott hears it all with
his super wolfy hearing. Rafe also has to go back to San Francisco for the
review and he and Scott talk about him having to kill and how hard it is; Scott
looks for advice on how to deal with it since he’s been in a few life and death
situations. Speaking of, Rafe would like to talk to him like that since Scott
et al seem to deal with all of the life and death stuff quite casually- because
they’re a bit used to it by now. He wants to know their secrets
Personally I want him to be eaten by a weremarmot. We don’t
always get what we want
Scot gathers Stiles, Kira and Liam to make a dangerous
and reckless plan – the Benefactor always wants visual confirmation someone is
dead to prove they’re dead. So when a supernatural on the list dies without
that proof, they assume he will come and collect his own visual proof.
How do they do this? Scott is brought into the hospital,
not breathing. Liam’s father works on him (behold, another medical professional
in Beacon Hills) before declaring Scott… dead.
Yeah turn off that dramatic music, there’s no way Scott is dead. You already played the “zomg this character is going to die” card 11 billion times last episode.
They call Melissa and her grief is… incredible. Whatever this
plan involves it is so not nearly enough to justify doing that to Melissa. Even
if the whole world rests in the balance, if he didn’t at least give Melissa a
heads up ther’es not enough mother’s day gifts in the world to make this up.
Flashback to Noshiko (Kira’s mother) guiding Kira how to
use stormy kitsune magic to stop Scott’s heart (Scott having to reassure Liam
to stop wolfy freak out).
In the hospital it turns out Melissa wasn’t devastated –
she’s just a great actor and maybe Scott will not spend the rest of his life
buying diamonds for mother’s day. She’s in on the plan – she hates it, but she’s
in on it. Noshiko shows her that his low, quiet heartbeat is enough to keep an
alpha wolf alive for 45 mins – but he needs to be brought back before then or
he dies. Something they didn’t tell Melissa.
Stiles and Chris Argent send out their little message to
the Benefactor saying that Scott is dead (Stiles is adorkable of course). The Benefactor
won’t pay without confirmation so Chris plays hard ball – he gets his money or
he, who killed no.1 on the list, goes after Chris.
That done, Chris rigs the CCTV of the hospital to lap
tops watched by Kira, Liam and Stiles, while Scott has a creepy dream (something
Noshiko said could happen) with weird camera angels and another death list –
only this a list of the assassins who have died: The Mute, The Orphans, The
Chemist. Followed by the Mute killing Liam and Scott facing the idea he has to
kill. The next round of the dream has him noticing he has more fangs than
before – because he’s an alpha or a monster? And the Mute keeps on killing
Liam. Which becomes, weirdly, the Mute showing him how to kill Liam
In the real world everyone hangs around and waits for the
Benefactor to turn up (Noshiko and Melissa are pretty awesome together) and Melissa finally asks why they are asking
their children to fight these fights – Noshiko has the perfect answer; the
alternative is asking them to run and hide
One of the CCTV cameras goes down and Kira and Liam go to
investigate. Always the hospital roof! There they find the generator has been
tampered with – and a berserker. Baby wolf is quickly knocked aside. Kira does
much better but her katana just can’t damage the berserker armour. She’s
punched and it causes massive Scott and her being sweet flashbacks.
Melissa and Noshiko enter the de-powered hospital (“I
guess the power doesn’t often go out in this hospital.” “Nope, only when
attacked by supernatural creatures”. So every week then)
In the morgue, Stiles holds a vigil over Scott’s body
when Kate enters – throwing Chris before her. She wants Scott’s body for
undisclosed reasons – but says she isn’t the Benefactor. Chris gets a gun
pressed to Kate’s head and they argue over who can stop the Benefactor – which they
both want to. Chris tells her to go, Scott isn’t dead, they have a plan
Kate apparently agrees to this plan because when Scott
wakes up, the friends are gathered around his slab and the berserkers and Kate
are gone.
But Noshiko is hurt – presumably by one of the
berserkers. Very badly hurt.
Over to Derek’s place and Braeden wakes up in Derek’s bed
and goes to check him (on the sofa) to see his wounds – which aren’t healing.
(At least, that’s the excuse she gives for parting his clothing). She doesn’t
buy his excuses and demands to see his eye-glow, which he can’t do.
Braeden treats his wound, since Derek has never had to worry
about things like infections before – and there’s a whole lot of flirting. She
also shows him some fun, harsh lessons about how to be a human surrounded by
supernaturals – you bend the rules. And use guns. And have lots of sexy going
on. And kissing and sex. Their mutual wounds must be feeling better.
Malia, meanwhile, breaks the safe in the Hale vault to
check her adoption records – and is met by Peter who thinks he needs a better
safe (if your safe opens when someone snaps off the handle then, yes, yes you
do). There’s a lot of posturing (pretty impressive posturing) but he is fine
with her reading the records so long as she doesn’t take them. They tell her
nothing but Peter demands she listen to his side of the story of the murders (Malia
doesn’t mind killing but murder she sees as wrong – perfect Malia) he
committed, rather than just what Scott, Stiles et al have said – including the
horror of being comatose when a werewolf (fully aware but unable to move) until
it drove him insane. She listens but when he brings up the deadpool she points
out his name isn’t on the list.
He says he isn’t the Benefactor – and I believe him because
why would he steal his own money to set up the deadpool – and has spent some money
to try and find Malia’s birth mother (he’s also curious since his memory has
been erased) – and he’s found someone known as the “desert wolf”.
At the lakehouse, Lydia is followed by her mother,
Natalie who is curious about Lydia’s sudden obsession with the place. When she
presses Lydia shows her a picture of Meredith – who Natalie recognises. Rather than
actually talk about that, Natalie decides to get out Lydia’s grandma’s ashes.
As you do. Lydia’s father’s mother was institutionalised in Eichen house for
hearing things – and the ashes are there because Lydia’s grandmother wanted
them scattered across the lake by Lydia when she turned 18. See it’s decisions
like that that may explain why people thought she wasn’t rational. Lydia checks
the ash – it’s not human ash, it’s Mountain Ash ash. The super anti-magic wood.
She throws the ash and it falls oddly on the wooden floor – Lydia realises the
whole building is made of Mountain Ash. (It’s be easier and avoid me having to
say “mountain ash ash” if they’d call these trees rowans).
Kate meets Peter to tell him that Scott’s still alive
which is apparently a huge relief to him.
Malia visits Stiles who she has been avoiding and Malia
reveals some extra angst and her concerns that she isn’t much different from
Peter
Noshiko is taken by helicopter to a hospital – and Kira
needs to go with her to protect her. Scott also makes a huge logical leap –the Benefactor
is a banshee. His logic – the benefactor didn’t need to check if Scott was dead
because they already knew due to banshee powers.
Cut to Lydia asking Natalie if her grandmother is really
dead – because she left a page of code which looks exactly like the Benefactor’s
coded lists.
Braeden you need to run – a Black woman on Teen Wolf is
in enough danger, but throwing in Derek Hale’s love interest? What, do you abseil
without a rope for fun too?
I’m not following the logic. They think the Benefactor
would go to the hospital for visual proof of death? Why? I mean, the assassins
providing visual proof of death isn’t about proving someone is dead – it’s
about claiming that death. If he wants proof of Scott’s death, he could wait
for the obituaries to appear in the paper. And Chris claimed the kill – either you
believe him and give the money or refuse and risk his threat. Whether Scott is
actually dead or not is moot at that point – it’s whether you fear Chris’s
threat enough to capitulate or not. Chris threatens to kill the Benefactor, the
Benefactor checks and declares Scott not dead, does Chris’s death threat not
exist? And the ability to check obituaries does not make the Benefactor a
banshee.
It’s a small thing – but this whole season feels quite
full of small things I keep letting go. I still love the show and, especially,
the characters. But this is the 8th episode out of 12 and we have a
lot going on without any resolve (the benefactor, Lydia’s family, Malia’s
family, Derek and his powers, Liam the newbie werewolf, Kate argent, the
berserkers, what/who Parrish is, Rafe McCaul, the money worries) and seemingly
more questions raised each week. Most of these storylines now cannot be
resolved by the end of the season, not adequately which sets us up for a lot of
cliffhangers, a lot of unanswered questions and, likely, a lot of plot stuffed
late episodes after a few of these that were a little… draggy. This one in
particular – there was lots of action but not a lot of forward motion.
I do love Melissa and Noshiko and that final question
that has been part of Melissa’s character for a while but especially this
season – how can they ask this of their kids? How can they let their kids do
this? But ultimately the answer is that the kids are involved, the kids are
under threat – and only the kids can do this job since the parents do not have
their powers. Their conflict is an excellent one and I’d really like to see
more of the parents on this show dealing with the danger their kids are in –
dangers that only their kids can face.
