I know, I know I’m late and I’m lazy but I only just got One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” out of my head… and damn now it’s back again. Not to mention I have been working through a whole new set of fantasies since we heard that Tyler Hoechlin could be up for the role of Batman. I’m using that image to help deal with the fact that I didn’t really love this week’s episode (flashbacks dude). Okay so it wasn’t the worst episode, in fact I enjoyed it enough while I was watching it, just it wasn’t really emotionally satisfying. But it’s still Teen Wolf so let’s talk about it.
Before I go into
what was wrong with this episode let’s talk about what it did right because it
wasn’t all bad. I actually love unreliable narrators and I loved that the story
was being told by the two supposedly benign big bads from Season 1 and 2. Unfortunately
the unreliable narrator idea lost some of its appeal for me because this whole
season feels like it’s been told by an unreliable narrator and we have reached
the point where I would really like some reliable information so I know that
I’m not wasting my time on bad storytelling. While the teen romance was pretty
cliché it was well performed and I was dragged along with the emotional journey
to a certain extent.
The casting was
exceptional. Ian Nelson was perfect
as young Derek. Madison McLaughlin
was fantastic as always. Madison and Ian had a whole bunch of chemistry that is
unacceptable for people that young. Alicia
Coppola made Talia Hale something spectacular despite the fact that she
didn’t have much to do in this episode (what a waste). Well done TWCD you guys
keep knocking this out of the park. Gold stars all around.
Here’s the
thing, I am probably biased against this episode because I am not a fan of
flashbacks. They interrupt the momentum of the story and are mostly fanservice.
That’s not to say that flashbacks can’t be done well, because when they’re
good, they are really good (“Frayed” was great). Flashbacks are often just
thrown in – an easy excuse for exposition and a lazy form of character
development: like saying look how much they have changed. Isn’t it sad that
Derek is no longer the charming jerk he once was? Well yeah that is sad but we
already knew that.
Now I’m not
saying that the point of this episode was just to give Derek the most cliché
origin story ever – there was clearly deeper significance – but the thing is until
we get the information necessary to decode the real meaning of this story we
still need to care about the surface level narrative. It still needs to be an
interesting story, even without knowing that Bruce Willis is dead. Before the
twist ending it still has to make sense, we still have to care, and I think
that’s something Jeff has lost sight of this season.
Don’t get me
wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying this season’s mystery. It’s been fantastic
watercooler TV because there is so to talk and speculate about. That’s fun and
all but on the other side the emotional journey has been incredibly
unsatisfying.
In the first
episode they set up the character arcs and they were really intriguing. Scott
juggling his new better self with the increasing supernatural drama. Stiles and
Allison’s obsession with the supernatural. Lydia’s determination to ignore
everything that is going on and Derek’s acceptance of his inevitable death.
But since that
first episode we haven’t really seen these ideas develop (with the exception of
Stiles and Allison who I am loving this season). We haven’t actually seen Scott
struggle to combine the two aspects of his life – all we have really seen is
him dealing with the supernatural stuff. Lydia’s been confusing because
sometimes she wants to ignore it at other times she wants all the answers. And
Derek, Derek’s storyline is just the worst. He was already at rock bottom and
so they started digging holes of angst and pushing him in.
The mystery will
only carry me so far I need a deeper emotional connection and Teen Wolf just isn’t giving it to me
this season. I didn’t fall in love with this show for the storyline – it was
always pretty weak and predictable. I fell in love with these characters.
They’re emotional journeys were compelling so I was able to forgive the plot
holes and ridiculous macguffins because it wasn’t really about that, it was
about people. This season cares more about the mystery than it does about the
characters, which is the opposite of what I wanted. I want to care about more
that just who did it.
This episode was
a perfect example of everything this season is doing wrong. It obviously has a
bunch of significance for the season arc but character wise it was utterly
pointless. The only thing in this episode that could be called character
development was the fact that Scott didn’t believe Gerard. That made sense,
that was good. Scott is no longer the same naïve boy he once was, he no longer
believes there is good in everyone. Everything else was terrible.
Derek didn’t
need a tragic backstory – he already had one, a really interesting and very sad
one. He certainly didn’t need the most generic mangst origin story ever (I will
never not be annoyed by this). We were already aware that Peter was a
manipulative asshole that shouldn’t be trusted and we definitely knew that
Gerard was evil (they should just let Lydia and Allison kill them both). This
episode added nothing to their characters emotional journey. In fact in Derek’s
case it was actually detrimental.
What it did was
give us a bunch of information that will no doubt be significant later on but
at the moment is kind of boring. It told us about the Druid tree (where there
have been characters) and then killed Paige under it. It told us that Deaton
and Morrell are emissaries and werewolves are linked to druids because
mythology. We learnt that Talia Hale could shift into a full wolf and Deucalion
was kind of like Scott. And we now know that wolves that have blue eyes have
taken an innocent life. This is why I hate flashback episode: it’s lazy writers
exposition.
Anyway, now
that’s done why not see what other people have to say on the matter. Read my review
and/or recap.
Heather Hogan’s is here.
Price Peterson’s is here.
Hello, tailor here.
And of course my fave Heath is here.
Enjoy!
Bits and Pieces:
- A complete list of Teen Wolf spoilers from SDCC here. Some vids here and here. Interview with Dylan and Hoechlin here.
- Interview with Jeff Davis. What says about Scott staying a true Alpha is really interesting – what happens to his true Alpha status if he kills another Alpha? Also apparently we’re getting another badass lady hunter in 3B (my body is ready for her to not be tied to Derek’s mangst).
- If you are as concerned about the whole wolf age thing check out this post about moon cycles. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be true I’m just taking it as gospel because it’s probably better than whatever nonsense Jeff comes up with.
- For those you that like their Teen Wolf discussions to be a little more critical then you should check out The Bite Podcast. The girls that do it both love Teen Wolf but are still willing to call out the problematic crap. It’s well worth a listen.
- Watch the FANtastic show with special guest JR Bourne here.
- Jeff said this to TVline: “Scott is well on his way to becoming an Alpha. Whether he remains a True Alpha — one who doesn’t have to kill or steal the power — and who survives to make up his pack, might be the important questions.”
Who is the Darach?
It seems that
our questions will finally be answered next week so there is just enough time
to throw your guess into the ring. Before the big reveal, let’s have one final
look at the options:
Peter Hale: He’s evil and
probably up to no good. He used Druid-like magic to resurrect himself and he
might have lied about the Paige thing (there is definitely something suspicious
about the whole story).
Cora Hale: Mysteriously
survived the Hale fire without anyone knowing about it and somehow ended up
with the Alpha pack. Also Derek’s not allowed nice things.
Gerard Argent: The most
evil person ever. Leaking black goo and looking for a way to make it stop.
Knows a lot about mythology and always has a plan. And again he’s very very
evil.
Chris Argent: Knows a
suspicious amount about Druids. Had a map showing where the sacrifices would
turn up and he’s lying to Allison. Also he’s keeping Gerard alive for some
reason.
Jennifer Blake: Likes
Derek. Arrived in town at the same time the sacrifices started. Thinks faking
your own death is a good idea. Likes Joseph Conrad. Also looks suspiciously
like Paige.
Paige: Liked Derek. Died under
the special Druid tree and her body was taken away by Peter to do god knows
what (Peter is creepy man). Also looks suspiciously like Jennifer.
Lydia Martin: Losing time.
Finding bodies. Hearing dead people and mysterious chanting. It’s not looking good
for Lydia. Also even Stiles thinks it might be her and Stiles is usually right
(remember Matt).
Alan Deaton: Didn’t get
sacrificed but there was a back up ready. He’s just generally suspicious. Who
talks in riddles all the time? It’s just not helpful. Also a Druid
emissary.
Maran Morrell:
Suspiciously mysterious. Morally ambiguous. More cryptic information. Unknown
intentions and she’s also a Druid emissary.
Bobby Finstock: His
whistle was filled with wolf’s bane powder and didn’t die despite the fact that
he breathed that shit in for a whole day. Also it makes about as much séance as
everything else this season.
Really though, I
could pretty much list every character because it could be anyone – although
there are a few that are more obvious than others. So who do you think the Darach
is?
Everything Derek loves gets fridged!
 |
| (Source) |
Last week I
wrote a very long rant about how we have reached the limit of Derek’s manpain…
and then this week yet another character was fridged for Derek’s mangst. So it
got me thinking about how many characters have died to make Derek the most
depression character ever written. Well when the list begins with his entire
family you know it’s all down hill from there.
Right so we
have:
- Eight Hales (including the lovely Talia).
- Laura Hale.
- Peter Hale (even though he comes back he did die).
- You could probably count all of the Kanima’s victims because Derek bit Jackson.
- Victoria Argent.
- Erica Reyes.
- Vernon Boyd.
- Paige no-last-name.
That’s a pretty
big body count for one man’s angst and really after Laura’s death everything
else is kind of excessive. And when you consider that either Cora or Jennifer
(maybe even both) is probably going to die by the end this season it’s even
worse. Seriously, I love manpain. Manpain is one of my favorite things. Angsty
men with issues losing everything they love… yes please. Give it to me. It’s
the reason Derek is my favorite male character on this show but even I have
reached the point where it’s just not worth it. The more people you kill for
Derek the less I care and I want to care.
To help
demonstrate the extent of the damage caused by Derek’s mangst I have made a video.
(This video also combines my two favorite things, Enrigue Iglesias and Hoehclin’s
face).
Finally!
Because I am
obviously in a viding mood I made a video to demonstrate how my life was taken
over by an MTV show about teenage werewolves and their friends. It all started
with one moment of weakness and it spiraled from there.
And that’s all
we have time for this week. Don’t forget to place your bets on who you think
the Darach will be.
