The Alpha is on the hunt, but its goals may not be what Scott thinks it is.
What They Say:
Night School – Scott and his friends suspect each other while trapped in the school overnight.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Teen Wolf took an interesting turn in the last episode with the Alpha wolf being much more involved in things and it’s led to a really bad situation. With the Alpha on the prowl, it’s cornered both Scott and Stiles in the school itself and is now playing games with them as they try to figure out how to get away. It’s almost cute in how they’re coming up with simple plans to try and keep it out and then to get out to Stiles jeep itself. A jeep that it’s managed to mangle pretty well and has shown them as much by tossing the battery for it into the room they were hiding out in. The Alpha certainly has a sense of humor…
While it’s bad enough that Scott and Stiles are trapped in there and the Alpha is securing the exits to prevent them from escaping, the others are starting to be drawn into it as well with Lydia, Jackson and Allison all getting text messages to go to the school. And, of course, there’s only one visible entrance available that draws them in. While the series has largely focused on the internal angst of Scott with his situation and the relationship side while the town slowly started to feel the impact of the Alpha running around, this one is going right for the action from the start. Bringing everyone to the school definitely ups the ante with what the Alpha is capable of and it’s not without its body count as well. What’s interesting about this episode is that for a good part of it, Scott’s abilities really don’t kick in beyond some heightened hearing once in awhile. While we’ve seen him kick into high gear in a panic or when stressed, here he’s just running around in the same panic as Stiles is.
Where the show really gets into gear is when everyone gets together in the lobby and catch a glimpse of the Alpha, which puts them all on the same page. The only one who is really on the outside here is Allison as the whole thing is a surprise about the Alpha whereas everyone else has either seen or caught glimpses of the Alpha before, even if they were in denial like Lydia. Scott’s still trying to protect her, or more himself really, which is why he rats out Derek as being the killer in the building and continuing to hide the werewolf aspect from her. It’s kind of sad that even when things are as bad as they are, and when it’s down to the fact that it is just Scott that the Alpha is after, that he still can’t bring himself to even off her a fraction of the truth when the chips are down.
The second half of the episode plays a bit of a cat and mouse game between the Alpha and Scott, as its goals aren’t quite as clear as one might think considering the way the others have shown up. The group has a plan to get out, but it requires Scott going off on his own for a bit to get what they need. It has some cute moments, such as Lydia explaining how to make a Molotov cocktail, something nobody else has heard of, and Allison getting very emotional about what’s going on and why he can’t leave. It reinforces well their relationship, especially when she reveals that she can figure out his “tell” and knows that he’s been lying since the moment they got together at the school.
In Summary:
The show does start to draw things together towards a much more tense and intense moment here as Scott has to deal with being hunted, but also starting to hunt a bit himself while dealing with his inner beast. The tensions that rise throughout it amongst the friends works well and they cap it off with a pretty clear moment from Scott as he realizes exactly what it is that the Alpha has been doing the whole time. It’s an interesting conclusion to reach, one that definitely makes sense, and the reaction to it from Stiles is spot on. There’s a real struggle that’s starting to emerge and it’s not what we thought it was with the Alpha, but that of Scott himself with what the Alpha wants him to understand. It may be a riff of sorts on teenage angst, alienation and more, but it doesn’t bludgeon you with the idea and keeps a lot of it firmly in the supernatural. Just like the rest of the season so far, there’s a whole lot to like here and it really does a good job of bringing it all together well without the characters doing stupid things constantly.
Grade: B+
