As a new full moon hits, things start to look bad for at least one if not more of the werewolves in Beacon Hills.
What They Say:
Shape Shifted – Isaac’s father is murdered; Scott, Stiles and Derek plan a break-out.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the first episode of the season putting a few things into motion, it also introduced us to a few new characters. While the big focus for me was on that of Gerard, Allison’s grandfather who has come to declare war over the death of his daughter, it also brought in another student of note with Isaac. His encounter with Derek in the middle of the night in the cemetery where he helps out his father who is the groundskeeper there, definitely made for an interesting moment as Derek showed himself for what he is and made him a new part of the pack that he’s now trying to build after becoming the Alpha in the first season.
Suffice to say, Isaac’s turning comes at a time in his life when he truly, truly needs it, though he obviously needed help a lot earlier in his life. Watching Wesley Shipp as his father here shows another good turn for the actor after making a bit of a name for himself in the live action Flash series from years ago as well as being the dad in Dawson’s Creek, a guilty pleasure if ever I had one. Here, we see just how quickly Isaac turns and gains control of his abilities, though it’s more that the animal instinct has really come at a perfect time and allowed him to right the wrongs placed on him over the years.
The return to school life isn’t going so well for several people though. Stiles has some of the usual pranks being played on him and Lydia, tactful as ever, thinks things will be back to normal after returning only to find that it isn’t as everyone is staring at her. And she figured she’d be getting off easy considering that Allison’s the one with the serial killer aunt. For Scott though, the real challenge here is that he’s getting the scent of another werewolf in school as he’s caught on to Isaac, but hasn’t figured out who it is. That doesn’t take too long though as we see Scott starting to get all riled up because of the presence and it’s enhancing his own abilities and intensity. And he gets a few amusing opportunities to try and sample the team to see which one will be the werewolf.
The school life also gets an amusing change when it’s revealed that Gerard has taken over as principal of the school in order to get a better handle on the student population so they can figure out who the werewolves are. Gerard fits into the role pretty well as he has a certain lightness about him that is quite the opposite of the way he sliced an Omega in half in the previous episode. Getting a look at him in this form and then in his hunter form as well as he’s singled out Isaac at this point and is curious to see how events will play out with him as a few different things have come together when it comes to his family situation.
What the show ends up focusing on overall though is an attempt to rescue Isaac as he’s been thrown in jail due to being a suspect and that means captivity when the full moon hits that night. There are a few different things going on, such as Scott and Derek hashing it out a bit about why Scott’s willing to help, angry about what Derek’s doing and coping with the full moon himself. What’s really interesting is that since the hunters have an idea that it’s Isaac, they’re going to go and watch, and kill when necessary, but it’s Stiles and Allison that are going to try and fix things a bit. Allison’s taking the proactive approach really worked well for me as she goes hunting with her bow and arrow, going after the hunter that her grandfather sent out to kill.
The various stories that do unfold here in the final act of the episode do play out pretty well since it wants to have a central focus but also deal with some of the secondary plots and characters as well. Allison and Scott’s story where she has to lock him up in order to keep him safe as the full moon comes out is pretty good, especially considering where she has to lock him up when you get down to it. Having Derek and Stiles work together, again, under duress is getting to be a familiar thing but it too has some good stuff here since they’re not buddy buddy and all and both give each other the right amount of grief. But as it works closer and closer towards the end of the episode, it throws some really good little curves into it which helps the show to do one of the things it does best in making you want the next episode to be here as quickly as possible.
In Summary:
While Derek has taken on the role of the Alpha, we haven’t seen many instances of it yet beyond some words and cool attitude moments. This episode lets us see more of that side of him really taking charge in what his plan for the war is. A lot of it at the moment is getting more to the pack and Isaac is definitely going to be an interesting addition to it all. Similar to the first season, there’s a lot going on here along a few different tracks, but it’s not just mirroring that season. It’s moving certain things forward, such as the thing that’s caused at least one death and is threatening others, and it’s not just another werewolf but something else that just leaves everyone with a blank look to their face. The series is hitting some familiar aspects, building on what has come before and introducing some new angles as well that will definitely let it to continue to grow.
Grade: B+
Get More:
Teen Wolf, Full Episodes
