Nothing good can come of a full moon.
What They Say:
Party Guessed – Scott and Stiles attend Lydia’s birthday party; Scott’s relationship with allison is strained; Derek locks the new wolves up.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Lydia’s descent into madness has been a lot of fun to watch this season since a lot has happened to her but she really feels like more of a supporting character since it hasn’t focused heavily on her. With the end of the last episode where she ended up in the illusion of a gorgeous but empty house only to be in the decrepit old house where Peter was inside her mind, we got a look at some of the hideous things that may be close to happening to her. Her connection to reality feels weak at best and seeing how this episode opens, from the show to the lacross field gives it all that great kind of sense of tension, intensity and fear that we often get from nightmares. You feel much more about what she’s going through because of it, especially with how the waking nightmare is right there with her.
The events of the previous episode have certainly changed things for most of the cast in some way. While Lydia is getting the clue that the others are hiding something from her, we see Argent’s wife is pretty much dead on arrival now due to the bite/clawing she got. And that puts Argent in a really bad spot since he has to figure out how to save her while coping with the idea that he has to tell Allison that her mother is about to die. With Allison’s grandfather stating things so plainly to Argent that his wife is but a shell at this point, waiting to hatch out something that their’ sworn to kill, it’s some good emotion and conflict here in a small space. And for Allison, she’s even worse off now due to the way her relationship with Scott has been kind of dicey and she’s feeling like she doesn’t know where to turn. It also doesn’t help that her “date” reveals through a mishap that he’s been photo stalking her for an age now in a disturbing way.
What complicates things even more with this episode is that the full moon is here and it’s not an ordinary one but the March moon, or the Worm Moon, which is in some ways a symbol of rebirth. And for Lydia, it’s also her birthday, which makes her waking nightmare all the more problematic since he’s tweaking her expectations of it in big ways and with threats. The full moon obviously has plenty of dangers for Derek and the new pack he’s built and they’re a little uncertain about all the precautions, especially now that Derek and Scott have found some sort of alliance and cease fire between sides to work things out. Having all of this coming together at the same time, especially as Scott is doing all he can to track down Jackson and realizing that it’s going to be all but impossible to stop him has made for some real tension.
One of the things I love about this show is the way that Stiles and Scott play against each other at times, especially when it comes to how Stiles does his best to get Scott to do things right by Allison. While some of his advice is humorous, there’s also some good but true cliches he throws in through some colorful ways to try and push things. With the problems going on between Scott and Allison, having them at Lydia’s party is strained, especially since they’re not even supposed to talk to each other due to Allison’s parents. While we get all the odd tension with the party, especially since so many people don’t show since she’s now the “town whack job,” Stiles saves the day in an amusing way and that juts makes the weird situation even more amusing to watch.
And of course, there’s also Jackson as he stalks the party.
While there’s a lot of very good character material throughout, it’s the final act here that raises the bar a bit in an obvious. With Lydia having spiked the punch with a drug, unknowingly, that has people seeing things that bring out their worst fears about themselves, we get to know more about them in a key way that really drives home some of their key problems. Allison’s internal strife if about how she’s changed while dealing with Scott and the balance of their relationship while Stiles copes with some serious father issues related to the death of his mother. And Scott’s jealousy blazes through with ease in a disturbing scene that brings Jackson into play as both man and Kanima. It’s creepy but highly effective, especially as everyone else is starting to fall apart in small ways, including Jackson.
In Summary:
While in some ways it seems like Teen Wolf doesn’t accomplish a lot here in this episode, it works through a lot of character material while nudging forward a few subplots. Jackson is kind of sidelined here in favor of other things, including a very good bit of material involving Lydia who gets to shine in a great way as she’s tweaked and possessed while being manipulated. While there is a great deal to enjoy here as it unfolds, from character relationships to revelations made, the best of it comes when dealing with Allison’s parents. Though I haven’t cared for her mother in the slightest since her first appearance, they do make her empathetic here at the end as she copes with the choices she has and the things her family must go through because of it, which can change a whole lot of other things. And the last few minutes bring a few very fun things together in a big way that once again demands you come back for more while also making sure you don’t feel like all the best things were left for those final minutes.
Grade: B+
Get More:
Teen Wolf, Full Episodes