What They Say:
Frayed – Scott and his friends recollect the events of the preemptive strike against the Alphas.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Teen Wolf takes a slightly different approach to what it wants to do here compared to past episodes as it deals with events that have happened in a past tense. With a lot of things building up in the first four episodes, this has the various people that exists within Scott’s circle of friends and acquaintances talking about what had happened prior to the bus trip that they’re on for the school now. It certainly sets things in a dark tone from the start as Scott doesn’t want to talk about and is suffering from quite the wound across his stomach due to a fight with an Alpha. And, of course, they have to provide the right kind of tease at the start by having him talk briefly about how Derek is dead from those mysterious events.
With the group having come to grips with what it is that Deucalion and all the Alphas under him are about, especially with Derek having very much having first hand experience, he and his uncle and sister are now coming up with a preemptive plan to deal with him. And with him specifically as they’re going with the idea of taking down the leader and eliminating the larger threat that exists. Of course, there’s some talk about how there is the problem that if Deucalion is taken out and he’s not really the leader, it could be a whole Hercules and Hydra event where two more would take his place and become truly a difficult situation.
Some of what’s dealt with initially is just getting the bearings and all, with Scott trying to convince Allison to not get involved after finding out she was sneaking into things again recently. It’s a tough situation since she’s convinced she can handle this, but as Scott makes clear in a really difficult way, she’s capable only so far when it comes to dealing with Alphas. But Scott himself is in over his head as well as we see in another scene where he ends up in an elevator with Deucalion and Deucalion makes it clear just how little of a threat he perceives him to be. It’s humbling in its own way because there is a certain truth to what Deucalion says that even Scott has to register as being right.
The show spends a lot of time going back and forth with different elements coming into play before the preemptive strike itself and there are some decent things that do happen. I like the tension that comes from when some of the Alpha’s come to Allen in order to get help and we continue to see that he has a hell of a lot of power or knowledge backing him up to allow him to push back against them so much. We also get a lot of time on the bus where we see things going on with how Scott’s wound is getting worse and worse from the event all while trying to keep Boyd from going nuts on one of the twins and taking him out. Scott’s in this place where he’s trying to really grasp what Allen has suggested that he do, to lead them instead of continually trying to stop them, and it’s a thoroughly engaging approach to take for the character.
When it does get to the fight itself, the lead up to it in the building is pretty intense as essentially everyone has shown up at this point to engage or defend Deucalion. Because of the set design, which thankfully takes us out of the normal locations we get, it has an added sense of coldness and emptiness about it that makes the encounter all the more fun to watch, especially with all the shadows to it and the fast action and intensity. And with Deucalion overseeing it all while the rest pretty much go through a ballet of violence, it’s definitely a little visual feast that works very well, even if the plan itself hasn’t gone to expectations.
In Summary:
While I’m not a huge fan of the way the episode is structured since it’s a filling in the blanks rather than experiencing it as it happens, there’s a whole lot to like here. While we get some very small character bits that are really good when it comes to Scott and Allison and a brief but excellent scene between her and her father, the real focus is on the fight itself as it gets down to the nitty gritty. I like what they do on the bus and the ongoing epilogue of the fight, but it’s the fight itself with all the werewolves going at it, the way Deucalion is overseeing it and the way Allison inserts herself into it no matter the danger. It has a lot of impact overall and it also shows just how conflicted Derek really is, which is hepling to make him a bit more than a one-note character he all too often comes across as.
Grade: B+
