What They Say:
Anchors – Scott, Stiles and Allison suffer side effects from the ritual sacrifice. Sheriff Stilinski searches through old cases.
The Review:
Though a long break like Teen Wolf has gotten between the summer season and the winter season for the third season can be difficult, there’s also simply the plus in that we’re getting a twenty-four episode season. I’d rather it work this way, with hope that we get more later in 2014 as well, than to go with just twelve episodes a year while hoping we get more. The end of the first half of this season did a whole lot with the character in how it focused on Jennifer, Deucalion and the growth of Scott as he started to really accept his role in this and that he’s becoming an Alpha himself. The formation of his own pack has been underway for some time but the near formalization of it has been intriguing since it’s not a traditional pack, something that Derek made clear to him. Traditionally it’s all about the wolf pack itself, but for Scott, who is strongly connected to who he was before being bitten, he’s brought in both wolves and humans – and a hunter or two – as close allies and more.
One of the key pieces from the first half of the season that will make an impact here is what we learned from the ritual sacrifice that Scott, Stiles and Allison went through. It was a difficult segment to get through with what they had to do to themselves, but there was also some great beauty to the way they walked through to the other side and the surreal nature of it all. But what stuck was what they were told in that there will always be a part of the darkness in them now because of what they did. And that’s made clear from the start for Stiles as he works through a few dreams within a dream that keeps going back to the tree stump where so much bad stuff has happened. Even though you love the moment where he wakes up with Lydia, you know that he’s not that lucky and he has a whole lot more to cope with. The dreams are powerful pieces just in what they present but we also see how he’s so paralyzed by it that it even stops him from being able to wake up from it while knowing he’s in a dream.
Everyone is coping with things in their own way and finding different pieces of darkness coming to them. Stiles’ nightmares are intense and his father is obviously concerned. But Stiles has more than just nightmares as his eyes are totally messing with him as well. Scott has his own issues to work through as well, but hey provide for some amusement at the start because he’s mostly just having a hard time processing the fact that Allison and Isaac are getting closer together. The dialogue between the two is spot on since it’s obvious Scott’s not happy but is trying to put on a good face about it. Something that Isaac can’t quite see all the time, which leads to some really fun little boys will be boys moment that tests Scott’s mother’s un-supernatural patience. And not to be outdone, Allison is having some serious waking dream issues herself as we see her family past coming back to haunt her in a rather disturbing way. They’re all impacted and all off balance and out of sorts in similar yet different ways.
As the trio tries to cope in the school setting a bit, all with Lydia providing some cute and colorful commentary on it, we do get a new wrinkle that you know will play bigger into things. While Scott’s all frustrated about Isaac and Allison, he’s also just become aware of a new transfer student named Kira. The daughter of the new history teacher, a Japanese man now less, Kira is instantly humiliated by her father in a rather amusing way since she’s managed to be invisible to most everyone. But once he calls attention to her, it provides for some laughs but we also see how Scott is essentially instantly attracted to her. It’s a part of the whole teenage years aspect in that so many things can catch your eye, interest and attraction, but it’s also something where his primal nature is involved too since there’s something that is definitely a big part of him now that’s always on the prowl due to the changes he’s going through. Kira obviously brings a bit of diversity to things but she also will be a key part to what this part of the season will be about by introducing Japanese folklore into the show with the kitsune.
The series is also working some other changes into this half of the season as we see how Stiles father, having truly been clued in about what’s going on, is starting to look at some past unsolved cases in a new light since he now has a different way at looking at the world. This is something that can be a bit concerning for Stiles since it could drive his father nuts, but could also open some unwelcome doors down the line as well. But it’s a smart thing to have happen since it makes sense that Stilinski would start doing this since he could at least bring some closure to things that baffled him for what could be years. It treats him like a proper, thinking, human character in that new information presented to him has him re-evaluate what he’s seen and understood in the past. And considering the way Stiles researches things, it’s not a surprise that he’d get it from his father.
That all leads into an investigation that has Stiles and Scott off to help at his request, which is nice to see that they’re all handling this change in how they interact with each other after all the reveals. The story itself isn’t one that really grabs in a big way with what it goes on about an accident that happened eight years earlier that is looking more like a werewolf attack. Those involved want nothing to do with changing what they believed the past was since the loss of a wife is a huge nightmare. The case is important for what Stilinski needs since he’s facing the loss of his job due to so many unsolved cases for awhile, and that’s something that’s eating at Stiles but completely ticks off Scott when he finds out since his father is the one that’s seeking the impeachment. The McCall family dynamic is not an easy one with who all is involved but it’s good to see it as a growth moment for Scott, one that his mother is helpful with rather than the hindrance or nothing that most other series would paint an adult character as like this.
In Summary:
Teen Wolf kicks off the second half of the third season well here as we get some fallout from what happened before, but it’s not truly focused on the events, the death and more. Instead, it’s about the repercussions of what they did with the ritual sacrifice and how it’s impacting them, which is significant. It’s also about the adults that are changing their views of the world knowing what the truths are out there and how it can impact their lives, which I’m definitely enjoying seeing. But we’re also getting the first nods towards the bigger themes of the season as the Japanese folklore is coming into it as we get Kira introduced. The core trio are the ones that really get most of the time here and it works well since they’re all dealing with things and it’s screwing with them mentally in big and diverse ways. It’s a very solid opener to this half of the season that provides more than enough teases and leaves you wanting more.
Grade: B+
