What They Say:
More Bad Than Good – Scott and his friends ponder catching the werecoyote before it is hunted down. An unlikely ally helps Derek and Peter break out.
The Review:
Teen Wolf had a lot to cover in its return from the break last episode, but a lot of what it brought to the table are the kinds of changes and weirdness that’s going on with the core trio that went and died and came back. Having an edge of darkness about them definitely works nicely in that it changes their lives even more, but does it in small and personal ways. Adding in material that comes from the parental side, especially with sheriff Stilinski and his job side of things as well as his new exploration of past cases revolving around his newfound knowledge, it definitely fleshed it out a bit more and made it more interesting. Of course, we also had to get a bit of time with Derek, who somehow ended up in chains and captured by a mysterious group along with Peter. So starting this episode off with a bit of torture and interrogation works nicely since this group wants to find someone that they’re calling the She-Wolf.
Scotts pursuit of the werecoyote is where the show wants to go here as well, and that’s gotten a little ground as they found at least one of its locations, though one that it won’t come back to now that they’ve invaded it. Interestingly, Scott does know that he could track it a lot better in his full form, but he’s really uncertain about going that route since he doesn’t know if he can handle that change and all that it entails. Luckily, with Stiles with him, they have a bit of additional access to search tools through Stiles’ father. Seeing how he’s handling all of this is definitely amusing since he knows to take it seriously but some of the elements that the boys keep bringing to him makes it hard for him to really grapple with completely. Of course, the sheriff is also having to deal with the problem of Scott’s dad showing up when he’s least useful and causing problems, which is also going to have a few pushbacks with Scott’s mother. Though at least some of that will be mitigated by her understanding what Scott is now.
Scott’s personal life is taking some amusing turns along the way as well as Kira is doing what she can to help Scott since she knows what he’s looking for with coyotes. She’s pretty cute in how she talks about what she did and bringing it to him, but she ended up not bringing it with her and her father gives it to her, making it clear that it was research she did for a boy she likes. That’s kind of surprising for Scott since he’s not really been pursued much and he’s still coping with things with Allison. His expressions are good but I love how Kira reacts to it and the way Yukimura deals with his daughter. The school side is interesting in that regard, but we also get a bit more material at school showing how Stiles is having a hard time coping with his vision issues that are complicating things as well. There’s always fun at school to be had, including a potential twist as we see Kira later on chases by the coyote there. That doesn’t mean that it may not be here as things can be twisted in intriguing ways, but it does make for a good, tense sequence.
The hunt for the werecoyote isn’t exactly complicated but it has a lot of factors going on here. Scott’s intent on finding her and figuring out a way to get her to turn back, even if it has been eight years since she was last human. That plays into Scott’s own issues with being wary of turning into his full form. You’ve got the sheriff trying to play things right in finding the coyote himself even while grappling with what he’s been told it is and you’ve got Tate that wants to kill it for what it did in his view. There’s also the fact that while they have some decent tranquilizers that will slow her down briefly, it requires Allison to be completely on her game. And Isaac is making it clear to the others that she’s not who she was. Performance issues abound for the group as they struggle with their own inner demons.
The second half largely focuses on the hunt itself in the woods as we get so many people chasing after it and also a whole lot of traps out there as well that Tate placed there. The fun part comes in seeing how Stiles is able to start whittling away at some of the real motivations here and a way to try and fix things, which shows him as one of the key members of the group. Working with Lydia is also good to see as I continue to root for those two more than anything else in the series. There’s a lot going on here as it progresses and it turns dangerous quickly, particularly because of the traps, but that also just adds to the tension as you can’t know who’s going to get hit by it. And hit they do get. It’s amusing when Lydia gets stuck in one, that doesn’t go off just yet, and Stiles has to save her by reading the instructions on it but his vision goes all wonky again. She plays the moment well even as he struggles and it just reinforces my adoration of the Lydia character and Holland’s performance as her.
In Summary:
Teen Wolf has a lot to cover here and it does it pretty well as there are a number of stories to manage, character material to work through and small nudges of progress that keeps it engaging for just about everyone as opposed to a single character. The coyote storyline certainly has its merits and is definitely a good motivator around things since it motivates so many. But we also get the really important growth bits towards the end as it comes down to Scott really accepting and mastering what he is, at least in some small way, and showing us once against that everything he tries to do is for good rather than just primal nature or instinct. It’s the challenge that will likely always face him and seeing him starting to come into his own as an Alpha here and what he can do in that role is welcome and strong to see.
Grade: B+
