By: Morgan Glennon
On this week’s episode of Teen Wolf, chaos reigns supreme as everything terrible happens all at once. Having learned Matt was the Kanima master in last week’s episode, we finally get a glimpse into his unhinged mind. And oh man is that mind unhinged! Matt is like every horror movie villain rolled into one. If he had a mustache he would have just spent the entire episode twirling it while laughing manically.
This season, every episode of Teen Wolf has raised the tension while also giving us insights into the characters. It didn’t seem like last week’s wolfsbane drugging party could be outdone, yet this episode was non-stop action the whole time. From the moment Matt showed up with a gun about ten minutes into the episode, it was clear this outing wasn’t going to be filler. The show wisely realizes the drama and suspense that can unfold from trapping the characters in a small space and watching them fight it out.
This isn’t to say that we didn’t also get a great deal of character development. Allison fully embraced her badass destiny with the help of some manipulation from Grandpa Gerard. Scott’s mother finally realized her son has been running around town as a teen wolf. I can’t wait until Scott runs away from home to become a waitress in a small town just like Buffy did when her mom found out. And last, but certainly not least, Stiles and Derek finally got that hug they’ve both been craving.
One of the many things I really appreciate about Teen Wolf, besides how fun and surprisingly meaty it is given the subject matter, is how well the show understands its audience. This show knows people want to see shirtlessness within the first ten minutes (thanks gratuitous dream shot of Derek!). It has clearly also cottoned to the fact that a large contingent of the online community is obsessed with the hilarious back-and-forth Derek and Stiles have. Throwing a paralyzed Stiles on top of Derek was basically a gift to the fanbase. Here you go, Teen Wolf magnanimously said tonight, have some pandering.
