You're welcome.
When last we left Scott McCall, he was giving the stink-eye to Allison's dad for being too hetero with his daughter, then saving Derek from a painful and horrible death. What adventures will our intrepid hero experience this week?
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
The episode opens with a set of flickering fluorescent lights. The scene is a video store, and a lone employee (or perhaps the owner) is trying to fix the lights. Being the cautious and thoughtful electrician he is, he hasn't bothered to turn off the lights first (possibly because it's night and all the lights are controlled by the same switch).
Outside, Jackson and Lydia have just pulled up to the store, arguing about what movie they're going to rent. Jackson wants to watch Hoosiers, Lydia wants to watch The Notebook. Sweet baby cheeses, could we have a more overt display of heteronormative stereotypes? Just because Lydia is a woman doesn't mean that she's going to want to watch a Romance Movie. No, there's nothing wrong with a woman liking romance, but this characterization is serving to reinforce sexism and heterociscentricity.
(Of course, there's the chance that she doesn't like it that much either and is just watching it to punish Jackson for being such a high-maintenance boyfriend. I wouldn't put it past her.)
Lydia wins the argument (ha ha! Jackson gave in to his nagging girlfriend! So funny!) and Jackson goes into the store. He calls out for help, but now there is no one there. (Ooh, mysterious.) Jackson continues to search the store, and in doing so, finds the employee from earlier - dead and bloody on the floor.
Jackson backs away, and accidentally knocks over the ladder the employee was using to change the lights. The ladder was holding up the fixture, which now falls freely, exacerbating the light problem.
Outside, Lydia is so wrapped up taking photos of herself that she fails to notice that the biggest light source in close proximity is flashing on and off like novelty Christmas lights. I don't buy this at all. It doesn't matter what you're staring at; if things suddenly get dark, you notice. And you know who is shallow enough to ignore something like that? Nobody. Except a disgusting stereotype. Writers, I am ashamed.
Back in the store, Jackson is starting to freak out. He is looking around the store, trying to find the employee's killer before it can sneak up on him, when he sees a flash of a hideous wolf face (seriously, these special effects are kind of bad) with glowing red eyes. He quickly hides behind the nearest shelf (in front of several copies of "Let The Right One In" - I see what you did there, guys), and peers around the corner in time to see a Dramatic Werewolf Blur. (You know, where the indistinct object moves rapidly from one side of the screen to the other.) He seems relieved that it didn't see him, but then it runs between some of the shelves behind them, knocking down DVD's in the process. (Two Werewolf Blurs in one scene. I am impressed.)
He looks back again, just as the werewolf knocks over one of the shelves, creating a domino effect that is heading straight for Jackson. Just as the shelf he's hiding behind starts to fall, he tries to jump away, but he only half makes it - his legs are pinned under the shelf. He tries to pull himself out, but it's no use - and then he hears the ominous breathing of the werewolf.
Fortunately, it turns out that the Alpha has no interest in Jackson, and just scares him a little bit before making a dramatic exit through the front window. This, Lydia notices. Way to go, Lydia.
(But seriously, that's it? Not even a drive-by nomming, xe just bails. This makes me think that there was some extra motivation in killing the video store owner in particular. Werewolf political squabble, maybe.)
Cue splash screen.
When the show resumes, Stiles and his dad are sitting in Dad's police cruiser, eating fast food. While they talk about eating fast food.
Dad: Did I forget the curly fries?
Stiles: You're not supposed to eat fries. Especially the curly ones.
Dad: I'm carrying a lethal weapon. If I want the curly fries, I will have the curly fries.
This brilliant display of comic writing is interrupted by a call from some other polices, reporting a possible murder. This piques both of their attentions, but when they arrive at the video store, Stiles' dad tells him to stay in the car. So he scopes out the scene from his seat, sees Jackson gesticulating about something, and decides to listen in.
In a nutshell, Jackson wants to go home and isn't happy that he has to stay and receive medical treatment. He gets into an argument about it with Stiles' dad, and as he becomes more enraged refers to him as a "minimum-wage rent-a-cop." Yeouch.
From the roof, Derek and Scott are watching the scene. After questioning from Scott, Derek explains that the serial-killer schtick isn't typical behavior for a werewolf, and that they have to figure out why the alpha has gone on a spree. As they leave, some ominous music plays, and a strange, glowing reddish spiral appears on the roof, similar to the wolfsbane spiral that Derek had installed around the remains of his sister. But this one isn't made of rope; Minecraft players may note that it looks more like a redstone circuit.
Back at Derek's house, Scott declares that he needs to go home and do his homework. Derek disagrees; they bicker. Basically, Scott's running out of time. It's only a week until the next full moon, and at that time Derek says the Alpha will try and force Scott to kill again - and if he fails, he will kill Scott instead. Scott is reluctant, but decides to go with it.
First it's time for some Werewolf 101. Derek starts out by explaining to Scott how to force himself to stay in/return to human form. As demonstration, he crushes Scott's hand. This gives Scott a sad, but provides an object lesson: pain induces and preserves humanity. Scott's hand rights itself, 'cause it's an awesome werewolf hand, and Derek heads off to bed.
The next day, Allison is getting ready for school when dear Aunt Kate decides to drop in. She apologizes for her behavior the other night (Allison and Scott's botched study date). Why, I don't know, since Mr. Argent was the one being weird, but anyway. To apologize, she gives Allison her birthday present early. It's a funky old necklace, a family heirloom, with a pendant in the shape of a shield with a barking dog on it. Or possibly a wolf. Probably a wolf. The smith didn't do a very good job.
Kate tells Allison to look up the symbol if she ever wants to know more about her family. They chat and hug, and Allison heads to school.
At school, Allison opens her locker and a bunch of helium-filled balloons come flying out. She crams them back in quickly, reads the birthday card that someone stuck on her locker door, and seems unhappy about it. Scott sees her and asks if it's her birthday. She denies it at first, but then tells him that it is, and explains that she wasn't going to tell anyone. Scott asks her why, and she tells him it's because she's seventeen. He's surprised at first, but realizes that she's older because all of the moving she'd done in the past forced her to repeat a year. Allison is pleased with Scott's insight and understanding and gives him smoochies. He asks her why, and she explains that everyone who's ever learned how old she was has subsequently harassed her with imaginative (and inaccurate) guesses about why she's back a grade, and Scott's the only one to get it right.
Scott is sympathetic, and to save her from going through it again, he proposes that they skip school. Allison is hesitant, but agrees.
In class, the teacher announces that there will be parent-teacher conferences that night and that everyone with lower than a C+ average will be required to attend.
Teacher: "I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment."
Just then, he notices that Scott is missing. He asks about him, but no one knows where he is. Just then, Jackson enters the class. He looks like he hasn't slept all night, and the teacher tells him that if he needs to leave for any reason, just to let him know.
This is obviously meant to show what a Bad Teacher this guy is. He's giving Jackson Special Treatment! Well, I call bollocks. Judging by his behavior, Jackson was obviously quite traumatized by the attack in the video store, and regardless of how much of a dick he is (which is to say, not very much, since he mostly makes vague threats at Scott), he deserves the time and space he needs to recover.
The teacher then snarks at Stiles for overusing the highlighter marker in his textbook.
Once the teacher is no longer paying attention, Stiles turns to the student next to him and asks if he knows what happened to Jackson. Oh my stars, it's Danny! Danny the invisible gay goalie! Five episodes in we actually get to see his face. And he is not even a white guy! The shock! The horror! The Twofer Token Minority!
(Speaking of token minorities, I haven't seen the black student around in a while. Wonder what she's up to.)
Anyway, Stiles gets so caught up in trying to get his question answered that he blurts out: "Do you find me attractive?" Danny gives him a weird look, and he suddenly realizes what he's just asked in front of the entire science class and falls off his stool. Oh noes, someone might think that Stiles is gay! Whatever shall we do?
(There's only one thing for it: date Danny. That will fix everything, yes it will. Come on, Stiles, I know you dig his adorable face.)
Well, it doesn't really matter. There are more important things to focus on, like Scott and Allison skipping school. Allison is worried that this might be a bad idea, since they could get into trouble (no, really?), but they don't have time to argue, as a police car flashing a siren is pulling in. Scott tells Allison to start the car and get leaving, and she is confused but complies.
I love the way Scott shuts down Allison's hesitation by asking her if she always does what her dad tells her. And by "love" I mean "despise." So, you get her to do what you want by shaming her for doing what someone else wants? Really? What about Allison's autonomy? What about the fact that she may not want to face a confrontation with her dad, and she has the right to choose not to? Once again, Allison is written as nothing more than the site of a power struggle between Scott and Mr. Argent. I probably don't have to say it, but this is sexist.
Meanwhile, Jackson is in the school locker room (in nothing but a towel - hello, Mr. Fanservice) trying to keep it together. It seems that last night's attack has traumatized him a lot. He also has the wounds on his neck from where Derek wolfclawstabbed him, and they seem to be causing a lot of pain.
Then, as he's doing something at his locker, he looks into the shower steam and sees a pair of glowing red eyes. Jackson freaks out, and expects to be attacked again, but it turns out it's just another classmate, and the "eyes" were red lights on his headphones. Jackson relaxes - until the student leaves, and he turns and sees Derek.
Panicking, he tells Derek that he doesn't know where Scott is. But Derek says he's not here for Scott; he's here for Jackson. (Plz to resist the imagination of Scott/Derek/Jackson werewolf threesomes, brain.) He asks Jackson what he saw at the video store, but Jackson - shaking and sweating from nerves - claims that he didn't see anything. Derek tells him to calm down and repeat himself, then uses his super-werewolf-lie-detecting skills to ascertain whether Jackson is lying or not. He then turns Jackson's head to look at the claw marks on his neck and tells him he should get them checked out.
As Derek leaves, a terrified Jackson fights a panic attack.
In school, after the next bell rings, Stiles manages to call Scott on his cell phone. Scott is in Allison's car with her (apparently his idea of playing hooky is a road trip in the vicinity of Beacon Hills?) He tells Scott what's been going on with Jackson, and that he has to "do something about" the things that have been going on. Scott says that he'll do something later, then instructs Allison to make a left turn. She turns sharply, instinctively reaching out and grabbing Scott to keep him from being thrown out of the seat. Afterward, she apologizes.
Allison: "I totally soccer-mom'd you."
Scott: "That's okay; we'll just pick up my masculinity on the way back."
Excuse me? Since when does someone (even a woman) trying to protect you from harm constitute a loss of masculinity? Way to sexism, Scott. Way. To. Sexism.
They pull off deeper into the forest (a la Twilight) and start walking. Allison is apparently sending a text message to someone to create an alibi, and Scott says that if they get caught he'll just say it was all his fault. Allison argues that it was her choice, too (albeit a choice she was coerced into making, which she does not mention). Scott jokes that that's good, because then he can just blame her (way to go, Scott), which leads straight into flirting and eventual het smoochies.
The scene shifts to Lydia's room, where she is lying on her bed, listening to music, and staring at her fingernails. Oh, and she has a stuffed animal, too, in case she wasn't cliché enough. (Not that I'm knocking stuffed animals - I have several of them - but come on.) There's a knock on her door, and her mom tells her that Stiles is here to see her. Lydia is not overly impressed by his arrival. She is also drugged (her mother says she "took something to help with her nerves") and laying in a sexy pose on the bed in skimpy clothes.
Stiles just wants to make sure she's all right (so he says), but Lydia in her drugged state can't help but have him sit on her bed and feel him up. (Remember, sparrows, Lydia's an oversexed whore and don't you ever forget it!) Stiles realizes that she's drugged and ignores her advances (oh, wow, yay, so chivalrous), and when they start talking Lydia lets slip that she saw something the night before. Stiles asks her what she saw, but she insists it was a mountain lion. Then she falls asleep on his leg and gives him a raging boner.
This situation just bothers me. The writers of this show have absolutely no problems with putting its female characters into compromising position after compromising position and relying on the male characters to do the right thing and keep them safe, and that is really getting annoying.
Speaking of which, Scott and Allison are walking through the forest when Allison slips on a log and Scott rescues her. Masculinity re-acquired! Allison has the same thought, then starts to send a text message to Lydia. Scott stops her and tells her that since his cell phone is off, hers has to be too. Never mind that as a woman walking alone in the woods with a man she's only known for a couple of weeks, Allison has every right to keep her cell phone on (and should have told someone where she is, for that matter) - it must not interrupt this Romantic Moment. Allison asks him to just let her send one text message, and like a good manipulator he relents.
Back in Lydia's room, she's awake again. Stiles, feeling awkward, decides to leave, but Lydia tells him to stay. Stiles is all too thrilled to comply - especially when she starts stroking his face - but when she calls him "Jackson" and passes out again, it kills his boner.
Then she gets a text message. Stiles tries to read it for her, but he doesn't know how to operate her phone, and ends up pressing the wrong button. This causes an accidental video recording from the night before to start playing, and in it he sees the werewolf. He bolts.
Kate, meanwhile, has been busy. She's rounded up a couple of Mr. Argent's minions and brought them to Derek's house. One of the minions reminds her that Argent wanted them to wait, but she says that it's fine as long as they don't kill him.
Inside, Derek is working out shirtless (dig the swirly tattoo and 'roid physique), and just to show off how badass he is he does some one-handed pushups. His personal time is interrupted, however, when his workout music stops, and one of the hunters kicks his door open. He's not visible, but Kate insists that he's there somewhere. One of the hunters makes a bad dog joke, and Kate calls him out on it, then decides to show him how to insult Derek properly. This works, and also results in said hunter getting kicked to the wall.
Derek is here, and he wastes no time going Wolverine on their asses. Kate, however, came prepared. When he gets close, she shocks him with some kind of super anti-werewolf cattle prod, and he goes down, writhing on the floor in shirtless agony.
Kate: "Wow. This one grew up in all the right places. I don't know whether to kill it or lick it."
While I have to agree with at least part of that sentiment, this does not succeed at being not creepy. I mean, for once it's a woman in the powerful part of the dynamic, but she's not wasting the chance to flaunt her prejudice and privilege, calling Derek an "it" and implying that she can do whatever she wants with him just because he's a werewolf (or, in other words, less of a real person than she is). I will admit this is realistic - so realistic that it's disturbing. But I wonder if people will draw the necessary parallels between this and similar situations that have gone on in real life. (Hint, guys: this actually happens to trans women.)
Meanwhile, Stiles is in his bedroom trying to get Scott on the phone so he can tell him about the video. When Scott doesn't answer, Stiles gets cheesed off and threatens to kill him. (In a non-serious way, of course, but... yeah. That's always a good way to keep a friendship; death threats.) In the midst of it, his dad comes in and asks if he's going to hear good news at the parent-teacher conference. Stiles says it depends on how his dad defines good news, but of course Dad has Unrealistic Expectations. He leaves, and Stiles continues to not get called by Scott.
This, of course, is because Scott's busy clowning around the forest with Allison. They're walking on some rocks when Scott slips and Allison rescues him. A second or so later, Allison slips and Scott catches her, but not long afterward they both slip, and have to hold each other up. It's actually pretty adorable. They kiss, spend some more time bonding in the woods, kiss some more, etc. Meanwhile, Stiles gives up on finding Scott and deletes the video from Lydia's phone.
Kate, still at Derek's house, watches gleefully as he tries to get up. He can't wolf out, of course - which we would not know if Derek hadn't explained the pain-humanity relationship to Scott earlier. Oh, writers, you are so subtle.
Kate is so sadistic that when Derek tries to crawl onto his couch, she zaps him again, and brags about her 9,000 volt cattle prod (in case you were wondering how much electricity a grown werewolf can take). She then starts talking about Derek's sister, and tells him that the hunters didn't actually kill her. Derek is skeptical, but Kate tells him to use his Super Werewolf Lie-Detecting Power and then takes the opportunity to whisper suggestively (or threateningly - probably both) in his ear. Long story short, she's telling the truth, the Alpha was the one who killed Derek's sister, and she thinks they should team up to go after xem. Except that Derek doesn't know who xe is, so she decides to kill him instead. He sees it coming and escapes just as she shoots the place up with an automatic.
Once he's sure he's safe, he stops, and stares back toward his house, looking confused and angry. The camera gives several well-lit money-shots of his shirtless torso, natch.
Over at the animal clinic, the veterinarian is also trying to call Scott, who is now an hour late for work. He doesn't answer, so the vet hangs up; just then, Stiles' Dad The Sheriff walks in with more photographs. The vet reminds him that he's not an expert, but Sheriff Stilinsky has something more than bite marks: a few frames of video from a surveillance camera near the video store. And they certainly aren't showing a mountain lion. What they do show is the werewolf leaping through the window and reverting to human form. The vet agrees that this is a problem, but says he cannot identify the animal and besides he has to go take care of the sick Doberman.
Back in the woods, Scott and Allison are finally done romping around and are coming back to her car. (I'm assuming Scott used his werewolf powers to find it in the dark, because otherwise I got nothing.) Allison tells Scott that she's had a perfect birthday. They hetbond, but then Allison mentions the parent-teacher conference and Scott realizes that he has to be there.
At school, the science teacher is talking to Jackson's parents about his performance (while, elsewhere, Jackson is getting drunk and trying to hit a target with a lacrosse ball). During the discussion, it comes out that Jackson was adopted, and because of this feels a need to be as perfect as possible so that he can feel like his biological parents are proud of him. Now, I'm not adopted, but I am intimately familiar with feeling the drive to please one's parents to the point where it becomes self-destructive, and I have a lot of sympathy for him.
Lydia's parents, meanwhile, are learning that their daughter is a brilliant student with a lot of potential, while Lydia is at home putting on makeup to hide the signs of the trauma and stress she's been under.
Stiles' dad talks to the coach (hello again, you). They end up discussing Stiles' first name, which has not been revealed so far. And it continues to be unrevealed, but we do learn that he was named for his grandfather and that white American douchebags can't pronounce it. The coach also says that Stiles is brilliant and has an incredible ability for dedication, but his inability to focus (the reason he takes Adderall, no doubt) is causing problems. Stiles, meanwhile, is in his bedroom looking up the Hale house fire and related stuff, implying that perhaps his problem isn't a lack of concentration so much as a tendency to concentrate on things that his teachers do not consider important.
Scott's mom also ends up talking to the science teacher, which she is forced to do without Scott since he's still trying to get there. The teacher explains that Scott hasn't been paying attention, and insinuates that this is because he doesn't have a man guiding him. This sexist bullshit goes un-called out, but Scott's mother asserts that they are better off without his dad (since they are in fact divorced - I can't remember if I mentioned that before). He does later explain that what he meant was that Scott could use a man to help him through puberty, while Scott (still in Allison's car) shows off the neat shade of yellow that his eyes flash in the headlights of oncoming cars.
Allison's teacher - the same nameless, never-before-seen black woman who did Lydia's interview - says that things are going well, but because of her history of moving around, her parents should probably expect some teenage rebellion. Mr. Argent and his wife assure the teacher that they have a very open and trusting relationship with their daughter - and then learn she skipped school without their knowledge. Dun dun dun.
Allison is parking her car at school just as Scott sees his mother walk out of the building, trying to call him. He hides in the car. A while later, Mr. Argent is heard leaving a message on Allison's phone, telling her that if she doesn't call him "the punishment will reach Biblical proportions." I love it when he talks dirty. Scott's mom and Allison's parents meet up, and each learns that the other's child is not answering their phone, and come to the logical conclusion. They start to blame each other for their children's absence, but they're cut off when Scott and Allison get out of Allison's car. Scott's mother walks up and starts questioning him; Allison tries to defend him when her parents show up and prepare to take her home. Before this can happen, though, they hear a scream.
Elsewhere in the parking lot, people are frantically getting into their cars, and Scott goes to investigate. He uses his wolf-o-vision to try to find the source of the distress, but is distracted when he sees a car about to hit Allison. He grabs her and pulls her out of the way in true Edward Cullen style (except without the "throwing her on the ground and possibly causing a concussion" part), then continues to look around. It turns out there's a wild animal running around the parking lot, and in the confusion Stiles' dad does get hit by a car. (He's all right, though.) He pulls out his gun, but before he can shoot, Mr. Argent fires his own gun, and calmly strides over to the now-dead (and badly shooped) mountain lion.
Mr. Argent, Allison, Scott, Rocky, and Janet all exchange some tense glances (well, except for the last two), and the episode ends.
So. Final comments?
Well, this episode had enough hetero creepiness for an entire romance movie. Yeesh. I am sick to the teeth of Allison's "decisions' basically boiling down to "will she do what Scott wants, or what Dad wants?"
I am happy to see Danny at last, and I really, really hope that he (as well as some of the other tertiary characters) gets some more screen time. And smoochies, please. Gay smoochies.
I enjoyed the parent-teacher conference sequence. It was nice to see the Designated Antagonists treated as though they had a little humanity for a change, and to finally learn some things about the characters that I can actually relate to. I can't speak to how accurate Jackson's portrayal is to someone who is actually in that situation (adopted and never knew their biological parents), but at the risk of repeating myself and make it all about my biological-parents-raised self, it felt good to see someone with the same hang-up as me shown (and in a sympathetic light, not a "so that's why you're the best scientist who ever was" context).
I enjoyed the fanservice. No shirtless Scott this time (which is fine by me; he's still a baby werewolf) but Jackson and Derek have enough torsal beauty for six or seven Scotts so it's all cool.
Is Jackson a werewolf, or are the writers trying to make me think he is by throwing in misleading scenes that otherwise don't make any sense? (Not like they would ever do that, nope nope nope.) Time will tell.
I am sick to death of watching Scott and Allison date. They are having the most boring relationship I have ever seen. What have we seen them actually do together? Talk about mindless crap, touch each other lovingly, and kiss. They're not building a relationship on anything useful, like shared interests or compatible personalities - they're building it on their mutual ability to be gorgeous and act romantic toward one another. This is not how real relationships work. I think that someone else also touched on this (just checked - that was me in my last post), but they could have been talking about Bella Swann and Edward Cullen...
...speaking of which, I was not going to compare this show to Twilight, but I have given up now that it is abundantly clear they are ripping it off. No joke. First the protagonists go romping in the forest together, and then Scott saves Allison from getting hit by a car? Why don't you just make your werewolves sparkle in the sunlight and be done with it, MTV? You people suck.
Not that that will stop me from catching the next episode. I am dedicated to Colton Haynes justice.
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