Teen Wolf 3.05: Frayed

There’s only so far you can take broken story-telling. ‘Frayed’ strays a little further than conventional methods of this kind of TV writing, but despite feeling a little too scattered at times, it was still pretty compelling, and every bit as effective as it was supposed to be.

As we started out in the present, with Scott injured, Derek presumed dead (LOL, yeah right) and Isaac and Boyd out for blood, I was a little thrown. At first I thought I’d missed something, these guys are always getting hurt left right and centre, but when the real time frame was established, I was glad it wasn’t all being given back to us in exposition heavy conversation.

The best part about setting up the episode the way they did was the idea of filling in a blank just as the previous piece has taken hold. Scott’s injury becomes a typical battle wound, then a more visceral one, and when they realised that it might be down to guilt, we learned exactly why Scott was punishing himself. Maybe it’s that compassion that gives Scott such Alpha potential. He isn’t just strong; he’s empathetic and understanding at the same time.

Maybe that’s enough to beat Deaucalion, who isn’t just selfish; he’s cold-hearted to the point of insanity. I’m glad he offed that Alpha that nobody cares about, though. What a waste of space. But why would he do it? There’s another greater purpose to Deaucalion’s manipulation of Derek’s pack other than stealing away their leader, but I still can’t figure out what that purpose is.

What reason does Ms Morell have for helping Deaucalion out? It didn’t seem like she and Deaton were on the outs when they were speaking in ‘Master Plan’, so what happened to bring Ms Morell over to the dark side? I haven’t forgotten about her saving Allison’s life a few weeks ago, but surely she’s in with these guys for more than helping out those who get too close.

Allison is still struggling to stay away from this whole werewolf business, even after what happened with Ms Morell in the old bank vault, but I think it’s for all the right reasons. I don’t think it’s all because of Scott either. Like she said to her father, someone is trying to hurt her friends; should she really just stand by and watch?

This episode went a little crazy with its scattered stories, but I think such extreme distortion of the standard plot works in this case, especially when we’ve got so much going on in every corner. ‘Frayed’ did a great job of taking stock on each side while still bringing the story into new places.

8/10

Plus

Why didn’t Danny just put his phone on silent?

We didn’t get anywhere else with the sacrifices this week, but they weren’t forgotten. I’m really hoping for a detective team up between Stiles and Lydia.

He Said, She Said

Kali: “Are we serious with this kid?! Look at him, he’s an Alpha?! To what, a couple of useless teenagers?”
Deaucalion: “Some have more promise than others.”

Chris: “Threading the needle; find a safe path between two opposing forces.”
Allison: “Sounds like saving your own ass.”

Lydia: “Some ancient cultures sacrifice people in preparation for battle.”

Also posted at Doux Reviews.