by Hayley Charlesworth
Following on from last week’s exciting Mexican caper The Dark Moon, 117 is Teen Wolf’s strongest episode in quite a while, and potentially one of the funniest in its whole history. With almost every cast member given the time to shine, and a perfect combination of action, gore, and humour, a lot of the praise for 117 must be directed at Ian Nelson, who portrays a very different Derek Hale.
Following on from last week’s exciting Mexican caper The Dark Moon, 117 is Teen Wolf’s strongest episode in quite a while, and potentially one of the funniest in its whole history. With almost every cast member given the time to shine, and a perfect combination of action, gore, and humour, a lot of the praise for 117 must be directed at Ian Nelson, who portrays a very different Derek Hale.
Following on from last week’s shocking (and humorous) revelation that evil former-hunter-current-werejaguar Kate Argent had reverted Derek back into his teenage self, 117 continues to mine this plot development for comedic gold, with even all-knowing Dr Deaton being baffled, and Stiles’ desperate attempts to pass the younger Derek off as his Mexican cousin ‘Miguel’ to Agent McCall. The funniest incident, though, comes from Sheriff Stilinski’s incredulous reaction, followed by him, in all seriousness, asking if the pack have gone time-travelling. Ian Nelson, who was last seen as the younger Derek in season three flashback episode Visionary, gets so much more to work with here, and excels, especially in his scenes with Dylan O’Brien as Stiles. Together, the two manage to recreate the on-screen chemistry shared between O’Brien and Tyler Hoechlin that some would argue made this show so popular, and he effortlessly mimics the adult Derek’s mannerisms. It is a perfect piece of casting.
But there’s also inherent horror in Derek’s situation. Kate has taken him back to not only his teenage years, but to a time before the Hale fire, when he trusted and loved her. The Derek Ian Nelson plays is one that doesn’t know that his family is dead, or that Kate seduced him in order to kill them. When he discovers the truth, Ian Nelson is also excellent at portraying the angstier facets of Derek’s character, but still holds on to that innocence that adult Derek gradually loses as the horrific extents of Kate’s manipulation of him are revealed.
One of the criticisms of The Dark Moon was the fact that there were very few ramifications from the previous season present, save for the brief mention of Allison. This week, this is addressed in the most subtle and brilliant of ways. While speaking to young Derek in the Sheriff’s office, Stiles notices a number of letters addressed to his dad from Eichen House, the institution Stiles found himself in while possessed by the nogitsune. It’s a very brief moment, and nothing else comes of it in this episode, but it is a tantalising glimpse at the possibility that perhaps Stiles’ possession does still have some consequences to come.
But there’s also inherent horror in Derek’s situation. Kate has taken him back to not only his teenage years, but to a time before the Hale fire, when he trusted and loved her. The Derek Ian Nelson plays is one that doesn’t know that his family is dead, or that Kate seduced him in order to kill them. When he discovers the truth, Ian Nelson is also excellent at portraying the angstier facets of Derek’s character, but still holds on to that innocence that adult Derek gradually loses as the horrific extents of Kate’s manipulation of him are revealed.
One of the criticisms of The Dark Moon was the fact that there were very few ramifications from the previous season present, save for the brief mention of Allison. This week, this is addressed in the most subtle and brilliant of ways. While speaking to young Derek in the Sheriff’s office, Stiles notices a number of letters addressed to his dad from Eichen House, the institution Stiles found himself in while possessed by the nogitsune. It’s a very brief moment, and nothing else comes of it in this episode, but it is a tantalising glimpse at the possibility that perhaps Stiles’ possession does still have some consequences to come.
Elsewhere, Lydia and Kira are investigating a murder committed by Kate at a gas station, while getting in some girl bonding time in the process. While it’s doubtful that either Kira or Malia could replace Allison, their chemistry is pretty solid and it is exciting to see the girls have their own time to shine away from the boys. Crucially, given how important her character was, Allison isn’t missed in this episode. As for Malia, we begin to see some animalistic traits creep into her behaviour, and it is a wonderful and subtle way of developing her character. From carrying pens around in her mouth instead of using her hands, to not knowing who Abraham Lincoln is, to sneaking into Stiles’ room at night just to spoon and share warmth, we’re reminded that she spent a decade as a coyote, and has yet to adjust to human life. Shelley Hennig is wonderfully naive and cute in these scenes, although she still gets opportunity later on to display her badass side. Malia also finally gets to meet her father, Peter Hale, although she doesn’t know it. The second that Peter sees Malia is one of the few instances where Peter doesn’t look manipulative and evil, but that soon passes. Unfortunately, we’re denied a hammy villain showdown between Peter and Kate thanks to the intervention of new villains: the Benefactor, and the Berserkers.
Berserkers were introduced to the Teen Wolf universe in season three, in a conversation between Derek and Chris Argent. Now, we get to see them for the first time (although they did appear briefly in the shadows spotted by Malia, and menacing Scott and Braeden in the Aztec temple in the previous episode). A small army of supernatural, snarling humans wearing animal skulls on their heads, the Berserkers seem even more undefeatable than the Oni of the previous season, effortlessly taking down Scott, Kira and Malia. It is the intervention of Derek that sends them away, the fight somehow reversing whatever Kate did to him and turning him back into Tyler Hoechlin. But not only that, Derek’s eyes have changed from the blue of a Beta that has killed an innocent, to gold. Why this is, we’re not sure yet. Has he been reborn? Is Derek Hale werewolf Jesus? We have to wait until next week to find out.
Berserkers were introduced to the Teen Wolf universe in season three, in a conversation between Derek and Chris Argent. Now, we get to see them for the first time (although they did appear briefly in the shadows spotted by Malia, and menacing Scott and Braeden in the Aztec temple in the previous episode). A small army of supernatural, snarling humans wearing animal skulls on their heads, the Berserkers seem even more undefeatable than the Oni of the previous season, effortlessly taking down Scott, Kira and Malia. It is the intervention of Derek that sends them away, the fight somehow reversing whatever Kate did to him and turning him back into Tyler Hoechlin. But not only that, Derek’s eyes have changed from the blue of a Beta that has killed an innocent, to gold. Why this is, we’re not sure yet. Has he been reborn? Is Derek Hale werewolf Jesus? We have to wait until next week to find out.
Likewise, there’s a wait to discover who or what the Benefactor is. All we know is that he used Kate as a distraction to break into the Hale family vault and steal $117 million from Peter. It’s hard to pretend that he didn’t deserve it.
From a strong, cohesive story, to excellently handled humour, and once again focusing on a united pack with a common goal, 117 definitely could be counted amongst Teen Wolf’s strongest episodes. With any luck, we’ll get to see Ian Nelson again as the show potentially continues to delve into the past of the Hale family, as he is an example of a superb bit of casting. And with many fan favourite minor characters cropping up (Braeden last week, Mr Yukimura and Deputy Parrish this week), it can only be a matter of time before we see the return of the mighty Coach Finstock to add even more comedy to a show that perhaps got a little too dark in season three.
From a strong, cohesive story, to excellently handled humour, and once again focusing on a united pack with a common goal, 117 definitely could be counted amongst Teen Wolf’s strongest episodes. With any luck, we’ll get to see Ian Nelson again as the show potentially continues to delve into the past of the Hale family, as he is an example of a superb bit of casting. And with many fan favourite minor characters cropping up (Braeden last week, Mr Yukimura and Deputy Parrish this week), it can only be a matter of time before we see the return of the mighty Coach Finstock to add even more comedy to a show that perhaps got a little too dark in season three.
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