It's a double-whammy of Teen Wolf this week as we recap the past two episodes. And it's unfortunate to note that, while the performances remain strong, the show has really dropped the ball in terms of story, with seemingly important plot threads forgotten for episodes at a time. Is there time to fix things before the fast approaching finale? Only three weeks left to find out.
Things then go rapidly downhill as we're treated to a plethora of negative stereotypes of institutions. In his first few minutes, Stiles witnesses a suicide, and is threatened with being shackled to the bed. The orderlies are male Nurse Ratcheds, and Ms Morrell, Deaton's sister and emissary/guidance counsellor, is inexplicably present to give Stiles amphetamines to stay awake. Also present is previously-forgotten were-coyote Malia Tate, in one of the show's strangest elements. Actress Shelley Hennig is engaging as Malia, but surely after ten years as a feral animal, Malia shouldn't be put together enough to help Stiles solve the mystery of the basement. By rights she should still have the mental age of a nine year old, and yet she continues to be sassy, sexy, and relatively stable. In the basement, Stiles and Malia also have a romantic tryst, and while they are cute together, it's debatable whether either of them should be able to consent.
As for the other characters, we get very little. Despite being the star, Scott continues to have little screen time. His plotline, however, finally lets him interact with Allison again, strange given they used to be the show's focus. The two, along with Lydia, Kira and the twins, stage a heist to obtain the finger of Silverfinger, to get the scroll hidden inside that contains the answer for defeating the nogitsune. Fellow werewolf Kincaid wants the finger too, and despite being a beta, easily defeats True Alpha Scott McCall, who needs to be rescued by omegas Ethan and Aiden. This goes entirely against werewolf hierarchy as the show has previously established, and does very little to present Scott as the hero he's supposed to be. The scroll itself is rescued, and its answer is to change the body of the nogitsune, which means Scott giving his best friend the bite. Elsewhere still is the unexpectedly wonderful pairing of former enemies Derek and Chris. Still imprisoned, they have even less screen time, but possibly the best character development. We establish that Derek flat out refuses to kill Stiles while there's still other options, while Chris is still conflicted. Chris is also confronted by the Spanish lady from episode 2, the matriarch of another hunter family, about his alliance with the wolves and concerns over Allison. Presuming this plotline isn't also ignored (we still know nothing about Isaac and Coach's fates, nor Peter's reaction to discovering he is a father) the Argents may get some much needed focus in the final episodes.
More exciting is Sheriff forming a crack team of Derek, Chris and Allison to save his son. All of these scenes are brilliant, from Allison taking the lead as per the traditions of the matriarchal hunting families, to Derek calling Chris out on bringing along a lethal weapon as insurance, to Sheriff giving any of this team an opportunity to quit and nobody taking it.
Derek and Chris's interactions have been an unexpected highlight of the season, but they are rivalled by a brief scene in which Allison confesses to Sheriff how terrified she is all the time. For the first time since Allison's mother's death in season two, Crystal Red is given the opportunity to show Allison's emotional depth, and she knocks it out of the park. It only makes us wonder why such a talent has been underutilized in season three-B, as she is utterly wonderful. Linden Ashby continues to present Sheriff as the perfect father, and their scene together is as touching as it is surprising. The scene also finally confirms that Isaac and Coach are still alive, though they remain unseen.
The issue with this episode is less the plot, and more the pacing. The backstory of Noshiko could have been fascinating, but in dragging it out to make use of the costumes, it just became boring. Meanwhile, we learnt more about our other team of heroes, and Stiles' plan, in a fifth of the time that was dedicated to Noshiko. Even then, no time was once again devoted to Isaac being near death, Peter's fatherhood our Malia's study. The trouble with these episodes is that they continue to pick up interesting plot elements, and then quickly abandon them. We can only hope that there is enough time in the remaining episodes to answer the myriad of questions season three-B has left us with.