by Hayley Charlesworth
The threat of the Dead Pool looms over our heroes in the latest episode of Teen Wolf, I.E.D, where a lacrosse game could turn deadly as the assassins try to strike names off the list. With Scott, Stiles and Kira try to protect new Beta Liam at all costs, Lydia and Malia are on the case to crack the further two encrypted lists, and the threat of Kate Argent returns for both her brother Chris, and for Derek Hale. Teen Wolf continues to have one of its most coherent storylines in a while, with every character having some involvement. The only problem is, Liam and the other freshmen just aren’t very interesting
The threat of the Dead Pool looms over our heroes in the latest episode of Teen Wolf, I.E.D, where a lacrosse game could turn deadly as the assassins try to strike names off the list. With Scott, Stiles and Kira try to protect new Beta Liam at all costs, Lydia and Malia are on the case to crack the further two encrypted lists, and the threat of Kate Argent returns for both her brother Chris, and for Derek Hale. Teen Wolf continues to have one of its most coherent storylines in a while, with every character having some involvement. The only problem is, Liam and the other freshmen just aren’t very interesting
The episode opens with a whole heap of exposition for anyone who missed last week, as Scott and Stiles fill Sheriff in on the Dead Pool. They’ve figured out that the $117 million stolen from Peter Hale is funding the kills, and that the list is broken into three sections. Lydia, with the help of Malia and returning fellow Banshee Meredith, who remains a patient at Eichen House. With The Mute brutally killed by Peter in the previous episodes, it is teen assassins who are the main threat, planning to take out Liam on the lacrosse field, or is someone else their true target? Meanwhile, Derek Hale continues to have no luck at all. It seems Kate’s age-reversing trick stole something from Derek: his power. Not only have his eyes turned from blue to gold, his sense of smell is disappearing, and pretty soon, he’ll become human. He shares this with Chris, who is on the hunt for his evil sister, before he’s caught up with by the Calaveras. Reminding him of the deaths of his wife Victoria and daughter Allison, Chris abandons Allison’s code “we protect those who cannot protect themselves” in favour of the Calaveras’ bloodthirsty “we hunt those who hunt us.” With the help of Meredith, Lydia and Malia crack the code for the second part of the list, “Aiden”, revealing yet more names including Kira’s mother Noshiko, and in news that will surprise absolutely no-one, the inclusion of Deputy Jordan Parrish.
There’s plenty to be praised about I.E.D, from the humour of Coach Finstock and Mr Yukimura, to the utilising of every lead character in a roughly equal balance. But some criticisms begin to emerge, chief of which being that the new characters just aren’t that interesting. Liam, for example, has shown very little in the way of likable personality traits, and his most significant moment so far is merely allowing Scott and Derek to talk about the responsibility of being an Alpha. Mason, Liam’s best friend, is essentially Danny Mark II (unfortunate, given Danny has been dropped from this season with no explanation), and teen assassins Garrett and Violet so far have very little personality besides generic bloodthirsty mercenaries, but with no immediate hook like The Mute. Each of these characters needs to be given more personality if they are to be awarded as much screen time, because at present, they are quite disengaging compared to the leads.
There’s plenty to be praised about I.E.D, from the humour of Coach Finstock and Mr Yukimura, to the utilising of every lead character in a roughly equal balance. But some criticisms begin to emerge, chief of which being that the new characters just aren’t that interesting. Liam, for example, has shown very little in the way of likable personality traits, and his most significant moment so far is merely allowing Scott and Derek to talk about the responsibility of being an Alpha. Mason, Liam’s best friend, is essentially Danny Mark II (unfortunate, given Danny has been dropped from this season with no explanation), and teen assassins Garrett and Violet so far have very little personality besides generic bloodthirsty mercenaries, but with no immediate hook like The Mute. Each of these characters needs to be given more personality if they are to be awarded as much screen time, because at present, they are quite disengaging compared to the leads.
More positive viewing are Lydia’s story, and Chris’ showdown with the Calaveras. While Lydia last week was shown alone and near breakdown at the discovery of “Allison” being the key word, this week she is given a sidekick in Malia, and while Malia may not be the most compassionate of people, Lydia works well with someone else to bounce her ideas off. The revelation of Parrish as a supernatural is barely a surprise, as the hints have been there since his first appearance. More intriguing is the second key being “Aiden”. With both Allison and Aiden being victims of the Nogitsune, what exactly could the third word be? And doesn’t this mean that The Benefactor would have to have been directly involved in the Nogitsune storyline?
It is par for the course for this show to torture Derek Hale, but fortunately his misery leads Chris into the path of Araya Calavera, fast becoming one of this show’s greatest villains. Both intimidating and intelligent, Araya seems to be leading Chris on a path of vengeance for his fallen family, one that mirrors the Hales (particularly Peter) in no small regard.
It is par for the course for this show to torture Derek Hale, but fortunately his misery leads Chris into the path of Araya Calavera, fast becoming one of this show’s greatest villains. Both intimidating and intelligent, Araya seems to be leading Chris on a path of vengeance for his fallen family, one that mirrors the Hales (particularly Peter) in no small regard.
The big question now is: just what will the third key be, and whose names are yet to be revealed. Peter has not yet featured, although he has already been attacked by The Mute, nor has Malia, Liam or Meredith, but are there a few other surprises in store? Stiles quite emphatically declared that he was terrified and he wasn’t on the list, but are they going to throw a curveball and include him for his former possession? It’s this hook that’s keeping the viewers returning for more, because Liam’s anger issues certainly aren’t doing enough to forward this plot.
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